DONT GO TOO FAR WHEN ASKING FOR REFERRALS! by Bill Cates After reading a new book on referrals, I was shocked! The author opened with a story of an occasion when he asked for refer...

ELECTRONICS FIRMS - 'GAPS IN YOUR PRESENT COVERAGE' Dear (Customer Name): JUST ONE SMALL DISTINCTION BETWEEN MOST INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS AND YOUR FIRM . . . could be the deciding factor ...

E-MAIL MARKETING: METRICS 101 by Patricia Berry The beauty of e-mail is that when done right, those who interact with you through e-mail are even more likely to become long-term,...

ENCOURAGE A POSITIVE VIEW OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY by Mary Beth Bolen What are two 'facts' most customers 'know' about insurance? One, it costs too much. Two, if they make a claim, their po...

ETHICS IN LIFE INSURANCE AND RELATED FINANCIAL SERVICES by Samuel H. Weese, Ph.D., CLU, CPCU and Egnar F. Jensen In recent years, ethics has become a highly visible issue in the world of financial ...

EVALUATING BANK OPPORTUNITIES by Carol Hammes Faced with shrinking profit margins from their traditional products and services, financial institutions have been searching for ways...

FEAR OF CHANGE: A CONUNDRUM by Jack Burke 'Progress is a wonderful thing -- it's change I hate.' --Mark Twain Change is inevitable. In today's world, it has even be...

Financial Statements/Assets: lsquo;You Can't Get There from Here!' by Mike Manes We've all enjoyed this scene: A local hayseed bec...

FIND OUT WHY YOUR CUSTOMERS LEAVE by Jack Fries It costs about five times more to obtain a new customer than to retain an existing one. Though companies spend thousands of dollars to cr...

At least 30,000 attorneys in the U.S. claim that they're practicing employment law. Statistically speaking, what holds true for any profession is true for employment lawyers: Half are above average and half are below average. How do you distinguish one from the other? How can you find out which lawyers or firms are in the top 5%? Don Phin discusses the questions you should be asking.