What you want will only get done if you make it an A+ priority. Jack Fries tells you how a business plan can reward you with survival, planned growth, and profit.

The previous article (Creating A Successful Plan For Marketing Commercial Lines Part I), presented information about the matrix of the agency book of business, the review of the book of for account development, and a review of company programs and products. In this second of a three-part series, Jack Fries focuses on selecting a proper market.

Successful marketing of Commercial Lines requires a detailed plan. The first step is to assess where you are right now. In this first of a three-part series, Jack Fries examines the preliminary steps that an agency should take in marketing Commercial Lines.

We've all heard that the essence of marketing is to find a need and fill it. Well, unless you have deep pockets or know exactly what the world needs, your marketing efforts will yield a better response if you follow this formula instead: Find a want and fill it.
Most of us have enough food, shelter, clothing, and transportation-we don't need much more. But we want more. We need food, but we want fast foods, diet foods, or gourmet foods. Most of us don't need a 2 1/2-bath home or expensive designer clothes, but we want them. We may need a car, but we want a Lexus or a BMW.

Are your office meetings successful or ineffective? Without proper planning and execution, they can end up wasting everyone’s time. Jack Fries offers solutions to nine common problems that can arise in office meetings.

In most agencies today, the total commission of a Personal Lines account will equal or exceed the commission of a Non-exception Commercial account. In this document, Jack Fries asks why you’d pay a CSR more money to handle a lower commission account.

Procrastination is the greatest labor-saving device ever invented. Agency owners look at various changes they can make in their agency and say, 'This is a great idea and I’ll implement it as soon as I can get around to it.' In this document, Jack Fries suggests that you eliminate the talk and resolve to take action in the New Year — and watch your profits grow.

Professional Agency Reviews invariably reveal backlog in most of the profit centers (Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, etc.). There’s no way to do regular account reviews for Personal Lines and small Commercial Lines, because the CSR 'doesn’t have time.' In this document, Jack Fries tells you how to motivate people to eliminate backlog and provide customers with the service that they deserve.

It's difficult for agency owners to succeed at management. When the same person is responsible for insurance issues and management, the latter will almost always suffer. In this document, Jack Fries reviews the essential requirements of a competent manager.

It takes more than a job title and a loud voice to get an agency team to function properly. This applies to owners, managers, and supervisors alike, says Jack Fries.