Six reasons why mergers and acquisitions fail.

Few business transactions pack the high-stakes potential of a merger or acquisition. Done well, the deal can help an agency attain new levels of prosperity. Done poorly, it can be crippling.

One of the toughest financial decisions agency owners face is how much to pay themselves. It's especially tricky for agencies with multiple principals, because it's rare that all owners make identical contributions to the organization. Deciding what's equitable compensation for each individual may cause unnecessary conflict.

Are you trying to figure out how much to pay your producers by asking, 'What's the agency down the street paying?' Beware!

In the early 1990s a state insurance commissioner, in a Wall Street Journal front-page article, called insurance agents the 'buggy-whip makers' of the late 20th century. Several years later, you seem to be doing just fine, and in many cases, even better than investors in other areas. Kevin Stipe offers an overview of the insurance agency as an investment vehicle in this document.

Getting your name in print in industry publications can result in credible publicity for you and your firm. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or never been published, you’ll get useful tips in this document by Henry Stimpson.

Do you think reporters are human sharks who want to misquote, distort, and sensationalize? When you hear the word 'reporter,' does your instinct tell you to utter 'no comment'? Or instruct your secretary to tell the reporter you won't be in your office for, say, the next 11 years?

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that agencies are in the service business. But consider that all agents sell the same product-insurance. Why do some agencies blossom while others wilt? Service and marketing are keys. Too often, getting new customers (through marketing) is emphasized at the expense of keeping customers (through service). You have to do a first-rate job at both to have first-rate growth and to control expenses

Ever since independent agencies were invented, their owners have wondered how to find, motivate, and keep good producers. But according to one consultant, most principals still aren't getting a good deal.

'Across the United States, more employee producers are overpaid yet underproduce,' says Jeffrey Wodicka. Wodicka is president of a consulting firm called Directions Agency Management Resources Limited of Rockville, New York, as well as principal of The Greystone Agency, also of Rockville.

It’s often difficult for an agency to hire an in-house PR specialist. And assigning PR responsibilities to an existing employee has its drawbacks. This document by Henry Stimpson examines the advantages and disadvantages to hiring an out-sourced PR consultant.

Help your top producers grow your agency & and their income!

Many of our clients find themselves the recipients of a decidedly mixed blessing. On one hand, they are successful because they employ many of the top producers in their community. On the other hand, since many of the community's top prospects already work in their agency, there's not much sales talent left to hire. They're ready, willing, and able to invest in future growth, but don't know quite how. If only they could find a way to replicate their top producers, their agency's market share would balloon.