Selling an insurance claim management portal
Discussion
So the back story here is that, as a favour to someone, I built and designed a management system and portal for a company to deal with claims made against their vehicles and workforce. Things like a van of theirs hitting a wall and causing damage, or the person making the claim having damage done to their properties (or themselves) by the work this company carried out. The claimant fills out their form, can upload images and videos, they can say whether they're got receipts which they can also upload etc. Then they can log in to see the progression of the claim. The company I made this for could then review what's been added, add notes to the claim (both publicly and privately) as well as have 3rd parties access the system as well. As there are a lot of cases that they do work for another company, and they want to see the progress of a claim etc.
Anyway, it's finished really and the company I've been doing it for have gone completely quiet. Turns out today from someone I know is that they're struggling financially, so I'm looking at not being paid for this work at all. Nothing was signed, no money exchanged hands etc. Yes it's s
t, yes I should've had a contract, but this isn't something I do very often and thought it'd be OK. But that's not the question I have.
The question I have is that, without too much work on my side, I know I can white label this software and I'm certain there are other companies across the country who would have a good use for something like this. My problem is that I have absolutely no idea where or what to do to begin. I've never ever been comfortable with cold calling and selling stuff, my skills are in the problem solving area of life. I honestly feel cheeky even posting this really but I've zero idea how to approach companies to gauge interest in the software.
So, really, I'm looking for someone who could give me a few pointers really in how best to approach companies (like waste management, roadworks etc) to see if they'd want to either buy the software out right or pay on a subscription basis. Which I know also then opens up the ideas of limited companies etc.
So yeah, I'd appreciate any help or pointers with this. And yes, going forward contracts and deposits will be mandatory!
Anyway, it's finished really and the company I've been doing it for have gone completely quiet. Turns out today from someone I know is that they're struggling financially, so I'm looking at not being paid for this work at all. Nothing was signed, no money exchanged hands etc. Yes it's s
t, yes I should've had a contract, but this isn't something I do very often and thought it'd be OK. But that's not the question I have.The question I have is that, without too much work on my side, I know I can white label this software and I'm certain there are other companies across the country who would have a good use for something like this. My problem is that I have absolutely no idea where or what to do to begin. I've never ever been comfortable with cold calling and selling stuff, my skills are in the problem solving area of life. I honestly feel cheeky even posting this really but I've zero idea how to approach companies to gauge interest in the software.
So, really, I'm looking for someone who could give me a few pointers really in how best to approach companies (like waste management, roadworks etc) to see if they'd want to either buy the software out right or pay on a subscription basis. Which I know also then opens up the ideas of limited companies etc.
So yeah, I'd appreciate any help or pointers with this. And yes, going forward contracts and deposits will be mandatory!
Is it single instance, where the company buys it, installs it on their own tin, and runs it , or is it/can it be made multi-tenant easily, where you install it, feed and patch it, and the companies just access the front end?
If the latter, and its easy enough to do from a small start, maybe Azure marketplace is a good start?
If the latter, and its easy enough to do from a small start, maybe Azure marketplace is a good start?
Before you start approaching anyone, you first need to work out what you want / need to to charge for it. This isn't as simple as multiplying the time you spent on it by an hourly rate - unless you're just interested in getting 'something' from it but this could be denying yourself a nice little earner. It's about establishing what it's worth to a potential customer.
For example, does it do the job of - say - two people? If each of those people are paid £35k a year, then your portal is potentially worth £70k plus to a company because after the first year, that's what they'd be saving. Does it bolster reputation? Does it improve efficiency?... some of these are difficult to monetise so monetise what you can and the others become virtues that you use to market the portal.
Bottom line is that you need to formulate an 'offer'; what it does, what's it's benefits and how much. Then you can go to market.
Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in getting this out there. You need to pick up the phone and start talking to people. The more you do, the easier it becomes and the more insight you'll get on the right and wrong approaches.
HTH - Good Luck
For example, does it do the job of - say - two people? If each of those people are paid £35k a year, then your portal is potentially worth £70k plus to a company because after the first year, that's what they'd be saving. Does it bolster reputation? Does it improve efficiency?... some of these are difficult to monetise so monetise what you can and the others become virtues that you use to market the portal.
Bottom line is that you need to formulate an 'offer'; what it does, what's it's benefits and how much. Then you can go to market.
Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in getting this out there. You need to pick up the phone and start talking to people. The more you do, the easier it becomes and the more insight you'll get on the right and wrong approaches.
HTH - Good Luck
The other question to add to the list is whether companies actually want your program.
What I mean by this is do they actually want these claims to go through or do most companies actually want a convoluted process to avoid having/paying claims?
For example, when we bought our current home, we ended up getting one of those home warranty things. Their systems are deliberately awkward to avoid paying out claims. A streamlined program as you describe would probably end up costing them far more money as most people just give up and go away.
What I mean by this is do they actually want these claims to go through or do most companies actually want a convoluted process to avoid having/paying claims?
For example, when we bought our current home, we ended up getting one of those home warranty things. Their systems are deliberately awkward to avoid paying out claims. A streamlined program as you describe would probably end up costing them far more money as most people just give up and go away.
The Moose said:
The other question to add to the list is whether companies actually want your program.
What I mean by this is do they actually want these claims to go through or do most companies actually want a convoluted process to avoid having/paying claims?
For example, when we bought our current home, we ended up getting one of those home warranty things. Their systems are deliberately awkward to avoid paying out claims. A streamlined program as you describe would probably end up costing them far more money as most people just give up and go away.
The software was to reduce the paperwork on their end, as well as the ability to record everything. One case the guy making the claim soon realised he was talking to a woman, ended up sending dick pics etc. So they wanted it in place where discussions, emails etc are only ever discussed through the portal and not individual email addresses. What I mean by this is do they actually want these claims to go through or do most companies actually want a convoluted process to avoid having/paying claims?
For example, when we bought our current home, we ended up getting one of those home warranty things. Their systems are deliberately awkward to avoid paying out claims. A streamlined program as you describe would probably end up costing them far more money as most people just give up and go away.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff