ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS? by Emily Huling On a recent business trip, I had dinner at one of the nicer family restaurants. A couple seated nearby had the same attentive server t...

Jenny Brower, marketing manager, Harbor/Brenn Agencies, Petosky, Michigan, wrote to us recently: 'I like everything I'm doing, but it's overwhelming-HELP!' With Jenny's permission...

ARE YOU RUNNING IN PLACE OR RUNNING THE RACE? by Al Diamond In this document, Al Diamond identifies the four phases of agent activity that define the effectiveness of...

ARE YOUR PRODUCERS DIAMONDS OR LUMPS OF COAL? Are your sales results less than exciting? Maybe your salespeople just don't have the right stuff . . . and never will. One leading psychologist, Mark ...

ARE YOUR PRODUCERS SUBSIDIZED? by Chris Burand If you dont think youre subsidizing your producers, you might need to think again. The average agency spends b...

If you’re in sales, you know the feeling. It’s the middle of the night about two weeks after starting a new job. You were enthusiastic and could hardly wait to get going. Now, your head is full of doubts. You try to shove them aside, but they don’t go away. “Everything is new,” you tell yourself. “I just need to give it a little more time.” However, the doubts keep coming back.
The gap between what you were told about the job and what’s actually happening grows wider by the day. After about three weeks, you finally ask yourself, “Have I made a mistake?”

If you're in sales, you can identify with this situation - about two weeks after starting a new job, you begin to doubt your decision. You detect a widening gap between what you were told to expect and what actually occurs. After only a month on the job, you conclude, 'I think I made a mistake.' You're probably right, because salespersons seem to be more prone to selecting the wrong job. Too often, their profession's tendency to stress the positive and minimize negative factors extend into their approach in choosing a job.

AUDIT EXPLANATION - PREPARE, PREPARE Dear (Customer Name), THERE'S SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AUDITS . . . As you know, Workers Compensation and General Liability policies are su...

In spite of 19th-hole braggadocio about rising sales figures, bottom-line results, and upcoming prospects, businesses do stall and stagnate. Streamline.com was a raging Internet stock until it ran into a wall. Kodak used to be a Wall Street favorite, and now it's struggling to find itself. P&G once had 99.44 % acceptance; now the tide seems to have turned. For years, Xerox set the standard; then it lost direction.

BANKS, AGENTS, AND PROFITS by Paige Proctor A recent survey by the IIAA and ABA (American Bankers Association) showed that 70% of bankers and 57% insurance agents think they can operate together and...