Successful marketing of Commercial Lines requires a detailed plan. The first step is to assess where you are right now. In this first of a three-part series, Jack Fries examines the preliminary steps that an agency should take in marketing Commercial Lines.

CONFIDENTIAL ANNUAL REVIEW As a valued customer of XYZ Agency, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your confidence in allowing us to service your insurance needs. To ...

Small businesses have not made the same progress as large businesses in developing drug abuse programs due to a lack of...

CROSS-SELLING TO CLIENTS TELEMARKETING SCRIPT Producer: Hi, (CLIENT NAME), this is (NAME) from (ABC AGENCY). How are you today? The reason I called is because when (ABC AGENCY) began han...

CROSS-SELLING: WHAT WENT WRONG? by Jack Burke Why don't agencies invest more energy in cross marketing additional policies to existing customers? ...

It's much easier to assess the financial strength of a carrier in the world of Property and Casualty insurance than in the world of Health insurance. Several organizations have standard rating systems to assess a P/C carrier's strength and financial performance. A broker can quickly compare the financial viability of various P/C carriers using an assigned rating. Brokers usually don't even bother to look at an unrated carrier.

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.

DONT LET DOMESTIC VIOLENCE COME TO WORK Thousands of workers are being abused at home - and, all too often, this abuse spills over into the workplace. According to the American...

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: THREE CAPITOL REFORMS Washington, DC is bustling with worker and health-care reforms. Employee benefits administrators need to explain to workers how the new legislati...

Despite concerns about life insurance company solvency and uncertainty over health-care reform, now is...