Successfully Rolling out CRM in a Complex Distribution Environment Presented By: Tom LeBleu Former...

Successfully Rolling out CRM in a Complex Distribution

Environment

Presented By:

Tom LeBleu

Former VP of Marketing Strategy, National Financial PartnersCurrent Director of Business Solutions, E-Z Data

E-Z Data Client Partner ConferenceMarch 16th, 2006

Who is National Financial Partners (NFP)?

• A “Distribution Company”.

• 400+ firms—largest life insurance producer by FYC in 2005.

• Profit Centers—Life insurance, Annuities, Broker/Dealer, RIA, Group Benefits, Life Brokerage General Agencies, Life Settlements

• Some firms are “acquired” in a transaction in which NFP owns a percentage of their earnings.

• Other firms are “affiliated” with our producer group, PartnersFinancial.

• To get paid and make investors happy, we have to improve our firms’ “same store sales” and earn their business.

Putting the "R" Back in CRM

Connecting from the Front

Making CRM a Business Builder, not a Software Project

“Custom Canned” Delivery

Seamless Compliance

The “Complex” Distribution Environment

Summary and Takeaways

What makes a distribution environment “complex”?

In short, our distribution model is challenging, but every effort that supports producers in the field is “complex”.

At NFP, we had to worry about…

• Independent offices, whose trust we would have to earn.

• Significant variance by:• Size of the office• Products sold• Type of client serviced• Operating model• Technical proficiency• Technical tools used

• Skepticism and Widely-Varying Expectations

Fortunately, we didn’t worry about…

• Legacy Systems.

• A lack of leads and struggling businesses.

• A lack of experience or proficiency in the business.

• Demand for a “database”.

• Commissions, payouts, and a history of exceptions and one-off deals.

The environment may be complex, but entrepreneurial producers are simple. They are interested in…

• Increasing sales and profitability.• Protecting their practice.• Maintaining control.• Minimizing activities that reduce client time.

The financial services entrepreneur could care less about initiatives that make operations more efficient at the home office unless they clearly impact one of the goals above.

This is forgotten, misunderstood, or ignored in many Enterprise CRM efforts.



Make CRM a Business Builder, not a Software Project


Seamless Compliance

The “Complex” Distribution Environment


Goal andStrategyDevelopment

ProcessAnalysis &Design

TechnicalSetup

DataConversion Testing Training

Most home offices take into account strategy and training in their overall approach…



TechnicalSetup

DataConversion Testing

Training/Adoption

But don't emphasize goals, adoption, or training, which are key since changing a firm's habits is the only way to succeed.

The difficulty of implementation and adoption is underestimated and overlooked

This works because it is simple.

This works because the benefits are clear.

But this rarely works because it is complicated AND the benefits are unclear.



TechnicalSetup

DataConversion Testing Training

In addition, the whole approach is often communicated to the producer in project management or consulting terms.

Financial services distribution is a relationship-based business. It is not a transactional or commodity business. Every producer wants to be special.

While a SmartOffice is software, getting firms to use it is not a technology project. Our keys to successful adoption were:

• Putting the “R” back in CRM—help our firms build relationships.• Connecting from the Front—focus on field integration first.• Seamless Compliance—”build in’ compliance rather than imposing it.• “Custom Canned” Delivery—allow choices and make it feel personal.

While there are technical challenges in implementing a CRM solution, most efforts that fail in the field do so for reasons unrelated to technology.



Make CRM a Business Builder, not a Software Project


Seamless Compliance

The “Complex” Production Environment


Producers are most valuable when they are building relationships with their clients.

Our focus was to make sure that our solution increased time for relationship-building and to enhance the relationship-building process with SmartOffice.

But this approach has practical limitations, and it puts a strain on the producer's practice.

Most NFP firms have a problem with too much, rather than too little, opportunity.

Most NFP offices had client management or "CM", tracking clients and in some cases contact with them…

Name, Address, Phone, Email AddressSourcePhone Calls & Email Contact

Accountant

Friend

Brother-In-Law

Charitable Board

Friend

Friend Friend

Attorney

Attorney

Accountant Accountant

AccountantAlumni Board

But they failed to capture and use the true value of the practice, the network of relationships and referrals developed over the years by the producer.

Accountant

Alumni Board

Capturing the relationships in a firm allows the practice to focus on target interests and communities within each group.

GolfingBuddies Yankee

Fans

AlumniBoard

"Top 20"Clients

To capture the value of "R" in CRM, learn how the producer wants to spend his time and build a practice around this.

• Golfing/Hunting Buddies• Fellow Alumni• Accounting Firms• Small-Business Owners• Soon-to-be Retirees

Then, make the relationships and supporting information visible to the producer through the CRM application.

Keys to SuccessKeys to Success

• Keep a steady stream of "new" concepts infused into the practice

• Support remote business development

• Follow up consistently on referrals and opportunities

• Act consistently and quickly to referral opportunities

• Need to provide feedback and details to referral sources

• Maintain contact details with third party as well as clients





Seamless Compliance



Field CRMPortal/ Website

Many CRM Efforts Focus on Back-Office Integration First

Often, this leaves the field to integrate tools that they actually use.

FinancialPlanning

PortfolioAllocation

ProductResearch

AccountAggregator

FormsImage/

Workflow

PracticeAccounting

Email/ Calendar

PDA

ClientLetters/Reports

ClientAccounts

TradeClearing

Contracting

ContinuingEducation

Policy &Product

Licensing

Image

Workflow

EnterpriseCRM

Comm-issions

The CRM initiative is then hyped to the field to get "buy in"

"It will make your life easier"

"We need to do it for compliance reasons"

"It will differentiate you from other producers"

"It will eliminate duplicate data entry"

"It is a strategic enabler"

"It's a Sarbanes-Oxley requirement"

Does it build trust between the entrepreneur and the home office?

Field CRMPortal/ Website

ClientAccounts

TradeClearing

Contracting

ContinuingEducation

Policy &Product

Licensing

Image

Workflow

EnterpriseCRM

Comm-issions

Client/ Contact Manager

FinancialPlanning

PortfolioAllocation

ProductResearch

AccountAggregator

Forms

Value starts with integration and empowerment in the field.

Image/Workflow

PracticeAccounting

Contact data, which the producer owns, is the cornerstone of the NFP solution.

Model Office

Email/ Calendar

PDA


ClientAccounts

TradeClearing

Contracting

ContinuingEducation

Policy &Product

Licensing

Image

Workflow

EnterpriseCRM

Comm-issions

Model Office

Individual Products

Multi-Life

Financial Planning

Investments

Group Benefits

Profit Centers/Product Types Referrals and Alliances

Carriers and ProvidersBusiness Applications

The "Model Office" platform being developed at NFP integrates the tools, products, and providers used in the field.

http://www.quikforms.com/

FinancialPlanning

PortfolioAllocation

ProductResearch

AccountAggregator

FormsImage/

Workflow

PracticeAccounting

Model Office

Email/ Calendar

PDA


Success begins with the producer and builds from there.

ClientAccounts

TradeClearing

Contracting

ContinuingEducation

Policy &Product

Licensing

Image

Workflow

EnterpriseCRM

Comm-issions

Enterprise CRM

Client/ Contact Manager


Connecting from the Front—The Key to Value from CRM



Seamless Compliance



Typically, compliance pressures from the home office put the producer in front of a computer or filling out forms rather than in front of his clients.

Changing the habits of your entrepreneurial producer and his practice is not easy. Nobody wants change just to accommodate compliance requirements.

Compliance "Requirement" CRM "Best Practice"

A well-designed, field-based CRM effort can achieve considerable compliance by providing excellent client service.

• Keep track of every phone call, email, letter, and voice mail dealing with each client.

• Keep thorough details of your client interactions so you and your staff exude professionalism.

• Pay close attention to claims you make and what you send your client in writing.

• Develop materials to support your marketing and client retention and send the materials to the "right" clients.

• Keep accurate and thorough documentation of client signatures, forms, and records.

• Align document images, forms, illustrations, and related sales documents with the client record.

• Make sure each client request has the appropriate signature and documentation.

• Build defined processes and responsibilities with your staff and monitor the output.

The purpose of compliance is to minimize field and home office legal exposure. The purpose of CRM is to thrill clients with the quality of your service. Thrilled clients do not sue you.

An effectively-used SmartOffice platform provides most of what you need for compliance.

• Email - send and receive an email from anywhere, but make it easy to post to CRM.

• Phone Calls - from the office or from the cell phone, make it easy to track the conversation data and details.

• Forms - Pre-fill with client data. Host forms in the home office when possible to prevent version problems.

• Documents/Images - Associate document images with the complete client record, not a separate folder/storage structure.

The trick is get compliance from tools that the producer already uses. Position CRM as a sales and relationship tool first, compliance will follow adoption.





Seamless Compliance



Ease of Use and Implementation Support

Indu

stry

Fun

ctio

nal S

upp

ort

and

Inte

grat

ion

"Acceptable Solution"

Selecting our base platform was the first challenge.

We ended up selecting SmartOffice with the intent to make it easier to use, rather than become a software developer building industry functionality.

To develop an "acceptable solution", we did the following:

• Selected five firms to "pilot" the SmartOffice solution to confirm that the software performs as advertised.

• The firms varied by:– Profit Center (some life or securities only, others multidisciplinary)– Size (5 producers/staff to 20+ producers/staff)– Technical proficiency– Current client database (included CDS, ACT!, Contact Partner, Excel)

• During the pilot, developed tools and an approach to help other firms:– Approach to analyzing business and delivering on the highest value goals– Planning, schedules, project roles, expectations, deliverables– Detailed content to augment the software vendor– A delivery approach

• Following the pilot, the firms involved were the ones to “sell” the effort.

5 Pilot Firms

• Dedicated decision-maker.• Technical support resource for infrastructure.• Active support of training and pushing adoption for the firm.

E-Z Data

• SmartOffice software platform.• Hosting for the pilot effort.• Integration platform and carrier data feeds.• Training tools and knowledge capital.

Financial Computer

• Goal-Setting and Business Requirements.• Functional support. • Technical support as needed.• Setup and execution of conversion/data QA approach.

NFP

• Overall delivery approach.• QA and ongoing review of firm satisfaction.• Issue identification, logging, coordination, and resolution.• Day-to-day business consulting for questions on the usage of the system.

We then picked our alliances and defined roles for the pilot effort. These remain for the full-scale rollout.

From the pilot we built the "Custom-Canned" rollout approach allowing firms to select how to take on the CRM effort.

Description

• Web-enabled approach using pilot content

• Idea sharing through blogs and other features.

• Shows where other firms are in the process.

Cost

• No charge to NFP firms. Conversion extra.

Support

• Limited technical/ phone support.

"Do-It-Yourself"

Description

• Groups of 10 firms going through the training and adoption process together.

• Includes office visit and dedicated support for a 3-4 month effort.

• Firms MUST keep up or they are out.

Cost

• $5000/firm up front. Includes conversion.

Support

• Dedicated resource to the 10 firms in group.

Launch Group

Description

• Financial Computer to work one-on-one with a firm.

• Predefined approach to help manage cost and effort.

• Firm goes at its own pace.

Cost

• $10,000 - $20,000 per firm, no conversion.

Support

• Dedicated, dictated by scope of effort.

Custom Job

All of these approaches first focus on basic usage, then increased sales.





Seamless Compliance



How can you achieve success with SmartOffice with a “complex distribution” environment?

CRM value is frequently overestimated, not just because it is difficult to quantify sales increases or cost reduction.

CRM Feature Estimated Value to Enterprise

Basic Client ManagementWorkflowImagePre-Filled FormsConsolidated StatementsIntegrated Client ReportsLeads/Sales ManagementSales Campaign Support

$10M$20M$25M$10M$25M$5M$50M$50M

$195M !!!

That CRM efforts rarely reach this potential creates widespread skepticism. The main issue is what is left out of the value equation-adoption.

But a CRM effort with little adoption has limited value.

CRM Feature Value of Feature X Adoption = Actual Value

Basic Client ManagementWorkflowImagePre-Filled FormsConsolidated StatementsIntegrated Client ReportsLeads/Sales ManagementSales Campaign Support

$10M$20M$25M$10M$25M$5M$50M$50M

10%10%10%20%5%10%5%5%

$1M$2M$2.5M$2M$1.25M$.5M$2.5M$2.5M

$14.25M$195M

Most CRM efforts would reduce development costs AND create more value by focusing on consistent adoption of a simple solution. SmartOffice included.

CRM Feature Value of Feature X Adoption = Actual Value

$10M$20M$5M

Basic Client ManagementWorkflowIntegrated Client Reports

75%50%50%

$7.5M$10M$2.5M

$20M

In comparison, a CRM initiative with fewer features and higher adoption creates more enterprise value.

To achieve success with SmartOffice at NFP, we focus on the following:

• Help the business owner build his relationships to build his practice.

• Understand what the firms and end-users use day-to-day. Integrate these first.

• Point out that compliance can either drive your business or be achieved as a course of great client service.

• Facilitate communications among firms and provide alternatives for training and transition.

• Measure adoption, not technical delivery.

Successfully Rolling out CRM in a Complex Distribution Environment Presented By: Tom LeBleu Former...

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