BEYOND BEST PRACTICES: ARE YOU EXCEPTIONAL? by Tom Doran What are the five most crucial success factors to which you would attribute your success? This is the fundamental Best Pract...

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...

BRAIN TISSUE AND SCAR TISSUE by Michael Manes A wise friend of mine often talks about brain tissue versus scar tissue. I agree with him that these are the two ways that we learn. Brain tis...

Stephen Covey wrote a seminal book on how to run your life and your business, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s a must read to fully understand the concepts of this article. Once you've read the book read it again at least once every quarter until you've absorbed these ideas into your psyche and are living those seven habits. One of the seminal habits is “Begin with the end in Mind”. However, an even more important principle of life and business is always do what’s right for the end user.

Dear (Customer Name): One minute it's day care . . . the next minute, a counseling appointment . . . followed by a session in strategic public relations. You...

Dear (Customer Name): You've purchased Life insurance for key employees because you know it could mean financial disaster for your company if you were to lose someone...

The previous article (Creating A Successful Plan For Marketing Commercial Lines Part I), presented information about the matrix of the agency book of business, the review of the book of for account development, and a review of company programs and products. In this second of a three-part series, Jack Fries focuses on selecting a proper market.

COMMUNICATING INSURANCE JARGON Good communication skills are necessary to satisfy clients' needs-and that is the most important part of a CSR's job. A common barrier to good communication, an...

COMMUNICATION BUILDS TRUST by Bill Cates Why we all need honest communication in our business and personal lives. In his book Just Be Honest, Steven Gaffney believes that withhold...

COMPARING APPLES TO ORANGES by Bill Wilson Youve seen the commercials: 'Call now and save 15% or more on your car insurance!' Unfortunately, when someo...