Connecting the Dots: How Technology Powers Sales and Cross-Selling Opportunities

Agents know that regular contact with customers, asking the right questions and possessing expertise and knowledge about a wide range of insurance products pay dividends. While cross-selling and account rounding have been around for a long time, many agents don’t always make the connection between a customer’s personal and commercial insurance needs, such as a homeowner who also owns a small business.

Here are three ways technology can magnify these opportunities and enhance your cross-selling capabilities:

1) Identify opportunities through data analytics. Different types of cross-selling opportunities require different approaches, and agents need the ability to easily distinguish and act on them. In some cases, you’re working to get current customers to consolidate all their coverages with your agency, which requires you to reinforce your agency’s value and your service. Or, you may be working with a client to add additional coverage they’ve never had before, which is helped by education and consultation on the risk itself and relevant products.

And you want those systems to integrate with email, phone, text and chat conversations to easily communicate with customers and import new information to the system.

In each case, you’ll lean on the capabilities of your agency management system. Ensure that you’re capturing key information about the customer’s situation and needs at the point-of-service. Doing so will empower you to pinpoint key targets.

2) Bring relevant solutions to point-of-sale. Commercial insurance offers many opportunities for cross-selling. No two businesses are exactly alike, and commercial risks can be complex and nuanced. Similar clients may not be as familiar with the range of risks and insurance products to solve those needs. For example, a small business owner may know that a business owners policy is important but may not realize they also need workers compensation.

Offering detailed information on additional coverages that are relevant at the point-of-sale can help you deliver a comprehensive solution to your customers. Think of it as another version of a “Frequently Bought Together” feature.

Carriers are partnering with quoting solutions to automatically generate quotes for additional products. For example, if an agent submits quotes for a BOP and workers comp, the carrier can also pre-qualify the customer for professional liability, directors & officers and cyber policies.

3) Educate customers on emerging risks. Products that were once considered niche are becoming mainstream as more businesses realize they need to protect against emerging risks. For example, as operations continue to be impacted by cyber threats, organizations of all sizes are beginning to understand the importance of cyber insurance.

Small businesses want more information, not less, when buying insurance, with more than 80% saying that it is important for insurance shopping to be transparent, including when comparing coverages, according to Semsee’s small business survey.

Cross-selling is important to every growing agency’s strategy. With the right tools, agents can quickly identify opportunities, provide options to their customers and deliver a complete insurance solution – increasing customer loyalty and growing their businesses.

This article was originally published in Independent Agent magazine.