Do you regularly negotiate such contractual issues as commission rates, growth goals, etc. with your companies?

Congratulations to the 57% who responded, “Yes!” Based on those positive responses, it appears that agencies of all sizes are negotiating. Negotiations aren't limited to larger agencies. If these agents weren't succeeding in their negotiations, even in a hard market, they'd be giving up. Although 57% is a good percentage, I'd love to see this number keep growing. If you aren't negotiating contractual issues with your companies, isn't it time to begin?

When it comes to our privacy, trust, and security in this modern age, we have come to have more of an inherent focus on how we can obtain more access, easier and more securely. When we want to learn about online privacy systems like VPN technology, we opt to find out more online , to educate ourselves. The way that we handle our insurance is no different. In fact, insurance is the latest industry to find itself infiltrated by the modern prowess that is blockchain technology. Decentralised in nature, blockchain is the pioneering force in the drive to a future that is more sectioned, more secure, and safer than ever before. Insurance is one of the last pieces of the puzzle in the pursuit of this ideal.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) spent almost five years developing the Model Illustration Regulations currently in use - in one form or another - in most states. The regulations were developed to help the consumer have a better understanding of how Life insurance policies worked, as well as to better differentiate between guaranteed and non-guaranteed elements of a Life insurance policy.

Few steps of forming a business relationship have more importance than qualifying the prospect's interest and commitment. It's a high-payoff and high-value use of your time, and leads to a constructive outcome for both parties in the relationship.

In addition to working in the business, more and more agency principals and managers are working on the business by focusing on technology and workflow improvements. The latest Future One agency survey confirms this trend ― 72% of the agents surveyed responded that core management issues for them are to make their internal operations more efficient and to use technology to conduct business with carriers more efficiently. Jeff Yates shows you how to improve agency workflows with technology.

SAMPLE AGENCY BUSINESS PLAN

All producers know that overcoming objections is part of the selling process. However, many forget that making objections is just as intrinsic to the buying process.

To identify the root causes of objections, producers should put themselves into the buyer's shoes. You also buy in your personal life, so use your own experiences to sharpen your expertise.

An agency valuation I completed recently came in considerably lower than the agency owners expected. The reason? Their balance sheet was very poor and they were materially out of trust: Meaning that their ratio of Accounts Receivable + Cash to Accounts Payable was less than 1. The agency principals were quite upset that I would decrease their value for this reason. They retorted, “We always pay our companies on time, our companies have never been hurt by this, our customers have never been hurt by this, and our CPA has never found fault with this practice. You're the only one who thinks it matters!”

If you’re starting your own business and you’re about to enter the market, start taking notes on what obstacles you can expect in your financing department, and the best ways to tackle them before they wreak havoc on your business.

Electronic document storage is an issue that every agency should address as part of their management process. Steve Anderson offers some ideas to help you stay ahead of the storage curve.