There are still those who believe that something will stick if you toss enough stuff against the wall. John Graham believes that we fail to ask ourselves the right question, the one that defines the marketing and sales mission.

CONSULTANTS: TAKE A LOOK IN THE MIRROR! by Mike Manes A consultant's work should go to the bottom line, not the bottom shelf. Mike Manes presents a set of quest...

CONSULTATIVE BROKERS IN A CHANGING MARKET by Rob Ekern Those of us who entered the business more than 20 years ago have seen two or three market cycles. We had to weather at least one and...

CONSULTATIVE SELLING WORKS! by Al Diamond In a soft market, dont sell your clients - help them! The only...

Change — it’s inevitable. A recent article stated that “change is not progress; change is the price we pay for progress.” As consumers, we all want more, better, less costly stuff than we have today. As providers of products and services, we feel that we’re already doing more with less and shouldn’t be expected to sacrifice again. Maxine, the cartoon character, summed it up best when she said, “change is good, as long as I can do what I’ve always done.”

CONVERT PROSPECTS TO CLIENTS by Bill Cates Many factors go into converting a prospect into a client. However, theres one factor that most people who are trying to make the ...

CONVEY BAD NEWS POSITIVELY There's nothing like being the bearer of bad new. Yet this letter shows how you can inform your clients of what's going on, to position yourself as the clien...

David and Goliath is no longer news. These days, all a boy needs to kill a big man is a gun instead of a sling and a rock. Similarly, technology has created a new world of competition. A David who understands technology can successfully compete against any corporate Goliath.

The 'Jones Agency' (a fictitious name for a real agency) presented itself as a Multi-line P/C agency. 'Auto-Home-Life-Health-Business Insurance' were proclaimed on its...

CROSS-SELLING: WHAT WENT WRONG? by Jack Burke Why don't agencies invest more energy in cross marketing additional policies to existing customers? ...