Benefits of Pipeline Management
For the Record, a BISM Online contribution from MarshBerry

Patrick T. Linnert is Executive Vice President at Marsh, Berry & Co., Inc., a Willoughby, Ohio based management consulting and investment banking firm for public and private insurance distributors.






Website: www.MarshBerry.com

In the November issue of For The Record, we provided average new business production by various producer categories. We also encouraged agency and broker executives to use the data to help establish new business goals for producers during 2009. Selling is not easy and sales professionals are not motivated by mandates. In an effort to help producers manage prospects through the sales cycle while providing executives with the quantifiable metrics to help mentor and coach individuals, pipeline management is quickly becoming the tool of choice. Benefits of pipeline management systems include:

• Performance improves by being measured
• Proactive management of the sales cycle through closing
• The creation of a common language for discussing sales activities
• Being able to pinpoint where breakdowns in the sales process occur
• Quantifiable mentoring and coaching data
• Consistent and real time tracking of progress toward annual or quarterly goals
• Predictive modeling for future revenue generation

The chart to the right illustrates the amount of new business produced by agencies (through the first six months of 2008) as a percentage of prior year's total commissions and fees. The average agency generated 6.0% of 2007 commissions and fees as new business during the first six months of the year. Agencies using pipeline management generated 12.1% of 2007 commissions and fees through the first six months of 2008. Agencies leveraging pipeline management do not simply tell their sales professions to sell more. They help sales professionals sell more.

To view an online demonstration of a pipeline management tool, please go to www.STAR.MarshBerry.com and select "Webinars" under the STAR heading.