FAQ's from AppX Retention
While every team is different, we do see some common themes when we launch the
program. Some account managers will get stuck right here and lose faith and belief that
they can tackle this program. Here are our responses to these challenges:
There is no way we have time for this:
The problem for most account managers is they don’t have time currently to get everything
done. So repeating the same model and expecting a different result won’t work either. We
need to drive home the idea that in 60 days they will have more time because of the
reduction of inbound calls, re-markets and upset customers. Also, it helps to break down the
average number of calls per day for the team. Many of them believe it will be 20 calls per
day, but it’s generally between 4-8, depending on how the agency is structured.
Clients don’t want to hear from us/I’m not a salesperson:
From time to time we have heard account managers say that these are cold calls. Now, if
calling your active paying customer is a cold call, salespeople should embrace more cold
calls! What they are really saying is that they have fear, uncertainty and doubt on how to
handle outbound work. Many account managers are there for the call of duty when a
customer needs them, but they have never really worked an outbound strategy. They fear
what the customer will say, they are uncertain how to deliver the news that the customer’s
rates increased 25%, and they believe their job is to process requests rather than manage
the client’s experience. Their feelings are valid, and we need to rally around them and
congratulate them as they push outside of their comfort zones to try something new as well
as helping them to see how valuable they really are!
This is going to lead to more re-marketing:
The old “don’t poke the sleeping bear” theory in insurance still is present in some agents’
minds. However, that is one of the key metrics we track. Re-marketing. We believe every
agency should be tracking this. Often re-shops can take too long, be pushed to the last thing
to do and, oftentimes, the quote to move ratio is low. This costs the team and agency time.
What we have proven (with data) is that re-marketing is reduced by being proactive.