{"id":12596,"date":"2020-01-16T12:09:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T17:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/benchmarking-for-improved-financial-performance\/"},"modified":"2024-07-15T10:14:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T14:14:49","slug":"benchmarking-for-improved-financial-performance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/blog\/benchmarking-for-improved-financial-performance\/","title":{"rendered":"Benchmarking for Improved Financial Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Does measuring performance matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Strong measurement leads to strong management. After all, what you measure can provide you with insight into gaps, opportunities, and other areas in which you can focus and invest. So, let\u2019s think about the use of analytics in your insurance organization. Your Agency Management System (AMS) contains a treasure trove of useful data, but are you using this data to its fullest capacity? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s first explore what goals can best be supported by analytics, then talk about how the data from your AMS can better inform your decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/measurement.gif\" alt=\"dog holding measuring tape\" class=\"wp-image-32978\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Develop Your Analytics Game Plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The data journey begins with determining what you hope to accomplish with the data, so you must first ask four questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>What do you need?<\/li><li>How will you get it?<\/li><li>Where will you get it?<\/li><li>What value will you derive and at what cost?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoid building models or theories\u2014stick with real problems and the outcomes you want to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/game-plan.gif\" alt=\"spongebob thinking\" class=\"wp-image-32990\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Five Levers for Building Organic Growth with Analytics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> You may already be familiar with the three main drivers for growth: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Exposures and rate changes<\/li><li>Client retention <\/li><li>New business generation <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For the most part, exposures and rate\nchanges are out of the agency\u2019s control, and with client retention averaging\nbetween 90% and 95%, there\u2019s not much room for differentiation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But where you <em>can<\/em> be proactive in organic growth is in new business generation, but how do you harness data analytics to improve it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Know Where You Stand in the Insurance Agency Rankings<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Reagan Consulting, <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/reaganconsulting.com\/january-february-2015-the-leaders-edge-dashboard-sales-velocity-the-most-important-driver-of-organic-growth\/\" target=\"_blank\">sales velocity<\/a> is the best metric for measuring your organic growth against that of your peers, and they <a href=\"https:\/\/reaganconsulting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/OGP-Q1-2018-Results-and-Commentary.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">define<\/a> it as \u201cnew business written in the current year divided by the prior year\u2019s commissions and fees.\u201d Best practice agencies have a sales velocity of 12-13%, so use your data to see how you measure up, then consider the following tips to drive your sales velocity even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"2\"><li><strong>Identify Account Rounding Opportunities<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Account rounding is one of the most\nreliable ways to build profitable growth. Consider what data you have that can\nhelp account managers identify and seize opportunities that may be right under\ntheir noses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, most businesses today are in need of cyber insurance. Attackers actually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/2018\/11\/06\/cyber-policy-for-insurance-companies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">prefer<\/a> small-to-medium businesses. Look across your commercial accounts to spot cyber gaps in your insureds\u2019 coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"3\"><li><strong>Increase Account Manager Efficiency<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>When you use analytics, you can connect action to results. To increase the performance of account managers, start tracking what their activities and outcomes are. For the account rounding opportunities mentioned above, measure which got traction. It\u2019s not just about tracking revenue\u2014it\u2019s what did to write more lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"4\"><li><strong>See an Overview of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Should you change your overall business mix, shift to larger premium policies, establish practice groups, or even clarify your goals and compensation alignment, you\u2019ll want to be able to monitor your critical KPIs with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/insurance-solutions\/analytics-2\/executive-insights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">dashboard<\/a> or spreadsheet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" start=\"5\"><li><strong>Measure Carrier Partner Performance<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>An often overlooked path to growth is\nin improving your relationships with carriers. Selecting, but more importantly\nreevaluating your insurance carrier representation is critical if you want to succeed\nevery year. Your firm changes, and so should your carrier partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leverage analytics tools that help you <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/insurance-solutions\/analytics-2\/carrier-insights\/\" target=\"_blank\">maximize carrier contracts<\/a> while also considering a wide range of components for success: people, technology, underwriting appetite, products, pricing, and access to responsive underwriters. At the end of the day, both of you want to close the deal with your customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/handshake.gif\" alt=\"handshake\" class=\"wp-image-32992\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Moving Forward<\/strong> with Analytics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t let yourself become overwhelmed by analytics. Start small and focus on real, solvable problems. Commit yourself and have conviction that your changed behavior will optimize your efficiency and give you more client-facing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Need help elevating your performance? <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/contact-us\/business-solutions\/\" target=\"_blank\">Contact u<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/contact-us\/business-solutions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">s<\/a> to find out how you can deploy new strategies that maximize productivity and profitability.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Building an analytics game plan? Here are five tips for building growth through data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":12452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-category":[],"insurance-segment":[],"services":[],"type-of-content":[38],"resource-type":[],"class_list":["post-12596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","type-of-content-blogs"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-19 14:08:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13740,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12596\/revisions\/13740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"news-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-category?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"insurance-segment","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insurance-segment?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"type-of-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-of-content?post=12596"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.resourcepro.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type?post=12596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}