A PERPETUATION PLANNING PRIMER by Tom Doran No one expects the current frantic pace of merger and acquisition activity to last forever. When it does cool off, more agency own...

ADDING VALUE TO A FAMILY BUSINESS by Pegi Flahault A long time ago, agencies thrived by simply writing enough policies, attending enough meetings, making enough contacts, and re...

ARE YOU A PRODUCER OR A CSR? by Grace Bauer There are plenty of producers out there who are really CSRs. Are you one of ...

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE? IT'S HERE! by Paul Bronow Consolidation within our industry is going much faster than we anticipated a few short years ago. The number of players is shrinki...

Linking up Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. A comprehensive PR campaign can begin with just one activity. In seminars, workshops...

BUSINESS PLANNING WORKBOOK by Michael Manes Introduction Planning is a commitment to move your organization from where it is to where it needs to be. ...

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...

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...

Do you regularly negotiate such contractual issues as commission rates, growth goals, etc. with your companies?

Congratulations to the 57% who responded, “Yes!” Based on those positive responses, it appears that agencies of all sizes are negotiating. Negotiations aren't limited to larger agencies. If these agents weren't succeeding in their negotiations, even in a hard market, they'd be giving up. Although 57% is a good percentage, I'd love to see this number keep growing. If you aren't negotiating contractual issues with your companies, isn't it time to begin?

DEALING WITH THE PRODUCER WHO'S LEVELED OFF by Dave Kahle If a producers performance is lagging, heres how to turn the situation around. Every manager has, or will, c...