There are many ways to do this. One way is to get involved in industry activities. Take part in national, state, and local association technology events. Attend user group meeting locally and nationally. Or volunteeer to be part of AUGIE (ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange) or ACT (Agents Council for Technology), either by attending meetings or by participating in working groups via email and conference calls.
Second, advocate changes to vendors and carriers. Again, by working through user groups, you can share your thouughts with vendors. At the same time, make sure carriers know how important agency-friendly technology developments are in the market.
Third, make sure you take advantage of the beneficial technologies vendors and carriers provide. For instance, the way to drive further improvements in real-time or download technologies is to support what's already been done -- then offer feedback on what can be improved. The way to make sure agency management systems are continually improved upon is to use and share insight on developments that vendors make available.
Source: AUGIE (ACORD-User Groups Information Exchange)
