TELEPHONE TECHNIQUES by Mary Beth Bolen A business telephone is like a window: The telephone allows a person to 'see' into your company without ever walking through its doors. Moreover, you ha...

THE 'MOTHER-CHILD' COMMERCIAL LINES SALE by Alan L. Shulman, CPCU When you attempt to sell Commercial Lines, you can project yourself as either a generalist or a specialist. In virtually a...

We've all heard that the essence of marketing is to find a need and fill it. Well, unless you have deep pockets or know exactly what the world needs, your marketing efforts will yield a better response if you follow this formula instead: Find a want and fill it.
Most of us have enough food, shelter, clothing, and transportation-we don't need much more. But we want more. We need food, but we want fast foods, diet foods, or gourmet foods. Most of us don't need a 2 1/2-bath home or expensive designer clothes, but we want them. We may need a car, but we want a Lexus or a BMW.

Sustainable earnings are the 'bottom line' of agency value. It's important for agency owners to...

P/C agents often have reviewed contracts and leases in conjunction with writing Contractual Liability coverages. In many cases, agents will advise clients to reject hold-harmless clauses which place undue hardship on them. Yet insurance agents themselves may be in the grip of hold-harmless clauses, which could lay immense financial burdens on them, even if they are totally innocent of any wrongdoing. We refer to the producer or general agent (GA) contracts of some-not all! -- Life carriers. Unfortunately, some of these carriers are among the best-known career or brokerage companies and, even worse, agents often aren't aware of the poisonous clauses until it's too late and they're sued.

THE INTERNET AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE CITIZEN MARKETER by John Graham All the signs point in every possible direction. Even at huge eBay, the quintessential Internet portal, revenues are sl...

THE NEW SMALL AGENCY by Steve Anderson Theres never been a better time to start a new insurance agency than today. This might seem like a strange comment, given the current state o...

We all know the value that cross-selling brings to agencies. According to industry statistics, profit margins on the second sale are two to three times higher than the first and retention is 60% higher. Yet the average independent agency’s number of policies per customer hasn’t changed in 20 years. How can such a vital, well-publicized goal remain so elusive for so long? It’s as if we all know how to become millionaires but ignore the facts. The truth is that cross-selling is a complex process that can fail for a number of reasons.

Many agents tell me they're getting plenty of referrals and don't need to cold-call for new business. If you fall into this category, there's no need to read on. But if you want to grow beyond referral business, cold-call prospecting is a necessary means to that end. Yet there's a more effective (and honorable) way to do it than described above. It's all about your goal and your preparation for the call.

THE SALES FUNNEL: AVOID FEAST OR FAMINE by Al Diamond Use this proven system to maintain consistent sales results month after month. The Sales Funnel provides an invaluable res...