CSRs WHO SELL: SHOULD THEY BE TREATED LIKE PRODUCERS? by Virginia Bates Put your money where your mouth is. Whether principals and managers assume that employees unders...

CULTIVATE RELATIONSHIPS TO CULTIVATE SALES by Maribeth Kusmeski Cultivating relationships proactively is often an afterthought. Were just too busy trying to get through the workloa...

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPORT CARDS by Dave Kahle Although almost every agency claims to give better service than their competition nobody seems to be able to define 'better service.' And since ...

CUSTOMER/PROSPECT CORRESPONDENCE: CHOOSE RIGHT WORDS TO CONVEY RIGHT MEANING Poor word choice in customer correspondence can alienate prospects and customers. Additionally, jargon can be misint...

Your client and prospect databases are valuable resources that could cost the agency a bundle if they fell into the wrong hands. Yet under federal copyright law,...

DEFINE SERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS SERVICE ABOVE AND BEYOND Most agents, when asked by the consumer why he or she should do business with them, will say, 'Because we give great service.' But w...

DESIGNING EFFECTIVE SURVEYS by Mike Manes This is the latest in a series of articles on organizational management and leadership by Mike Manes. The first article created a Management ...

After an automated sales center is up and running, it's up to producers to act on the qualified leads that the sales center coordinator, assistant, and support staff have worked on.

Prospecting is an old term; replace it with "business development."

Business development requires a positive attitude, confidence, and discipline. The business development mind-set can be picked up by anyone who has a desire to step to the front line and just do what must be done. Commit to a business development plan of action, then organize and follow through.

Open the way to sales success with these three keys to interacting with prospects.

DIVIDE SALES DUTIES INTO MARKETING AND SELLING Some CSRs have trouble marketing because they confuse it with selling. The whole concept of persuading a customer to sign an application for a policy ca...