A recent article in a national training magazine used "insurance" as an example of a commodity sale. Do you agree with that? Is insurance a commodity? Do you sell it that way? Should it be sold that way? How do your insureds and prospects view it? In this article, the IIABA Faculty explores some of these issues.

I think of management as a puzzle: Put the pieces together in the right order, and you have a beautiful picture ? jumble them, and you have a pile of pasteboard. In this document, Mike Manes offers guidelines that will help you assemble a masterpiece.

Although salespeople (and sales managers) might blame slow sales on the economy or the lack of company marketing, the truth is that everyone can be smarter and more productive. In this article, John Graham focuses on how salespeople — and everyone else in business — can become more productive. Graham challenges us to take a hard look at we do and, more importantly, what we’ve become accustomed to doing.

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.

Confusion over agency bill vs. direct bill options has caused an E&O claim or two. Curtis Pearsall illustrates the consequences of this confusion with an example.

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.

Paul Orlando discusses the nonprofit insurance marketplace and sales cycle.

San Diego, CA, February 17, 2016 - Industry veteran, founder and chief executive of Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC ("Atlas"), Bill Trzos has been named in Insurance Business America’s ("IBA") Annual "Hot 100 List" for 2015.

The alert raised in Washington, D.C., on May 10, 2005, when a light plane mistakenly flew into restricted airspace sent thousands of people fleeing from the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Once the buildings were evacuated, however, most people were unsure of where to go or what to do. Bill Kliewer discusses the need for personal contingency plans in cases of emergency.

Pain involving the eyes, neck, back, shoulders, arms, and wrists have become common complaints of computer workstation users. My review of the latest research led me to conclude that these users experience no more stress than users of other technology unless they perform fragmented, repetitive tasks. Other factors causing stress include noise, dust, extreme temperatures, electromagnetic radiation, unsafe equipment, poorly maintained equipment, and workplace violence.