The single most important factor in considering when to change your Agency Management System (AMS) is how heavily do you rely on the current AMS.
If the answer is not very much at all, then there is likely no better time than the present because you are operating inefficiently and there is opportunity to immediately begin benefiting from the basic AMS features and functions and to grow your adoption from there.
If your agency does rely heavily on the existing AMS, however, then you may want to consider a timeline that involves bringing the new system ‘live’ to your employees early enough in the year to give your team enough time to learn the new system before the busy 4th quarter.
A typical implementation of the BenefitsGuide: Insurance Agency Management System will take about 4 weeks from the first implementation kickoff call, and how quickly that moves depends on your availability. If you require a complex data migration, then it might take up to about 6 weeks, instead of about a month, until the first day your employees are using the new AMS.
There are three parts to an implementation; two parallel processes: Workflow Documentation and Data Migration, and then Management Training.
Re: Workflow Documentation
On the implementation kickoff call we will schedule a series of up to 5 calls with one of the experienced BenefitsGuide Business Analysts using our proven methodology to document the tasks performed in your office as part of the typical insurance broker processes.
Then we will build the workflows we designed for your business into your environment, the result is a system customized specifically to your business, your requirements, using your jargon and business rules built entirely on the Salesforce Platform.
Re: Data Migration
In parallel, we will help with your data import. As part of the standard implementation fee we will import a flat file of your Accounts and Contacts. We have instructions, a video and an xls template to make it easier for you to prepare the file.
If you have more data that you would like to migrate, that will be an additional charge that will be billed at $150/ hour. There are a variety of factors that will impact the level of effort required and the cost, but typically these projects range from 3 - 7 days of work.
Re: Management Training
As part of your implementation, you get 5 half hour phone calls with one of our business analysts taking you and your leadership team through our training curriculum. We will provide guidance on how to direct your employees to adopt the new system and how you can use the reports and dashboards to see if they are following your instructions.
Everyone on your team will also have access to our dedicated website with dozens of categorized recorded how to videos, documents, slide shows and instructions.
As you can see, there is no one answer to the question, “When is the right time to change your AMS?”.
It depends on a number of factors, but the most important consideration is how heavily your agency relies on the current AMS but always the sooner the better.
