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... use the MGM Marketing Process to market your products and services to, say, an independent agency you need to ask yourself these questions: Who is your customer? Banks, agents working with banks, joint ventures, vendors and suppliers to these new systems. What kind of information do they want or need? Distinguish between the external customer and the internal customer, such as an employee or the board. What products do you offer that meet these wants and needs? At what price will this product or service sell? This is the most important step! Henry Ford's genius lay not in the creation of the assembly line, but in his discovery that at $500 he could sell an unlimited number of cars. The assembly line evolved as the only way to build a $500 car ... find a cow! ' The purpose of marketing is best explained by this story: A rookie producer went on her first sales call. She'd researched carefully and was certain she had the best product at the best price. Soon she came back dejected. When the sales manager asked her about the call, she answered, I had the best product and the best price-I guess you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The sales manager corrected, Your job isn't to make the horse drink. Your job is to make the horse thirsty! ' This idea is the foundation of the Michael G. Manes (MGM) Marketing Process. The following steps in the process are based on that foundation: Where/who are the prospects? Consider banks, agents, ...

... pulled up my computer file, she saw my last complaint and that I'd been faxed a provider list-but no resolution. She wondered whether one of their insureds was out there with a missing tooth and possible pain. She said it wasn't her case and asked what had happened. She was appalled at my story. Although it was late afternoon, she wanted to pursue the matter with their dental review board and perhaps with the dentists involved. She asked if she could call me back in an hour, and sure enough she did. She didn't have a resolution yet-the dentists wouldn't work with her and she needed more time with the dental review board. She asked me to give her until morning. I was so elated to have a champion I told her that I was leaving everything in her ... days passed with no word from DentalNet. Spurred by facial pain, I wrote letters to DentalNet and the appropriate dental regulatory agencies. I also broadcast-faxed a request for a dentist to every provider in my area. No reply from them, either. I was angry, frustrated, and becoming very concerned as to how I was going to get this tooth fixed. Enter Elizabeth Acevedo on her white horse. One of the dentists had called her and asked about my records. When she pulled up my computer file, she saw my last complaint and that I'd been faxed a provider list-but no resolution. She wondered whether one of their insureds was out there with a missing tooth and possible pain. She said it wasn't her case and asked what had happened. She was appalled at my story ...

... " that we lose sight of the "important." &# 160 Stop. Take a deep breath. Call time out. Wait for half time. Review the game films. But at some point take an honest look at your organization and its performance! Is this what your business should be? If yes, congratulations. If no, get back to the practice field and the drawing board and the basics — "blocking and tackling." &# 160 Wait till next year! &# 160 Michael G. Manes can be reached at Square One Consulting, 543 Pebblebrook Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70815, (225) 273-2243, (225) 939-5944 (Cell), e-mail [email protected] , or visit www.squareoneconsulting.com . Login or Register (for FREE) ... development, motivation, and perpetuation of talent. To apply this sports analogy to the business world, let's talk about talent and the proper fit in an organization. David Toms is a sole proprietor. He's a technician, not a team player. He doesn't compete against other players but against himself (his best score) . Eddie Delahoussaye is in a partnership. He and his partner (the horse ? his ride) are "connected at the hip," totally dependent on each other. Together they've often won; without an excellent performance by both, they're just "also rans." Shaquille O'Neal is a critical part of a team. Some have called him the most dominant player of all time. Although he's essential to the team and might be the inspirational leader on the court ...

... a need to be high on the list, and (if you're a big company) at the top. Ranking creates the anxiety that motivates action and funds budgets. Who wins? The ranking services conduct studies and make recommendations. Then consulting groups receive contracts to bring the sites up to high-rank specs. Or carrier Web site departments find themselves with substantially higher budgets. And CEOs can tell their boards about their high rankings or concerted efforts to achieve them. Everyone wins - well, not everyone. The stockholders lose because the corporation is betting resources on the wrong horse. Agents lose because their carrier partners are working to weaken agents' local brands. Consumers lose because carrier-centered Web strategies will make their lives more complicated, not more convenient. It's all too easy to get caught up in ... system. When reality intrudes and business success doesn't track a high Web-site ranking, the solution might seem to do more of the same - which means throwing good money after bad. Site ranking groups use faulty criteria because they have nothing else to sell the insurance industry. Carriers go along with the game because they lack a clear business strategy and because site rankings provide a simple and definitive metric in a murky world that gives everyone something to do. THE SOLUTION: AGENCY-CENTERED SITES If Web-site ranking services and consultants are leading carriers off into the wild blue yonder, what's the answer? What should these insurers be doing to leverage their Web investment? As I see it, Independent Agency System carriers need to adopt an agency-centered - rather than carrier-centered - Web strategy by helping consumers find agency sites and ...

... a need to be high on the list, and (if you're a big company) at the top. Ranking creates the anxiety that motivates action and funds budgets. Who wins? The ranking services conduct studies and make recommendations. Then consulting groups receive contracts to bring the sites up to high-rank specs. Or carrier Web site departments find themselves with substantially higher budgets. And CEOs can tell their boards about their high rankings or concerted efforts to achieve them. Everyone wins - well, not everyone. The stockholders lose because the corporation is betting resources on the wrong horse. Agents lose because their carrier partners are working to weaken agents' local brands. Consumers lose because carrier-centered Web strategies will make their lives more complicated, not more convenient. It's all too easy to get caught up in ... system. When reality intrudes and business success doesn't track a high Web-site ranking, the solution might seem to do more of the same - which means throwing good money after bad. Site ranking groups use faulty criteria because they have nothing else to sell the insurance industry. Carriers go along with the game because they lack a clear business strategy and because site rankings provide a simple and definitive metric in a murky world that gives everyone something to do. THE SOLUTION: AGENCY-CENTERED SITES If Web-site ranking services and consultants are leading carriers off into the wild blue yonder, what's the answer? What should these insurers be doing to leverage their Web investment? As I see it, Independent Agency System carriers need to adopt an agency-centered - rather than carrier-centered - Web strategy by helping consumers find agency sites and ...

... search even more by looking for the following: "george washington" -university + height With this convention, Google should list any page with the phrase "george washington" and the word "height," but not the word "university." Bingo! The first Web page I found says "George Washington's height and weight." However, when I go there, it's just a message board where people are discussing this issue. Just because you find information on the Net, doesn't mean that it's accurate. The listings I got also included the height of the George Washington Bridge, a statue, and some other stuff. So, let's try: "george washington" -university + tall Now I'm down to 17,800 Web pages and I see several that mention his height. ... the right words search engine lingo (pluses and minuses) to find what you're looking for. Now that I've provided a few tips, let's put your new knowledge to work. Here's a Web "scavenger hunt " to illustrate how to search for stuff on the Internet: How tall was President George Washington? What is the capital of Nigeria? Protoceratops was about the size of: elephant, horse, pig, or ostrich? Who is Shorty LeFeuw? On what date did president Abraham Lincoln die? What is the name of the largest asteroid in the Solar System? How tall (to the nearest 1,000 feet) is Mount Everest? In what year will Halley's Comet return? Bill Wilson is a "big, BIG fan" of what rock band? What's the secret ...

...and their customers describe the boarding process as being loaded like cattle....

... service, few companies can prove it because they seldom ask their customers' opinions. Even such notoriously poor customer service companies as airlines think they provide good service. One airline, Southwest, has enjoyed great service ratings for years even though they don't offer two items that many airlines consider essential to good customer service: preassigned seating and food. Instead, Southwest serves peanuts and their customers describe the boarding process as being loaded like cattle. Yet when airline customers are asked which airline provides great service, Southwest gets top billing. The other airlines just don't get it. Southwest's excellence continually pays off. After 9-11-01, they actually reported a profit and were the only large airline not to lay off employees. Their customers sent them cash, voluntarily, just to keep them flying (Texas Monthly, ... they'll likely merge the two corporations successfully. I strongly believe that good due diligence will lead to reasonable expectations and uncover the unique aspects of the specific deal. This in turn will lead to a detailed and comprehensive assimilation plan. To suggest that any specific assimilation plan or strategy will succeed without completing Steps 1 & 2, as so many financial experts believe, is like putting the cart before the horse. Not only will the cart not move much, it'll get run over. REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS VS. PURCHASE PRICE The desire to acquire is often fueled by grand expectations. Cross-selling, high profit margins, and investment opportunities are a few common areas in which expectations often exceed reality. Cross-Selling Grand illusions of life made easy by great cross-selling opportunities are hard to resist. Consider these true stories: ...