Whether you’re running a mega-agency or a boutique, following these proven management guidelines makes sense.
Learn what motivates each of your employees
Use this information to help manage their performance. Although status, power, or additional authority might motivate some people, others might be more excited by the opportunity for tapping into their flair for creative, job-related activities or more face-to-face contact with customers. Rewarding good employees with assignment that speak to their unique motivations, interest and long-range career goals can help you retain them.

Deadlock is to dealmakers what cliffhangers are to TV couch potatoes — frustrating yet compelling, as the impasse challenges each side’s negotiating maturity, skill, and acumen. This document by Patricia Berry offers 10 key methods for jump-starting a stalled exchange.

100 EASY WAYS TO BEGIN A SALES LETTER (Part Four) by Herschell Gordon Lewis 76. Quick: What if. . . We're really in the provocative neighborhood with this one, which hurls down an irresistible ga...

11 SUREFIRE TACTICS TO GAIN CONTROL OF RECEIVABLES by Ken Buehler If you have a receivables problem, now is the best time to contain it. Most agencies with receivables problems believe th...

24-7 SERVICE PAYS by Pegi Flahault A recent survey indicated that the vast majority of agents surveyed believed their customer base did not want 24/7 service, voice mail, e-mail or anyth...

A lsquo;FAILED PLAN AND THE SOLUTION By Al Diamond This letter from an Agency Consulting Group client, together with my reply, speak for themselves: Dear Al, I...

Sometimes we make things so complicated. Performance management provides an excellent one example. In the old days, we gave...

A CREATIVE WAY TO SELL 'UMBRELLAS' IMMS Member Wayne Smart of Fry, Jordan & Wilson, Inc., South Boston, Virginia sells Personal Umbrella insurance by the bucketful. Here's how: Wayne tapes a pape...

A HEALTHY MARKET? PERCEPTION IS REALITY by Chris Burand A recent study by Zurich U.S. revealed what I believe could cause big problems for agents and brokers in the near future. The probl...

FRAUDBUSTERS: A JUDGE'S PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORKERS COMPENSATION FRAUD PROBLEM by Susan Clarke Stories of people who claim a work injury after they hurt themselves at home are common. But ...