OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO AGENCY GROWTH by Carol Hammes Deal with agency growth problems before they reach a crisis point. Unfortunately, this agency scenario is all too common. Enough new bu...

All producers know that overcoming objections is part of the selling process. However, many forget that making objections is just as intrinsic to the buying process.

To identify the root causes of objections, producers should put themselves into the buyer's shoes. You also buy in your personal life, so use your own experiences to sharpen your expertise.

Though faced with the realities of dramatic economic change, the reconfiguration of the business landscape, and globalization, U.S. companies continue to go down the wrong path. Former U.S. Treasury Department official Michael Jacobs calls it "business myopia."

It may be argued that "enhancing shareholder value" drives the myopic vision of publicly-traded companies, but "shareholder demand" is perhaps more accurate. In privately held companies, myopic thinking results from a desire to increase market share or simply beat last month's figures.

OWNERSHIP ISSUES AND COMPENSATION by Carol Hammes During the past several months we have been addressing methods for compensating agency staff, managers, and salespeople. How should...

OWNERSHIP OF A PRODUCER'S BOOK: A BETTER WAY by Larry Morrison and Gary Jacobson Some agencies choose to offer key producers an 'ownership' interest in the producer's b...

P.R.: SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION by Michael Maynard Public relations is often improperly or ineffectively used, giving businesspeople, as well as the public, a warped view of P.R. In th...

PATHS TO UNDERWRITING PROFITABILITY by Becky Lathrop and Jon Persky Many agencies focus their efforts on new production and overall growth in order to achieve their objectives. Although this i...

Are you trying to figure out how much to pay your producers by asking, 'What's the agency down the street paying?' Beware!

One of the toughest financial decisions agency owners face is how much to pay themselves. It's especially tricky for agencies with multiple principals, because it's rare that all owners make identical contributions to the organization. Deciding what's equitable compensation for each individual may cause unnecessary conflict.

When it comes to paying for a professional service, most of us are skeptical when the bill arrives in the mail.