In some professions, the information in a Rolodex is the key to professional power. As they say, often it's not what you know; it's who
you know. One shop in a rapidly developing area north of Los Angeles
went from less than 50 jobs a month to over 250 jobs a month in less
than 3 years by employing a marketing representative with personal
contacts in more than a dozen major insurance companies. Today that
shop has a half-dozen powerful DRPs, completely due to the contact
information possessed by that marketing rep.
First get information on what's needed
Many
shop owners have asked me if I know of a marketing representative with
great insurance contacts. I'm always reluctant to give referrals. I've
heard horror stories about marketing people who have been hired and
paid large sums of money, but have failed to deliver a single DRP,
dealership or fleet account. I know some of these people have been
effective for one shop but failed miserably with another. Sometimes the
shop simply doesn't measure up to the standards required by the
companies being solicited for referrals. First they must know what's
required.
Many
insurance companies now require a shop to meet all of the "Minimum
Requirements for a Class A Collision Center" issued by the Collision
Industry Conference (C.I.C.). (If you'd like a copy of those
requirements, send me your fax number and I'll fax it over to you).
One
of the requirements on that list is belonging to " . . . an auto
collision trade association and subscribes to a code of ethics." The
consensus is that it's important to be in touch with other shop owners
to keep informed about what they're doing and what it currently takes
to be a "Class A" shop . The Society for Collision Repair Specialists
(SCRS) provides members with a constant flow of vital information.
Another
key step on the path to getting the information you need is having
software that enables you to accumulate, manage, and print-out the
information in many different ways. Contact management software, like
ACT, Goldmine, Maximizer, and Microsoft Outlook, provides a framework
for storing and accessing contact information immediately when you need
it. A less expensive approach is using the Microsoft Works programs
that probably came with the computer you use for estimating. Along with
my latest book, "Top 40 Marketing Tactics for Body Shops," I provide
sample Microsoft Excel files to build, store and print insurance agent,
insurance company, fleet management company, and other referral source
information.
Getting the names,
addresses, phone numbers and vital information about key people to
contact is not complicated, but it can be time-consuming. Some of the
information is readily available. You'll find State Farm agents
conveniently listed in your phone book Yellow Pages. The same is true
of Allstate, Farmers, and many independent agents. That information can
be entered directly into a database or contact management program so
you can track calls, return calls, promises, commitments and other key
data.
Many dealerships and insurance
companies have websites. Sometimes it's a challenge finding out exactly
how the website is stated. Farmers.com, gmacinsurance.com,
kemperinsurance.com, and others are fairly straightforward. Others can
be harder to find. The Auto Club in California is AAA-Calif.com; in Texas it's AAA-Texas.com.
If you're looking for insurance claims executives to call on, a good source is the Casualty Adjuster's Guides (CAG)
published for many states. The CAG books have contacts for hundreds of
insurance companies in each state they serve. To order in Southern
California, call (858) 487-8400; No. California - (408) 782-5998. In
Dallas, Texas (817) 784-2754; in Houston (281) 367-8668. Good hunting!
Tom
Franklin has been in sales and marketing for forty years and is the
author of the books, "Business Battlefield Marketing for Body Shops,
and "The Top 40 Marketing Tactics for Body Shops." His marketing
company now provides on-line consulting and integrated marketing
solutions for body shops and other businesses. He can be reached for
questions or comments at (323) 871-6862 , by fax at (323) 465-2228, or
by E-Mail:
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