One of the biggest issues we see is insurance time management between producers and account managers. While both are working toward keeping the customer happy, they take different approaches. Oftentimes their separate approaches cause an increase in time management issues that delay serving the client. In this blog, we will approach the common causes of insurance time management issues between producers and account managers.
The Silent Client — Account Managers
The only way an agency is profitable is for account managers to juggle several clients at a time. This means when a producer needs something, the silent customer that was in the queue gets bumped behind. It’s always easier to deal with the person in front of you breathing on you! However, imagine someone cuts you in line at the grocery store; when producers interrupt an account manager, that is in essence what is happening. We need to identify better insurance time management strategies. We strongly recommend for producers who are in management systems to add an activity for the account manager to review. If the producer is not in the management system, they should work to book a time or email the account manager to review it rather than interrupt them.
The Lack of Trust — Producers
Producers feed their families from their book of business. When a client needs something, they want to be certain it is handled quickly. Producers can be very critical of work by account managers. When trust is broken due to past mistakes, this can cause producers to feel like they need to be involved in every detail of their book of business. The problem with this is that it overwhelms the team and, often, with more hands in the pot, it takes longer and there is a greater chance for miscommunication. Our message to producers is to trust the process. When mistakes happen, alert management to handle it so you can focus on selling and not managing. Remember, you don’t get paid to manage the team.
I’m On It — Account Managers
When producers are swarming, it generally means they are feeling (remember, feelings get in the way) that the account manager is backlogged and buried. Account managers, when you tell everyone how busy you are, expect producers to struggle with passing the baton to you. A simple way to manage your other clients first is to respond quickly to producers with “I’m on it.” This allows them to go on and sell so you can focus on the silent customer. For agency management, work to have some boundaries between producers and account managers. This includes standard turnaround times for communication.
Pick Your Emergencies — Producers
You know that saying, “You get more with honey than vinegar?” You get more from account managers when everything isn’t an emergency. It may be an emergency to you because you will be out at appointments for the next few days, but remember, your pressing matter should go into the queue with other producers, house accounts and the rest of the team. A true emergency should be a favor — not a demand or routine occurrence. Producers, work with your account managers at an agreed-upon time.
Conclusion
In order for agencies to grow and survive, both producers and account managers need to work together. This means being on the same team for success. By understanding each party’s roles we can maximize our insurance time management. Need a bit more help? Consider our AppX Time Management program that covers this and more.
Related Blogs:
Podcast: Ridiculously Amazing Time Management
Blog: Efficiency In Communication
Blog: Why Quoting Over the Phone Saves You and the Client Time
