Align your marketing program to the needs and desires of today’s online customers.
“Control the customer and you control the sale.” This advice served generations of successful salespeople who knew that they could make any sale once they could get face-to-face with a prospect.

CASH BONUSES AND EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION by Chris Burand Would you be surprised to learn that not everyone is motivated by money? When it comes to offering employees an inc...

CEMENT RELATIONSHIPS TO BUILD RETENTION Service today should center on building lasting relationships-with the customer and with the companies the agency represents. Two fundamental types of CSR con...

CHANGE: WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY! by Chris Burand A changing industry offers the greatest opportunity business people ever have for becoming successful. Chris Burand urges you to welco...

Ten years ago it took $5 million in total agency revenues and about $30 million in Property/Casualty premiums to land on the top 100 agency list. Now an agency needs to have in excess of $10 million in revenues and $60 million in premiums to make the cut. Ten years ago the average independent agency in the country had $250,000 in total revenues with six to seven people. Today the average is close to $600,000 in revenues, also with six to seven people. To use a phrase from Bob Dylan, "the times, they are a changing."

CLIENT RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING LETTER: WOOD STOVES Dear (Customer Name), Let's face it: HIGH ANXIETY about the possibility of an oil crisis and our economy is running rampant! If you are one of ...

Closing a sale getting your prospect to say “yes” can sometimes be as easy as asking for it. Once you’ve laid the groundwork by qualifying your prospect, uncovering their needs, and showing how your product or service satisfy those needs, it’s time to ask for the order. Here are five tips to make this procedure simple and successful.

CLUSTER TIPS by Chris Burand Cluster contracts among individual agencies or groups of agencies (not necessarily the major cluster-type agency organizations) are almost alw...

COACHING WINNERS by Brenda French 'Remember, the purpose of effective coaching is to catch your employees doing something right!' Two of the most-common reasons for small-busines...

COBRA EXTENDS HEALTH BENEFITS The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act is better known as COBRA. Its acronym sounds venomous, but COBRA is the antidote for people who have just...