MUTUAL FUNDS: MODULE V-I OVERVIEW By now you've probably heard a great deal about mutual funds. So have many investment-minded members of the public. But, while ...

NASCAR: SUCCESS CREATES CHALLENGES by Chris Burand Chris Burand compares agency management challenges with NASCARs: Learning to manage people and their emotions, while still succeeding...

PARTNERING WITH CARRIERS by Al Diamond Trust between you and your carriers must be a two-way street. Agencies have given carriers as many reasons to distrust their commitments ...

PATHS TO UNDERWRITING PROFITABILITY by Becky Lathrop and Jon Persky Many agencies focus their efforts on new production and overall growth in order to achieve their objectives. Although this i...

PERPETUATION PLANNING: PLANTING PEOPLE by Al Diamond Make human assets the most important resources in perpetuating your agency. A Chinese prove...

Electronic document storage is an issue that every agency should address as part of their management process. Steve Anderson offers some ideas to help you stay ahead of the storage curve.

PRODUCER COMPENSATION: A PRIMER by Al Diamond One of the most common questions that we get each week is 'How much should we pay producers?' The range that weve encountere...

Last week I was at a regional meeting where I met up with several producers from Texas. Having been a producer (a long time ago) and knowing how to swing a golf club, I fit right in. Being as committed to growth as I am, I ask the killer question that quickly exposes a problem. “John, what’s your growth goal for this year?”
He pauses and says “Um...around 65%.”
“Uh-huh. Where’s that from?” I asked.
“Well, I doubt I can do 80% and I didn’t want to sound like a loser and say 50 %, so I came up with 65%.”

PUT CUSTOMERS FIRST Without competition, producers would eventually become complacent and ineffective. Competition is necessary for growth. If salespeople had an exclusive product or service with ex...

PUT SALES LAST TO SUCCEED by Michael Jans Agents dream about having their 'phones ring off the hook,' having swarms of sizzling hot prospects knock on their door insisting on ...