IS 70% OF YOUR MARKETING MISSING THE MARK? by Mitch Axelrod Answer this question: Why do you buy what you buy? Its commonly thought that people buy for one of two reasons: desire ...

A recent article in a national training magazine used "insurance" as an example of a commodity sale. Do you agree with that? Is insurance a commodity? Do you sell it that way? Should it be sold that way? How do your insureds and prospects view it? In this article, the IIABA Faculty explores some of these issues.

The international insurance market offers a variety of benefits to independent agents and brokers. It provides a perfect tool for solidifying your Commercial Lines accounts and insulating them from inroads being made by alphabet house brokers. International insurance operations also offer an entree to new product lines and markets that will expand your facilities abroad. For example, U.S. agents can introduce their expertise in such lines as Auto, Medical, Surety, and Workers' Compensation to third-world countries that are privatizing these coverages. Canadian brokers can expand their expertise in out-of-country private Medical insurance and, potentially, Workers' Compensation.

Third-party endorsements inspire confidence and increase your credibility. Make letters of recommendation part of your marketing mix. In this document, Bill Cates tells you how and when to ask for letters of recommendation.

Today, the Long-Term Care insurance (LTCI) industry is maturing from its infancy and growing into a more stable product. In this document, Gary Katelman examines the changes that are occurring in Long-Term Care insurance.

The difference between closing a sale and losing it rests with the presentation. Whether you’re selling a product or an idea, the ability to present effectively is the difference between acceptance and rejection.

Yet, most Americans would rather die than give a speech. Whatever the facts, the idea of standing in front of an audience ranks far below going to the dentist for most people.

MAKING CUSTOMER SURVEYS WORK by Al Diamond Customer Satisfaction Surveys have not yet become popular in the insurance agency business. Too many agency owners fear, rather than look forward to, ...

In recent reports, I have addressed the changing nature of the relationship between the American agency companies and the independent agents that have historically been the backbone of their sales force. A new type of distribution system is evolving out of the need to provide a more rational and cost-effective method of delivering the insurance product to the consumer. No longer are agency-company relationships based upon blind loyalty to a shared history but more upon the concurrence of strategic business and marketing plans.

Gunther Gunderson had doubled the sales staff in his ski shop. Heidi Svenson, the shop's thermal underwear buyer, suggested that Gunderson might save money and take charge of his employees' medical insurance coverage by opening a Medical Savings Account (MSA). Gunderson was skeptical until Svenson showed him Section 105 (h) of the Internal Revenue code which allows employers to start MSAs for their employees' welfare.

Sometimes I think that the best thing that could happen would be for someone to take away the computer printer. Why? Because, every time I send an E-mail out to a large group, a third of the group will print the message even before reading it, a third will read it and then print it, and only the last third will simply read and delete it.