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... x No Thanks Loading.. Mentoring For Agency Growth 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Mona Carpenter This content has not been rated yet. According to Webster's, a mentor is a loyal advisor entrusted with the care and education of a student .. a wise and trusted counselor. In my experience, a mentor without these qualities can't successfully lead a rookie. Whether an agency's mentoring program succeeds and produces financial rewards depends on how it's structured and managed. I'll address methods for setting up a successful mentoring program for agency growth, including: Mentor-rookie matching Training schedule Compensation options Program monitoring and management MENTOR-ROOKIE MATCHING It's key to put together two people who are compatible. Most mentor relationships last 18 to 24 months. If mentor and rookie don't work effectively together or don't like each other, the relationship most likely will fail. An important tool in forming this team to give both participants a personality test. The test should cover communication styles, preferred working styles, motivational needs, and work ethic. The test I like is called Personalysis. The Mentor Let's examine the qualities of a successful mentor. I recommend setting a minimum book size to qualify a producer to become a mentor. The mentor should be one of the top producers in the agency, not whoever has free time to work with a new salesperson. Only the best should be teaching! A mentor must make a long-term commitment, usually two or more years, to working with the rookie. This individual should have a real vested interest, not just in his or her personal financial gains, but in the agency's ...

... content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Catherine Oak 4/30/2013 10:43:49 PM ESTABLISHING A MARKETING DEPARTMENT - AND WHO SHOULD RUN IT by Catherine Oak and Bill Schoeffler Agencies that establish an effective centralized marketing department as.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Financial Management In An Uncertain Marketplace This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Carol Hammes 4/30/2013 10:36:15 PM FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IN AN UNCERTAIN MARKETPLACE by Carol Hammes It takes a lot of planning to attain higher growth rates and lower expense levels. The first step in the process is to evalua.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Good Underwriting Submissions Guarantee More Sales This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Thomas Carpenter 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM GOOD UNDERWRITING SUBMISSIONS GUARANTEE MORE SALES by Thomas Carpenter, CPCU Nothing is more discouraging to an experienced, professional large account underwrite.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) 1 2 3 x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. x No Thanks Loading.. ...

... /2013 12:00:00 AM FROM ESTATE TAX TRAP TO TAX VICTORY by Irving Blackman You hear it all the time: Tax law is too complicated. Well, it is. My job is usually to explain complex tax law in understandable langu.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Get Customers To Toot Your Horn And Build Your Bottom Line This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Jack Fries 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM GET CUSTOMERS TO TOOT YOUR HORN AND BUILD YOUR BOTTOM LINE by Jack Fries Client testimonials offer a highly effective tool for building your sales and earnings. Marketing ex.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Good Underwriting Submissions Guarantee More Sales This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Thomas Carpenter 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM GOOD UNDERWRITING SUBMISSIONS GUARANTEE MORE SALES by Thomas Carpenter, CPCU Nothing is more discouraging to an experienced, professional large account underwrite.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Hipaa Privacy Rules For Employers This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Judith Newman 7/2 /2014 12:00:00 AM The April 14, 2004 deadline for HIPAA Privacy Rule has come and gone. Confusion still reigns.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) 1 2 3 4 x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. x No Thanks Loading.. ...

... CompleteMarkets Editor , Preston Diamond 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM DOES YOUR PREPARATION EXCEED YOUR PRESENTATION? by Preston Diamond Do you compare your presentations to a startup funding request for venture capital? How much money did you ask fo.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Don'T Make Promises To Clients That You Can'T Keep! This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Maribeth Kusmeski 4/30/2013 10:41:58 PM DONT MAKE PROMISES TO CLIENTS THAT YOU CANT KEEP! by Maribeth Kusmeski Did you ever make a big promise you cant keep? Often, theres a disconnect separating wha.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Good Underwriting Submissions Guarantee More Sales This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Thomas Carpenter 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM GOOD UNDERWRITING SUBMISSIONS GUARANTEE MORE SALES by Thomas Carpenter, CPCU Nothing is more discouraging to an experienced, professional large account underwrite.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Objections? No Problem! This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Emily Huling 11/16/2018 12:00:00 AM Remember, as salespeople we want to hear objections. When buyers send out these signals, they're giving you clues about their interest. Give the buyer a chance to make the decision based on the information you've provided. If you've done a good job throughout the sales process, the objections you hear should enable you to reconfirm your value to the buyer and close the sale. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Good Underwriting Submissions Guarantee More Sales 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Thomas Carpenter This content has not been rated yet. Nothing is more discouraging to an experienced, professional large account underwriter than another poor submission. If independent agents want to improve their hit ratios on new account activity and retain their existing business in a highly competitive environment, they should learn good underwriting submissions. Formal correctness does influence the underwriter's thought process. Because the insurance carrier should be an enthusiastic partner in the acquisition of the new account, so it behooves the independent agent to create a conducive atmosphere. A Perfect 10 underwriting submission would have the following characteristics: 1) Completed ACORD applications for all lines of coverage requested. Never submit handwritten applications-ever. 2) A thoughtfully written cover letter over the signature of a respected member of the firm, briefly describing all operations and providing answers to questions which could arise during a review of the applications. These might include such issues as named insureds, wide swings in payrolls or sales, and changes in geographic exposures. 3) Documented loss history and analysis for all lines of coverage. Be sure to include insurance carrier loss runs, currently valued, for at least three full years plus several months of the current year. Your underwriter will be grateful, and perhaps more receptive, if you provide an experience recap to simplify the underwriting analysis. 4) Comment on the physical properties of the account, and include current photographs of representative locations or problem exposures. A good picture is worth a thousand words. 5) Identify ...

... customer? They ignore them entirely and put all their marketing efforts into getting additional new customers. Once a person has bought from you, that person will most likely want to buy from you again (assuming, of course, you deliver what you promised!) . You should list all people who buy, or just inquire, and then attempt to sell them all kinds of related products, services, or upgrades. The best prospect of all is your existing customer. Instead of concentrating only on front-end sales, an agency needs to devote a large part of its marketing efforts to upselling, re-selling, and cross-selling to existing customers and prospects. This concept is not limited to just selling additional insurance products, either. For example, you can make arrangements with painters, wallpaper hangers, carpenters, or yard services. Refer your qualified Homeowner clients to them for a percentage of the profits they earn from your referral. Then have them do the same for you. The figure below illustrates the dynamics of this concept. For people who buy product A, a certain percentage will also want to buy product B. A smaller percentage will want Products B, C, and D. A very small (but extremely profitable) number will purchase all the products you have to offer. These are your best customers. They become your advocates. By not offering other products to them you are literally throwing away huge potential profits. Brainstorm with your producers and office staff to find any number of related products or services that your customers would have an interest in. If you don't want ...

...th painters, wallpaper hangers, carpenters, or yard services. Refer your quali...

...h as mechanics, repair persons, carpenters, and plumbers. Over a third of the ...

... is generally unreasonable. Courts throughout the nation have agreed that neither an employment agreement nor a sale agreement in the insurance industry can prohibit someone from continuing to make a living once they leave a company's employment or they sell an agency or book of business. For this reason, geographic restrictions are difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. However, the relationships created, information gathered, and confidential data accessed while the person is an employee of a company or agency can be subject to confidentiality and non-competition agreements — as long as these agreements have a reasonable length. After all, the employee collected the data, established the relationships, and administered the account of the clients under the direction of, and while being compensated for those duties, by the employer agency. If you're hired as a carpenter and asked to purchase lumber, use it to create a building, and then make sure that the building remains in sound condition over time, you would have no right to take down the wall and take back the lumber once you left the contractor's employment. Your employer paid for the materials and for your skills and efforts to create the building. Similarly, if a producer is paid to solicit clients, develop a relationship, and maintain this relationship on behalf of the insurance agency, neither should they have the right to re-solicit the client after leaving the agency. COMMON OBJECTIONS Departed producers raise two common objections to their prohibition from soliciting former employer's accounts: (1 ) The customer has the right to go to whatever agent they choose; and 2) The customer's relationship is with the ...

...r skills and grow their sales. Carpenters have a golden rule: 'Measure twice,...