A BOY NAMED SUE: A GUIDE TO PRODUCER TRAINING by Chris Burand A successful producer training program creates a powerful competitive advantage. Many readers are probably familia...

A CREATIVE WAY TO SELL 'UMBRELLAS' IMMS Member Wayne Smart of Fry, Jordan & Wilson, Inc., South Boston, Virginia sells Personal Umbrella insurance by the bucketful. Here's how: Wayne tapes a pape...

This article should challenge your thinking and management style and create new opportunities for you to build more Personal Lines sales. To improve your sales, your staff must change how they see themselves, develop their own reasons for doing what you want them to do, establish strategies to use the skills they already have, and adopt new ways of communicating.

ACCOUNT-UPGRADING Dear (Customer Name): Clients often ask us, 'Do I need to bond every single one of my employees to make certain I'm protected?' The subject of bonds can seem complex, but at (Yo...

Confusion over agency bill vs. direct bill options has caused an E&O claim or two. Curtis Pearsall illustrates the consequences of this confusion with an example.

AGENCY TELEPHONE PROCEDURES: HOW TO TAKE CALLS by Karen Flaherty Verbal Courtesy Courtesy pays off. It's hard to be mad at someone who's being nice, so be nice! Be generous with ...

AGENCY TELEPHONE PROCEDURES: TELEPHONE EXCELLENCE by Karen Flaherty If you ask a group of customer service representatives to talk about problems they encounter on the job, the agency tel...

AGENCY TELEPHONE PROCEDURES: TELEPHONE MESSAGES by Karen Flaherty Telephone Messages Conveying messages has always played an important role in telephone work. Hundreds of pieces of...

APPROACHING FRIENDS FOR REFERRALS: II by Bill Cates How do you approach friends, and others, about the work you do to get referrals? How can you go back to clients who have given ...

ARE YOU LISTENING TO YOUR CUSTOMERS? by Emily Huling On a recent business trip, I had dinner at one of the nicer family restaurants. A couple seated nearby had the same attentive server t...