I tried the YIO office demo and I do agree with Al on this. While YIO office is great for a stand-alone agent, any agent with multiple offices or looking to expand, should looking into FreeCRM, SalesForce, or SugarCRM.
Web-based applications are the way of the future. Local based application like YIO are a thing of the past and not practical in most situations.
I think you miss the point of a program like YIO. Al will never understand this because he is stuck on "new is better" and frankly doesn't have a need for any kind of program because his client records can ALL fit on a 3x5 card.
YIO is not designed for the large agency. I find it perfect for my home based agency. It holds the records of my 500+ clients along with prospects (wish I did a better job of that).
I don't want a web based program because all the information on YIO is downloaded via Outlook onto my PDA. I can also copy the data file from my desktop computer to my laptop if required and take the entire program with me.
Other programs are better suited to a large agency and that's fine. I neither have the skills nor want to spend the time configuring a program to do what YIO does on a turn key basis. YIO is a tool to help agents. If there is a tool that works better for you, use it.
Rick
------------------------------------ ILIAA
Training, Community, Support, and Success Independent Life Insurance Agents Assn rick@iliaa.org
I think you miss the point of a program like YIO. Al will never understand this because he is stuck on "new is better" and frankly doesn't have a need for any kind of program because his client records can ALL fit on a 3x5 card.
YIO is not designed for the large agency. I find it perfect for my home based agency. It holds the records of my 500+ clients along with prospects (wish I did a better job of that).
I don't want a web based program because all the information on YIO is downloaded via Outlook onto my PDA. I can also copy the data file from my desktop computer to my laptop if required and take the entire program with me.
Other programs are better suited to a large agency and that's fine. I neither have the skills nor want to spend the time configuring a program to do what YIO does on a turn key basis. YIO is a tool to help agents. If there is a tool that works better for you, use it.
Rick
You can do all of the that with the programs I have mentioned as well..
I think you miss the point of a program like YIO. Al will never understand this because he is stuck on "new is better" and frankly doesn't have a need for any kind of program because his client records can ALL fit on a 3x5 card.
YIO is not designed for the large agency. I find it perfect for my home based agency. It holds the records of my 500+ clients along with prospects (wish I did a better job of that).
I don't want a web based program because all the information on YIO is downloaded via Outlook onto my PDA. I can also copy the data file from my desktop computer to my laptop if required and take the entire program with me.
Other programs are better suited to a large agency and that's fine. I neither have the skills nor want to spend the time configuring a program to do what YIO does on a turn key basis. YIO is a tool to help agents. If there is a tool that works better for you, use it.
Rick
This really sums it up. There is no perfect answer. You have to start with a list of what you want to achieve, and then find the solution that best fits the goal.
If you want anywhere, anytime access, than an online solution is required.
If you want data security, an inhouse solution is required.
If you want automation, there is a limited subset that accomplishes this.
If you want a tickler file, you can save a lot of money, use Outlook or index cards.
Figure out what you want, find something that comes close to solving that problem. We all do business differently, making our needs different.
Also, don't be afraid to spend some money. The goal here is to make you more efficient, you should earn more than you spend. If you don't, you chose the wrong program.
Also, look at total cost. Things like Sugar claim to be free, but there is a significant overhead in time that you'll invest. Act requires some additonal functionality, Salesforce has a monthly fee, YIO may need to be supplemented (I'm not sure, I do P&C, which it isn't geared after).
You can do all of the that with the programs I have mentioned as well..
But can it do all that without having to be modified for use as an insurance program? YIO is specific to the insurance industry and has a one-time cost of under $300.
Again, for the home-based agent without the desire to modify a database, what is the objection? Is it because it doesn't have pretty graphics?
It's never crashed on me or done anything "bad" and all the tech support I can use is available virtually 24 hours (and I haven't needed very much of that).
I guess I like YIO for the same reason I like my non-digital watch. I can understand the big hand and the little hand and it does the job.
The reason I entered the thread was not to defend YIO (which needs no defense) but to point out that Al cannot stand to have anyone say a positive thing about the program without him coming back and saying that Frank is a liar.
If anyone would like to show me how to get any of these CRMs and configure it so it does absolutely everything YIO does then there's your challenge. Contact me: admin@ihiaa.com - I'll download a demo version of any CRM you choose and your goal will be to show me how to set it up to do everything YIO does. Plan on setting aside a few hours.
------------------------------------ Health Insurance Agents: Training, Support, Discounts, E&O for $440 www.ihiaa.com
If anyone would like to show me how to get any of these CRMs and configure it so it does absolutely everything YIO does then there's your challenge. Contact me: admin@ihiaa.com - I'll download a demo version of any CRM you choose and your goal will be to show me how to set it up to do everything YIO does. Plan on setting aside a few hours.
So I guess we have a lot of people talking about how easy it would be to configure another CRM to do the same stuff YIO does but I see no one's up the the Pepsi challenge.
So I guess we have a lot of people talking about how easy it would be to configure another CRM to do the same stuff YIO does but I see no one's up the the Pepsi challenge.
There are add-ons to many CRMs to manage insurance agencies.
Everyone says that YIO is "insurance agency based." That's fine. But those are minor features. The BENEFITS of YIO pale in comparison to larger, more modern CRM systems, especially those that are web based.
However, if YOU like YIO and it is THE THING that will make YOU more productive then that is what YOU should use.
I don't like the program, I think it is outdated and rather sophomoric. But that's MY opinion, and it is worth what it costs.
If I ran an agency like Rick... who never leaves his house and does everything by phone, I'm sure YIO is simply great for them. But I'm out and about and unlike Rick, I'm not a one-trick pony. I write health and life (more life these days than health I'm happy to say) and some worksite. I need to be able to access my data AND UPDATE IT from anywhere and from any computer (including my iPhone.) You simply can't do that with YIO... but if you don't NEED to do that or if that is NOT important to you... then by all means pay the price and enjoy YIO.
Guys like Rick who write simple or guarantee issue medicare products and who don't have a long sales cycle where he has to keep a lot of notes and phone logs and task lists as well as other client data and be able to easily access it away from his office (because he never leaves it) YIO is what he should use... and he does.
What I don't understand is why he even needs YIO... or even a computer? For his simple operation 3x5 cards would do nicely.
Your Insurance Office - Screen Shots and pull up the main menu screen shot. When anyone here can show me how to configure another CRM to do this you know my number. I'll try not to stare at the phone too hard.
If you actually HAD an agency you might be more concerned with functionality of a program rather than the sparkles. Do you still stare at shiney objects?
Goodness - isn't it worth $20 or so per month to get into a CRM that is fully supported and backed up offsite. If it is open source or some other generically grown CRM and it breaks, you lose your data, your OS decides to download and install the newest service pack (and crashes your computer), you are screwed! You will be paying more to try and get this fixed than your $20 per month 'times 24 months.'
Look at something that integrates in with your upline, like i-Relay! I-Relay: One Great Insurance CRM! ... If you are going to migrate from paper or Excel to a CRM ... do it right for goodness sakes!
Find a CRM that will pull down carrier/upline status right into your platform and will allow you to communicate with case management.
Find a CRM that has carrier forms integrated.
Find a CRM solution with SUPPORT!
I have reviewed and personally built a LOT of CRM technology and i-Relay COULD do the trick. However, there are a LOT of things that I do not LIKE with i-Relay!
Goodness - isn't it worth $20 or so per month to get into a CRM that is fully supported and backed up offsite. If it is open source or some other generically grown CRM and it breaks, you lose your data, your OS decides to download and install the newest service pack (and crashes your computer), you are screwed! You will be paying more to try and get this fixed than your $20 per month 'times 24 months.'
Look at something that integrates in with your upline, like i-Relay! I-Relay: One Great Insurance CRM! ... If you are going to migrate from paper or Excel to a CRM ... do it right for goodness sakes!
Find a CRM that will pull down carrier/upline status right into your platform and will allow you to communicate with case management.
Find a CRM that has carrier forms integrated.
Find a CRM solution with SUPPORT!
I have reviewed and personally built a LOT of CRM technology and i-Relay COULD do the trick. However, there are a LOT of things that I do not LIKE with i-Relay!
HA HA - ChickenDinner14 actually hit it on the CRM head "Make more calls, worry less about the computer = more money."
However - if you have the mental ability and patience (at night ... when you can't call prospects/future clients" to become familiar with a CRM tool, it's worth it). It CAN save you a lot of time searching for status (a delivery requirement, etc.) and if configure it just right, your CRM tool can send out a few automated emails to compliment your phone calls and voicemail's.
Here are a few things that annoy me with i-Relay - I would like to see 100% independence. Some of the technology is still owned and controlled by a parent company. If you want something custom to compliment your workflow, you will have to wait a very long time or it will be extremely expense. This is the case due to the parents priority over the written code. If that does not bother you, great CRM tool. However, I do know that i-Relay continues to work on making their application more user friendly 'easier to customize.'
You want a CRM that will import in lead data, allow you to run a quote OR re-run a quote within the system and, based on the quote, pull down carrier applications and check the status of your submitted application all in one place.
If you calculate the amount of time it takes you to:
A) Open up your quoter (run a few comparative quotes) 'one browser window'
B) Save to .pdf and email/fax the illustration to your client 'separate program'
C) Open up another website to pull down a carrier app and required forms 'new browser window'
D) Pre-fill in the application and send it to client for signature 'separate program'
E) Obtain signature, send to upline and open up another browser window to track status
Bottom line is ... each step takes time and each step requires a different computing function! Trust me, if you track this flow it takes time. But if you can invest 5+ hours (of your down time) to really learn a CRM that is truly built for the insurance agent and integrates in status, quoting and applications into one browser window - it will pay dividends!
Re: your insurance office vs. act! 2008
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