Need CRM Help and Advice

[Guest]

Based on some private messages John has sent me it [lots of potential biz out there] sure seems that way.

In the entire universe? Yes. But in the insurance biz? I don't know.

Face it, registering a domain, getting it hosted, and putting up a WordPress site is a lot easier than knowing the ins and outs of most insurance products. Most agents are fairly intelligent and even those who aren't... can follow the simple directions to do all of this... and these directions are all over the net. And contrary to what website vendors will tell you, it does not take much time to learn this... and even less to do it.

I've been doing WP sites for totally computer-technology-clueless people for years... authors, self-publishers, photographers, poets, retail store owners, Realtors, plumbers, carpenters, and a whole bunch of MLM people (Pampered Chef, Amway, etc.) Right-brained book-authors are my favorite market.

You can be a writer and never need to know anything other than how to use a word processor, email, and the web. I know literally several thousand people like this... who could not put up a website if they were offered a Nobel prize for doing it!

I find that people who work in an "information culture" tend to be a bit more tech-savvy... at least enough to put up a site... and the insurance agency secor is about as information-bound as you can get.

So I don't know about offering this kind of service to agents. Besides, financially most agents are so "tight" they squeek! Most that I know will not pay someone for something they can do or quickly learn to do on their own (even if maybe they should pay someone.)

Of course there are people who are just too busy or just too lazy. (I have a gardener because I'm too lazy to mow and blow the yard each week!)

I think if you are going to offer web services it might be better to pitch them to a market that absolutely can't do these chores for themselves... and I don't see insurance agents being in the population.

Of course, YMMV.

Al

 

[Josh]

In the entire universe? Yes. But in the insurance biz? I don't know.

I won't get into the details of his numbers because they were shared in private, but provided he's telling the truth he has quite the stream of customers from the insurance world.
[/quote]

Face it, registering a domain, getting it hosted, and putting up a WordPress site is a lot easier than knowing the ins and outs of most insurance products. Most agents are fairly intelligent and even those who aren't... can follow the simple directions to do all of this... and these directions are all over the net. And contrary to what website vendors will tell you, it does not take much time to learn this... and even less to do it.

About a month ago I did a webinar on how to get everything setup and based on the feedback I got from folks, they thought it would be easy enough to keep up, but getting it up and running was out of their realm of comfort (even after I showed how to do it) to the point where they'd rather pay someone else a few bucks to do it. As far as just getting a site up, I think just about anyone can do it, but for those that don't want to and/or can't. There are a lot of those folks.

So I don't know about offering this kind of service to agents. Besides, financially most agents are so "tight" they squeek! Most that I know will not pay someone for something they can do or quickly learn to do on their own (even if maybe they should pay someone.)

I really didn't think there was much of a need for it until I started digging into it. I'm going to have a fairly streamlined process so an agent can just say "I know I want a website, I'll just pay $XX to get it up and running, and then I can add content and spruce it up myself". I think that's a huge market both in and outside of the insurance world, but again, maybe John was trying to throw me off by telling me the number of sites he's doing on a weekly basis.

Of course there are people who are just too busy or just too lazy. (I have a gardener because I'm too lazy to mow and blow the yard each week!)

I think if you are going to offer web services it might be better to pitch them to a market that absolutely can't do these chores for themselves... and I don't see insurance agents being in the population.

There are many insurance agents in that category. An agent could spend their weekend(s) figuring out how to get everything setup and that might be the best solution for them, others would rather just cough up a few bucks to have it up and running and go from there. That last person is the one that's really going to like what I have to offer. Sort of like the reason why I don't change the oil in my vehicles, I could do it and save a few bucks, or I can take it in, go for lunch, come back, then have it all taken care of without spilling oil in my driveway or having to swear in front of my neighbors.

 

[Guest]

I really didn't think there was much of a need for it until I started digging into it. ....I think that's a huge market both in and outside of the insurance world, but again, maybe John was trying to throw me off by telling me the number of sites he's doing on a weekly basis.

Hmmm. I have no reason to doubt your research nor John's numbers... you've both been around here long enough to have credibility.

Maybe I will pitch website services to the insurance sector, seeing as I've been doing this service for a number of years now outside the sector.

I've never known an agent who couldn't put up their own website. And I've never known one who would spend money to have someone else do it. But if you say they are out there, I guess they are.

Over the years there have been guys who have come on here offering web services (one guy charged $499) and SEO services as well (whatever happened to Dave M? He got into a pissing contest with one of our more "outspoken" personalities here and the spat wasn't pretty as I remember... wonder if he's still in the web/SEO biz?) So, where are the web vendors?

Up until now almost no one has offered web services so I assumed (making an a$$ out of U and ME!) that there was no market for this in the insurance agentry sector. I guess I stand corrected.

As I say, maybe I'll enter the market as well... and I can assume (again) that many others will too. For anyone with 90 days of computer training, it's an easy biz to start and to do.

Did I say 90 days? I mean 9 days!

 

[WinoBlues]

Hmmm. I have no reason to doubt your research nor John's numbers... you've both been around here long enough to have credibility.

Maybe I will pitch website services to the insurance sector, seeing as I've been doing this service for a number of years now outside the sector.

I've never known an agent who couldn't put up their own website. And I've never known one who would spend money to have someone else do it. But if you say they are out there, I guess they are.

Over the years there have been guys who have come on here offering web services (one guy charged $499) and SEO services as well (whatever happened to Dave M? He got into a pissing contest with one of our more "outspoken" personalities here and the spat wasn't pretty as I remember... wonder if he's still in the web/SEO biz?) So, where are the web vendors?

Up until now almost no one has offered web services so I assumed (making an a$$ out of U and ME!) that there was no market for this in the insurance agentry sector. I guess I stand corrected.

As I say, maybe I'll enter the market as well... and I can assume (again) that many others will too. For anyone with 90 days of computer training, it's an easy biz to start and to do.

Did I say 90 days? I mean 9 days!

I am one. "couldn't"? more like do not want to. Easier to have Josh get me up and going. I can make a phone call and make more money in an hour doing what I do than he will charge me. You are correct that we should know our way around a site though. I know how to change the oil in my car but I do not want to.

Just my 2 cents

 

[sman]

I too am one who is likely capable, but for the low price that John's offering, I may just let him do it for me. $99 is well worth it to me. I'd likely spend a few hours just figuring out how to do it and those are hours better spent doing something I actually enjoy.

I've been kicking around the whole website thing for far too long. It's about time I pulled the trigger. If for nothing else to say I have a website. Then maybe one day I'll do all the things required to get it ranked on page 1 of a google search.

 

[ltcadviser]

Count me in as the *** who doesn't have time to care to know about these things as well; if I can spend $5000-$10000 to make $200000, why do I need to learn what I do not know.

 

[Convert Likes]

I like vTiger compared to Salesforce. I didn't really care to much for SugarCRM. My host has simple scripts... which is a 1 click install for vTiger or SugarCRM so it's really easy to install the script. It does take a little time to configure the layout to fit your needs.