The changing marketplace is presenting several new pressures and challenges for the owners of independent agencies. The success...

Many of your insureds will be putting a lot of money into annuities this month, next month, and for many months to come. Based on national sales figures, this is a near-guarantee. Will they buy through your agency or from a competitor? If you're an agency decision maker, the answer lies in your hands.

BREAKING THE SUCCESS BARRIER by Kenneth Davis An invisible barrier is holding you back. It's the reason why many of us aren't achieving the goals we set for ourselves. It has been constructed bric...

Professional Agency Reviews invariably reveal backlog in most of the profit centers (Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, etc.). There’s no way to do regular account reviews for Personal Lines and small Commercial Lines, because the CSR 'doesn’t have time.' In this document, Jack Fries tells you how to motivate people to eliminate backlog and provide customers with the service that they deserve.

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE REWARDS by Carol Hammes More than 14% of all full-time workers in the United States switched jobs this past year. Turnover hits the bottom line of a business very...

ENJOY INSTANT GRATIFICATION - BE A GREAT PROSPECTOR by Preston Diamond Stamp the p word on your brain like a tatto...

FEE VS. COMMISSION-DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? The following article focuses on the insured's perspective of fee and commission based broker remuneration. Understanding the philosophies of both can b...

FIVE KEYS TO DYNAMIC SALES MEETINGS by Randy Schwantz It's Thursday afternoon and you're already thinking about Monday morning's sales meeting. You say to yourself, 'What a drain! Thi...

GENERATIONAL MARKETING by Patricia Czech Each generation has its own characteristics (ways of speaking, acting, and believing). Patricia Czech helps you to categorize them as marketing tar...

Ever since independent agencies were invented, their owners have wondered how to find, motivate, and keep good producers. But according to one consultant, most principals still aren't getting a good deal.

'Across the United States, more employee producers are overpaid yet underproduce,' says Jeffrey Wodicka. Wodicka is president of a consulting firm called Directions Agency Management Resources Limited of Rockville, New York, as well as principal of The Greystone Agency, also of Rockville.