Customer Service

The virtual office concept, also known as telecommuting or a mobile office, emerged as the American work force shifted from physical labor to knowledge-based work. Workers who create or manipulate information can generally perform anywhere there is a telephone, desk, chair, and computer. Technology enables the knowledge-based worker's office to be portable.

In this document, Jack Fries excerpts questions from the Sales Success Profile, a sales skill test developed by Lousig-Nont and Associates (Las Vegas). The Sales Success Profile is the only sales test on the market based on assessing actual selling skills, not personality.

When it comes to marketing, the insurance industry can face a lot of challenges. The landscape of the insurance business has undergone several changes in the past couple of decades. These changes are mostly due to the rise in internet startups selling insurance.

There are days when working in the insurance industry can feel a bit overwhelming, to say the least. This is especially true when insurance buyers that ultimately become your clients are applying for coverage that they are not necessarily a good fit for, yet believe they are.

In the realm of technology, Don Tapscott, keynote speaker for ACORD Technology Conference '97, holds the crystal ball. His book, The Digital Economy, has influenced the direction of automation in the corporate world. Excerpts from an interview with Tapscott, published in In ACORD magazine, follow.

Today we are witnessing the early, turbulent days of a revolution as significant as any other in human history. A new medium of human communications is emerging, one that may prove to surpass all previous revolutions, including the printing press, telephone, television, computer, in its impact on our economic and social life.

Occupational illnesses suffered by telemarketers have risen from 18% of all illnesses in 1981 to 62% in 1992. You may have heard complaints of stiff or sore necks, backs, hands, wrists, arms, elbows, and shoulders. Or you may have seen an increase in Workers Compensation claims from insureds who have their own telemarketing or call centers.

We all know the value that cross-selling brings to agencies. According to industry statistics, profit margins on the second sale are two to three times higher than the first and retention is 60% higher. Yet the average independent agency’s number of policies per customer hasn’t changed in 20 years. How can such a vital, well-publicized goal remain so elusive for so long? It’s as if we all know how to become millionaires but ignore the facts. The truth is that cross-selling is a complex process that can fail for a number of reasons.

Many marketing managers and representatives may ask: "Why is a sales center important to me? Isn't it designed for niche- or target-marketing? How would this fit into my company, that wants Main Street business?"

Having a marketing-representative background provides me with a unique perspective on sales centers. I know that the marketing representative is much more than a "go-for" problem-solver, running down endorsements, acting as portable shrink between underwriters and agents, or being "the official news agency TAS," spouting party line. I know that marketing is the precursor to selling.

Before implementing a telemarketing campaign, several key issues need addressing to be sure your objectives are met.

When you come right down to it, failure is a word we use to describe anything short of absolute success. Like perfection, success is unforgiving, when measured systemically. You either succeed or you don’t. For many people, there is nothing between success and failure. It’s an either/or, all-or-nothing outcome. Get an interesting and inspiring perspective on the concept of failure in this document by Mitch Axelrod.