Doubling Registrations: How O’Neill Marketing Transformed Agent Engagement

O’Neill Marketing is an insurance marketing agency specializing in providing access to various insurance plans for agents to sell to customers. With a network of over 3,000 agents, the agency has established strong relationships with top insurance carriers across the United States.

To manage and communicate with its agents efficiently, O’Neill Marketing leverages the Sinch MessageMedia (Smooth Messenger) SMS integration with Zoho CRM.

The challenge.

Time is of the essence when onboarding new agents, and O’Neill Marketing faced challenges in managing communications with its large network of agents. The existing system, which relied heavily on emails and phone calls, was inefficient and often led to delays, especially when immediate responses were needed.

By nature, emails weren’t read immediately. This caused bottlenecks in the O’Neill contracting process as training and access were delayed, and it created a backlog of tasks for the agency’s support team. That backlog led to fewer sales.

Bailey Hicks, Agent Support worked with the support team and found that agents frequently missed calls from O’Neill Marketing reps and many agents’ voicemail boxes were full, so leaving a message was not an option. “We needed a way to get in touch right then and there,” recalls Hicks.

O’Neill Marketing Consultant, Sanjay Bidasee, highlights the importance of quick communication. “We don’t want to have agent contracts in limbo,” says Bidasee. Providers want their agents ready to sell quickly and will call to ask where new agents are in the contracting phase.

The solution.

O’Neill Marketing chose SMS for Zoho CRM by Sinch Message Media (Smooth Messenger) which integrates directly into Zoho CRM. “Smooth Messenger was the easiest to integrate and had the best customer support,” says Hicks.

The integration allows the team to send and receive SMS directly within Zoho CRM, ensuring that all communication is logged and accessible to the entire team.

Bidasee, highlighted the importance of visibility for the team and how SMS has enhanced work/life balance, stating, “Everyone has visibility with it, so if someone is out of the office, the team can still see messages follow up.”

I did some research, found Smooth Messenger, and they were just so helpful and walked us through everything… Just the customer service and the support from Smooth Messenger was just better than anything I had seen from anywhere else.

Bailey Hicks, Agent Support

The results.

The implementation of SMS for Zoho CRM by Sinch Message Media (Smooth Messenger) resulted in significant improvements for O’Neill Marketing.

Webinar Registration

Hicks reports that using SMS doubled their registration rates for monthly webinars, with 52 registrations from a single text blast, “For example, today we have a webinar, and from our website, we got two registrations, 24 from our newsletter, and 52 just from sending out a text today,” she reports.

Response time

Sending SMS ensures faster responses from agents, reducing the time spent on phone calls and allowing the O’Neill Marketing team to resolve issues more efficiently. The agency sends SMS from the same number each time, so when agents see the number, they know immediately it’s from O’Neill Marketing, which builds trust.

This has made O’Neill Marketing more present and responsive to their agents’ needs, as Hicks noted, “Our agents appreciate a text more than a phone call because it’s quicker and more convenient.”

Email, Call, SMS combined

The O’Neill Marketing team has added SMS to its overall communications strategy to meet agents with not just the right message, but also on the right medium at the right time. Bidasee uses a strategy of phone calls when agents are prospects, emails for sending documents, and SMS to get quick, efficient responses.

For example, today we have a webinar, and from our website, we got two registrations, 24 from our newsletter, and 52 just from sending out a text today. So it almost doubles our registrations.

Bailey Hicks, Agent Support

The integration of Smooth Messenger into Zoho CRM has transformed O’Neill Marketing’s communication strategy, making the agency more efficient and responsive. The ability to send SMS directly from Zoho CRM has not only improved internal processes but also enhanced the overall experience for their agents.

O’Neill Marketing is looking at ways to use SMS as it grows its business as well, sending messages to existing agents for new opportunities.

As Bidasee concludes, ” I use it pretty much every single day since I deal with agents on a more personal level. It’s just been extremely helpful to reach out to agents quickly and get the necessary information.”

With Smooth Messenger, everyone has visibility, so if somebody’s out, the whole team can still follow up… That’s huge for us, visibility.

Sanjay Bidasee, Marketing Consultant