Switching To CP Manager Isn't As Stressful and Grueling As You May Have Experienced With Another Vendor.

After 30 Years Of Helping Agencies Move To A New System We're Actually Really Good At It!

Let's take a look at how it should been done...

Let me start with one of the most important variables which determines consistently how smooth or how difficult of a transition it will be to move to a new system. What am I talking about?

This. Here's a proven fact you need to know about switching to a new system... the harder your new system is to use the more difficult and stressful the transition to the new system.

Ease-of-use plays a really big role when switching to a new system. The easier the system is to use the smoother and less stressful the transition. On the other hand, the harder the system is to use the more difficult and stressful the transition.

Following I'm going to explain to you how to properly implement a management system correctly into an agency so it minimizes your down time and frustrations!

If you had a really bad experience with your current vendor don't think for a second we'll treat you that way also because we won't. Here's why I can say this and how we implement CP Manager into an agency...

Implementing A New Management System Into You Agency Is Actually Pretty Systematic...

There are a number of factors which affect the implementation process of moving your agency over to CP Manager (or any other system, as far as that goes). Let's take a look at these factors:

Data Conversion. First, there's a big difference in how we'd approach implementing CP Manager into an agency where they need a data conversion versus not needing a data conversion. There are more steps when a data conversion is involved and more things that need to be coordinated.
If you don't need a data conversion it's way easier, less steps and a lot faster. Talk to your account manager and they can easily explain the simple process of implementing CP Manager into an agency when there's no data conversion. But throw a data conversion into the process and it changes everything.
Downloading. Add downloading to the mix and it adds another dimension to the process which also needs to be properly handled.
Dealing With Policies Not Downloaded Or Converted. No matter how you handle the data conversion or the downloading piece there is always policy details which need to be re-entered into the system. There are four (4) very effective manual methods to re-enter policy information which are methodical and gets the job done in a stress free way. We generally recommend two (2) of them.
Accounting. You want to be methodical in how you move your accounting over to the new system. There are numerous strategies behind doing this which makes the switch easy.
Size Of Agency and Training. The larger the agency the more strategic you need to be in how you approach the training. The end goal is to make sure everyone is ready to start using CP Manager upon the completion of the "final" conversion.

As you can see, there could be a lot to moving an agency over to a new system, and the larger the agency the more complex it becomes.

Having said all of this, implementing a new management system into an agency isn't really that difficult, and it certainly shouldn't drop you to your knees for weeks on end! Not if it's done right and and the vendor knows what they're doing, that is.

The Data Conversion.

If you need or want a data conversion we prefer doing two data conversions...
1) A Trial conversion, and
2) The Final conversion.

The purpose of the Trial conversion is for you to review your data in CP Manager. This allows you to see how it looks in CP Manager and for you to review the data in CP Manager to offer input for fixes, tweaks, linking issues or anything else you may find that's not right.

We'll show you how to do the review very effectively and without having to spend countless hours reviewing your data, but instead to do the review in a very methodical and time-saving way.

Along with your reviewing your data, Mr. Chesnut will also be reviewing the data conversion. He's generally pretty thorough, but you need to look at Mr. Chesnut's review as an added service and still do your own review of the data. Anything he finds he'll email to you for your review before being sent to the Data Conversion specialist so we're all on the same page. A prompt turn around on your part is important here.

Then comes the Final conversion and a very important element to it...

The Data Conversion "Automation Stand-Still".

When moving an agency over to a new system there's one key part to it that we monitor very closely and stay on top of... the "automation stand-still" when you're between systems.

This is the period of time when we've pulled your data from your existing system for the "Final" Conversion to convert it into CP Manager. During this time period you may still enter info in your current system but you need to have a process in place to capture these changes so you can input them into CP Manager once you have access to it.

One of our main objectives is to greatly minimize the automation stand-still which is your down time. When done right it should only be a few days for a smaller agency and up to 7 days for a large agency. Some agencies have no down time at all. However, have too long of an automation stand-still and you'll have one upset agency!

Up until the point of pulling your data for the final data conversion you're still using your existing system with no interruptions in your agency. It's just business as usual. But once your data is pulled for the final conversion things need to be handled properly to include documenting any client and policy changes you make so they can be re-entered into CP Manager.

We want this time frame to be as short as possible which is what we strive for. Just so you know, here are the things that can increase this time frame:

How long it takes for your current vendor to pull your data and get it to you. We have no control over this.
How your current vendor sends your data to you. In this day and age of FTP sites, they should just put it on an FTP site for you to download. Mailing it to you these days is just incompetent and poor business. But, mail is the only way some vendors will do it, as ludicrous as that may be. This is generally the largest part of the automation stand-still which is something we have no control over.
As a side note, we can setup an FTP site for your current vendor to upload your data to, if they are willing to do this. We’ll do everything we can to streamline the process but your current vendor needs to cooperate with us.
The amount of time it takes to convert your data and place into CP Manager. This could be anywhere from 6 hours to 7 days for a large agency. How long it takes is based upon how many records you have that need converted and migrated. The larger the agency the more records you’ll have.

We're on top of all of this. If your system is hosted then you'll need to be on top of your current vendor getting your data to you quickly.

Putting The Pieces Together For A Smooth Transition To CP Manager.

The key is knowing exactly what you're doing and then strategizing the coordination of putting each piece in place in a logical way. Some things need to be done before other things and some things need to be done in a coordinated way. Here's the keys to approaching this and creating a smooth transition to CP Manager:

There are a number of strategic things you can do to prepare for a data conversion. It makes doing the data conversion more effective and will make the first year easier for CSRs and producers.
If you're downloading now we'll show you how to make the transition over to CP Manager in a very logical and methodical way... you'll really like this. You'll move forward without skipping a beat.
There's a very effective way to coordinate training with the data conversion. However, the larger the agency is the more strategic the coordination of training needs to be.
Managing the "automation stand-still" period so it's as short as possible!
Communication with the agency each step of the way is also very important. Along with this is making sure the agency is communicating with us and answering questions quickly so there's no delay in the process.
Having a person at the agency as the implementation coordinator who we can work with as we need information or to coordinate the steps with makes it easier.

These items listed will make all the difference in the world in how smooth of a transition it'll be moving over to CP Manager, or any other system as far as that goes.

Moving from one system to CP Manager is systematic and logical, and we do it in a way that makes it as stress-free and simple for you as possible.

The key to all of this is knowing exactly what you're doing and coordinating everything in a logical and methodical way. You will love working with us because we make the process of switching to CP Manager as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Now that you know what the process is and what things can affect the implementation process have a conversation with us and tell us about your agency and what you need so we can give you the exact details and steps for your specific agency. There are a lot of variables which can affect the implementation process. However...