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.

Check out these proven ways to attract visitors to your site, keep them there, and get them to return.
Turn your agency Web site into a powerful marketing tool by making it easy to find and offering users value-added services and products. These techniques can help you do the job:

If your marketing strategy hasn't changed in the past several years, it might be time to consider it. In this document, Jack Fries gives you seven tips for marketing more effectively in a hard market.

If (when) your agency faces E&O litigation, you’ll need to provide admissible evidence to the court. Laws are standard in most states, with six requirements for the admissibility of evidence. To give your agency the best chance of winning an E&O judgment, you need to comply with these practices:

Unfortunately, all too many office meetings get off track all too easily. Check out this list of common meeting headaches and how you can avoid them:

Whether you’re running a mega-agency or a boutique, following these proven management guidelines makes sense.
Learn what motivates each of your employees
Use this information to help manage their performance. Although status, power, or additional authority might motivate some people, others might be more excited by the opportunity for tapping into their flair for creative, job-related activities or more face-to-face contact with customers. Rewarding good employees with assignment that speak to their unique motivations, interest and long-range career goals can help you retain them.

Closing a sale getting your prospect to say “yes” can sometimes be as easy as asking for it. Once you’ve laid the groundwork by qualifying your prospect, uncovering their needs, and showing how your product or service satisfy those needs, it’s time to ask for the order. Here are five tips to make this procedure simple and successful.

No matter how hard you try, customers will find fault with you or your staff. How you handle those complaints will determine your account retention and customer satisfaction rate. Here are three key guidelines to help the cause.

I spent many years coaching high school football. Whenever a team was underperforming, we went back to basics: blocking and tackling. If your agency’s sales and retention are suffering from the current economy, or if you wish to enhance your performance, it’s time to reinforce the fundamentals of any sales organization: asking for referrals and developing accounts.

The sale of Life insurance to Personal Lines Property/Casualty customers has long been an issue with traditional independent insurance agents and brokers. There are very few agencies that haven’t tried, at one time or another, to develop a program to cross-sell Life, Health, or Disability to existing customers. Many agencies have even hired a “Life Person,” only to end up with a big expense and little income to show for the effort. This has only added to the frustration of the agency owners. So what’s the answer?