IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY TO INCREASE NEW SALES by Carol Hammes When setting your agency's production goals for the coming year, don't rely on help from the marketplace. In fact, it...

Dear Dave:

Our agency has hired a full-time Life producer to handle Personal Lines only. We believe we have enough accounts to justify that move. She tested well for personality and potential, but she is fairly new in the Life business. She is closing about one out of four presentations, which sounds fine for a relative beginner, since the closing average for all agents is about one out of three. But since she deals with many Mortgage policies and writes reducing Term policies at fairly low premiums, the bottom-line dollars are low. We need to create more cash flow. What can you suggest?

INCENTIVE COMPENSATION PROGRAMS by Al Diamond Al Diamonds Incentive Compensation Programs (ICP) are blossoming and creating more productive employees who understand that growth and pro...

The sale of Life insurance to Personal Lines Property/Casualty customers has long been an issue with traditional independent insurance agents and brokers. There are very few agencies that haven’t tried, at one time or another, to develop a program to cross-sell Life, Health, or Disability to existing customers. Many agencies have even hired a “Life Person,” only to end up with a big expense and little income to show for the effort. This has only added to the frustration of the agency owners. So what’s the answer?

INDIVIDUAL PLANNING AND GOAL-SETTING MAKE CREDIBILITY, PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT PAY by Allen Karlin, Ph.D. Planning to succeed is a continuous process. It's not something done once for the n...

INFLUENTIAL PERSONALITIES: HOW YOU INFLUENCE THOSE AROUND YOU by Steve Anderson The amount of influence you have refers to how well you are able to convince others to accept your point of...

Many people tend to credit the origin of infomercials to the old, late-night slicer/dicer and Pocket Fisherman commercials. Granted, some tacky infomercials have taken the slicer/dicer format, but the original infomercials began on a higher ground: religion.

Before you haul me off to a padded room, let's define "infomercial."An infomercial is an advertisement for a product or service that has been expanded with information, entertainment, or both to retain the attention of the audience.

For most of the world, remote work is new and difficult; an understanding that everyone is having to come to terms with. This includes insurance agents- which is why we assume you are here. In this article, we will review the many ways that the insurance market is being affected by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.

INSURANCE COMPANIES: WILL THE REAL COMPETITORS PLEASE STAND UP? by Chris Burand Chris Burand tells why companies need to know their competition inside and outside their agency plant...

INSURANCE COMPANY RATINGS by Chris Burand Do we place too much emphasis on a carriers rating while ignoring other factors and trends that might hold significant insight into a co...