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 ...

DIRECT CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS: WINNING STRATEGIES AND LOST OPPORTUNITIES by Richard Barry Ever feel like youre talking to a brick wall because no matter what you try, you just can...

Focus on attracting customers not making sales.
With effusive CEO testimonials and countless articles and books describing how companies have transformed themselves into tightly focused, totally energized commerce machines, it would seem that change should be easy. But let’s face it: If it were simple, there’d be more of it. Even when the evidence for change is compelling, most companies continue to cling to the known and the familiar.

PRODUCER SUCCESS LESSON 38:

Nothing happens until somebody sells something. To make sales happen, IMMS.com Key Sales Consultant Randy Schwantz has created a comprehensive series of 43 Producer Success Lessons. Used singly or in combination, these powerful tools can help your producers build their skills - and grow their sales.

SALES SUCCESS IS AS EASY AS A-B-C by Emily Huling You've been told sales is a numbers game. Through tireless effort, you've established a prospect list of 700. All names and contact in...

SALES SUCCESS DEPENDS ON THE QUALITY OF YOUR CONTACT by Emily Huling You've been told that sales is a game of numbers. Through tireless effort, you've established a prospect list of 700...

SUCCESSFUL TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES: PART 2 by Bruce Shaffer In 'Successful Telephone Communication Techniques: Part I,' we talked about initiating a phone conversation ...

THE REALITIES OF DIRECT MAIL by Richard Barry 'I'm looking for cheap direct mail that works! Any ideas?' This is a legitimate question and worthy of discussion...

In Canada, they call them "expiry dates." In the U.S., they are called "expiration dates."

No matter what name they are given-"renewal dates," "anniversary dates," or any other name-one point is abundantly clear: People are more willing to change their agent or broker at renewal time than at any other time of year.

That is the way it has been in the past, particularly in Personal Lines, and surely that is the way it is going to be in the future.

X-dating is the name of the game. If you anticipate to grow; if you expect to even maintain last year's volume in this price cutting market; then you'd better believe X-dating is a must.

Expiration Date! Renewal Date! Anniversary Date! Call it whatever you wish. But without a pocket full of X-dates, you are "whistling Dixie" while some direct writer or, even worse, your fellow association contemporary, is marching off with your share of the market.