Tag Archives: ACT

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ACT Podcasts on Agency Productivity and Internet Marketing

I have been involved in one way or another with the Agent’s Council for Technology (ACT) since its inception in the mid 90’s. ACT is a partnership of independent agents, companies, technology vendors, user groups, and associations dedicated to enhancing the use of technology and improved work flows within the Independent Agency System.

ACT held their fall meeting in conjunction with the IIABA Leadership Conference in New Orleans in September. Part of that meeting was a Special Event with Young Agents and IIABA State Officers. Two panel discussions were held and recorded. They are both well worth listening to. The podcasts of both panels are available online at www.IndependentAgent.com/act.

Each panel runs about an hour and provides a great summary of the breakthrough strategies agencies are employing to enhance their productivity and transform their marketing to fit the online world.

I was a participant on the “Transformation in Agency Marketing” panel. As you will see from the details below, some great people with practical experience participated on both panels. Jeff Yates, Executive Director of ACT said about both panels, “I think you will agree they hit the ball out of the park in clearly presenting the opportunities available to agencies today to become more efficient, save time and attract new sales to their business.”

I do recommend you download both of these podcasts to your iPod and listen to them on a walk or while you are driving. Each panel participant provides a host of tips and techniques they are currently using to enhance productivity and increase sales. I promise you this will be two hours of well spent time!

More Details on the Podcasts:

Podcast # 1: “Practical Strategies to Enhance Agency Productivity”

  • Brian Bartosh, Top O’ Michigan Insurance
  • Stu Durland, Seely & Durland Insurance
  • Lisa Parry Becker, Parry & Son
  • Cyndy Smith, Haylor, Freyer & Coon
  • Ashley Whitney, Harbor Brenn Agencies
  • Jeff Yates, ACT Executive Director, Moderator
  1. The most effective workflows & technologies being employed successfully within agencies to enhance productivity
  2. How agencies are transforming the roles of their staffs to more pro-active service and sales

Podcast # 2: “The Transformation in Agency Marketing”

  • Steve Anderson, Steve Anderson Consulting
  • Katie Herbst, Westfield Insurance
  • Angelyn Treutel, Treutel Insurance Agency
  • Rick Morgan, Rick Morgan Consulting
  • Rick Dinger, Crescenta Valley Insurance
  • Peter van Aartrijk, Aartrijk Group, Moderator
  1. How agencies are rebalancing their marketing strategies to more of an online focus using their websites, social media, and search engine positioning

The PowerPoint for “The Transformation in Agency Marketing” panel is also available on the site.

www.IndependentAgent.com/act

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New ACT Webinar

Protecting Independent Agent Clients with Secure Email Using TLS (Transport Layer Security)

Protecting clients’ and prospects’ personal information is becoming an increasingly important issue. Most insurance agencies do not currently take any steps to protect or encrypt information that they send by email to a third party. Unsecured email and attachments are like sending an open postcard through the mail. State privacy, security, and data breach laws are increasingly requiring that email transmissions, including sensitive consumer information, be encrypted.

The Agents Council for Technology (ACT) recommends independent agents and carriers implement TLS email encryption wherever possible to protect the sensitive client information being emailed between agents and carriers and even agents and major clients, such as commercial lines applications. TLS is available on most up-to-date in-house email servers (such as Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes).

ACT has developed a new webinar to encourage agencies to implement secure email and to use TLS to do so. The first 30 minutes of this webinar is designed for agency business leaders and the second 30 minutes will get into a more technical discussion regarding implementation of TLS on Microsoft Exchange servers. The webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 23 at 1:30-2:30 PM EDT. It will be presented by Jim Rogers, Director of Distribution Technology, The Hartford and Tim Woodcock, President, Courtesy Computers.

There is no charge for agents or others to attend these webinars. After you log on to the Internet session, you will be able to listen to the audio through your computer headset or speakers. If you would prefer, you will also be provided with a toll number you can call to listen to the audio.

Register for the June 23 session of the webinar (1:30-2:30 PM Eastern time) now.  After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.