PPG is helping its CertifiedFirst Network collision center owners and managers build relationships with insurance agents through its Continuing Education Instructor Development Training (IDT) program. Four such programs have been held this year with another scheduled Sept. 8-9 in Dallas.

PPG IDT is based on the value of offering continuing education to insurance agents. Insurance agents must maintain their professional certification through continuing education. IDT prepares CertifiedFirst Network collision center owners and managers to become instructors qualified to help agents maintain that certification.

A two-day IDT program will teach participants how to arrange for and present insurance agent continuing education classes, provides a suite of 14 industry-specific courses that are designed to be easy for shops to deliver and engaging for agents to experience, and prepares the candidate instructors to deliver them in dynamic fashion.

By becoming instructors, shop owners and managers can initiate and maintain professional relationships with insurance agents. Instructors keep the agents current with the latest collision industry technology and techniques and help them gain familiarity with the CertifiedFirst shop. This, in turn, allows the agents to maintain their certification.

“The PPG Continuing Education Program is a proven sales tool that motivates insurance agents to refer policyholders to the CertifiedFirst Network and to view CertifiedFirst Continuing Education instructors as industry ‘experts’,” says Cheryl Senko, manager of Continuing Education and Network Training for the CertifiedFirst Network.

“Building relationships with insurance agents is a vital ingredient in an overall collision center marketing plan, and nothing builds relationships like a PPG Continuing Education program,” says Norm Angrove, senior manager, PPG Value Added Programs.

The IDT program has trained 37 instructors this year. Since the program’s inception in 2005, CertifiedFirst instructors have trained almost 9,000 insurance agents.
IDT is just one element of the insurance marketing program PPG makes available to its CertifiedFirst Network participants. Other network benefits include marketing and ad templates, precision marketing demographic and sales reports, quarterly agent newsletters, and shop credential presentation materials.

Many classes are available through the new CertifiedFirst online Virtual University for agents who cannot attend live classes. In addition, PPG Continuing Education will be the subject of a breakout session led by Angrove at the upcoming MVP Conference to be held in September in Nashville.

For more information visit www.certifiedfirst.com.