Summary

The action plan details a strategy for an insurance brokerage firm to enhance its operations through Zoho CRM. The firm targets ideal customer profiles with 100+ employees and $86K+ in annual benefits revenue, utilizing Form 5500 data for effective lead sourcing. The plan includes implementing account-based marketing and a structured sales process, covering stages from initial discovery to solutions presentation, negotiation, and service handoff. It also addresses risk management to mitigate potential revenue loss, tracks referrals for both inbound and outbound leads, and integrates with tools like LinkedIn and Microsoft 365. The objective is to improve client lifecycle management, streamline workflows, and drive growth and efficiency within the firm.

‍

‍Zoho Action Plan

‍

• Trailer Video for Service (and Sales)
  
  • Brockbank Consulting will create a video trailer for the system, and will do preliminary staging

• Brockbank Consulting will upload the excel list (client sent) showing lists of action items that need to completed 
• NOTE: The trailer video should demonstrate a whole renewal process for service
  
  • Using Zoho CRM for stage level tracking of deal, and using Zoho Projects for work management
  • How does everyone see what everyone else is doing
  • How does an individual see their own work

• Work Management Concern
  
  • Brockbank Consulting will demonstrate how work should be managed for service team and sales team (this should  be completed on Zoho Action plan readout) 
    
    • NOTES: Client has mentioned repeatedly that this was the biggest question mark for him, other team members mentioned this was a concern
    • Service team
      
      • Hybrid approach using Zoho Projects to manage the “master” task (master task being the action item, not each step within the action item e.g. “send an invoice to the client” is the master task/action item ), and SOPs and/or blueprints for step by step execution
      • NOTES: this my seem overly complicated, but after 180 system implementations and using the Zoho ecosystem ourselves, this is the best method we’ve found for managing work, and guiding step-by-step execution of the work
    • Sales team
      
      • The sales team should use Zoho CRM tasks to start, if more complex work management needs arise, Zoho Projects can be used to manage sales activities.
      • NOTES: the reason I think all sales related tasks should be handled here, is it seems overkill to keep track of these tasks in Zoho Projects, Zoho CRM should work just fine
        
        • NOTES: Zoho Projects will become necessary when getting into due diligence 
      • The sales team will need visibility into the work managed pre-sale from the analysts/service team
• Closed Won
  
  • NOTES: We are starting  this action plans customer journey at closed won because this the highest priority for the client is service, although this action plan will later cover marketing and sales operations
  • Sales team will finalize all agreements and documentation
    
    • Brockbank Consulting will configure/integrate Zoho Sign with  Zoho CRM and will include placeholder templates for easy client configuration
  • Brockbank Consulting will customize account/deal kanban stages based on the stages in this document (see list below, image added for context)
    

• • 
    
    • Brockbank Consulting will create a separate pipeline for renewal deals, the stages should be: Renewal Identified, Working, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost
      
      • Brockbank Consulting  will configure Zoho to automatically create a deal in Zoho  X days  (let’s start with 90 days) before the accounts renewal date

• • Brockbank Consulting will add a DNC (do not contact) field on the account
    
    • Brockbank Consulting will create a custom account view of DNC contacts (and we can add that to the card within the kanban view) 
  • Brockbank Consulting will create a view within the renewals deals pipeline to show for each month
    
    • NOTES: Client will send over screenshot/recording of this example in their existing system 
  • Administrative team will submit broker of record letters to carriers
  • Administrative team will coordinate any Employee Navigator transitions or rebuilds
  • Sales team will prepare Granola AI note for internal presentation for the service team
    
    • Brockbank Consulting should get an example brief from sales and/or service to start with and add it as a template in Granola. This would just be a good place to start, later updates to the template can be made. 
      
      • NOTES: Backup for Google Notebook LLM or a custom Gem/GPT
      • NOTES: Hipaa compliance is required here
      • NOTES: How can we integrate remarkable notepads 
  • Sales team will trigger internal handoff process to service team
  • Brockbank Consulting will integrate Zoho Workdrive with Zoho CRM for easy document storage within Zoho CRM
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure automatic project creation in Zoho Projects upon deal closure
    
    • NOTES: This project creation should have a list of action items for onboarding the new client etc. 
  • Brockbank Consulting will set up automated broker of record letter generation and tracking within Zoho Sign
    
    • Brockbank Consulting can build a field into the deal created  where different sections are populated on the document based on the selected options in the multi-select picklist field
      
      • NOTES: Example is CAA should be a selectable option in order to populate the document correctly 
      • NOTES: we will need a picklist per document that will use dynamic section generation
    • NOTES: CAA will need to be reflected in the CAA
  • Sales team will update account to “Customer”
• Sales to Service Handoff
  
  • Sales team will conduct internal kickoff meeting to transfer knowledge to service team within 2-4 days
    
    • Brockbank Consulting team will configure Zoho Bookings/Calendly for ease of booking for the service team with the sales team
  • Sales team will prepare comprehensive handoff documentation including all discovery notes, stakeholder information, and agreed-upon strategies (using Granola AI to create a rough draft)
  • Brockbank Consulting can create standardized handoff Zoho form template with required fields (link to Granola AI etc. within the account) that links to the account record
  • Service team will review client background, key decision makers, communication preferences, and strategic goals
    
    • NOTES: Depending on the complexity of preparing and querying of client data (transcription, notes, CRM info, etc.) it my be worth using NotebookLM or a customGPT/Gem and a more advanced solution to Granola
    • Brockbank Consulting will help the service team create an SOP on the the sales to service handoff, to create a consistent, repeatable process that works
  • Service team will prepare for external client kickoff within 2-4 days of closing
  • Sales team member  will schedule external kickoff meeting with client
    
    • Brockbank Consulting will configure automated internal kickoff meeting scheduling via Zoho Bookings/Calendly 
  • NOTES: Internal kickoff prepares service team to lead external client meeting competently
• External Client Kickoff (Meet & Greet)
  
  • Service team will conduct initial client meeting within 2-4 days of closing
  • Sales rep  will introduce service team/account management members and define roles/responsibilities
  • Service team will establish communication channels and preferences with client
  • Service team will set expectations for next 24-48 hours and 30-day timeline
  • Service team will schedule deeper strategy meeting for 2-3 weeks out
  • Brockbank Consulting can configure  client portal for transparency into service delivery
    
    • NOTES: this will need to be discussed in more detail, if desired at all
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure automated communication templates for employee notifications
  • NOTES: Focus is on relationship establishment and immediate next steps, not detailed recommendations
• External Solutions Presentation (Strategic Deep Dive)
  
  • Service team will present detailed analysis of client’s current state within 2-3 weeks of closing
  • Account manager will deliver audit findings, compliance gaps, and quick win opportunities
  • Service team will present refined 30-60-90 day tactical action plan
    
    • Brockbank Consulting can implement a Granola/NotebookLLM/CustomGPT/GEM solution 
  • Service team will identify voluntary products, plan improvements, and cost optimization opportunities
  • Service team will address any contractual amendments or corrections needed
  • Project manager will create client-specific project plan with deliverable timelines
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure automated audit report generation using collected carrier data
  • Brockbank Consulting will set up client-facing project tracking in Zoho Projects
  • NOTES: This is the detailed strategic presentation after service team has analyzed carrier data
• Client Management (Renewals) 
  
  • Account manager will execute ongoing client relationship management based on renewal calendar
  • Account coordinator will handle day-to-day benefit advocacy and employee support requests
  • Compliance specialist will manage annual compliance requirements and governmental deadlines
  • Account executive will conduct regular strategic reviews and executive sponsor outreach
  • Service team will produce regularly scheduled reporting deliverables
  • Account manager will conduct pre-renewal planning 6 months in advance for large groups
  • Service team will facilitate open enrollment and carrier implementation processes
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure renewal workflow automation based on client renewal dates
  • Brockbank Consulting will create executive sponsor outreach reminder scheduling
  • NOTES: Client renewal varies by renewal date and account size/complexity
• Lead/Prospect Identification
  
  • Marketing team will identify ideal customer profiles (100+ employees participating on plan, $86k+ annual benefits revenue)
  • Sales team will source leads through Form 5500 federal filings showing companies with 100+ employees on benefits plans
    
    • NOTES: Form 5500 is publicly accessible federal filing that shows company size, carriers, renewal dates, and commission structures
  • Sales team will leverage referral network including CPAs, investment bankers, HR consultants, payroll/HRIS reps, 401k reps, and commercial real estate contacts
  • Brockbank Consulting can import existing data from spreadsheet to the accounts module, to show that the data structure can be imported correctly to the accounts module for prospecting
    
    • NOTES: Trey/team member can send over file to us
    • Brockbank Consulting can run deduplication
  • Sales team will identify prospects through personal relationships and business journal mentions
  • Brockbank Consulting will set up account-based marketing system in Zoho CRM using Target Accounts approach
  • Brockbank Consulting can integrate with Zywave/MyEdge and FreeERISA for Form 5500 data access
  • Brockbank Consulting can configure scoring to prioritize prospects based on employee count, industry (NAICS code), and revenue potential
    
    • NOTES: we can add other data points for scoring as well
  • Sales rep will enter the accounts  in Zoho CRM as “Target” accounts
    
    • Sales rep will capture and maintain the Referral Source (lookup field to the contact, contact will lookup to their assigned company)  on the Account record  so referral reporting
    • Zoho can automatically route qualified prospects to appropriate sales people
• Initial Discovery (Pre-qualification)
  
  • Sales representative will determine if prospect fits ideal/desirable/undesirable client profile
  • Sales representative will identify key stakeholders and influencers within the prospect organization
  • Sales representative will conduct preliminary research using LinkedIn, company website, and careers page to identify tech stack
  • Sales representative will research Form 5500 data for competitive intelligence including current carriers, renewal dates, and commission structures
  • Sale representative will make outreach attempts to various contacts on the account
  • Sales representative will conduct 1:1 conversation with initial contact (often HR or non-decision maker)
    
    • NOTES: calls/meetings/tasks will be logged against the account record in Zoho CRM 
    • NOTES: the purpose of this call should be to get on a call with the “Economic Buyer” i.e. someone  who can actually sign the check
  • Brockbank Consulting will create custom fields in Zoho CRM accounts to capture critical information
  • Brockbank Consulting will set up lookup field in the accounts module to private equity/venture capital parent companies (lookup from account module to the account module labeled “PE/Venture Capital Account” for proper tracking
  • NOTES: Before initial discovery, team should know if prospect is ideal customer based on available data
• Executive Overview (Economic Buyer Meeting)
  
  • Sales representative will schedule meeting with economic buyer (CEO/CFO or similar decision maker)
  • Sales team should use Granola.ai in order to take notes, transcribe all meetings, and output the meeting conversations into a consistent format
  • Sales representative will present value proposition focused on overspending on benefits and potential savings
  • Sales representative will add all contact roles to the account and to the deal include their title, communications preferences etc. 
  • Sales representative will frame conversation around business/financial impact rather than benefits details
  • Sales representative will avoid bringing subject matter experts to maintain high-level strategic focus
  • Brockbank Consulting will integrate Zoho Bookings or Calendly for multi-person calendar scheduling
    
    • NOTES: this will make scheduling meetings between multiple people much easier
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure bidirectional sync between Zoho and Microsoft calendars
  • NOTES: This is 1:1 meeting focused on business case, not technical details
• Data Collection/Due Diligence
  
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure Zoho CRM to create a Zoho Project automatically will necessary action items to be pre-loaded from task list template
    
    • NOTES: Client has sent a doc going over each task for this
  • Client legal team will prepare and send NDA and Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for signature
    
    • NOTES: Required before collecting any PHI (Protected Health Information)
  • Administrative team will create secure file folder for document sharing
  • Sales representative will engage with line-level HR/benefits people who control the data
  • Sales representative will collect census data, current plans, carrier information, funding arrangement details
  • Data analyst will gather competitive intelligence from Form 5500 and other public sources
  • Brockbank Consulting will show the client team how to create SOPs using Zoho Learn SOP system
  • Sales representative will identify deal contact roles and capture key relationships
  • Service team member may participate in complex cases requiring technical expertise
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure Zoho CRM to track deal contact roles and stakeholder mapping
  • Brockbank Consulting will integrate secure file sharing solution with Zoho Workdrive 
    
    • See security details here: https://www.zoho.com/workdrive/filesharing.html‍
    • Zoho will automatically create shared Zoho Workdrive external folders and notification workflows when deals progress to this stage

‍

• Solutions Presentation & Proposal
  
  • Sales team will analyze collected data and build recommendations
  • Sales representative will lead presentation alongside service/account manager and relevant subject matter experts
  • Presentation team composition will vary based on funding structure (self-funded, captive, or traditional fully insured)
  • Sales team will present savings analysis, structure recommendations, and service approach
    
    • NOTES: Granola AI should be used here to create the initial rough draft of the presentation (better than starting from a blank sheet of paper.
    • NOTES: A Granola AI master note (the same one used for the prior meetings)  should be used here to actually transcribe the meeting and take notes, 
    • Brockbank Consulting will show the client team how to use Granola AI properly in order to take notes, and output into a desired format using templates
  • Sales team will handle technical questions and address client concerns
  • Brockbank Consulting can configure a resource allocation system to assign appropriate subject matter experts based on account characteristics
    
    • NOTES: likely this would be an AI agent that analyzes the data available on the account, then makes recommendations based on who should be involved on the team
  • NOTES: Subject matter experts selected based on funding methodology and account complexity
• Negotiation
  
  • Sales team will iterate on proposal details and address client requirements/needs
  • Sales team will handle technical implementations like Employee Navigator rebuilds
  • Sales team will finalize plan design and service scope agreements
  • Service/account management team will be assigned based on renewal date, account size, and team availability
    
    • Brockbank Consulting can create an automation recommend the service teams based using an AI Agent
  • Sales team will prepare Master Service Agreement (MSA) and compensation structure
  • Brockbank Consulting will configure MSA template generation and approval workflow
  • NOTES: Service team assignment happens during negotiation when deal details are finalized
• Migration 
  
  • Brockbank Consulting will migrate data from BenefitZone/HubSpot once we’ve completed the initial Zoho MVP
    
    • NOTES: The MVP will be defined after the client marks all must have action items in Zoho Projects after the action plan readout
    • See migration strategy here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JfDiEDPqClF1hXzbPq-jSFVsEmo9I6S6YF_emxaeFrk/edit?usp=sharing

‍

Zoho CRM Stage Configuration

Deals Module Stages

• Brockbank Consulting will configure pipelines for new deals and renewal deals
• Initial Discovery - First conversation with prospect to understand basic situation
• Executive Overview - Meeting scheduled or completed with economic buyer
• Data Analysis - NDA/BAA signed, gathering census and current plan information
  
  • NOTES: Data collection is the beginning of this process
• Solutions Presentation - Analysis complete, presenting recommendations to client
• Negotiation - Iterating on proposal details and service scope
• Closed Won - Agreement signed, ready for service handoff
• Closed Lost - Opportunity lost to competitor or client decision to maintain status quo

Accounts Module Stages

• Target - Target sales accounts
• Working - Making outreach attempts
  
  • If an initial discovery is completed, then this is where a 
• Selling - Open deal against the account, no closed won deal against the account
• At Risk - Flagged for retention efforts due to risk factors
• Customer - at least one or more closed won deal associated with the account
• Renewal -  at least one or more closed won deal associated with the account and an open deal associated with the account
  
  • NOTES: this is because we want to track accounts that are in the renewal deals cycle
• Lost - Former client relationship ended
• Winback - One closed lost deal, attempting to re-establish 
• Cold - Inactive prospect relationship
• Brockbank Consulting will create an end-to-end video showing the user journey through Zoho
• Brockbank Consulting will include a journey map document as a webtab in Zoho CRM displaying each stage and definition for context
• Brockbank Consulting will set up Zoho Learn autopilot training system
• Brockbank Consulting will create SOPs for major configurations/setup and add them to Zoho Learn for internal training

‍

Additional Requirements

Risk Management System

• Brockbank Consulting will configure at-risk account scoring system similar to lead scoring
• Risk factors will include: executive turnover, funding challenges, high renewal increases, service issues, leadership changes
• Scoring will trigger FAST process workflow for account retention efforts
• Executive team will receive escalation based on revenue at risk thresholds
• System will track 12% revenue lost in previous year (3 major clients) to prevent recurrence

Referral Tracking System

• Brockbank Consulting will create referral partner contact lookup with attribution tracking
• System will track both inbound referrals received and outbound referrals given
• Dashboard will show referral metrics by partner: account introductions, dollar volume, market segment
• Revenue sharing tracking will be configured for partners like Benefits Texas, BKCW, and Strategic Retirement Partners
• Brockbank Consulting will set up automated referral partner reporting with embedded dashboards

Custom CRM Module Requirements

• Benefit Policies Module - Track each line of coverage per client per year (medical, dental, life, etc.) with premiums, commissions, carrier, effective dates
• Benefits Profile Module - Annual benefits case per account/renewal with marketing, quoting, selection, enrollment status
• Marketing Profile Module - Track marketing activities and open enrollment processes by client
• Vendors/Carriers Module - Insurance carriers and providers (Blue Cross networks, Paylocity, ADP) with hierarchical relationships for parent/child carrier structures

Integration Requirements (Phase 2)

• LinkedIn integration for prospect research and connection mapping
• Form 5500 data integration through Zywave/MyEdge and FreearEISA.com
• Microsoft 365 calendar bidirectional sync
• QuickBooks integration for revenue forecasting and commission tracking
• Employee Navigator API integration for client transitions

Zoho Desk Implementation (Phase 2)

• Configure benefit advocacy customer service for employee questions
• Set up automatic ticket routing by client domain or unique identifiers
• Implement SLA tracking and CSAT scoring for service quality measurement
• Create unified task view combining CRM sales activities with Projects service work

Automation and Workflow Requirements

• Automated welcome sequences for new prospects
• Broker of record letter generation and submission tracking
• Compliance deadline notifications and calendar management
• Revenue forecasting based on deal pipeline and closed business
• At-risk account monitoring with automated FAST process triggers
• Executive sponsor outreach scheduling based on account value and relationship strength

Reporting Requirements

• Referral partner performance dashboard with automatic distribution
• Service team book of business value reporting (contract value vs. revenue received)
• Sales pipeline reporting with stage progression tracking
• Carrier relationship reporting showing account distribution across provider networks
• Commission tracking with variance analysis for payment verification

Training

• Brockbank Consulting will set up Zoho Learn for training and documentation
  
  • Brockbank Consulting will send a Zoho Learn masterclass to the team 
  • Brockbank Consulting will create a Zoho Learn SOP “How to create SOP

‍