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...

ADDING VALUE TO A FAMILY BUSINESS by Pegi Flahault A long time ago, agencies thrived by simply writing enough policies, attending enough meetings, making enough contacts, and re...

The speakers on the tape I was listening to said, 'When you complete the process of rearing your children, you want to be...

BOOST YOUR SALES BY 95% Patricia A. Berry Most salespeople can increase their sales by 95%, by using professional knowledge and skills - and anyone who presents ideas, influences dec...

When communicating your message, don't let familiarity breed indifference...

COMPANY CONTRACTS: DOUBLE YOUR BONUSES by Chris Burand If one company is willing to pay twice the bonus for the same results, the same book, the same ease of doing busin...

CRISIS-MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES by Douglas Henderson All businesses should have a plan of action to respond to a crisis situation. Disasters commence with little or no warning, and a good re...

Every company faces crises that have the potential for doing serious damage to its reputation, image, and/or financial stability. Events that might’ve been minor or even unnoticed a few years ago could now wind up on the evening news or on page one of the newspaper. While some incidents are insignificant, others can be devastating. Yet when they occur it’s often difficult, if not impossible, to know whether the problem will evaporate or escalate, blow over or boomerang.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: REALITY CHECK by Mike Manes Mike Manes presents a series of episodes that he observed in a single week while visiting his mother-in-law during a rece...

How to create a calm, cohesive, and accountable working team.
Personnel challenges are not uncommon when you’re a manager. But how does a manager know if the root of the problem lies in the employee or the manager?