HIGH-TECC 2008 - Day 2

The first session of HIGH-TECC day 2 is Bridging the Industry Communication Gap Panel.  The panel is a diversified group.  There are members from rating services, insurance carriers, Agents Council for Technology, ACORD, and insurance agents.  The issues considered in this discussion are those around the ability of insurance agencies to be able to do effective on-line rating using the data from their agency management systems and having the quote make the round-trip back to the agency management system.  The audience was very active in asking questions of the panel as well as expressing their needs and concerns on this subject.  I really like the terminology that Keith Savino used about comparative rating.  In their agency they refer to the software they use for comparative rating as "a data aggregation tool".

The second sessions for today are three breakout sessions that are available for the attendees to choose from.  The sessions are The Anatomy of a Successful Web Site presented by Matt Dandurand; The Power of Positive Audits presented by Pat Alexander, and Automating the Sales & Marketing Process by Dave Schuppler.  The downside to being a presenter is missing other sessions you might want to attend.  However, the upside to presenting at HIGH-TECC is the interaction with the great people that attend and I always learn from those in my session.  The attendees have been asked to post comments on the break out sessions.

My breakout session The Power of Positive Audits went very well.  Great interaction with the attendees, thoughtful questions and input.  I received this Twitter from one of the participants in my session before she left for lunch.  An example of a business application of this technology. 

afeldt I just finished a wonderful and informative class on The Power of Positive Audits by Pat Alexander about 1 hour ago from mobile web

Lunch was outside by the pool.  An absolutely beautiful day in Vail.  Good food, good friends.

The third session of the day is Your Questions Answered moderated by Steve Anderson.  Steve introduced this session last year for the first time and it was very successful.  The session is an opportunity to review the ideas that have been presented so far at HIGH-TECC.  We are 10 minutes into the sessions and the discussion and ideas are flying and flowing.  This is the true beauty of HIGH-TECC and the attendees.  Blogs and wikis differences and the reasons to use each were discussed and demonstrated.  Other big subjects were workflows - most irritating workflow - how to manage continuous changes to workflows - how agency management systems changes impact workflows and training.  The final part of the session discussed using on-line sessions and some of the products available for sales, training, etc.

The fourth sessions were again breakout sessions.  They were The Power of Change presented by Keith Savino; Where Do We Go From Here? presented by Jack Burke and Targeting Agency Time Wasters presented by Pat Alexander.  We will see what others post about these sessions.

My breakout group for this session was even more awesome than earlier in the day.  I am amazed that at the last session of the day my room is full and everyone is fully engaged.  Wonderful questions and discussions.  Again, the true HIGH-TECC camper experience.

Day 2 always closes with a great party hosted by Steve's team.  Our theme this year was western night.  After dinner Steve kicked off the party by being the first person to do calf roping.  I hope I am still his friend after posting this picture.  As usual the party was great fun.

 

My reflection on the day:  I am at that truly overwhelmed stage at HIGH-TECC.  More information than I will be able to retain.  Thank goodness I have good notes.  I have continued to meet individuals I have not been able to spend time with before today and the networking continues to be the best.

Comments

[Duke Williams]

Pat, I thought you would like some feedback on Matt Dandurand's breakout session. Matt made many very strong points about good web site design. I particularly liked his emphasis on picking the top three things your visitor will be coming to your site to get done. Then make certain these - in order - are prominent on your page and easy to understand. I will certainly be changing some of my pages to reflect this thinking.

[Pat Alexander]

Duke,

Thanks for your comments on Matt's breakout session. Matt's firm Media Contour http://www.mediacontour.comrecently re-did my website and I am very happy with the results.