Here's a letter I received recently:
Dear Dave:
I work for a $3.5 million P/C agency with about 60% Commercial and 40% Personal in premium volume. One in-house Life producer handles Commercial and Personal lines, sometimes with outside help. But she doesn't write any Disability policies at all; she considers Disability insurance a specialty that she doesn't want to sell. Should I try to talk her into it, pressure her into it, or just let it go? I don't want to add another full-time Life agent unless he/she would become profitable early on; it took two years for my present Life agent to reach profitability. What are my alternatives?

SELLING STRATEGIES: HOW TO BE THE LEAD DOG IN SALES by Emily Huling 'How does she do it?' 'Do you think he'd share his secret?' 'I hear her name all over town.' 'He ...

SHARKS WANTED: HIRING GREAT SALESPEOPLE by Chris Burand Find the best sharks and train them to be even more effective predators. We dont want the people who ...

SOCIAL MEDIA-IT AIN'T GOIN' AWAY by Tom Wetzel Social media. For many insurance companies and producers, the term conjures confusion and skepticism. For a smaller but growing group, social m...

SPEED: A NEW ENTITLEMENT by Jack Burke A benefit or a gift can quickly become something the receiver expects to get. Customer satisfaction, for instance, was originally a goal for businesse...

With summer approaching, the lull in autumn's new business results can't be far behind. September, October, and November are the weakest months for revenue and sales for a majority of agencies. Theories abound as to the reason, but probably it's because too many producers take the summer off from new account prospecting, or they spend their time continuing to round existing accounts. Sunshine, golf courses, and family take priority, and little new business is set up to be written in the fall.

SUCCESSFULLY GOING BROKE by Roy Phillips Various studies conducted by an aggregate of trade groups report that insurance agencies and brokerages suffer from inconsistencies in manag...

SUPERVISION: MODULE III-D INTRODUCTION Training is simply the first step in establishing a producer and/or CSR in your Life department. Once they have learned wha...

TAX IMPLICATIONS OF BUYING AND SELLING AGENCIES by Jon Persky One of your friendly competitors mentions that he received two times revenues when he sold his agency recently. However, did ...

If you offer a policy review, your agency must be prepared to handle responses. The first 10 seconds of a phone call may be crucial in forming the caller's impression of your professionalism. Depending on the agency's system for routing incoming calls, we advise that Life calls be handled by Life staff. In emergency situations, enough information should be obtained on the first call to enable the Life producer to reach the caller again, even if communications are difficult; don't lose the caller!