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Transcript #14

Ron: (00:01) Welcome to the Insurance Hot Seat, a special series by the Geek Freaks Podcast dedicated to answering the tough questions in the insurance industry.

Music: (00:10) [Intro Music]

Ron: (00:23) On today's show, we have two very special guests. We have Jordan Owens, Director of Sales with Partner and the President, Michael Doran. How are you guys doing today?

Jordan: (00:34) We're doing well. Thank you.

Michael: (00:36) Absolutely. Thanks for having us on Ron.

Ron: (00:38) Oh, it's a pleasure. We're always excited to be able to talk to uh, you know, good partners because we have a couple of customers that use you guys. We've had nothing but good experiences with you guys. So I thought it would be great to have you guys on with us and kind of talk about, uh, your product, the direction of your product, how you guys are doing, what you guys see in the market. I think that's a huge thing that I get asked. I'm sure, uh, Jordan doing the sales and even you, Michael, visiting with your customers that you guys probably get the same thing I do is what's going on in the market. What are we seeing in the market? So we're very, very excited and fortunate to have you guys with us

Michael: (01:11) As are we should be a great conversation.

Ron: (01:14) Yeah. So why don't we start with a little bit of an introduction for you two, and then we'll get into it.

Michael: (01:21) Sure. Um, so, uh, this is Michael. So we've, uh, the, the uh, the name of the company is Strategic Insurance Software. We'll just give you a little background so there's some context.

Ron: (01:33) Excellent.

Michael: (01:33) Uh, the name of name of our software, uh, is the Partner Platform. Um, and it's often described by our clients as with what they say is a complete agency management system. We'll go into that later. But yeah, you know, the, the, the short answer is it's got everything that, that an agency needs to run their business on all the integrated capabilities. Um, some people may know, some listeners may know the company started actually in 1995 within state auto. Um, it was with it operated within state auto up until 2009, uh, at that point, uh, myself and my two business partners, Greg Tillar and Alex Deak, we acquired it from state auto. So we actually just celebrated our first decade of ownership. 10 years. It's been a great 10 years. Thank you. It's been a great a great 10 years. And um, you know, we've learned a lot. We didn't have, uh, any, uh, insurance experience and now we've got plenty, plenty of scars and scratches to prove we do. Um, and it's, uh, it's actually been, I think a real positive for, for us, for our associates. But I think more so for the independent agent cause they've really been able to find, I, I believe there's the error with which we're trying to carve out as an affordable high quality agency management system. Uh, that's, it's backed people that resemble the people that we serve, which are owner-operators, uh, people who are invested in their community.

Ron: (03:08) That's awesome

Michael: (03:09) For a really exceptional customer service. Yes. So we're, we feel like we're making a difference.

Ron: (03:15) And I hear that, I hear that from people that use your product, that you guys have. The feeling is from them and from what they're getting from you guys is that you care, you listen to the feedback you listen to, you know what they're saying as far as the users go. So that's awesome.

Michael: (03:31) Yeah, and I'd say that, that, that's the, uh, I think when we first acquired the company, the fact that we had, um, little to no insurance experience was I think people were kind of scratching their heads. Um, but we've got other businesses that still operate today and those businesses are really founded on the idea of, hey, let's listen to what our customers have to say, and then we can evolve the business to serve what they need. And that's exactly what, what we'd done in insurance out of necessity. Uh, since we didn't, you know, we weren't gonna be the ones driving this train. Uh, and our really, our role has been how can we be good stewards of the software, uh, for our clients who are using it every day. And, and, and have, you know, particular, uh, priorities that they need to, to achieve their business goals. So it's worked out well.

Ron: (04:20) Excellent. Jordan.

Jordan: (04:22) Ron.

Ron: (04:27) Yeah buddy. Your turn. Tell me all about you.

Jordan: (04:31) About me. Um, well I think the short answer is, you know, you've made intro of director of sales, so I've been with the company for 11 years. So even prior to the acquisition was working with some of the smaller engagements that were there and then had a chance to work with a pretty large R and D company and had experienced there just learning about different technology and innovations that were taking place in a lot of different industries from, you know, green materials to defense, to manufacturing. And you know, when Michael and the other partners approached me about having, uh, the opportunity to be a part of kind of the sales and knowing the business that was owned here, you know, it was a great opportunity. I've really enjoyed it because, you know, going from large, you know, time frame, bureaucracy type decisions to talking to owner operators, I have just found that much more enjoyable personally.

Ron: (05:29) Yes. That that's a, it's always nice to be able to talk to the people on the ground and the people that actually make the decisions and are feeling the pain. That's, uh, that's awesome. Well, I'm super excited to have you guys on, um, you know, I want to get right into it. So go ahead and tell me about Partner as a whole. I mean, I hear a lot of great reviews about it, but I, I have yet to hear, uh, from you guys and I would, I would love to hear it.

Michael: (05:55) Yeah. So we touched on a little bit. So our, our, our clients, yeah, we've taken, we, we kinda adopt their vocabulary, you know, they say it's a complete system. And so when we've heard that a couple of times, we say, well, what does that mean to you? Right? Cause it we you know, we can, we can make some assumptions, but they say it's got everything we need. So we, you know, we started in that, you know, the decades since we've owned it, it's been, uh, a very core, uh, agency management system. So client management, policy management, um, integrated financial management, all that's been in there. Uh, we, we've evolved it to this for calling the platform because we've extended it to, uh, include integrated sales and marketing capabilities. So as, as I think, you know, one of the, one of the things we're, we're seeing with a lot of agencies is, is, um, an emphasis to become more sales oriented, to be able to get a little more, um, disciplined in their, uh, pipeline tracking and uh, things like that. The same way they are on kind of the client policy management where they're really measure stuff. I think they're taking that to the front end and need, need tools to be able to support that. So we've got those sales and marketing capabilities, um, to be able to do those kinds of things. And then I think the, on the other side of it is the, uh, the evolving consumer, right? And, and their expectations about, uh, interacting with an agency and on their terms and in, in whatever means they choose, whether it's a phone call, over the web, on a mobile app, whatever that may be. And so we've continued to, uh, extend, um, the platform to, to offer ways for an agency to take all the things they're doing within the core system and present that data in a way that's relevant, meaningful, and easy for a consumer to digest. And that's everything from how do I get my auto ID cards, uh, on a mobile app or through the web, look up policies, coverages, contact the agency, just different things like that that just make, um, interactions a little more easier. So that's, you know, that's been our, our approach is to extend, extend the product. Um, and while we do that, you know, what we found, obviously the more you build it out, the more complex it could get...are the, the agencies that we serve really wants simplicity. So they want, they want a depth of capabilities because generally they're managing, you know, reasonably complex commercial, uh, clients and they're running their, all their financials through their management systems. They need all that, but it still has to be easy to use it can't be overbuilt. Uh, and of course, uh, I think that that most of the agencies we serve affordability's a key, a key item as well.

Ron: (09:01) I think you've touched on two things that always echo across for us is usability and cost effectiveness is always something that always comes up. It's the questions are Ron, you know, what do you know for agency management systems that are cheaper or this is just too complicated. There's 56 different ways to get an auto ID cards and it takes me 40 hours to train my CSRs and I, I mean, I think that's, you guys are hitting right on that sweet spot where it is. Um, something that's being recognized and addressed now in, uh, in, in to a platform is, hey, instead of having 40 different ways to get an auto ID card, here's the one way, and this is the way we do it now. It's an easy to train platform. Um, we've, I've had very little, uh, interface interaction with it, but that makes sense. It's always in the back end, the client side. But, uh, the, the customers that we have, that's always what they say is just, it's just easy to use. And I think that's a huge, huge feather in the cap for you guys because that's not what you traditionally hear with agency management systems.

Jordan: (10:03) Yeah. And I think the other thing that we like to focus on is it's very much an and is the total experience and what that is from the first conversation to understanding more about the agency and their business to yeah we, we'd like to make a change in what that transition looks like and we're very disciplined in our approach and our team and they're all filled with high quality people and so it's helping, you know, train, transition to continual support when there are questions. And the nice thing is we get to then also be a part of the community from regional learning events that we're participating in and leading to showing up in the community events from the MAIA to the Michigan PIA and just hearing about all the kinds of nuances that are taking place place in the state. But then also that, you know, our customers would like to see and how we can continue just to train and get feedback real time to make it a better experience for our agencies.

Ron: (11:02) Yes. No, that's awesome. Um, you touched on in the beginning, there are the sales and marketing now that's always been the big boys have just, uh, did a lot of platform changes to achieve that. So when you say sales and marketing, is it more of tracking the producers down to the reports, making sure they're hitting their sales goals and as marketing, you know, we always hear like I want to be able to send out happy birthday cards or even emails that say, Hey Ron, it's your birthday. Is that something that's in your platform too?

Michael: (11:32) You got it. That's exactly right. So, uh, it's all those things. Plus it's got, you know, one of them is things we touch on. We should, we still, we have a couple of other businesses that are involved in sales and marketing and a lot of what those businesses do are, um, focused on a new client acquisition. And so we've developed some skillsets since early two thousands, just focused on, you know, ways to pursue business, you know, outside of insurance. But we've taken a lot of that philosophy and, and principles and, uh, and applied it into, um, our sales capabilities within the platform. And at the same time keeping it simple. Cause one thing we always hear is our producers aren't gonna use it if it's, if it's, if it's hard. Um, and so it's, you know, it's very few clicks. It's, it's collected meaningful data so you can actually put together a, uh, a quality proposal and have a chance to win new business.

Ron: (12:30) That's, that's awesome. And that's what I always kinda, when I talked to the event vendors or reps for the vendors, I always say, you know, uh, more or less clicks, more magic. Cause there's a lot of times and some of these platforms it's, you know, four or five, six different clicks to get what you need. And I don't think that's sustainable when it comes to training new staff members or even moving people to a platform that's that complicated. Because you know, our, our staff members or CSRs have been in the game for 20 plus years. They know how to do things and they want to be quick at it, not, you know, 47 different clicks.

Michael: (13:08) Yep. Yeah. I think that, that, that, that truly the kind of characteristics of many of the clients that we're working with as well. They're, they're generalists. You know, a lot of them are really good at what they do, yet they have to do a lot of different stuff. They have to move around the system and it's not like they're waking up every single day and sitting at their desk and handling claims from eight til five, you know, they're doing search, they're doing claims, they're doing client lookups, they're sending out emails, they're attaching emails that, you know, it's any and everything going on all the time. Uh, and as a result of that, it's gotta be easy and intuitive. Um, or else it's going to be difficult for, you know, veteran veterans within the agency and it’s also going to be hard for um to bring in new talent. Who, who their expectation around technology is even different.

Ron: (14:01) Yes, yes, absolutely. It's no longer, you can't turn on a, some of the software and it looks like it's from 1995. They, they, the generation immediately gets turned off from it. Right? It's, and it can look older but it's gotta be able to function as a newer product would. And even in our industry, if some of our tools are super, uh, you know, detail oriented and fantastic, but man, they're a bear to work with. And I think that becomes an issue in the long run for some industries or some companies.

Michael: (14:36) For sure.

Ron: (14:37) So I don't want to keep you guys much longer, but a crystal ball, you guys are shaking it up. We're looking at it. Where are we seeing the industry going? What do you guys see in the next three to five years or what are you guys hearing out on the streets there? I know you guys got a sales force, so you're probably getting feedback all the time. Is there anything that just keeps coming up, you know, is it AI, is it anything specific or that you guys have heard of?

Michael: (15:01) Well, I'm sure like you, it seems very noisy. Uh, and there's a new technology, a new InsureTech every single day. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think folks are trying to innovate and find ways to address issues that are going on. I think that the challenge, and I think this is where, you know, we've heard good things about you guys too. I think. I think for the small, middle large agents yet, and maybe it doesn't matter in size, you really need good partners that can help you, you know, they can put together, uh, you know, I hate to use the word solution, but put together something that's comprehensive that addresses the needs of what an agency is trying to do, uh, and, and keep it simple and keep it affordable when it, when they have to start stitching together things and it's spaghetti, it's a nightmare. Cause then they know who do I call when this breaks and how do I make it work? And then they're back to ground zero. And there's a lot of pressure to grow pressure from the carriers, uh, pressure from other competitors. And you can only do that if you've got a good system, well organized, uh, processes integrated into the system that allow you to actually do the things you say you're going to do from a client experience or from a client promise. Um, and I just find a less is more for most of these, most of the, most of the agencies. Um, not that, not that there's not some really nice shiny stuff out there. Um, but I think you gotta look at before you say, boy, that looks really cool. You gotta say, what's my business problem that I'm trying to solve and is this really going to address that issue, uh, in a sustainable manner? So I, I think, I think it, it becomes over time, you know, new technology will, will obviously continue to evolve and I think a lot of the providers in this industry will evolve. Um, but it's gotta be made easy for the agency to absorb it, digest it, and then implement it without having, without turning the agency upside down. Cause that just doesn't work.

Ron: (17:17) No. And I think you nailed it. I think we're seeing a lot of that too is a vendor consolidation, partner consolidation where they're now looking for and sort of having, you know, the, the five or six things strapped to the side of the car. Now they just want one car that does it all and it doesn't matter how pretty and shiny it is and it doesn't matter how pretty and shiny it is as long as it goes down the road and it operates at a moderate speed and everything functions in it. I think most agencies are happy and I want to say anywhere between eight, five and eight years ago, everything got over complicated. The bigs, the major, you know, big market share, guys, they started acquiring, they started strapping products in and you know, I can't say nickel and diming, but I'm going to, these agencies and I don't think they care for that anymore. And I think they're kind of seeing through, um, everything as a whole saying like it's not the sh the shiniest and prettiest thing. It, it doesn't, that doesn't matter anymore. You can't wow me with a brand new UI and think, yeah, this is, it's the same product. No, it's still the same thing. Um, and now they're looking for more of a, you know, they don't care if it's a minivan, as long as it does what it needs to do and it gets them to where they need to go.

Michael: (18:29) Yeah. Right on. Yeah. We try to be, you know, we try to be pretty and shiny. Um, but we also try to be practical and useful. Right.

Ron: (18:40) Functionality. Yeah.

Michael: (18:41) But both of those.

Ron: (18:43) Yeah. And that's what I think, you know, what I was alluding to is it doesn't matter anymore. Like how, how pretty the box looks, as long as what's in the box gets the job. I mean, we're seeing a lot with that. Like even with hardware now is that the most, everybody was like, Oh, we want MacBooks. They, they're sleek, they're stylish. And now it's come down to, I want something that's light and, um, cost-effective. And you're like, okay, we're, we're, we're, we're pendulum back into what matters for work. Cool.

Michael: (19:12) Yeah. Yup.

Ron: (19:14) So that's awesome guys. Jordan, do you have anything to add that we missed or is there anything that we, you guys want to touch on before we get you out of here?

Jordan: (19:22) Well, I think just again that some of what Michael was sharing about it is about helping the business problem, right? There's not a silver bullet of any one technology solution that you buy or this, this or this is going to solve this issue because by turning it on, so again, why the people here really matter are really good at what they do is we try to understand what is the business issue and that can be when we first talked to you, or you've been a customer for ours for 10 years and how do we help you accomplish that in the best way possible. And it's working together to have those practical solutions so you can be servicing your clients and growing your agency in the way that you want to.

Ron: (20:00) That's awesome. Yeah, no, that's, that's perfect. That's awesome. That's what the value should be in every relationship is what can we do to help and how can we make that better for you? And you know, you guys are doing it right. I'm hearing a lot of good things, a lot of listening to your partners, a lot of helping the partners grow their business actively. You know, it's not just lip service. It sounds like you guys are willing to do what it takes to make sure they're happy and take care of them. And that's all we look for when we look for partners that we work with, uh, as far as programs and softwares go. So that's, that's awesome. Well, Jordan, Michael, I appreciate your guys' time today. Um, it's, it's been fantastic. I'm sure a lot of good value in here. A lot of good information about the company, is there anything you guys want to send off? Is there a way we can get, you know, anybody listening can get ahold of you guys?

Michael: (20:44) Yeah, I was gonna say, I think a lot of agencies know Jordan, uh, for a lot of the right reasons.

Ron: (20:51) I was going to say, hopefully for all the right reasons.

Michael: (20:54) Yeah, he's done a great job, uh, building, um, a great, great client relationship there. We've worked with some fantastic agencies, some that we have in common. Um, so, uh, we're, we're really grateful for a lot of agents, so he's the best way. Uh, and he should be no surprise most people. And then it's, uh, jowens@sisware.com. Uh, and we can, we can provide his phone number if you want as well. That's, that's, that's the, that's where we always say conversation is the best way. We're not hard sellers, you know, we'll talk to you. If we can help you, great. If we're not, or the timing's not right for you, you know what, we'll just, we'll stay in touch until when it is.

Ron: (21:34) Yeah. That's how we operate too. And that's the, I feel that's the best way to do business is to have a true relationship. A true, a true foundation.

Michael: (21:42) Makes it a lot more fun doing business.

Ron: (21:44) Sure does. Well, I appreciate it guys. Uh, you guys have a fantastic day. Hopefully it's not snowing and cold where you guys are at. It's, uh, it's, we're hitting in the forties here, so it's common for us,

Michael: (21:55) Tropical, tropical up there for you guys.

Ron: (21:58) Yeah, I mean, it's, I, I should have a tee shirt on today, but instead it's a flannel, you know, I, I dressed inappropriately for the weather.

Michael: (22:06) Not at all. Thank you very much for having us. We definitely appreciate it and, uh, um, look forward to working with you and your firm. Ah, with some other agencies.

Ron: (22:18) My pleasure guys. Have a good one. We'll talk soon, I'm sure. Thank you.

Jordan: (22:22) Great. Thanks, Ron.

Michael: (22:23) Bye.

Ron: (22:23) Bye.