New clients deserve the same
onboarding courtesies that new employees enjoy
[N]ew clients deserve onboarding attention so that expectations
are clear and so that we may interact with a new client in the way they want to be served.
By Scott Naugle
Most insurance agencies have a process for onboarding a new employee. In fact, it may take most of a day to complete all the forms, enrollments, and computer log-in protocols. We do this to be sure that new colleagues fully understand not only their employee benefits, but this also acts as a primer to how the agency works, the corporate hierarchy, and where to go for assistance or to have a question answered.
I believe that new clients deserve onboarding attention so that expectations are clear and so that we may interact with a new client in the way they want to be served. We need to meet, if not exceed, their expectations.
During a new employee’s first day, a department manager or senior officer of the agency normally spends a few minutes welcoming him or her and stressing how fortunate the agency is to have them on board. Does your agency do this with every new client? Think of the positive impact on a new client if a senior member of management or the agency owner calls and expresses appreciation for their business and the new relationship. The call need not be long and can also underscore whom to call at the agency for routine service. Ending with a comment of “I care about your business and our new relationship” will go a long way to cementing the new client to the agency.
Your human resources department or HR person likely has a checklist that is followed in onboarding a new employee. Why would you not have a similar checklist for bringing on a new client?
How does the new client want to be serviced? Do they prefer emails, texts, or telephone calls? Do they want their policies delivered electronically or in a three-ring binder? How often during the year do they want to be contacted for a checkup call? Do they prefer a mid-year in-person visit? Do they have a relevant list of agency contacts for their needs? Is there a backup contact if they cannot be reached?
For consistency in following this protocol and for embedding this process into your agency procedures, create a spreadsheet template. List the items that the account manager or CSR will cover during the onboarding call. Attach this document to each client in the agency management system. Your agency management system should be flexible enough for you to curate how each client desires to be serviced.
It is unlikely that the new client has experienced an onboarding call and will be impressed with the fact that the agency cared enough to ask for their input in structuring how service will be delivered.
And here is the very important part: living up to what was discussed during the onboarding client call. If the client wants his or her policies delivered electronically, we should not print and mail or deliver a three-ring binder. If they requested two checkup calls during the policy period, the account manager should diary those calls to be sure they occur.
When you bump into a new employee a few months after he or she has started, the logical question is, “How are things going for you here at the agency?” The answer helps you as an agency owner or manager to evaluate the onboarding process of a few months prior and the health of the agency culture. Likewise, during a check-in call with the new client a few months after the relationship has begun, you may learn more about how the client perceives the agency.
In my experience during the checkup calls, the conversation uncovers new exposures that the client has not told you about. During the call, the client may be prodded with gentle questions such as, “Have you purchased any new equipment?”, “Have you added any out-of-state drivers?”, “Have we discussed the limit on your umbrella?”, or “Are the items we have listed on your personal article floater still up to date?” The benefit to the agency is twofold: endorsing coverage so that it is accurate and added incremental revenue to the agency’s income.
It is important to think of an insurance transaction through the eyes of new clients and build a protocol that helps them feel at ease while underscoring the good decision he or she made in moving their insurance to the agency. Doing this strengthens the client relationship and should have a positive impact on client retention. It also allows the opportunity after a year or so of consistent service to ask for referrals.
The insurance business is a people business. The more that we remember and privilege this in our agency procedures, the more successful we will become.
The author
Scott Naugle, CIC, AAI, is a 45-year veteran of the insurance industry, growing up in a family agency in rural Pennsylvania to COO of a large, publicly traded agency with 30 locations. He serves as a board member on the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance Academy board. Scott works now as an independent consultant and can be reached at Naugle@live.com.
