DONT LET GRAND CLAIMS OF SUCCESS FOOL YOU! by Chris Burand Have you ever wondered how the agencies in all those magazine articles grow so rapidly? You might be surprised. Mo...

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS WITH REFERRAL PROSPECTS by Bill Cates During a referral seminar last week, a participant came up to me at the break with a question. He told me that our Referral...

IMAGINING A MARKETING MANAGER'S CONVERSATION by Knight Berman How a company makes decisions and executes them has long been a puzzle to agents. Sometimes, the decisions seem to ref...

In a recent edition of The National Underwriter, Editor Sam Friedman recommended that risk managers begin to explore the capabilities of sophisticated regional and local brokerages. This recommendation was based on recent broker megamergers and the growing lack of choice available to buyers.

For an independent agency or brokerage to take advantage of this opportunity, it should adopt the consultative brokerage style. In particular, its managers must learn the techniques that these sophisticated buyers have come to expect. The stewardship report and the executive summary are two techniques that firms must master to be successful in large accounts.