How Data Can Help You Perform Better and Drive Sales

You are undoubtedly familiar with the idea of big data. Whether or not you fully understand it from a scientific standpoint, you at least realize that data drives most modern businesses. As a broker, data is equally important. When used to its fullest extent, big data can help a broker to improve their performance, nurture more leads, and drive sales.

What we now call big data was born in the early 2000's. The principle itself dates to the late 1960s, when computer scientists began to realize what a valuable commodity data was. Back then, it was all about utilizing data to improve scientific endeavors. That application is still very real today. However, monetization is what modern big data practice is all about.

Data and Decision-Making

Data can be collected and analyzed for any number of reasons. As a broker, the data you have access to informs the decision-making process. It stands to reason that higher-quality data, in higher volumes, would lead to better decisions. It turns out that a lot of business executives believe just that.

A 2019 Forbes article discussing how executives use data suggest that nearly half of all business executives say that data helps them make better decisions. The idea really shouldn't be a surprise when you understand how the human brain works.

Business decisions aside, you have to make all sorts of other decisions throughout the day. How do you make them? By assessing the information that you have. Your senses harvest all sorts of data from the environment. Your brain relies on data from your memory. In short, your brain can only make decisions after looking at all the available data. Business decisions are not an exception.

Measuring Your Performance

Another key aspect of data is that it can be used to measure your performance. You can utilize it to determine how well you are retaining existing clients. You can use it to measure your sales efforts, how often you close the deal, how effective your marketing efforts are, and so forth. The point of such analytics is to find what is working and what's not. In so doing, you can find ways to perform better.

Solving Problems with Data

Continuing on, you might be dealing with certain problems that have hounded you for years. The right type of data could reveal why those problems exist and how to solve them. And once problems are solved, there’s less getting in the way of your performance.

Understanding Your Clients

Data even plays a role in helping you understand your clients. It can help you understand whether they are happy with the products and services you offer. It can help you understand what they actually need as insurance products evolve. Demographic data can help you better understand the employees who use the insurance products you sell to clients.

So far, we haven’t discussed data and driving sales. But think about it. Your sales should organically improve if you can:

• Make better decisions.
• Measure and adjust your performance.
• Solve problems more effectively.
• Understand your clients more thoroughly.

Data alone will not lead to better sales. You have to take the data you glean and put it to use. And if you do not have the right data, you have to go out and get it. That is what the big data principle is all about.

Big data harvests quality data from as many resources as possible. It then analyzes that data to allow you to develop actionable strategies. When you’re able to access, analyze, and action the right data, you grow your business and increase sales accordingly.