REFERRALS: LETS TALK lsquo;BOOK VALUE by Gil Simonds In the last article, after talking about how to avoid getting referrals that were less than desirable, I noted that...

SAMPLE LIST OF DESIRED BEHAVIOR How to Be An Excellent Employee 1. Understand that all relationships require trust, direction, communication and commitment to be successful. 2. K...

SEVEN MANAGEMENT KEYS GO BEYOND SURVIVAL by John Jaques For independent agencies to thrive in today's tough economic environment, agency management must actively and strongly implement sev...

SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICY SAVES CASH WORKING PARTNERS 'A couple of years ago,' Jerry Moland says, 'I had my head buried in the sand. I saw it in the news, read it in the paper, but figured it wa...

SUPER SERVICE: A PROCESS, NOT A PROJECT by George Nordhaus We often see 'service' as a magic word-the 'open sesame' that will somehow ensure customer retention and build bottom-line profits....

TELEMARKETING CAN BUILD BUSINESS by Randall Marc and Adam Seid Before beginning a telemarketing campaign, some internal research needs to be done. Everyone would like to believe th...

We've all heard that the essence of marketing is to find a need and fill it. Well, unless you have deep pockets or know exactly what the world needs, your marketing efforts will yield a better response if you follow this formula instead: Find a want and fill it.
Most of us have enough food, shelter, clothing, and transportation-we don't need much more. But we want more. We need food, but we want fast foods, diet foods, or gourmet foods. Most of us don't need a 2 1/2-bath home or expensive designer clothes, but we want them. We may need a car, but we want a Lexus or a BMW.

THE LOST ART OF BROKING by Rob Ekern Write quality, profitable business in soft and hard markets alike. I was speaking with a broker several weeks ago about the importance o...

THE PERFECT EMPLOYEE: PERFECT OR NOT? by Grace Bauer I just finished talking to a customer about one of his staff members. 'He's a perfect employee,' the customer said. 'He's ki...

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF MARKETING Craig Shields, president, Direct Marketing Agency, Inc., Irvine, CA, recently identified seven categories of basic mistakes that make marketing expensive, wasteful,...