ZOHO Vs YIO

[crimsontideagent]

Ok, I've looked at all these different programs. I've had SmartOffice for a year, contract is up and for $59 a month plus $15 for iphone access, it's just too cumbersome to use for that price.

I like ZOHO but its definitely not customized for insurance based biz and I feel the time it would take to customize for our business would take a while (tell me if I'm wrong) and I will get obsessed with trying to get it right (problem I have lol) -

I really like YIO out of the box, the only thing I don't care for is only Windows based (can't use on my macbook air or ipad) and no mobile access (plus for zoho)

Just thinking out loud - any thoughts, experiences using either or others...?

 

[DHK]

It's hard to compare programs when you're not exactly sure what you want the program to do and how you plan to work with the program.

CRM programs need to do 2 things to be excellent: Pro-Active contact & Re-Active contact management

Pro-Active:
- Can you generate a report of everything you need to do for the day/week/month?
- Does that report have the information you need to be pro-active throughout the day?

Re-Active:
- Is it easy to find a contact and get all the details of your previous conversations?
- Does it store documents? (Or, can you input a link to an online document storage service - such as Box.net?)

When SHTF*, is it easy to do a backup/restore? (I don't think there's an easier program out there than YIO.)

YIO is not perfect, but it's darn close.

Now, how would a producer want to work with YIO who is more "field-oriented" than "desk oriented"? PRINT out your daily reports. Your reports will have the names, addresses, phone numbers and appointment notes. You can write notes on your report/notepad and then return to your computer at the end of the day and update your CRM.

(I haven't found any other program to do this - at any price. I just finished a beta test of Act! 2012... and it couldn't do it either.)

[*Stuff Hits The Fan]

It's not about what the software "could" do. It's how you will use the software to actually be productive. I'd rather work from paper reports and return to the software to input everything after the day is done.

I know this doesn't answer your question. But just because you can have your data on every device imaginable doesn't mean you have an effective plan on how to best use your data.

 

[torri]

I know the feeling I about to try Big Contacts

 

[djs]

Seriously, AgencyIQ
It's tailored for insurance agents.
Web-based.
Accepts incoming leads
Built in autodialer for new leads
Auto-email responder

Bunch of stuff.

For the money, well worth it.

It does have some rough edges, but overall, it does a great job.

Dan

 

[crimsontideagent]

I know you from the "other" board , do you use YIO?

It's hard to compare programs when you're not exactly sure what you want the program to do and how you plan to work with the program.

CRM programs need to do 2 things to be excellent: Pro-Active contact & Re-Active contact management

Pro-Active:
- Can you generate a report of everything you need to do for the day/week/month?
- Does that report have the information you need to be pro-active throughout the day?

Re-Active:
- Is it easy to find a contact and get all the details of your previous conversations?
- Does it store documents? (Or, can you input a link to an online document storage service - such as Box.net?)

When SHTF*, is it easy to do a backup/restore? (I don't think there's an easier program out there than YIO.)

YIO is not perfect, but it's darn close.

Now, how would a producer want to work with YIO who is more "field-oriented" than "desk oriented"? PRINT out your daily reports. Your reports will have the names, addresses, phone numbers and appointment notes. You can write notes on your report/notepad and then return to your computer at the end of the day and update your CRM.

(I haven't found any other program to do this - at any price. I just finished a beta test of Act! 2012... and it couldn't do it either.)

[*Stuff Hits The Fan]

It's not about what the software "could" do. It's how you will use the software to actually be productive. I'd rather work from paper reports and return to the software to input everything after the day is done.

I know this doesn't answer your question. But just because you can have your data on every device imaginable doesn't mean you have an effective plan on how to best use your data.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Is it specifically for agent using leads? I had thought it was...

Seriously, AgencyIQ
It's tailored for insurance agents.
Web-based.
Accepts incoming leads
Built in autodialer for new leads
Auto-email responder

Bunch of stuff.

For the money, well worth it.

It does have some rough edges, but overall, it does a great job.

Dan

 

[DHK]

I have YIO, but still in trial mode. I'm an over-analyzer and I admit to not liking the calendar functions in YIO.

No "tree" organization - like "account" and "contacts" like Act or Outlook 2010 Business Contact Manager does. I find this helpful for me. YIO doesn't work this way.

I also like that Act! stores documents and has a differentiation between "history" and "notes". (Notes, to me, are observations while History is documenting and summarizing contact interactions.)

I think the best way to think of YIO is like the ultimate One Card System. It's easy to file "cards" as prospects or clients. You can easily do a mail-merge and update information. And it's easy to backup/restore your database.

But, like the OCS, it's not easy to sort your client/prospects according to COMPANY. Heck, employer, work address and titles aren't even FIELDS in YIO - unless you count the group insurance fields.

I think it really depends on the kind of market you're working and how your brain is "wired". My brain is wired more like the Act! type of contact management software solutions, more than YIO or some of the other CRM programs out there.

And since I did a "beta test" of the next release of Act, I get it for free. Free is a decent price to pay.

 

[crimsontideagent]

I have YIO, but still in trial mode. I'm an over-analyzer and I admit to not liking the calendar functions in YIO.

No "tree" organization - like "account" and "contacts" like Act or Outlook 2010 Business Contact Manager does. I find this helpful for me. YIO doesn't work this way.

I also like that Act! stores documents and has a differentiation between "history" and "notes". (Notes, to me, are observations while History is documenting and summarizing contact interactions.)

I think the best way to think of YIO is like the ultimate One Card System. It's easy to file "cards" as prospects or clients. You can easily do a mail-merge and update information. And it's easy to backup/restore your database.

But, like the OCS, it's not easy to sort your client/prospects according to COMPANY. Heck, employer, work address and titles aren't even FIELDS in YIO - unless you count the group insurance fields.

I think it really depends on the kind of market you're working and how your brain is "wired". My brain is wired more like the Act! type of contact management software solutions, more than YIO or some of the other CRM programs out there.

And since I did a "beta test" of the next release of Act, I get it for free. Free is a decent price to pay.

Really appreciate your posts...

Alot of my thoughts in your last... like the ability to create "Households" - haven't thought about ACT

How do you get in on that beta test ??

Is the ACT available "in the cloud" or via pda or on MAC? Going to check out site now but want your insight. And does it come with presets for Insurance or do you have to customize?

Thx.

 

[DHK]

For the beta test... well, I've owned a couple of editions of Act in the past (2007 & 2009) and downloaded the 2010 and 2011 versions on occasion, but never bought. Got the email invitation, so I took it!

Act! Premium does have a web interface (I'm told... but I've never used it). Act! will sync to your PDA. Act! is not available for the Mac OS.

I think preset fields for insurance may be over-rated. What do you need "preset" fields for? You need to THINK about what you want the software to DO for you and how you are running your day.

- If you want to show how many policies you have with a certain carrier, doesn't the carrier offer that from their website?
- If you want to calculate your commissions on each sale... isn't it easier to just use a calculator? Heck, an excel spreadsheet will do this job much easier.

Let's think about this: CRM is about CONTACT management.

- You need to be able to bring up information when a contact calls you. (And have information available in the event of a complaint.)

- You need to be pro-active with the contact. Which means that you need to have your own philosophy on how often to contact your client. Birthday? Anniversary? Every 6 months? Whatever it is, you need to do it every time you input a new client AND when the last contact was made.

If you want to input policy data for a contact, just create a note, history note or a document with the following information:
- Name of carrier:
- Policy number:
- Type of policy:
- Face Amount:
- Premium(s) including PUA:
- Reason Purchased:
- Policy Anniversary (and create a recurring task/reminder for this?)

Heck, you can do this on a Word Document, print it out, complete by hand and scan it in to your contact.

Unless you are wanting to do a "product blitz" where you want to know who has life insurance, but no disability insurance... then I can see how that might be important to you. But then, you're selling a product for the sake of selling a product... instead of looking at the individual client's needs on its own.

Now, if you still want MORE for Act to do for you, there are a couple of add-on packages you can consider:
ACT! CRM for Financial Planners, Investment Advisors, and Insurance Professionals
ACT! by Sage for Financial Professionals

Both seem to have more of an investment advisory slant to them more than insurance. They might have more importance if you plan on working more in front of your computer, than being out in the field. If you work with individual securities on behalf of clients, something like this is VITAL for compliance.

I'd rather have my software print out the reports I need for the day, then get away from the computer and execute the planned day. Then return back to the computer and input what happened.

Just my thoughts.

What preset fields do you want and how would you expect it to help you?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Oh, my bad. Here's "Act! Connect" for cloud-based access (including iPad):

Sage ACT! Connect

 

[djs]

Is it specifically for agent using leads? I had thought it was...

In reference to Agency IQ....
What else does an agent use besides leads? I'm confused on what you want it to do.

AgencyIQ is designed more as a prospecting tool, geared more at internet leads. It does virtually everything act will do, with 1 big exception, which is it doesn't print paper documents, i.e., merge to a word doc. It does to email, but not to word.

Granted, it's probably better for a P&C operation, but it tracks health, life, etc.

They have a free trial, try it out.

Dan

 

[Newby]

Act is also extremely easy to modify. You can add fields for anything you want to track. You can make drop downs for the fields with any choices tou want. You can make check boxes.

I made fields for all my product categories (life insurance, Medicare, LTC, Annuity, critical Illness, etc. Then I made 3 checkboxes for each category. Market for, sold contact, sold spouse.

Then if I enter a new contact I just check the boxes for the categories I want to prospect them for. That way I'm not chasing 50 year olds for Medicare (unless I already determined they are on disability) and don't chase poor people for LTC, etc.

When I do an annuity mailer I just left click my prospect for annuity box and pull up a lookup of everyone who is checked. Print and send. It's very user friendly and efficient.