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...

FOCUSING ON CLIENT OR PROSPECT NEEDS by Mary Beth Bolen There's a lot of talk about niche marketing or target marketing today. Many speakers feel that it's imperative to find a certain niche i...

It used to be the $1 million ceiling. That was the level of revenue at which an individual performing agent with a few helpers had to become a business with different people handling different clients and responsibilities. Everyone still worked for the agent, but the agent no longer made every decision.

However, running an agency as a business doesn't automatically result in growth and a high quality of professional service. By the time the agency reaches $2 million, it runs into another "invisible ceiling."

GOT NOVOCAIN WITH THAT CALL LIST? by Chris Burand A study by Sandler Sales Systems (May 19, 2010, Reuters), identified cold calling as worse than giving speeches, and celibacy was prefe...

I don't actually want to fail. However, the fact is that we learn near to nothing when everything is going...

INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY EVENTS: REVELATION OR REPETITION? by Greg Maciag The insurance industry has spawned enough conventions and seminars to keep you busy year-round. And technology issues are...

IS CUSTOMER LOYALTY DEAD? by JoAnna Brandi When an agency meets some or all of our expectations we usually say that we're satisfied. When an agency goes a few steps further ...

This letter and questionnaire generated quite a response and helped one agency that sent it learn a lot about their image. The response rate to the letter was 13.23% --...

Sometimes I think that the best thing that could happen would be for someone to take away the computer printer. Why? Because, every time I send an E-mail out to a large group, a third of the group will print the message even before reading it, a third will read it and then print it, and only the last third will simply read and delete it.

Procrastination is the greatest labor-saving device ever invented. Agency owners look at various changes they can make in their agency and say, 'This is a great idea and I’ll implement it as soon as I can get around to it.' In this document, Jack Fries suggests that you eliminate the talk and resolve to take action in the New Year — and watch your profits grow.