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...

If you’re in sales, you know the feeling. It’s the middle of the night about two weeks after starting a new job. You were enthusiastic and could hardly wait to get going. Now, your head is full of doubts. You try to shove them aside, but they don’t go away. “Everything is new,” you tell yourself. “I just need to give it a little more time.” However, the doubts keep coming back.
The gap between what you were told about the job and what’s actually happening grows wider by the day. After about three weeks, you finally ask yourself, “Have I made a mistake?”

You've probably received great encouragement-- if not downright pressure-to put your business on the Internet. Whether you already have an Internet presence or are merely contemplating one, you should realize that just having a Web site doesn't guarantee that the people you want to reach will actually see it. You may have hung out your shingle, but the Internet customers you seek might be nowhere in sight.

AVOIDING THE DANGERS: ITS NO TIME TO TRIP! by John Graham It happened on Thursday after lunch as I ran up five steps to the office holding a cup of coffee. On the second step, I tr...

BASIC WEB SITE SEO TIP by Steve Anderson Here are a few basic search engine optimization (SEO) tips that can help your agency Web site become more visible to t search engines and benefit ...

BOOSTING EMPLOYEE MORALE ELECTRONICALLY by Jack Burke Everyone seems to be concentrating on the needs of their clients lately but how about your employees? Are you usin...

Independent Agency System carriers that rank high on the Gomez insurance Web site index probably congratulate themselves on their achievement - the result of hard work, creativity, and spending in the nine or ten-digit range. But what if these high-ranking carriers are scoring well in the wrong game?

Suppose Gomez and other Web ranking services have no idea what they’re talking about? What if they base their evaluation criteria on an implicit misunderstanding of the insurance business? What if "winning" means embracing a bankrupt business strategy?

CATCH THE MEDIA IN YOUR WEB by Michael Maynard Your company has a Web site? Great! Colorful graphics that seem to jump off the screen? Terrific! And the content? Uh-oh. Does your Web sit...

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT MAKES HIGH VALUED AGENCIES EASIER TO RECOGNIZE by Robert Smith Stories are starting to circulate around agency/brokerage meetings, 'Did you hear what the ABC or XYZ Age...

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...