Do you often find you have incomplete information in your management system, creating more work for you and your team? Perhaps you’re trying to build a list and, upon looking closer, you realize important details are missing. Or a client calls with a claim and you notice that first and last names are in the wrong fields.
There are few things more frustrating than not being able to find customer information when you need it. And it’s even more frustrating when mistakes happen because of inaccurate data.
Here are some tips on how you can keep your prospect and client information organized and up to date.
Collect accurate contact information
It’s crucial to collect accurate information the first time. When you send communications to clients, you want them to receive it. Sometimes, an email won’t go through, for example, because information was misspelled or incorrectly entered. If you receive an undelivered email, call the person you were trying to reach and ask them to confirm their correct email address. When you’re collecting client or prospect data, make sure to spell everything back to your customers so they can correct you right away.
Create a standard process
It’s important that everyone in the office enters information consistently. And that starts with training. Make a thorough training plan for everyone who will have access to your agency management system (AMS). Your training plan should provide employees with resources and guides for how to use your AMS and set clear expectations on how to properly enter information.
Create documentation everyone on the team can reference if they need a reminder on which fields to use, how to add policy data, spouse information, etc. Be as detailed as possible in your training and supporting documents. When a process changes, make sure everyone on the team knows. This will help all your employees stay on the same page, making it easy for each team member to pick up where someone else left off.
Stay on top of life updates
Any time you’re chatting with clients, you should ask about any life updates. However, there are some customers who only want to talk when they have a policy renewing. Renewals are a great time to check in with clients and ask if anything has changed in their life. These conversations will likely come naturally, but be sure to ask about major moves or purchases and any changes with their family or business. Using this time that you already have planned with your clients to make sure all information is correct will keep you ahead of headaches in the future.
One more note: When someone gets a divorce or passes away, it's important to update their information right away in any system you use to send communications. If it isn’t updated, it causes a trickle effect which may lead to your clients' getting emails or updates that don’t apply to them or cause unnecessary pain.