FIND PROSPECTS BY USING THE INTERNET by Steve Anderson New business is the lifeblood of any agency. Although its important to retain existing client...

FINDING A COMPATIBLE BUSINESS COMBINATION by Catherine Oak Over the past few years, many firms have entered into a merger, acquisition, or some type of cluster arrangement with...

FINDING MARKETS: THE SPECIALTY PROGRAM CONSULTANT by Andrew Barile While a reinsurance intermediary operates between the ceding insurance company and the reinsurance company market, the...

'We were all raised by mothers who told us we had one chance to make a first impression,' Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut once said. He added, 'And a first impression can last you awhile.' It’s all about first impressions making them and responding to them.

Why all the concern with first impressions? Why do we believe that the first contact makes such a difference? 'No one gets a second chance at making a first impression' — true, or just popular business lore? John Graham looks for the answers in this document.

FIVE KEYS TO DYNAMIC SALES MEETINGS by Randy Schwantz It's Thursday afternoon and you're already thinking about Monday morning's sales meeting. You say to yourself, 'What a drain! Thi...

FIVE STEPS TO HIRING SUCCESS by Don Phin Many business owners struggle with the problem of hiring employees who care about the company. You can achieve this goal by following five ...

FIVE STEPS TO MARKET RESEARCH by Patricia Berry Patricia Berry offers five market research tactics that can help ...

To embrace — and benefit from — change, follow these guidelines.
Unrelenting and increasingly rapid change demands that the insurance industry rapidly uncover new ways to evaluate and respond to its marketplace.
I’ve worked with many highly successful insurance companies and agencies, helping them achieve higher levels of profitability through more sales, customer and employee loyalty, and retention. However, in many of these organizations, management remained blind to the dire need to change, despite its apparent desire to achieve higher profits. Managers can’t see the compelling need to change from the ways that allowed the organization to be successful in the first place.

How to determine if your agency or brokerage has a true sales culture

Even though you might be able to show extensive evidence that your agency is highly productive, profitable, or well capitalized, how do you measure your “sales culture?”