You might not be able to add more time to the day, but you can make better use out of the time you have. With the right time management strategies, you can get more done during the workday and feel less stressed in the process. Read over our top time management tips for insurance agents; then incorporate these strategies into your agency.
Clean Your Desk
If you have a messy desk, you won’t be able to locate what you need in a timely manner. That can drain your productivity, and you also risk losing checks and other vital items. Messy desks are also a security risk since you might leave customer information out where everyone can see it. Keep your desk clean, organized, and free of paper so you can quickly locate items as needed.
Stop Spending too Much Time on Problem Accounts
Each insurance agency has problem accounts, such as accountholders who fail to make payments on time or come in to pay policies. Agents waste a lot of time serving these clients. They have to track down past-due payments or spend 15 minutes or longer handling in-person payments. These accounts are a drain on time and resources, and they typically don’t yield high commissions. The time and resources could be better spent on high-tier clients.
Agents can free up resources by spending less time serving problem clients. One way to do this is to require that customers pay online. You can use a tool like InstaCheck from Jenesis Software to accept checks without seeing clients in person. This simple change saves lots of time that agents can use on their high-tier clients.
Always Have a Plan
You can also save time by planning out your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Start with a monthly plan that includes your big projects. Then, create a weekly plan each Sunday to address additional goals and needs for the week. Finally, write a small daily plan each evening. This can include smaller items that you need to cross off your to-do list. Make sure your plans flow and don’t overlap.
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking might make you feel like you’re getting more done, but it actually kills productivity. By spreading your focus across different tasks, you will work slower, and you’re more likely to make mistakes. You’ll also feel stressed out and not nearly as creative when you do this. Instead of multitasking, focus on a specific task. Finish it and move onto the next one. This is another area where planning can help: It enables you to be able to work down your list and complete one task at a time.
Start with the Most Important Task Each Day
It’s normal to feel a bit anxious about your most important task of the day. If you put it off, that anxiety will creep into all of your work, making it hard to get things done. Avoid this problem by tackling the most important tasks first thing each morning, even before you check your email! Then, when you finish that task, you can check your email and handle other duties. It will be much easier to focus and fly through your to-do list once you get the pressing task out of the way.
Knock Out Tasks that Can Be Done in Two Minutes or Less
Once you finish the most important task, see which items you can complete in two minutes or less. These tasks are often pushed back, making it easy to fall behind. When you tackle them head-on, you can clear your to-do list quickly. That sense of accomplishment can make you even more productive.
Get Rid of Distractions
It’s impossible to be productive when you’re surrounded by distractions. Every time you’re distracted, you have to refocus on the task at hand, which can cause even the simplest of tasks to take twice as long. Text messages, social media, excessive noise, and internet use are all common distractions. Get rid of them so you can put all of your attention into work.
Make Use of Technology
Technology can help you boost your productivity quickly. An insurance agency management system like JenesisNow can help you streamline collecting leads and managing customers. You can even automate some of your daily tasks so you can focus your energies elsewhere.
Embrace First Call Resolution
You likely waste a lot of time calling customers back. You’ll save tons of time by embracing “first-call resolution.” Complete transactions during the first call so you don’t have to play phone tag over the coming weeks and months. When you complete everything with that first call, you can move onto the next customer with ease.
Time Management for Insurance Agents – The Key to Growing an Agency
Insurance agencies that use the correct time management strategies improve productivity and sales. If you want to grow your insurance agency, start by incorporating these time management tips. Stress will go down, and sales will go up, and your agents will get much more done.