CATASTROPHE PLANNING: IS YOUR AGENCY REALLY PREPARED? by Grace Bauer After talking to a number of agents, I've learned that only 10% of agencies are truly prepared for a catastrophe! Sur...

CATASTROPHE PLANNING: IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN by Grace Bauer Some of us are nervous about spring, knowing that it brings tornados and floods. Some of us are in hurricane areas, where summer a...

EIGHT WAYS TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING SALES IN TODAYS ECONOMY by John Graham These eight selling lessons can apply in any economy. Stunned. Confused. Shocked. These thr...

Many people tend to credit the origin of infomercials to the old, late-night slicer/dicer and Pocket Fisherman commercials. Granted, some tacky infomercials have taken the slicer/dicer format, but the original infomercials began on a higher ground: religion.

Before you haul me off to a padded room, let's define "infomercial."An infomercial is an advertisement for a product or service that has been expanded with information, entertainment, or both to retain the attention of the audience.

MARKETING: THE ART OF DIFFERENT by Jack Burke Creativity in marketing has become mundane. Today's marketing creativity seems to have devolv...

SEVEN BIG STRATEGIES TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS GREAT by Pamela Millard If you built business around these seven key strategies, even an economic downturn wont mean the end of business ...

The preceding article examined five common agency marketing mistakes, together with remedies for these errors. This second in a two-part series by John Graham provides a list of five more mistakes and the reality checks that can overcome them.

Mistake #6. Failure to base decisions on fact. Marketing isn't about what you want to sell; it's about what someone wants to buy.

THE CREATIVITY FACTOR by Jack Burke Every so often, theres a breath of fresh air in a marketing or customer service technique. Every so often, someone somewhere does somethi...

TORNADOES AND THUNDERSTORMS by Douglas Henderson Tornadoes are spawned from powerful thunderstorms that often precede an advancing cold front. They exist in other areas of the world but are mos...

It's amazing to think that the first commercial radio station didn't go on the air until 1920 -- KDKA in Pittsburgh for trivia buffs. From that modest beginning, radio has grown to be a ubiquitous presence in our lives.

It wakes you up in the morning and gives you the news. You get in the car, and you probably turn on the radio. It goes to the beach, the ballpark, and the office. It gives everything from "heavy metal" to talk shows to Bach.