$200,000 GROSS COMMISSION PER PRODUCER: DREAM OR REALITY? by Chris Burand Whats your agencys break-even point for producers? Does $200,000 sound high? Read this document b...

AGENCY MANAGEMENT 202 by Carol Hammes Often, its not money that motivates people as much as it is the environment. Few people will leave a job for additional compensation unless other...

Stephen Covey wrote a seminal book on how to run your life and your business, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s a must read to fully understand the concepts of this article. Once you've read the book read it again at least once every quarter until you've absorbed these ideas into your psyche and are living those seven habits. One of the seminal habits is “Begin with the end in Mind”. However, an even more important principle of life and business is always do what’s right for the end user.

CARRIERS PUT THE SQUEEZE ON AGENTS by Edward Curry If you're an agency owner wondering why your carriers are making it so difficult to do business with them, you're not alone. While...

ENHANCE BUSINESS IN DIFFICULT TIMES: MANAGE FINANCES by Brian Burke, ASA Successful agencies act in seven areas to enhance business during difficult economic times: marketing, prosp...

MARKETING CLUSTERS - A MEANS OF GROWTH AND SURVIVAL by Jack Fries The benefits, drawbacks, and formation of a marketing cluster. Clustering has been around for ...

PRODUCER COMPENSATION Producer compensation plans among independent agencies vary tremendously. Pick up several compensation surveys and you'll observe variations that seem to confuse m...

SELLING YOUR AGENCY: ASSET vs STOCK SALE by Gary Jacobson, JD, and Larry Morrison, CMA, CLU, ChFC Which type of sale is right for your agency? INTRODUCTION: Most ag...

SHARKS WANTED: HIRING GREAT SALESPEOPLE by Chris Burand Find the best sharks and train them to be even more effective predators. We dont want the people who ...

THE BALANCE SHEET DOES MATTER! by Chris...