The reality is there is no singular definition of streamlined . Every distributor wants a solution that fits their unique processes per channel .
Streamlining challenges
Distributors and agents are looking for a streamlined sales process that is part of their platform or agency portal . Control of the agent and consumer experience is essential to distribution to ensure their brand and value are present . They are focusing on enhancing the user experience for agents and consumers alike .
The reality is there is no singular definition of streamlined . Every distributor wants a solution that fits their unique processes per channel . They also need to manage costs and leverage other technologies , such as web portals and CRMs . And , as you can guess , each distributor believes their experience is the best and the right solution for their channel and their agents .
Carriers receive hundreds of requests weekly to have their products and sales components available on distributor platforms . Each request is slightly different yet similar in nature . Carriers must rebuild their existing products , e-applications , and rules to support each unique definition of streamlined and user experience . Isn ’ t this reinventing the wheel ? This is an impossible ask for the carrier . Also , maintaining all those custom builds add up to an ongoing unmanageable amount of time , effort , and cost . All this is unnecessary for everyone . Often , carriers cannot support these requests and it prevents them from launching products to new channels .
There are many downstream effects for distributors as well . With limited time and resources , carriers must decide who and what to prioritize . The large distributors are often the default choice . Leaving smaller or new distributors at a disadvantage . But , even the large distributors have to wait or may not get prioritized at all . This could be the difference in breaking into a new channel , being ahead of the competition , or missing the opportunity completely . Needless to say , this custom build process is not working for anyone .
Build once . Use anywhere .
What if carriers were able to use what they already built for their order entry and leverage it elsewhere ? What if they could create their data , wizards , rules , and forms for a sales component once and deploy them to whoever needs them ? And , what if distributors could access the carrier ’ s component from within their platforms ? What if there was a cost-effective way to reuse products and components for any channel ? What if we could build it once and use it anywhere ?
Great news . The future is here . We no longer have to ask what if . Carriers and distributors have started using sophisticated APIs ( application programming interfaces ) to enable this very thing . Carriers are now able to build their sales components one time and make them available to their distribution .
For example , carriers are reusing their pre-sales , quotes , illustrations , e-application , and post issue components . Distributors then call APIs to embed these product configurations and sales components into their websites and systems . This technology is used in consumer-direct portals , affinity sites , worksite marketing applications , bank sites , IMO advisor portals , and even CRM systems .
The carriers ’ products and processes take on the look and feel , branding , and even behaviors of the destination ’ s user interface . Carriers build their business rules in one place , one time , and deploy them wherever they are needed . Distributors and thirdparty sites access these products in custom ways to meet their unique sales workflows . The beauty of this technology is that the carrier ’ s rules and components are inserted into the distributor ’ s workflow while maintaining the distributor ’ s look and feel .
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