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.

Once you've decided to sell Life insurance in your agency, using one option or another, you'll need to recruit and/or train the staff necessary to make your operation profitable. And, you'll need to know how to assign responsibilities within the department and how to compensate your people for carrying out those responsibilities. You'll want to know how to properly motivate and supervise those people so that your operation continues to be profitable. That's what this 'Life Personnel' module is all about.

THE CUSTOMERS OF AN INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENCY by Gary Holgate As a consultant, the first questions I ask agency owners concern their customers. This provides me with a feel for the agency and...