When It Comes to Insurance Agency Software Systems, ‘By Agents For Agents’ Is Just a Cliché That Sounds Good But Doesn’t Guarantee Better Results. Here’s Why…

For over 25 years, I’ve worked closely with agencies to help them automate processes and boost staff productivity. During this time, I’ve seen countless insurance agency management software systems come and go. 

One of the first questions you should ask when evaluating a management system is, “Who designed it?”

This question is more important than you might think.

Think about it:

• Would you trust a homeowner or a professional architect to design your house?
• If a rocket were being built, would you want an astronaut or a rocket engineer to design it?
• When building a race car engine, would you rather have a race car driver or a specialized mechanic do the job?

In other words, does it make more sense for the expert engineer or the user of the product to design it?

Here’s the problem: users often don’t know everything that’s required to design a truly efficient system. Let me explain what I mean.

The Agency CSR Is the Smartest User — But They Only Know What They Know

Who truly understands an agency’s management system best?

Without a doubt, it’s the CSR — the Customer Service Representative. They use the system every day to process work, service clients, handle policy changes, endorsements, renewals, and track outstanding issues. No one else in the agency uses the system as intensively or consistently.

It’s not the agency owner. Not the producer. Not the bookkeeper.

It’s the CSR.

Most would agree on this point.

But They Only Know What They Know

While CSRs are the most knowledgeable users of an insurance agency software system, their expertise is limited by the training they’ve received—and that training is usually specific to their agency and the particular system they use.

Let me share an example. Back in 2005, I led a Productivity Workshop for clients of one of the more efficient systems on the market at the time. One agency with 15 users sent 5 of their best CSRs, including their lead CSR, to attend. The plan was for these experienced staff members to learn new strategies and then train the rest of the team.

When they arrived, these CSRs confidently told me they had no idea why their owner sent them—after all, they’d been using the system for seven years and considered themselves highly efficient already. They clearly felt the workshop was unnecessary.

I welcomed their skepticism and invited them to listen with an open mind.

The first half of the workshop passed, and as lunch began, these same 5 CSRs gathered around me—this time with smiles. The lead CSR told me they were already convinced the techniques they’d learned would reduce their workload by at least 10%, and another said it might be even more.

By the end of the day, their confidence had grown—they knew for sure their workload would drop by at least 20% thanks to the new strategies they’d discovered. They were amazed by how much they didn’t know, despite their years of experience.

Now, imagine if these 5 committed but initially unaware CSRs were the ones designing your agency management system. Would it really be optimized to maximize productivity?

Or What If the Agency Owner Designed the System Without Deep Workflow Knowledge?

Imagine if the system was designed by an agency owner who wasn’t deeply involved in workflows and processing work. Think of all the critical details they will be missed simply because they didn’t have the in-depth expertise in workflows and productivity strategies that a specialist consultant brings.

As my experience shows, there’s always more to learn—and that’s why I’ve always said:

“Agency staff only know what they know.”

What they don’t realize they don’t know is often what holds them back. Experienced CSRs may be very skilled in what they do, but they rarely recognize the gaps in their knowledge. There is always more to learn to increase productivity and efficiency.

CSRs and vendor trainers typically lack the extensive background in agency automation, workflows, and productivity strategies that insurance automation consultants possess.

Workflow training and productivity strategies are foundational to insurance automation consulting—that’s where our expertise lies.

Where’s The Disconnect?

To understand why there’s room for improvement in CSR efficiency, consider how most CSRs learn their job:

1. From existing staff who, in turn, only know what they know—since over 90% learn this way; or
2. From vendor-provided software training.

The problem is, vendor training never includes workflow or productivity strategy training—it only covers basic product knowledge: how to use system features, nothing more.

This means CSRs rarely learn the finer points of creating a highly productive agency and workflows.

In my extensive work with many management systems, I have never seen one that teaches workflows or productivity strategies.

If your agency wants to master advanced workflows and productivity skills, you must turn to an insurance automation consultant—because this is what we specialize in.

I’ve lost count of how many agencies have told me that when they asked their vendor for workflow help, they were told, “Workflows are up to you.” Vendors just don’t teach it.

Just six months ago, an agency using Epic told me the Applied training team refused to help with workflows, only offering product feature training.

Many agencies have shared that when they asked vendor trainers how to handle day-to-day work like endorsements or renewals, the response was that workflow steps were up to the agency—they only teach how to use system features.

Why Aren’t Workflow-Driven Systems More Common?

Because vendors don’t teach workflows or productivity strategies, they cannot build systems designed to support them.

The result? Feature-driven systems that don’t optimize productivity.

This is exactly why CP Manager is the first truly workflow-driven agency management system. It’s been built and refined by insurance automation consultants who specialize in workflows and productivity.

Otherwise, wouldn’t there already be a workflow-driven system on the market?

The truth is, most new systems on the market merely mimic existing feature-driven products—they lack the expertise to design workflow-centered systems.

CP Manager is not “by agents, for agents.” It’s designed by insurance agency software experts who understand agency workflows and productivity inside and out.

CP Manager: Built by Experts Who Truly Understand Workflows and Productivity

CP Manager was created by highly skilled insurance automation consultants—experts in workflows and productivity strategies who train agency producers and CSRs to become more efficient and effective every day.

‘By Agents, For Agents’ Is Often Just More of the Same

Almost every agency management system on the market today is essentially a copy of existing systems with minor tweaks or added features. For example:

• One newer system tried to stand out by adding a bunch of social media features—but these didn’t actually help agencies increase productivity or improve client service. As a result, that system is struggling to stay afloat.
• Another system banked on being low-cost, but without strong commercial lines support, no accounting capabilities, and lots of double entry, it’s also having trouble surviving.

If you look closely, most systems share the same core features: ACORD forms, notes, follow-ups, client records, correspondence, and the like. What they consistently miss are workflows, data integration for true single-entry, and a system layout designed to maximize effectiveness by tightly integrating features into a seamless, productive experience.

Systems designed “by agents for agents” tend to focus on cramming in features they think are necessary, without understanding how to build a workflow-driven, highly productive system. That’s because:

No one has built one before—until now.

Introducing CP Manager: The First True Workflow-Driven System

CP Manager breaks the mold. It’s the first workflow-driven system introduced to an industry that has relied on workflows for over 30 years. It’s about time.

CP Manager is not just another “by agents, for agents” system—and that’s a great thing. Who wants more of the same?

See the Difference for Yourself

If servicing your clients faster, helping your CSRs get more done every day, and growing your book of business efficiently matter to you, you’ll love what CP Manager can do for your agency.

Schedule a walk-through of CP Manager today and discover how a system designed to increase your productivity can transform your agency.