BOTTOM-UP PLANNING by Ted Silver When an agency understands what individual agency employees want to accomplish from a production standpoint in terms of new and renewal business as ...

CHOOSING THE RIGHT MARKET FOR YOUR AGENCIES by Janet Lewis After the work that goes into finding and qualifying prospects, getting in the door, and gathering the proper data to quot...

FRAMEWORK FOR AGENCY SUCCESS by Patty Vaughn Planning agency success is a learning experience. Sharing ideas, taking advantage of opportunities, and tapping untapped resources, with the help of ...

GOOD SCRIPTS SELL MORE (A good script can make your phone marketing campaign. A bad one will destroy it. So get a qualified person to write a script, and make sure it's written in a way...

IF I WERE MARKETING MANAGER FOR A DAY by Janis Williamson, CPCU, CPIW The role of the marketing manager is quite different than it has ever been before because the marketplace is li...

IMAGINING A MARKETING MANAGER'S CONVERSATION by Knight Berman How a company makes decisions and executes them has long been a puzzle to agents. Sometimes, the decisions seem to ref...

This is not the time to be passive about company relationships. If you want to stay in business, you must develop and maintain strong company contacts. As you continue to court new markets, also devote time to enhance relations with your current carriers. Remember, decisive interaction with company personnel is a powerful tool in agency-company relations.

MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Management implies the existence of formal authority, while leadership may not have any connection with formal authority. Marketing managers are in their...

THE KEY TO PROFITABILITY by Mary Beth Bolen To be successful in business, carrier marketing managers must thoroughly understand what business they are in, why they are in it, and ho...

THE SEVEN MOST DEADLY SINS COMMITTED BY AGENCY MANAGERS by Robert Westin This article has nothing to do with morals. I'm not in the business of saving souls but of helping others ...