Up until 20 years ago courts did not treat insurance agents as professionals and as a result agents...

Many readers have been asking me for scripts that cover the first phone call to a new referral prospect. Obviously, this first call will vary greatly for a number of reasons: The nature of your business, the circumstances of the referral, and whether or not your client introduced you in some way — just to name a few.

Many people tend to credit the origin of infomercials to the old, late-night slicer/dicer and Pocket Fisherman commercials. Granted, some tacky infomercials have taken the slicer/dicer format, but the original infomercials began on a higher ground: religion.

Before you haul me off to a padded room, let's define "infomercial."An infomercial is an advertisement for a product or service that has been expanded with information, entertainment, or both to retain the attention of the audience.

First, I'll give you the bases to cover and then I'll give you a sample conversation (script) to show you how you can touch on all the bases. Don't worry too much about the words I use. If you like a turn of phrase, then, by all means, use it while also making this approach genuine by using your own words.

Do your sales pitches still resonate with your market? The American psyche is rapidly changing-and new, evolving attitudes...

X-dating is the name of the game. If you anticipate to grow; if you expect to even maintain last year's volume in this price cutting market; then you'd better believe X-dating is a must.

Expiration Date! Renewal Date! Anniversary Date! Call it whatever you wish. But without a pocket full of X-dates, you are "whistling Dixie" while some direct writer or, even worse, your fellow association contemporary, is marching off with your share of the market.

Why Is the Referral Process the Most Powerful Way to Sell?

Without question, selling through referrals is the most powerful way to build your practice; not to mention the most enjoyable. Producers who really love prospecting for business through cold calls are rare birds. My guess is that you're not one of them. In this age of voice mail, increased competition, and everyone being super busy, cold calling has become less effective.

Bob Kerrigan, one of the most successful agents alive, says, "The way of the world is to meet people through other people. And the referral is the warm way we get into their lives."

The purpose of a suspense system is to call an item to your attention that requires that action be quickly taken. Your suspense system must be regarded as a priority procedure in your office. The system must be accurate, infallible, and easy to use.

Often, there's more risk in customer service when the answer to our concerns is yes. Can you...

Most agencies plan, measure and record the sale of new business, but very few take the time to really control the loss of business to the agency. It is the opinion of our firm that no agency really profits if business keeps coming in the front door and going out the back.