lsquo;IT AIN'T EASY BEING A CUSTOMER ANYMORE!' by Mike Manes The good news about being a poor old Cajun boy (I've been criticized for using this term to describe my...

There's nothing better for business than a booming economy. Unfortunately, it often encourages faulty thinking and spawns erroneous ideas. When sales are strong and profits meet projections, we're quick to take the credit. When things go sour, external forces get the blame.
A good economy tends to mask distorted thinking and inappropriate ideas. For example, personal computer sales have been drifting downward, even while prices have been dropping. Manufacturers are petrified. Out of near desperation, they jack up power to a sizzling 500 MHz to try to capture customer attention. Just as this happens, free PCs appear. In the midst of all this, one company rediscovers itself. To IBM's credit, it figured out what business it's in: solutions.

Just when we think we've grasped what's happening in business, something changes to disrupt the precarious balance. It may occur in the economy, an industry, a region, a particular market, or technology that alters even the most flexible business plan.

Establishing a strategy, then staying with it, was possible for most businesses until the last decade. Planning a year or more in advance was relatively easy. Ups and downs would occur but with a high degree of predictability. Hitting sales and revenue targets was almost a natural outcome.

24-7 SERVICE PAYS by Pegi Flahault A recent survey indicated that the vast majority of agents surveyed believed their customer base did not want 24/7 service, voice mail, e-mail or anyth...

A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR SMALL AGENCIES by Chris Burand Independent agencies, even small ones, definitely have a bright future. Offer better service related to a specific product or offe...

Suppose a local bedroom community just finished an Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification inspection and was...

ACCOUNT ROUNDING BY CSRs by Ralph Manfredi In this article, Ralph Manfredi focuses on a proven system for turning service into sales and profits. Learn how to turn every service...

ACHIEVING SUCCESS BY DEFINING SERVICE Sometimes defining a problem goes halfway toward solving it. When warring factions spend months to determine the shape of the table for peace talks, for in...

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...

ADVERTISING FOR HELP by Al Diamond INSURANCE Licensed P/C agent. Benefits Call Sonja at (856) 555-5555 (Cost $27.36 for Sunday insertion) How attractive is this advertisement? Would you be ...