Flashy pitches: See through the tech pitch

Independent insurance agents everywhere are hearing the same thing: Agencies that are not leveraging technology risk falling behind their competition. While true, the message fails to recognize how time-consuming and difficult it can be to choose the right tech solutions for an independent agency—especially in the age of perplexing jargon and pushy sales pitches.

Today’s agents are inundated with emails and messages from tech vendors promising their transformative technology will address every single one of their agency’s needs. Those agents who are motivated by promises to streamline workflow and reduce repetitive administrative tasks—or even to increase business—could fall victim to empty sales promises and wasting time, money and resources they likely cannot afford to lose.

The dangers of choosing the wrong tech

Nobody likes to admit when they do not understand something, and with the onslaught of technology that has hit the market in recent years, it’s gotten a bit tricky to decipher one tech solution from another. Selling variations of similar offerings, vendors have gotten creative with their messaging. Often, agents are left in the difficult position of not fully understanding the product they are being pitched. Instead of asking questions, many agents nod along with the pitch and assume the tool will live up to its cutting-edge promise. Agents in such a predicament may find themselves committed to a one- to three-year contractual agreement to spend time and money on a tool they cannot use or simply do not need.

While there are both good and bad vendors and products, vendors enter a pitch with one primary goal: to sell their product. They may utilize a few tricks to engage prospective clients, including providing little, if any, information on the product’s limitations and leveraging hyperbolic terms that oversell the product’s capabilities. After a pitch or demo, insurance agents should have a preliminary understanding of the product’s capabilities and how it might fit into their agency’s operations. If the vendor’s pitch was too flashy to outline the product’s baseline functionality clearly and how it fits in an agency’s processes, it will likely fall short of the vendor’s promises.

Have confidence in your tech choices

While choosing the best technology tools for an agency can feel overwhelming, there are ways agents can feel more confident in their choices. Consider the following three tips for independent agents when approaching technology:

Identify a need. Agents should refrain from investing in technology for the sake of being a tech-enabled agency. The purpose of a technology tool should be to address a need. As an example, an agent may use technology to help implement a renewal or monthly retention process, or the technology could help them reconcile daily downloads. Agents who identify a need before engaging with or considering a new tech vendor will see through the sales messaging more clearly, and save time and resources down the line. Those agents who have not identified a need going into a conversation with a vendor should see a clear benefit to their agency after their first discussion.

Be wary of buzzwords. Agents should look out for words or phrases that sound impressive, but do not add actual value to the description of a product. If a vendor’s representative uses too many buzzwords in his or her communications, this might indicate a lack of understanding on the salesperson’s part, or an attempt to oversell the product’s functions.

Dive deeper. A pitch will never provide enough information on a product for an agent to sign an agreement. Agents should take advantage of opportunities to demo potential tech tools, ask questions that revert to the agency’s specific goals and seek out community feedback. By doing additional research—and asking for the thoughts of colleagues in their network on a specific tool—agents can be more confident in the quality of feedback they are receiving from sources who are not beholden to the vendor.

A professional network can be an invaluable resource that informs and instills confidence in an agent’s technology choices. Such networks spend time and resources to build relationships with trusted technology partners and often vet those partners based on network feedback and performance. With a network’s help, agents may even determine their current technology stack can solve their problem without the addition of new tech.

Final thoughts

Technology is a crucial part of running a modern, efficient business, but it is important to invest an agency’s time and money intentionally. Independent insurance agents who take a little extra time to identify their needs before considering an effective solution will free up time to serve clients and grow their businesses.