Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Welcome to AMG Academy. Get ready to dive into a vibrant community where insurance professionals come together to discuss the latest in sales techniques, innovative business strategies, and the power of collaboration. Whether you're looking out for the next big trend in sales or seeking insights into strategic business growth, this is your hub. This is AMG Academy.
[00:00:28] Hello there and welcome to another edition of AMG Academy. Matt McClure here with you. So glad you could join us this time around as we talk about all things insurance in this great industry that we find ourselves a part of here. You know, I mean, we try to share insights that help agents, um, just really take their business to the next level. Uh, each and every time we get together this time around, we're talking about how to scale without burnout and how to use automation and systems to do that very thing. Uh, joining me, I have Devon Williams, a senior marketing director with a life marketing group who helps agents just like you do that very thing. Hey, Devon. How's it going?
[00:01:08] Hey, there. Matt's going well. Always a pleasure to be on these calls. You know, um, like you said, this industry never a dull moment, always a new topic we can kind of bring to the table here. And, you know, this one is kind of near and dear to me as well, because, you know, I've been with the agency with family for 11 years now. And definitely I felt a little bit of that burnout through those times. I think we all kind of have those ebbs and flows through our careers there. So yes, this is one that I personally had to kind of take, take on myself at different points in my career there.
[00:01:35] Yeah, and that's the thing too. I feel like one of the things that can really lead to that kind of burnout are things that if you sort of step back and think about them, can be automated. It's like the the, the busy work kind of stuff, you know, and the keeping up with, um, kind of like maybe the sort of little things that are extremely important, but, you know, can be just the things that get you bogged down. I feel like, um. Exactly. When you're just kind of in the in the weeds, they're trying to just do your job. And so, you know, if if people are looking to, um, you know, scale to use automation to, to help them along in that, I mean, what should people be doing about and thinking about automating as, as we kind of, you know, start this conversation here, what are maybe some of the first things that come to mind for you?
[00:02:25] Yeah. You know, and honestly, you know, just to kind of, I guess, put this in the right reference as well. You know, like I said, this is something that I definitely had to go through myself, even on the marketer side, you know, finding myself just running in a million directions, not feeling like you're ever getting, you know, kind of ahead of the curve. Inbox is always, you know, being flooded with more and more opportunities there. And, you know, if you don't try to find a system or find systems out there that you can kind of attach to and build it all yourself instead of trying to do it all yourself, I feel like, you know, it's impossible for anyone to kind of keep up with everything that's going on in this business, you know, sole proprietors, especially who you know are wearing multiple hats. You know, you want to make sure that you do start thinking of business processes. And and especially if you're looking to scale your business because, you know, I think whether I'm looking, you know, speaking with a new agent or an agent who's been in the industry for years, typically when they're trying to get to that next point, you know, it's it's the business processes that are holding them back. It's not, you know, typically more leads that they need. It's it's, you know, better organization or better processes all together to kind of help get them, you know, scaled up there. So I guess some if I'm thinking about some of the first automations that kind of come to mind on my side, you know, as a marketer, it was always me sending out email kits.
[00:03:38] So, you know, if an agent got on board with a new carrier, it would be, you know, I'd have to send out a welcome email to them. In the welcome email, I'd like to have, you know, additional information so they can kind of get the application and kind of get up to speed. But I found that I was creating that email on a, you know, per agent basis, rather than just having a draft that I could use and pull from. So I think, you know, even if you're just looking at something as simple as, like your emails that you're sending out on a daily basis and how you can kind of automate some of those traps. I think that's an easy starting point there. But you can also look into things like, you know, the birthday messages or birthday cards that you're probably sending out as an agent every year. You know, if you are, you know, even maybe the appointment reminders that you're sending out, you know, every day just to make sure the client knows that you are still showing up, are even on the back end, you know, after you're finished talking to the client and you have your post sales process, they can show that you have some easy email that you can get over to them on that side just to kind of keep, you know, the ball going down the road there.
[00:04:35] So I'd say those are probably some easy ones that you can jump into immediately. You know, you could also look into drip campaigns and making sure that you have maybe customizable marketing pieces that you can send out to clients throughout the year, you know, maybe have different seasons where you're talking about different products, whether it be, you know, life insurance, Medicare supplement, and Medicare Advantage, some ancillary health like cancer, heart attack, stroke and annuities, even, you know. So I think just having, you know, those automations for the different product lines ready and set, you know, would be where you could look to go through, you know, over time. But I think if you're just starting out, you could keep it as simple as just maybe, you know, adding calendly to your, um, you know, signature line, maybe using, like, text to send out a quick text message on birthdays and saying happy Birthday. If you want to connect, here's my Calendly link. And that way you're not setting up each appointment yourself. They're able to go in there and, you know, get on your calendar. You can just check your calendar daily. That's just one less thing that you have to do, one less touch point that you have to make. But you're still kind of, you know, making sure you're speaking with your clients and giving them, you know, time to engage that.
[00:05:37] Yeah. Now that's that's great. I mean, and even as you said, just as something as simple as, you know, email templates as well, I feel like that is so helpful for, for me, just in my, you know, sort of agent side of my life is, you know, whether, you know, there's a I do a seminar or something like that and I, you know, have leads from that just at first, you know, going through and trying to like type out a this, you know, whole long follow up email for each individual lead was just like, okay, I'm going to have carpal tunnel by the end of this, you know, day. Um, and it just not not really working out very well. But yeah, I mean, if you just even a simple copy paste job and just making sure that you have placeholders in there for like, okay, there's their name, here's where you know, what the name of the seminar was or, or how the lead came to you, that kind of thing. Um, it's super, super helpful. And so, I mean, it doesn't I feel like a lot of people think, well, uh, is the setup process going to be something where it's going to be just as annoying as the, you know, process of doing this task every day? It doesn't have to be that way. I mean, if you just take a little bit of, I think, a, a step or two in the beginning, boy, you can save yourself a lot of time down the road.
[00:06:52] Exactly. No. Yeah. Like an easy rule of thumb, you know, is if you're doing it twice, you know, it probably could be automated there for you. You know, so yes, you'll find yourself burning yourself out, just recreating the same template over and over again. And like you said, you don't have to try to overcomplicate it and have, you know, a ten step funnel or have, you know, this huge, you know, I guess, process to continuously, you know, be speaking to your clients. It could just be as something as simple as a text message template system that's going out to, you know, your clients there or you know, you're just making sure that you do have, you know, those contacts available there for them.
[00:07:23] Yeah, absolutely. Right. And, you know, I mean, just a quick thing here to to the audience if you're listening or if you're watching, you know, what's one thing you know that you did this week maybe like Devon was just saying there you did it twice. So that means, hey, it could be automated. Think about that. And, you know, if you have something in your life, in your in your work life, in your practice that you have automated, you know, leave a leave a comment on any of the social media channels where you will find this show. Um, leave a comment there and just say, you know, hey, here's something that I did that I found really, really helpful because, you know, who knows, it could really help a lot of other people. And that really is what the show is all about. You know.
[00:08:08] Without a doubt.
[00:08:09] Yes. Definitely. So. Well, um, so, you know, I mean, sure, you know, automation obviously is great. I mean, I love to automate as many things as I possibly can, like just speaking from a personal perspective, like, you know, automatic like bill pay and all that kind of stuff. Boy, that really helps me. Uh, just in my life, I'm like, oh, God, I don't have to worry about, oh God, did I pay that this month? And and making sure I know it's already done. So there you go. Um, but, you know, it's really the most powerful thing when it fits into kind of a bigger system, right? I mean, so so you got to sort of, I guess, have an overall, um, system that you're working with and not that it's got to necessarily all be in one app or one, you know. Thing like that. But but is an overall system that you're working with every day. And what does that system kind of look like from your perspective? Devon.
[00:09:04] Yeah. You know, I guess when I am speaking to brokers about, you know, how they're going through their day to day and how they are, you know, kind of working with their clients. One thing that I've realized is to your point, you know, obviously you want to have as many automations to keep yourself kind of free and available, but you also want to look into your own sales process. And you know how you're kind of conducting your business with the client as well, because, you know, even in those systems, we can kind of identify if there are any issues or something that, as you're repeating it, if it's not really kind of meeting the metrics you're looking for, it's a little more easily identifiable there. So I guess if you're just kind of keeping a base sales process idea, you know, of course you have the, you know, how you're getting in front of the clients that onboarding with the actual, you know, client there, which would be, you know, how you're obtaining your lead, you know, what's the script that you're using or your sales presentation when you are speaking to the client? Um, you know, and making sure that you have some type of, I guess, closing process as well there. And from there, you know, some of these sales will take a couple of touch points. It won't just be a one and done. So you also want to make sure that you have some type of follow up process as well.
[00:10:05] And just the way that you are making sure that nothing is falling through the cracks and that you are having these multiple touchpoints with clients who maybe are interested but just need a little bit more time to kind of, you know, digest the information before they make their decision. So I think outside of those two, of course, you want to also have some type of cross-selling process there. You know, once you do actually build that book of business, how you are returning to them to talk about other products. I think we've all heard, you know, if you have at least three policies with the client, they're usually yours for good. And the fact that they're not looking to move around and go to another agent because they know that they can go to you for multiple, you know, of their needs there. So I think making sure you have that cross-sell and then finally, you know, making sure you have some type of referral program, you know, some way that you're making sure that you're bringing up to the clients, hey, you know, if you feel like I've done a great job and I was able to provide you with some, you know, service and information. Do you have anyone around you? If you could maybe use these services as well and make sure that there is something that you have identified and defined to step into that.
[00:11:03] Yeah, referrals and word of mouth. So important, especially if you've got those clients like you're talking about that, that they're sticking around with you. Um, they, they know like and trust you at that point. So, you know, it would be, uh, easy for them to, to recommend, uh, someone else or recommend you to someone else. Um, I feel like that's a that's a great thing to, to bring up here. And, you know, I mean, if somebody is just starting out, like, obviously, you know, a lot of people, um, that that we come across maybe have been in, in the business for a long, long time and, or maybe just kind of stuck in their ways. I know that I get that way in my, in my life, and I have to sort of break myself out of that. And so maybe, though, if somebody is at the other end of their career, like just starting out at the very beginning and saying, hey, um, I really want to start out ahead and, you know, go ahead and get some some systems in place maybe. What's the first thing they should do as far as getting a system built out? Like what what do you think maybe is kind of job one there.
[00:12:07] So I think job one, you know, you want to make sure you do have that, you know, like a sales process fully defined and you know, know how you're going through each step as you go through that process. As far as you know, how your ten year leads, what you're going to kind of say when you're on the phone or in person with them, what marketing pieces you'll be using as well when you're speaking to your clients. But I think the, the one system in all of that that I see agents maybe not spending as much time on is, you know, that second one there, when it does come to the follow up, you know, and making sure you have a defined process to call back to your clients and, you know, touch base with them again and have a secondary conversation in place to kind of strike, you know, where you left off there. So I think if you're just starting off, you know, making sure that you have a well-defined sales process is probably going to be most crucial to kind of get the ball rolling. But if you are just looking for the first place to scale, you know, and you have starting to get, you know, some success there, but you're thinking, okay, how do I take this to the next level? I think, you know, looking into the policies that you aren't able to sell and kind of revisiting what happened there and seeing if maybe there's anywhere there that you could kind of tune up. That follow up process, I think, is where you'll find, you know, you will be able to get the best return, most bang for your buck there.
[00:13:18] Yeah. And that's one of the things I feel like that at least I just because I'm, I always am sort of thinking about ways that I can, um, follow up without being so pushy. Like, you know, I just, I want to I don't want to come across as too pushy to somebody that I'm going to just completely turn them off to me. Like, there's a balance that has to be struck there, right? Like, you know, you can't just. Um, and maybe for some people and some people's personalities, maybe that works being a little bit more pushy. But, you know, for me, I think, you know, I grew up in the South. I am just not, you know, it's the southern hospitality thing. I just don't want to push people into something that they don't want to do. So, you know, sales is kind of a, um, I don't know, not the thing that comes the most naturally to me, but I feel like connecting with people is a thing that comes naturally to me. And so that is, you know, I feel like you sort of have to play to your strengths right in that way. And, um, so, so what did you say? You know, maybe if somebody is kind of like me and they don't have maybe that skill set of following up with somebody but not sounding so pushy. Um, how many different times or how long should they give it? What what kind of process should they have in place is we're talking about building out that system, right?
[00:14:33] Right, exactly. And I think it's something that, you know, of course, like you said, everyone's going to play to their strengths and differences a little bit. I'm kind of right there with you, Matt, where I don't want to seem too pushy in my, you know, sales approach by any means. But what I've learned just over time with, like, speaking with different brokers and, you know, really knowing that you're bringing up something of value to them is that, you know, as you're going through that initial conversation and you arguing your fact finding and your understanding. You know what the reason was for you guys to spend this time together? A lot of times, you know, if you're writing that stuff down or at least highlighting that as you're going through, you know, maybe the summary of benefits of what was most important to the client. It's a little easier to kind of start back there and just say, hey, you know, I want to make sure we're covering these needs that, you know, you address to something that you're worried about there. And that way, as long as you're, you know, kind of just opening it back up to where you're coming to support them rather than, hey, you know, I want you to buy something from me.
[00:15:23] You know, the most they can do is say no at the end of the day, and that's okay. If they do, you can walk away and say, you know, if anything ever changes down the road, I'm here for you. And you'll be surprised how many times those even come back around down the road later on. And they say, you know what? I do need help this year. I want to make some changes. I can talk to my agent. And I remember you were, you know, respectful. You spent time with me, you gave me what I needed. And, you know, you weren't pushy there. So, yeah, I think, you know, sometimes don't feel like you have to keep pushing and be okay with saying, okay, you know, I've done this before, support. I've given you the support I can. We've gone over the information and we'll just let it handle from there. But I think just knowing exactly the reason, you know, for their concern and re addressing that is the easiest way to kind of get back into that conversation.
[00:16:03] Yeah. Yeah. Lets people know that you're really, you know, are paying attention. You have been paying attention to their needs, their concerns, their their wants. And it's not all just about you, you know, and your, um, you know, longing for their adding their business to your to your book of business. Right. Yeah. Well, and, you know, I mean, so we've talked, you know, talked a lot about the things that people maybe should automate and, and can automate. Let's maybe look at it from a little bit of a different angle as we continue on here. What are some things that people are still doing on the agent side manually that is, um, maybe costing them time and costing them money? I know that one thing that this is sort of related anyway. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about this particular part of the conversation was, you know, paper applications. Um, you know, if you're still doing paper applications, why? Um, but number two, um, is, you know, so it's not necessarily an automated, you know, an automation conversation there because you obviously still have to fill out the, the app and everything. Um, but what are maybe some other things that people are doing that they're doing manually that they could be. Um, you know, really, I don't know, it could be holding them back.
[00:17:27] Right. No. Yeah. And again, this is something I think that we, uh, we can see across the board with, you know, basically all sole proprietors or, you know, one person who's, you know, running a full shop there is, um, you know, I think just to keep it simple, it's probably, like we said at the very beginning, there's, you know, email drafts, you know, that you're sending out over and over again that are the same exact, you know, um, data that you're sending to every client, but you're recreating it every time. So I know that's something again, that I was, you know, guilty of myself was trying to, you know, wait until I had the welcome letter to come in and then put together a welcome email and just send that out and not just spend time creating a draft that was a little more universal that I could then use the plug and play. So I think you know that one just off the bat, that's one that always kind of comes up to me. Um, another one I'd say is, you know, I see a lot of agents trying to recreate the marketing flyers as well per event that they're doing, instead of utilizing maybe what carriers already have on their side that they can kind of sink their teeth into.
[00:18:25] So I think that, you know, there's nothing wrong with creating a marketing piece, but when you do, it usually has to go through some extra compliance, you know, hoops as well. Or if you are piggybacking off of something that the carrier has already approved, it's already been approved by CMS and by the carrier. So you're able to just kind of plug and play and get to, you know, sending that out to your clients immediately there. So I think, you know, those two things would be the main that come to my mind. Um, And and, you know, I guess if I had any tips, it'd be just that, you know, use some of them. Don't try to recreate the wheel and, you know, use some of those things that are already available already out there, you know, and created. And um, another thing that one of my agents did was that on their website, they have like a little FAQ area. And on that FAQ, it's just a bunch of, you know, quick videos of sorts of them answering, you know, most frequently asked questions that they kept receiving on their side. And I thought it was smart because, of course, you know, you can send the agents to your website, I'm sorry, your clients to your website, they can watch the videos, they can look at other videos, but then they can also start looking around the page at other things that you have going on.
[00:19:27] And that might just, you know, start an organic conversation of, hey, you know, I want to talk to someone about annuities, but they also posted each one of these shorts on YouTube and have the tags to the questions on YouTube. So now as our clients are looking at them, they're getting views. And then if other clients are asking these same questions, typing them into Google now, they're popping up even higher with the video, you know, and I think a client is more likely to click a video than, you know, click a web page there. Especially if they see it's like one minute and 32nd video. And an answer is exactly what they're looking for, you know? And I think it's just a smart way for you to find an organic way to get in front of your clients rather than having to, you know, maybe post something every day or, you know, feel like you're pushing something in front of them. So just another idea that I thought was really smart.
[00:20:08] Yeah. No. That's great. I love that idea. And just sort of, you know, coming up with multiple ways to use a piece of video like that, you know, just like you're utilizing it on YouTube, on the website, sending it out to clients individually. Like, I feel like that's a great thing, that it's sort of, um, I don't know what the what is the proper analogy here? It kind of feeds, feeds on itself, you know, because it's like, uh, it's like a circle. You're getting the views, you're getting the information out there. You're also you're getting your, um, you know, if you're posting a video of yourself answering these questions, getting your personality out there as well. So then hopefully people are connecting with you on, on an emotional level, maybe subconsciously. Consciously, right?
[00:20:49] Exactly. Not 100%. I think you definitely build a more, you know, sticky, you know, business that way as well. When clients get to interact with you, even if it is through a video that you know, you're post in there.
[00:20:59] Yeah. No, that's absolutely right. And so, you know, again, um, be thinking if you're listening or watching to the show or listening to or watching the show, I should say, um, you know, think about those things that you have been doing manually that could be automated, maybe leave a comment. Um, obviously like the video, subscribe to the channel and all of those things as well. And you know, you'll have more and more tips as we continue to post videos and do the podcast just like this, uh, here on AMG Academy. Um, so as we start kind of, you know, getting toward the end of things here, Devon, what are maybe what's maybe like 1 or 2 main takeaways that you want people, um, especially agents who might be listening or watching to kind of take away from this conversation about scaling and not being afraid to, you know, scale using automation.
[00:21:55] Right. I guess just to keep it simple, I think the first one I'd say is, you know, don't feel like you have to, you know, jump all the way in overnight. You know, you can start with just one automation. You know, if you haven't been sending out a birthday card reminder, just starting with something like that where you're pulling the data, you're getting your list of clients, you're getting their birthdays and email address lined up and just looking into, you know, an automated texting system like Tesla are, you know, if you're not familiar with text, video, you don't know where to start as far as finding these automations. Feel free to reach out to us or whoever your marketing company is. And I'm sure they can kind of point you in the right direction there. But, you know, maybe just starting out with something like that or starting out with a draft that you use for an appointment reminder and, you know, just getting used to being able to send that out before each appointment every day, you know, and having that to help align your following day there. So I think, you know, just starting with one automation kind of getting that tuned and working smoothly instead of, you know, trying to add on all these things at once, trying to completely revamp your business. And now, like you said, you're bogging yourself down more than actually, you know, getting out there and doing the job that you used to do.
[00:22:56] So. So yeah, I'd say, you know, don't think automation is something that you need to dive all the way into immediately. You can start with just one. And then after that, you know, um, and this is something for again, you know, producers have been in the business a long time and ones who are new as well. You know, you don't scale through hustle. You know, I think you truly do scale through these systems. And and by that, I mean, I feel like a lot of brokers will either want to, you know, recruit a lot of downline agents under them so they can just get a lot more, you know, applications, submit it that way, or just, you know, just try to grind it out themselves and, you know, just stay and buy as many leads and try to, you know, get as many apps in just off of their own production. But I think if you look into these systems and even take it as far as maybe looking into hiring like an admin or an appointment center, I think that will help you scale a lot further than you know, you just trying to grind it out. Are you just, you know, trying to just multiply efforts by adding more leads and just more volume there, I think. I think the systems are how you really get to those next plateaus that you're looking to get to, rather than just kind of incrementally grow.
[00:23:57] Yeah, just keep it as as simple as possible, you know, do what you're comfortable with. And then when you find what works for you, you know, even scale up your scale up your scalability with more, you know, automation as you go forward. And obviously, you know, don't I feel like to, you know, don't, um, automate everything to the point that you sort of lose the human touch of interaction with clients, with prospects, that kind of thing. Right. I mean, it's it's you've got to be still present. Um, so they don't feel like they're talking to a robot, but, um, at the same time, you use the robots before they take over.
[00:24:39] No, that's a great point. With AI and everything you have nowadays, I think you really can kind of get in the weeds with, you know, automation sometimes. So, yeah, you know, keeping it simple and making sure they still have that relationship or connection with you, I think is huge. So I think that's a great point, Matt.
[00:24:52] Yeah. Well, Devon, just about time to wrap it up. But hey, anything else that you wanted to mention, uh, that comes to mind?
[00:24:59] You know, if you're tuning in to the series, guys, feel free to, you know, like, comment, share. Uh, engage with us as much as you want. You know, we'll have our contact information in here and a link to our AMG Academy as well. So, you know, feel free to engage in any way you'd like to.
[00:25:13] Perfect. Well. Devon Williams, senior marketing director at AMG. Thank you so much. Once again, always appreciate having you on and we'll talk to you again soon.
[00:25:22] Yeah man. It's always a pleasure.
[00:25:24] Likewise. And thank you for listening and or watching to this edition of AMG Academy. I really do appreciate it. And we'll see you next time.
[00:25:31] Thanks for joining us for this edition of AMG Academy. For more information on any of today's topics or to contact us, visit AmeriLifeMarketingGroup.com.
