ONLINE COMMUNICATION: ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE! by Jack Fries The catastrophe of September 11 has shaken our nation. What can you do to assuage some of the feelings of fear and anxiety ...

OPTIMIZE PRESS RELEASES FOR SEARCH ENGINES by Marcia Yudkin Press releases, when used properly, can attract prospects as effectively as advertising. But do you know how to optimize them for ...

ORGANIZING TO SUPPORT THE SALES EFFORT by Carol Hammes At some point, it becomes essential to step back from the situation and evaluate whether the organizational structure and job descr...

Instead of hiring telemarketers to work within your agency just for you, you could choose to pay an outside vendor to provide telemarketing services. These...

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.

PEOS: DO THEY HAVE YOU COMING, OR GOING? by Eric Moberg Is your agency equipped to handle the additional responsibilities of administering PEOs to your Commercial clients? This doc...

PERSONAL LINES RECORDS INCREASE REVENUE! by Grace Bauer People don't pay much attention to Personal Lines when it comes to account rounding, the yearly renewal review, and new busin...

Successfully obtaining telephone appointments or expiration dates requires a new response to the worn out responses of yesterday.
Most people resent telephone interruptions and are prepared to do serious battle.

It seems as if we all need a good, old-fashioned whack on the head to get our attention. This is a moment when businesses need to connect with the business end of a two-by-four.
Change is in the wind. If there's one lesson the last decade or so has taught us, it's that there's a new economy, and it's global, integrated, and interdependent.