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... However, another new sales producer may be asked to take over an existing book of business. The duties might include servicing and rounding out existing accounts and following up on referrals from them. According to the Greenbergs, the type of salesperson who will succeed in each of those three jobs is very different. THE SALES PROFILE In general, the successful salesperson possesses the personality traits of empathy, ego drive, service motivation, and ego strength. (These are the terms used by the Greenbergs, but the traits are consistent according to many experts on sales personalities. Some refer to ego drive combined with ego strength as self-confidence.) The Greenbergs write that empathy is the single basic ingredient common to all good salespeople. However, they add that empathy is not enough. The successful salesperson is ... plus empathy and ego strength. The Greenbergs warn that this animal is hard to find. But the candidate who has all of those qualities has management potential. WHERE TO LOOK Where do you find this ego-driven, empathetic, service-oriented person? She may be answering the telephone at the front desk. Or he might be your best friend's son. Or she might be the principal of the local high school. The insurance agency manager should not overlook any candidate who has the basic personality characteristics of a salesperson, according to the experts. The search should begin in-house. Many bored CSRs and restless underwriters have the characteristics necessary to become good producers. A competitor's staff is another source of new sales talent. But the Greenbergs say that the agency manager should consider the competitor's CSR for the same reasons ...

...drive programs for teenagers. The driving sessions highlighted accident-avoida...h them about the responsibilities of driving. Are you cultivating the futures ...

...example, is anyone in your agency driving a hybrid yet? Idea #3: Brand your... college scholarships to local high schools. Most high schools schedule award days at the end of...

... Donate excess inventory to local schools, churches, etc. Offer employees ...

... career niche. Specialty schools within the colleges flourished like trade schools in a blue-collar town. Libe... their MBAs at the most prestigious schools possible. Two years later, ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Using Planning Models To Drive The Bottom Line 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , David Stambaugh This content has not been rated yet. In a complex and fluid business environment, this planning outline can help move your agency in the right direction. "I'm farming as hard as I can but I know I'm not farming as smart as I can." George Nordhaus often makes this statement while discussing how agencies and companies work (or don't work) . Why are doing things better, faster, and less expensively than the competition so difficult? There's no easy answer to that question, but here are some things we know. Huge re-engineering efforts fail about 70% of the time. Most large system development projects take longer, cost more, and ... and services An outline of your distribution (sales delivery) system A definition of the customer service functions that the carrier will do and those that your agency will do A financial model of your business CREATING THE IDEAL OPERATING MODEL "Most planners ride into the future facing the past. It's like trying to drive a train from its caboose." Russell Ackoff, Professor emeritus of Systems Sciences, Wharton School Virtually all technology applications, total quality management processes, and re-engineering processes try to improve by working away from the current state, rather than working toward a desired state. Although this approach works, the concepts offered by Akcoff are far more effective. Rather than trying to solve problems or improve processes, let's create an ideal operating model. "To unleash the power of the new technologies, ...

...carrier industry is simply anyone driving, ready to drive, or immediately avai...

...f Purley. Rick: 'What’s it like driving on the wrong side of the road?' Ta...

... is blind or unable to write because of a disability, you are required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to supply someone to write for the disabled person. In that case, the candidate can dictate answers to the writer. Avoid asking questions about: AGE OR DATE OF BIRTH. Unless you can prove that the applicant needs to be a certain age to qualify (such as for licensing or driving a car), don't ask. GENDER. The only place this applies is for rest oom attendants. LANGUAGE SPOKEN. Use caution. You may require effective communication, but you may not eliminate a candidate due to a slight accent. PARENTS' OR MAIDEN NAME, CITIZENSHIP, PLACE OF BIRTH, AND COLOR OF EYES OR HAIR. Forget these. They could be used to reveal nationality ... specifically about a disability, but you can make a job offer that is conditioned on satisfactory results of a post-offer medical examination or inquiry, provided that this condition is made clear to all applicants for the position. ARREST RECORDS. Don't ask. You may ask if the person is eligible to be bonded, since that might be a requirement for certain positions. EDUCATIONAL LEVEL. Since a minimum high school education or its equivalent is essential for most agency positions, the question is permissible. When hiring for a janitorial or filing position, which might not require a high school level skill, eliminate this section from the application. Disclaimer Only the employment contract or intended contract should imply a promise of employment. Be sure your agency application contains a disclaimer, such as, Nothing contained here shall constitute ...

... . 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. THREE TYPES Producers come in three basic types and the successful boss must know how to deal with each type, he says. Type one are superstars-high-powered individuals who will flourish in any setting. They have the innate skill, drive, and motivation to rise to the surface, no matter where you put them, ' Wodicka says. Most principals would love to land a superstar, but such individuals are double-edged swords. First, they're hard to find-perhaps only 2% or 3% of producers fall into the category. Retaining them is equally difficult. Second, they're prima donnas, ' powerful personalities who are difficult to ... a sole practitioner agency is going to hire a producer, that sole practitioner has to wear a new hat-that of the sales manager. The sales manager has to be willing to ride with the producer, do pre-call strategy meetings and post-call meetings-what went wrong, what went right. Spend the time to develop that individual. It's more than spending the dollar to send them to the Hartford or Aetna production schools. It means that the principal or senior salesperson in an agency has to become a role model. When an agency is in trouble, more often than not, failure to manage producers properly is the cause, Wodicka contends. Some of the more successful agencies become successful from the same production people that others deemed to be failures, ' Wodicka contends. In a poorly managed agency, Jane Doe ...