Sales In-Synch: Volume 2



Sales In-Synch – September 2006

(ARCHIVED COPY VERSION OF NEWSLETTER ARTICLES ONLY)

Project Update

A Note from Sharon Steers

As we transition into autumn, we move into the next phase of our sales force ‘redesign’. Initial activity has been focused on re-directing non-sales activities to other areas so that you can focus on sales. The Expert Response Team (ERT) pilot was a success in NY, and the program is now rolling out countrywide. ERT is your one stop resource to resolve the difficult business center or claim issues your agents may confront you with. Much progress has also been made to enhance field sales and agent training. You will have new resources for career development and sales training in ’07, and new agent automation, product and sales training approaches will be developed to free up additional time for sales.

That’s not all. To truly become a world class sales organization, within our vision to

become the #1 Personal Lines carrier, each and every one of you must be fully engaged. Over the next few weeks, you will be participating in either a “Leading Others” seminar or “Leading Your Career” seminar. Take full advantage of this opportunity to identify your strengths and opportunities as a sales executive or sales coach. Develop your own career path and follow up with your manager to plot your course for success in 2007.

We are embarking on an exciting time of change and renewal to build an even stronger foundation for growth and success in 2007. Embrace these opportunities for self development as we continue to build the infrastructure needed optimize sales success.

Best,

Sharon

Sales Redesign Project Overview

Since June, there has been an abundance of activity surrounding the PL Sales Redesign project.  The following is a recap of the strategic planning and activities that have transpired year to date.

The definition of the project is to re-engineer the Field Sales organization to align designs and processes in order to support a world class sales culture.  By doing so, it will better position us to pursue our goal of doubling our business over the next ten years.  Through the scope of this initiative, we will enhance, change and streamline what we do today, within the following areas:

A. Talent Management

B. Training and Development

C. “Non-Sales” Activities

A.  Talent Management will “raise the bar” and attract high potential candidates for tomorrow.  The audience for Talent Management will include RVPs, RSDs, RFOs, RADDs and AMs, including the Domestics. Through the skills assessments we will be able to identify current skills and gaps, identify succession plans and institute a screening process for future talent. The following assessment tasks have been completed year to date: 

• Selected Bigby Havis & Associates as vendor of choice  

• Created assessment / 360 tool and associated processes

• Created AM competency model with fourteen competencies for sales role of the future.  Currently developing RVP, RFO and RSD competency models.

• Administered the Assessments / 360s for RVPs and AVPs (including Domestics), as well as other key PL Leaders.

• Conducted two leadership seminars for RVPs and AVPs to receive assessment / 360 results. 

• Meetings have been planned for RFOs, RSDs and RADDs.  The strategy for the AM meetings is currently being finalized.

• Sent out assessments to RSDs, RFOs, RADDs and AMs.  Due date for completed assessments was September 22nd. 

• In order to recruit future talent, we have incorporated the PL Sales information and career development opportunities on a collegiate “sell sheet”.  We are currently incorporating the sales information into the HR web page for recruiting collegiate talent. 

B.  As part of the Training and Development portion of this project, the training curriculum will be created / modified from the findings of skills assessment gap analysis.  Resources on the PL Training team are fully dedicated to aggressively putting successful training in place to address any and all identified training gaps.  Some of the activity that has been completed is as follows:

• AME school planned for October 2– 6 in Hartford, CT

• Current AM curriculum includes six modules:              

1. Orientation

2. Product

3. Operational Internship

4. Automation

5. Agency Management Essentials

• Self-study modules under evaluation for revisions

Below are a few of the next steps that will occur from the training and development category:

• Bigby Havis to collect data and conduct gap analysis - Q4 '06

• New training needs will be identified from gap analysis - Q4 '06

• Develop new training to fill identified gaps – Q4 '06 through 2007

• Begin Sales Development Center talks in Q4 '06

• Redeploy existing training programs – Q4 '06 through 2007

C. Within “Non-Sales” Activities, we have implemented and will continue to identify targeted efforts to reduce / eliminate the “non-sales” oriented tasks.  By doing so, we can continue to channel the primary focus on “true” sales activities.  Below identifies some of the activity surrounding this topic:

• New Agent Prospecting – Agency Recruiter (CA) & Street Smart Tool

• New Agent Appointment Process – Contract Consultant  - currently piloting in several regions

• Agency Technology & Product Training – IFC Generalist Pilot (CA)

• Book Transfer Set-Up Process – Assistant RFOs / BT Coordinator in Business Centers & CIP Tool

• Expert Response Team – Dedicated claim and service contacts for escalated issues (See More Resources)

Sales In-Synch Newsletter Feedback

Soon after the release of the first Sales In-Synch newsletter, many PL Field Sales Leaders and personnel responded with positive feedback regarding the style, format and content of the newsletter.  This was very encouraging since this newsletter is going to be the primary vehicle to deliver all updates associated with the Sales Redesign initiative.  Some of the comments were as follows:

• “I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times by now, but this is SENSATIONAL!  Eye-catching format, interactive layout, and most importantly—detailed information.” 

• “This is exactly what the Field Sales team needs as we execute our redesign revolution! “

• “Thank you for putting something like this together.  Great work!”

• “Impressive!”

• “This is one of the best emails I’ve seen come out!  Excellent, clean design format with just enough relevant info.  Looking forward to the next one. “

• “This looks great!  I have enforced it with all of my staff!”

• “What a fantastic newsletter!!!  I’ve already heard from a couple of the AMs who think the same.”

Newsletter Archiving

For archiving purposes, we have designed a dedicated page on the Field Sales Resource Center that will save all historic editions of the Sales In-Synch Newsletter.   This dedicated page can be found under the “S” category on the front page of the Resource Center.

Please see the screen shot below on where to find this archived material.

[pic]

Training

Strategic Marketing will be working with Personal Lines Training to identify training opportunities from the skills assessment findings. The role of  PL Training is to focus on the training and development of you -- the Field Sales staff.  They will be working closely with all regions and other key players to design and deliver training that will assist in maximizing and enhancing skills to align with the Sales Redesign.

• What’s New?  Over the summer, a series of new PL Product Fundamentals self study courses were completed and posted on the Personal Lines Learning Center.  They include the following products:   Homeowners, Boat/Yacht, PAF, PLUS and Homesaver.  Two additional newly-created self study courses on Developing Marketing Plans and Agency Diagnostics are located on the Training Page of the Field Sales Resource Center.

• Agency Management Essentials (AME)  As a result of your feedback, AME (targeted to new hires) has been re-tooled to include not only an introduction and explanation of essential agency management concepts and best practices, but the application of these concepts in a simulated learning environment.  In this ‘virtual’ environment Agency Managers use Lotus Notes databases on performance, diagnostics and sales tools in the classroom.  Customized SAM Plans are created using real agency scenarios.  Attendees practice the job and receive feedback on the application of their new knowledge and skills.  Case studies with interactive exercises are used to pull it all together

AME is always a work in progress.  As Field Sales changes, the topics and focus of AME will flex to meet the need.

• Enterprise Sales Training  This corporate initiative’s charge is to build a comprehensive, integrated approach for creating a high performing sales organization across the Company.  In partnership with our vendor – Achieve Global – during the summer 36 sales coaches and 60 sales employees across business lines attended training. Thirteen pilot sessions in four test sites were conducted. The findings will be used to modify and refine the training. 

Detailed implementation planning will begin this month in anticipation of corporate-wide rollout next year.  Corporately, more information on Enterprise Sales Training will be communicated in the next few weeks. The Sales In-Synch newsletter will be your source for training details.

In the Spotlight

One to One can help your business.  See what Kathy Freese and Tory Pachis from the New England region are doing with the utilization of this exciting tool!

In the New England region, Kathy Freese and Tory Pachis were able to pull a monoline list for the Sinclair Agency from their TAM system (Applied). The list represented monoline policy for the entire agency, not just Travelers. They made a sales pitch to the agency to spend a $2,000 to send the non-Travelers account round mailing in One-to-One. The agency thought this was a great opportunity and will pursue this action in the fall when direct mail response rates will be higher than the summer months. The planning has already begun.

For more information on the One-to-One tool, please see the article under the “More Resources” section of this newsletter or contact Michael McCullough at (860) 277-8252.

Frequently Asked Questions

See the most recent newsletter for a complete list of FAQs.

Resources

Agency Manager Service Support Renamed Expert Response Team

As highlighted in last month’s PL Sales Update, the Claim and Business Center support units have developed a path for Agency Managers to route escalated issues and questions to a ‘triage’ team. This unit will take ownership of all inquiries, perform necessary research, and communicate all responses back to you and the agency. The New York regional marketing team began a pilot of this enhanced service in August, and the remaining regions will be engaged throughout the months of September and October. Contact names, numbers and process specifics are being communicated by the Business Centers to their respective regions.

Project Status:

*NY Pilot/Syracuse Business Center 8/1/2006

*Fall River BC aligned regions 9/15/2006

*Houston BC aligned regions 9/15/2006

*Knoxville BC aligned regions 10/15/2006

Initially, the Expert Response Team (ERT) has been staffed with 14 Business Center and Claim representatives. This will ensure appropriate capacity to handle escalated and/or more complex service and support matters that may be directed to our Sales staff in the course of their interaction with agency personnel. The cross functional structure of the ERT maintains regional alignment with the Retail Business Centers, while providing a streamlined approach to get at resolution quickly for both policy service and claim issues.

As we begin to capture information related to call volumes and content of inquiries coming in from the field, we’ll be sharing any training opportunities or communication needs that might surface. Stay tuned for an upcoming enhancement to the regional access numbers. A single 800# will ultimately be available for all types of calls. Please refer any additional process improvement suggestions, questions or feedback to JMoyer@.

Here’s some recent feedback from Steve Scott, Regional Sales Director for the Hudson River region in NYS……

Staying In – synch, allows a focus on sales activities……

We in the Hudson River region/NYS had the opportunity to experience real-time support from the newly created ERT. The experience validated for me the value of this support to our sales force. As designed, this agency manager support mechanism is to eliminate the time and frustration that can often take up an extraordinary amount of time from the sales activities, deferring an AM to research inquiries coming from their agency contacts. In days past, these types of distractions, though not welcomed by the AM, was deemed part of the day to day mix of their accountabilities, and viewed as ‘helping’ agents.

Here’s an example of the ERT in action:

10:04 a.m.

Agency Manager receives an email from a very frustrated agency csr, regarding a complex customer billing issue that had remained unresolved.

At 10:06 a.m. the Agency Manager contacted ERT directly and forwarded the concerns voiced by the agency.

By4:26 that day, ERT contacted the agency to advise that they had spoken with the insured, and resolved the matter to the customer’s satisfaction. Additionally, this issue surfaced a procedural flaw that required review and adjustment to ensure a more customer focused approach. The underlying approach/process has since been altered.

The agency contacted the AM to thank them for their prompt assistance in bringing the problem to a quick resolution.

The AM emailed ERT, “Thank-you for your help in resolving this issue. This has been my first opportunity to use our new policy service/claim escalations process. I have to say, it worked like a charm. Your contact was prompt, courteous and most importantly resolved the issue. Way to go!”

Encourage Your Agencies to Take Advantage of the Promote Your Agency Advertising and Public Relations Kit

Do the agencies you support have a marketing plan to grow their business? Are they aware of all the Travelers advertising/public relations resources that are available, many at no cost to the agency? If not, we urge you to familiarize them with Traveler’s Promote Your Agency kit, and encourage them to utilize this resource to implement a marketing plan to promote their agency.

The kit includes advertising and public relations planning tips and strategies, and showcases a number of communication tools that are available, including:

• Print advertising templates that can be customized with agency contact info

• Drop ads that can be customized with agency contact info

• Radio scripts

• Television storyboards

• Press release templates

A spreadsheet that can be used to track advertising results and cost-effectiveness is also included. The kit can be ordered through Ariba, form # PL-12168-KT.

Incorporate One-to-One in Your Agency SAM Plans

As has been previously communicated, the creation of Strategic Agency Management (SAM) Plans is no longer optional. Going forward, SAM Plans will be a standard part of our planning, implementation, and analysis procedures. A key component of the SAM Plan is the Action Steps that detail how an Agency Manager plans to meet his or her agency performance goals. The One-to-One customer retention and rounding communication programs offer agency managers a highly-effective, easy-to-implement strategy for reaching increased revenue targets.

One-to-One Features and Benefits

One-to-One is a comprehensive customer contact program that utilizes direct mail to enhance customer relationships. The mailings deliver key selling messages at strategically timed intervals. Numerous studies have demonstrated the program’s cost-effectiveness and high ROI. Features and benefits of the program include:

• Turnkey – Signing up for the program is easy. Once agencies are enrolled, Travelers manages the implementation, including identifying customers to be contacted each month, customizing all communications with agency info, and mailing.

• Co-branded Communications – One-to-One mailings are co-branded with an agency logo and contact information to build brand preference and agency loyalty.

• Flexibility – For the Account Round Program, agencies can suppress customers from mailings. Agencies can also time certain mailings to control response volume.

• Segmentation – A variety of plans - Base, 2-5 years, and 5+ years - allows an agency to send communications that are based on each customer’s tenure with the agency.

• Low cost – For an average cost of only $.65 per piece for account round communications, and an annual average cost of only $3.24/customer for retention mailings, an agency can reap all the benefits of the One-to-One program, which includes quantitative and qualitative research, professional creative development, and data processing, printing, and mailing services.

Next Steps/Enrollment

For more information, to see samples of One-to-One materials, or to enroll in the program, interested agencies and Agency Managers should visit the One-to-One program on the Sales & Marketing Info tab on Agent HQ.

In addition, One-to-One sales presentations, sell sheets, and e-mail templates can be found on the Field Sales Resource Center, and information about the program is also available in the new Marketing Tools and Programs manual.

For more information on the One-to-One tool, contact Michael McCullough at (860) 277-8252.

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