How brokers can use technology to grow their book of business

Over the past several years, a rise in digital platforms, increased regulations, and industry-wide consolidation have changed the way brokers work. In 2023, the landscape has become even more turbulent as economic uncertainty — sparked by a 40-year-high rate of inflation —  has upended the robust M&A environment.

Given that precarious backdrop, how can you increase your competitive edge to delight existing clients and win new business? By choosing technology partners that empower you with techniques to make the value you offer clients evergreen.

Maximize your ability to prospect and win clients 

No matter the state of the economy, to expand your business you need to prospect and win new clients. Industry consolidation has made this harder on independent brokers, pitting them against ever-growing conglomerates with unmatched capabilities. 

That’s why it’s more important than ever to adopt technology tools that help maximize your business development opportunities.

Here are two efficient strategies that can help secure new business:

1. Automate quote-to-buy. Products such as those offered by PerfectQuote, Rippling, and ThreeFlow empower brokers to offer customers quick, customizable quotes and other benefits administration features.
2. Maximize enrollment. Once you’ve secured new business, the next step is to enroll the greatest number of people eligible for your client’s services. Tools that help expand and manage new customer enrollment include Brite, JellyVision, and Nayya.

Each of these tools helps you minimize overspending and provide the decision support that streamlines how you attract and retain clients. Next, let’s look at how tech can help you develop efficient experiences for your clients.

More efficiency without sacrificing quality

How many times have you helped a client replace a lost insurance card? How often have you had to reach out to a client’s employees to answer common questions with easily accessible answers the client didn’t provide? Such frustrations may always be part of a broker’s business, but mobile-first services offer a way to make addressing them more efficient.

The reason is simple: Mobile-first benefits platforms offer clients an immediately at-hand method of contacting customer service to replace that lost card or ask about the upcoming rate increase. If the customer wants to text the support center, mobile platforms make that easy.  If they need to extend the conversation on the phone, a “click to call” function makes that conversion seamless. 

Mobile friendly platforms also tend to support other efficiencies, such as benefits bundling, which help reduce the rates customers pay while streamlining the management of their services. A single point of contact for billing, claims processing, and customer service, for example, can lower premiums for clients while decreasing the management infrastructure you as the broker have to maintain.

What’s more, with the right agency management system (AMS), you can leverage data to maximize your bundles. Whether you’re using a bespoke system like Zywave or a larger system like Salesforce, analyzing client demographics, past insurance choices, and claims history can offer insights that help tailor customized ancillary benefits options to further incentivize enrollment, such as robust mental health coverage and absence management.

Whether you’re prospecting for new business or want to further secure the accounts you have, a tech-first approach can help make your service offerings more efficient for clients without sacrificing the quality of the services they receive.

Invest in renewal to retain clients

As a broker, your most important moment of the year is renewal. It’s when clients expect you to be a hero, negotiate better rates and improve services. And like a brand with a noteworthy Super Bowl ad, the brokers with the sharpest renewal strategy are most likely to stay in their client’s minds.

Luckily, the same AMS you choose to turn data into the targeted ancillary services can help you dig in and tell the story that shows your clients their options — and how you can help them make the most of their benefits.

To get started, identify the benefits your clients use most, as well as those that are underutilized. Maybe the client’s employees skew young and don’t tend to enroll in their hospital indemnity insurance. Reducing or eliminating that benefit can offer your client the financial flexibility to offer coverage the data suggests their employees would be more likely to use.

Next, educate clients about the benefits they can offer their employees. Luckily, if you’ve already chosen a tech-forward (and mobile-savvy) partner, your customers will have easy access to a simple-to-use portal that makes enrollment a breeze. So make it similarly easy to understand the choices they can make and they’re all the more likely to adopt them.

And from the renewal period to open enrollment and through the months afterward, provide ongoing support to remain top of mind. The right AMS combined with the right mobile platform can deliver push notifications and in-app messaging that keeps customers informed throughout the year, which makes it easier to offer better customer experiences without increasing your workload.

Mobile security builds customer confidence

By taking the steps outlined above, brokers can develop and maintain competitive benefits programs that meet each individual customer’s needs. But your effort shouldn’t end there. Look for technology partners that prioritize the protection of sensitive client information. To measure success, investigate benchmarks such as whether the partner implements the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s cybersecurity framework, whether they employ a Chief Information Security Officer, and whether they have a history of recent security breaches.

The result? A comprehensively tech-forward approach that promotes growth, helps ensure data and information security, and inspires customers to think of you with confidence.

Alex ‘Fro’ Frommeyer is the CEO and co-founder of Beam Benefits.