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... x No Thanks Loading.. Are Antiquated Phrases Hurting Your Business?4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Gary Blake This content has not been rated yet. As someone who travels from one insurance company to another teaching Effective Business Writing for Claims and Risk Management Professionals, ' I'm often amazed by how many claims letters are weighed down with stodgy phrases reminiscent of the 19th century. How many letters do you see each day that contain enclosed please find, ' under separate cover, ' and please do not hesitate to contact me'? I recently gave a seminar at a 200-employee insurance firm in upstate New York. One of the claims adjusters showed me the claims department's book of form letters. There were more than 80 of them, not counting ones that had exclusionary language by state. Each of these letters is sent out an average of 30 times a month. 80 x 30 = 2,400 letters a month x 12 months = 28,800 letters a year. Only four of those awful outdated phrases per letter would total more than 100,000 in a year! If you think this stilted language isn't hurting your business, think again. These phrases not only alienate the insured and engender a distant tone, they chip away at the long-lasting relationships your company seeks to maintain. They damage a claims professional's relationships with doctors, attorneys, insurance commissioners, and colleagues alike. Risk managers (who write internal audits, loss control recommendations, risk reports, and answers to inquiries) also must eliminate stodgy phrases from their documents to enhance their range of relationships ...

... Profile Deactivate Cancel Loading.. About Us Services Jobs PR Newsletters Employees Articles Blog Photos Group Connections Reviews IMMS Library Immerse yourself in our stacks. Take some time and browse through our library. We have thousands of articles, checklists, tip sheets, sales letters, and more! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All phrases Articles tagged with phrases Back 10-Step Referral Prospecting System This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , bill cates 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM 10-STEP REFERRAL PROSPECTING SYSTEM: SELLING/PROSPECTING/LEADS by Bill Cates You can create a steady flow of high-qual.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Are Antiquated Phrases Hurting Your Business? This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Gary Blake 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM ARE ANTIQUATED PHRASES HURTING YOUR BUSINESS? by Gary Blake As someone who travels from one insurance company to another teaching Effective Business Writing for Claims and Risk Managem.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Basic Facts About Registering A Trademark, Part 1 This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor 4/30/2013 10:39:13 PM BASIC FACTS ABOUT REGISTERING A TRADEMARK Part 1 of 5 What is a Trademark? A trademark is either a word, phrase, symbol, or design, or combination of words, phrases, symbols or.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Claim Procedural Guidelines ...

...ll furniture. You may also offer antiques and curios. You may provide decorati...

...the public's renewed interest in antiques. Kay takes great pride in her abilit...

... Steve Anderson 6/4 /2013 12:00:00 AM FACEBOOK EXPANDS ADVERTISING OPTION by Steve Anderson As a follow-up to a recent TAAR article, Facebook Advertising' (October 2009), the company has expanded its demographic options t.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Linkedin Improvements This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Steve Anderson 6/4 /2013 12:00:00 AM LinkedIn IMPROVEMENTS by Steve Anderson LinkedIn is one of our favorite tools for researching and finding information about prospects and clients. Over the last several months, LinkedIn h.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Personal Protection Service Questionnaire This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor 6/25/2015 12:00:00 AM Do you own any antiques, fine arts, collections or other special value items such as tamps or Coins? Do you own any jewelry or furs valued at over $1000 which are not specifically insured? All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Six Guidelines To A Successful Web Site This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM To serve your clients more effectively, grow your business, and match your competitors, you need the most effective website. Whether you're planning a new site, reviewing an existing one, or developing an Internet-based marketing strategy, I'd recommend these guidelines: All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Small Deposits This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Steve Anderson 6/5 / ...

...u have articles of value such as antiques, stamp or coin collections, fine art...

... Do you own any antiques, fine art, or paintings? ...

... She took one sheet to the local stationery store and had them order 50 sheets of similar paper. When the paper arrived, she sat at the kitchen table for weeks, meticulously copying with a fountain pen each sheet of McCarthy's work. She lightly traced the line drawings with a very soft pencil and then drew over the pencil lines in ink. The only thing she changed were the values-to reflect what she believed to be modern prices. She cautiously erased all the pencil lines with a soft gum eraser. Each page was a masterful copy, as ably illustrated as any Bible page illuminated by a medieval friar. Now that she was familiar with McCarthy's style, she began to describe the things she had in her home. She described a needlepoint pillow she had made the year before as an antique design, handmade in the south of France in the 17th century. A porcelain creamer that she bought at J.C. Penney became a Meissen porcelain figurine from the early 19th century. She described a landscape print she had bought at a garage sale as an Andrew Wyeth oil, signed by the artist in 1932. When she was finished, she had 20 sheets listing 130 items with a total value of $275,000. She signed McCarthy's name to each sheet and dated it. The imitation of McCarthy's style and penmanship was masterful. The 20 pages of appraisals she had created were a work of art. She felt a need to put this art to work. The original McCarthy appraisal had been the basis for an insurance policy that had lapsed more than 50 years earlier. The ...

... words such as, Why aren't your people selling more new business? With as much as we pay them, they ought to be out there in the field contacting new customers, and all I hear are excuses. Then comes the threat, veiled or outright: If things don't pick up pretty soon... All this kind of talk will get you is turnover, inconsistent sales, anger, and inaction. Here are tips that can dramatically change the selling atmosphere at your agency, improve the bottom line, and foster the development of your own group of wondrous salespeople: Change focus. The focus of your company must change from selling insurance to active competition. Your mystical mission statement sounds great in print, but probably means nothing to your customer or your sales force. You must replace this antique with a reality statement such as, Our goal is to replace XYZ Agency as the No. 2 company in our marketing territory! ' Without this extremely narrow focus, you don't stand a chance of motivating your sales force to action. This change of view will probably engender a fight with your staff, but unless you make a decision to do something concrete-and let your sales force know the goal-your efforts are misguided. Find your customer. Do you really know who your customer is? Are you assuming that Jane and Jim Doe are the buyers and ignoring the fact that your real buyers may be the wholesale, retail, or franchise establishments? Without a realistic analysis, your sales force is out there beating the bushes for squirrels when the real prey should be lion. Target your customer ...

... company is actively prospecting two to 10 years in advance, you'll always find yourself pushing for sales! 3. Marketing makes selling easier.If customers have a predisposition toward doing business with your company, product, or service, making the sale becomes far easier. This empowers salespeople to become consultants (and not just to call themselves one) . Such common selling problems as overcoming objections and closing techniques become irrelevant. In fact, relying on "selling skills" to get the order is an indication that a company has no marketing. Everyone in business receives calls that start out something like this: "A couple of weeks ago, I sent you information about our company " This is a call that goes nowhere today. Of course, salespeople (very good ones, too) run from such antiquated and stifling working conditions. Trying to make the sale when prospects lack a clear understanding of why it's in their best interest to talk to you wastes your company's time, personnel, and money. Jacking up commissions or lowering the price only drives up the cost even higher. The role of marketing is to create the right environment for selling to be successful. Without marketing, the cost of doing business becomes too high. 4. Marketing extends your reach. Whether it's drilling down into existing companies to find new opportunities, further penetrating a market or market area, or opening the door to new markets and new territories, marketing is the engine that drives the effort. To grow your business today, the task is one of going from "nobody knows us" to "everybody knows ...