Ted Baker, President, Advanced Automation

Depression.  Recession. Whatever it’s called, it is certainly a wake-up call for independent agents.   The battle for the marketplace is being fought every day with increasing casualties.  But what if there were another way?  What if an agent didn’t have to join the fight, but instead used it to their advantage?

In his book “Blue Ocean Strategy”, author W. Chan Kim describes a world where competition becomes irrelevant.  Imagine such a world - a world where a business is so unique it ascends above price and the fight for market share.  We believe that such a world exists. 
For nearly 20 years Advanced Automation has helped more than 2,000 agencies across North America in their quest for this brave, new world.  Our message has been heard at IIABA and PIA classes, users’ groups for Applied Systems and AMS and groups such as ARM International and Marsh Berry.  It has been read in publications including Rough Notes and American Agent and Broker.  

W. Chan Kim further describes his vision of a” blue ocean” as one in which the business is so different commonly-used words cannot describe it.   Many words have been used to describe Advanced Automation, including training, mentoring, consulting and coaching.  Each of these are appropriate in a sense, however the scope of what we do goes beyond these common words.  Our goal is simple – help agencies attract and retain customers.  In today’s difficult times this equates to survival.

We accomplish this goal through a unique program that touches every area of an agency – from procedures to the web, from sales to management, from insurance training to personal growth.   The program is called Solutions because its name describes its function. It provides the solutions for the problems facing agencies regardless of size and specialty. 

Nancy Pogatchnik at Town and Country insurance tells us that she has saved nearly 800 hours a year after learning how to handle direct bill customers differently.  Michelle Jacobik at Sava Insurance tells us that we have helped her agency move from a “service” mentality to a “sales” mentality and how their entire team has been inspired to perform better.  Terri Marsh at GAF Insurance reports their agency has better communication than ever before.  And finally, Andy Dillow from Torian, Hofmann, Dillow & Flittner says that in a tough economic climate, everyone’s market share is up for grabs.  He saw this as the perfect time to partner with Advanced Automation. He honestly feels that agencies that are not aggressively investing and looking for outside help will be the one’s losing market share.

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