Although golfing and selling have a lot in common, for most producers they're like night and day...

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...

HIRING, COMPENSATING, AND TRAINING TELEMARKETERS Hiring Telemarketers What do you look for when setting out to hire a telemarketer? Your first thought might be to go out and hire an experi...

HOW A CONSULTATIVE BROKER PRODUCES YEAR-END REVENUE by Rob Ekern Traditionally, Labor Day marks the beginning of the renewal and new business process (or unfortunately, in some cases, T...

HOW PEOPLE MAKE BUYING DECISIONS (AND HOW WE STOP THEM) by Michael Lovas Caution: this article contains ideas that might upset you! About 25 years ago, when I began writing profess...

HOW TO SELL WHEN THE CUSTOMER IS IN CHARGE OF THE SALE by John Graham It only takes a few words to describe the dramatic change that confronts every sale...

IDENTIFY FRUITLESS PROSPECTS BEFORE THEY WASTE YOUR TIME by Al Diamond Those of us who don't market at all, jump at every opportunity to present insurance proposals through referrals or ...

Dear Dave:

Our agency has hired a full-time Life producer to handle Personal Lines only. We believe we have enough accounts to justify that move. She tested well for personality and potential, but she is fairly new in the Life business. She is closing about one out of four presentations, which sounds fine for a relative beginner, since the closing average for all agents is about one out of three. But since she deals with many Mortgage policies and writes reducing Term policies at fairly low premiums, the bottom-line dollars are low. We need to create more cash flow. What can you suggest?

INSURANCE DIRECT MARKETING by Ed Drake Rather than focusing solely on how to handle business within the agency, managers must direct their focus to marketing prec...

INTERNAL CREDIT POLICIES: CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION by Mary Beth Bolen Let's face it-few people enjoy collecting funds for premiums. Collecting on past-due accounts is even less pleasant. W...