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... New York City, they got all their fine things appraised by Leo McCarthy, the ... for a man who died in 1943 to sign a fine-art appraisal in 1991. The lawyer ...

... that ASCAP and BMI can levy stiff fines if you haven't purchased a licensing ...h! Some agencies have been caught and fined. This dilemma's creative answer is...

... closely to my problems, searches for the pain, then recommends a solution. Most of the time, it works great. Tell Me Where It Hurts Sometimes a problem is too complicated for a generalist to solve. In that case, it's the responsibility of the salesperson to call in an expert to help define a solution. For example, if one of your clients has an extensive collection of fine art to insure, chances are that you won't be able to accurately recommend the best level of coverage. That's no problem if your agency has engaged the services of an expert in the fine arts market who's in a better position to advise your client in this area. Calling an expert in to help you is an example of relationship selling. Relationship selling is defining the problem and providing an ... to recommend a solution. Even though you may lack some of the needed expert knowledge, you know where to get it. This is done all the time in the computer business: an account exec establishes an account, then turns it over to technical support. I Can Relate Most larger sales require either relationship selling strategies or consultative selling strategies. Presenting features and benefits to busy executives without really understanding their problems only wastes everyone's time. So how do you position yourself to do consultative selling? Simple. Ask more questions. The more questions you ask, the better you understand the client's problems and the higher your level of rapport. The better you understand the client's problems, the more trust you're likely to engender. What Do You Want? What do you really want from your broker ...

...son to call in an expert to help define a solution. For example, if one of ...aged the services of an expert in the fine arts market who's in a better position t...

... staff the agency properly. Then they can use their time in a way that's appropriate for their skill level and that justifies their compensation. The key to moving into the next generation of growth is to develop a deeper understanding of the power of management. Management is a productive profession, not a frill that can be trimmed in favor of sales or service. How do you explain the appreciation of fine painting to a blind man? He knows he can live without it and can't understand the fuss about applying some textured paint to a canvas. If he were able to see, he might find out that art adds a dimension to his life that he never knew existed. Most owners of small agencies facing the $2 million ceiling without knowledge of management are like the blind man. The ... way they know to grow is to repeat they've done in the past, but since the old familiar methods no longer work, they're at a loss. New ways seem risky. But they don't have to re-invent the wheel. All they need do is review similar companies that have grown through the $2 million mark and into double-digit growth. They'll find that these companies hire enough of the right people to manage the daily workload. They focus their managers on growth, profitability, productivity, and monitoring and managing others to accomplish more than they could ever do themselves. It takes fortitude to build businesses from scratch-but leverage is what builds large businesses from small ones. The reason that 93% of all businesses never grow beyond their owners' ability to produce personally is that they refuse to invest ...

... Do you own any antiques, fine arts, collections or other special value it...or homes, motorcycles, ATV's or golf carts? (please circle) ...

...do you explain the appreciation of fine painting to a blind man? He knows he c...use to invest in people and learn the arts of delegation and management. They ...

...us process to wade through all the fine print in your policy, we thought you m...VEHICLES AND WATERCRAFT? Golf Carts Covered While You're Golfing ...

... 3. Cameras 2. Silverware 4. Fine arts Do you have any of the above to speci...

... a quote from most often? The CSR. Who's in the best position to sell peripheral coverages to existing clients? The CSR. Who is the least trained salesperson on staff? The CSR. So who's missing great account development opportunities by getting CSRs to sell? You, the agency owner! We pack our producers off to mega-sales seminars for days or weeks at a time. They learn the fine art of needs selling, spin selling, pain selling, opening statements, probing, overcoming obstacles, and surefire closing techniques. We also hold producers accountable for appointment setting, X-dates, quote ratios, hit ratios, and profitability. Good producers observe a situation or hear an objection and immediately select the proper technique from the bag of skills that they learned from seminars, mentoring personal sales experience ... and by monitoring results. Why not teach CSRs the same skills? THE THREE T's We become impatient when we see obvious opportunities turn into lost business because the right sales technique was not used. It's time to step back and look at the CSR in a new light — as a professional who can balance technical expertise with organizational skills while servicing the customer's needs. Your CSRs are resolving dozens of serious customer issues every day. As an agency owner or producer, you might not see this because most CSRs consider it part of their day's work. CSRs who do a super job placating a customer with a claim or accounting problem might well have the potential to sell. You just have to give them the three T's: Training, tools, and time. What about opportunity? That's no ...