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... Please consider the following: 1. Would you recommend this company? 2. What about this company do you like/dislike? 3. Why did you choose this rating? Submit This Anonymously Submit Cancel Contact Us contact_phone Click to call Unfollow First name: Last name: Email: Are you sure you want to deactivate your CompleteMarkets Company 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 realistic time frame Articles tagged with realistic time frame Back Trade Shows Can Be Profitable This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor 4/30/2013 10:41:13 PM TRADE SHOWS CAN BE PROFITABLE TRADE SHOWS MORE PROFITABLE THAN AGENCIES MAY IMAGINE Many agency owners see trade shows as expensive and frivolous events that benefit the show's organizers more .. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) x No Thanks Loading.. Loading.. x No Thanks Loading.. ...

... , specify a background color in addition to a background image, such as: WEBSITE SIN #3 : THOU SHALT NOT BLINK! This is a biggie. Please have some consideration and don't use blinking text on your page. Believe me, people don't like it. There's nothing more distracting than trying to read with that incessant blinking going on. This category includes those annoying little animated GIFs. Although it's okay to sprinkle a few good animations here and there throughout your site, 20 animated Smurfs doing the Macarena on one page would be overdoing it. These have the same distracting effect as blinking text. If you simply must put some flashing, blinking, or fidgeting doo-dads on your page, have them do their thing twice and then stop! WEBSITE SIN #4 : THOU SHALT NOT FRAME! Frames are the bane of every Web surfer's existence. In theory, they're great tools — in practice, they're usually anything but. Although frames can provide a convenient navigation system for a site, most of the time they don't. Invariably, the dimensions are just a hair off and you're stuck with that #$ %# horizontal scrollbar or you have a window approximately five pixels high to try to scroll. Frames can also cause problems for some search engines in indexing your site. WEBSITE SIN #5 : BEWARE THE ENDLESSLY SCROLLING PAGE Have you ever loaded a page and then watched in horror as the button on the horizontal scroll bar moves slower and slower? You know what that means, don't you? The page is miles long and you've got a long way to go ...

... wants a product, service, or opportunity delivered to them. Ask, "What do you want it to do for you? How would you want it to feel? What are the key decision criteria you'll use to buy this product or service in the future? What are your most important priorities?" This helps prospects see a vision of what they want. The clearer the picture, the easier it will be to help them find it, even if you don't offer it. Remember, trusted advisors are always looking out for the best interest of the client, and must be detached enough to recommend solutions even when they don't have them. The universal law of cause and effect will always bring something good back to you if you do good by others. Step 5. Time Frame for Action: When Do You Want It? This is arguably the most important piece of information you'll get from a person. "When do you want that result, solution, benefit, feeling, or outcome? How soon do you want to make a change?" The answer helps you determine your next step. Many people never ask the all important "when" question. They often assume that because a person is interested, they'll actually do something about it right now. Nothing could be further from the truth. People take action when they're ready to buy, not when the seller is ready to sell. Fish eat when they're hungry, not when you drop the line. Just because someone is interested today doesn't mean they'll act today. A trusted advisor helps a person ...

... master of maintaining rapport. One of his techniques was never to use such words as certainly, ' undoubtedly, ' and sure. These words give an air of positiveness to an opinion. For example, I'm sure we can't do that. Are you? Absolutely positive? That degree of certainty reduces the chances for flexibility, so the possible outcomes are limited. If your goal is to persuade people, one of the last things you'll probably want to do is limit your potential outcomes. So rephrase your statement. Try It seems to me that it would be hard for us to do that. Put that way, the prospect's preference is something that might be hard, but not impossible, to achieve. DISAGREE WITHOUT RESISTANCE There's a powerful technique for dealing with disagreement called the agreement frame. To establish the agreement frame, you have to know and use these three phrases: I appreciate that, and .. I agree, and .. I respect that, and .. Using these phrases allows you to acknowledge the other person's frame of reference and redirect the issue without creating resistance. For example, suppose someone tells you you're wrong. You could answer, No, I'm not! ' Or you could choose to maintain rapport this way: I respect your feelings, and I think if you hear my side, you may feel different. DON'T LIKE IT? CHANGE IT! I've found that many people agree with the substance of this lesson and have a hard time changing their old patterns. We might intellectually agree that and' works better than but' and want to change it. However, our attempts to ...

... , so I look for a policy that exactly meets my needs. In the first example, the executive preferred to examine a wide range of possibilities. This is the person who asks for ten different options, including a range of coverages and deductibles. These people are possibility' thinkers. In the second example, the executive talked about necessity and needs. This person bases decisions on what they should do. They probably don't care about a wide range of options. Just develop the best quote you can, emphasizing what they should have. What we've just contrasted are two different views of the world that come from a Meta Program that stresses possibilities or should. Like the other Meta Programs we've talked about, this one has a great impact on how people make decisions. Understanding it helps us frame our presentations in exactly the language that a prospect or client wants to hear. POSSIBILITIES Ask someone how they decided to buy insurance last year and listen for one of two answers: either they looked at a range of options, or they did what they had to do. Those who needed options are the possibility' thinkers. They ask for quotes with every option possible. They're the Commercial producers interested in working with you because it's a new experience. They're the risk managers who ask you to explain a number of different approaches for designing an effective insurance plan. However, some possibility' thinkers can be hard to work with because it's difficult to get a decision from them. Don't present a single solution and expect it to work for them. Remember that they require options and choices ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Homeowners Questionnaire 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Jack Fries 1 Verified Reviews - 5 of 5.0 1 2 3 4 5 Have your producers use this questionnaire from Jack Fries to garner needed information from Homeowners prospects: HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE QUESTIONNAIRE Producer: ____ Date: ____ INSURED Name ____ Phone ____ Address ____ City ____ State ___ Zip ____ Occupation ____ PRESENT HOME Homeowners Carrier ____ Exp. Date____ LIMITS Dwelling ____ Year Built ____ Brick or Frame Additional Structures ____ Liab. ____ Contents ____ Medical ____ Loss of Use ____ Deductible ___ Prior Claims ____ Premium ____ Credits - Alarm, etc.____ Guaranteed Replacement: Home Contents Additions/Alterations All Risk' Contents Theft Ext. Sewer Backup Subsidence Earthquake Extended Liability Scheduled Items Limits: Jewelry Furs Fine Arts (Breakage) Silver Coins Stamps Guns Boats Computers ___ Photo Equipment COMMENTS Are your autos insured with the same company? ____ Expiration Date: ____ RECOMMENDED Dwelling ____ Company ____ ­ LIMITS Liability ____ Deductible ____ Premium ____ Guaranteed Replacement Home __ Contents All Risk' Contents Sewer Backup __ Other REPLACEMENT Number of families Year Built ____ Sq. Ft ____ COMPUTATION Brick Frame Garage Cars Brick Frame Attached Balcony Porch Deck Sq. Ft. # of Fireplaces __ # of Chimneys Inside Outside # of Baths Full 1/2 Basement? Finished? Central Air? __ Wiring:- Year Update: ____ Heating Construction Type I, II, III, IV Plumbing: ...

... 18 months in order to continually provide renters with new vehicles. With that many vehicles to sell, our first reaction was to wring our hands in despair. After all, the used vehicle industry was built on the principle of " buyer, beware" — not disclosure. How could we possibly sell cars by telling the truth? After much reflection, we finally came to terms with the requirements of the agreement. We could either hang our heads while begrudgingly offering up this information to potential buyers — or we could make the proverbial lemonade from lemons. We chose to make lemonade. To make a long story short, we turned the restrictive covenants into a marketing campaign that proactively positioned us as unique and honest purveyors of used cars. The agreement stated that we couldn't retail any vehicle with frame damage repair exceeding $100. Regardless of frame damage, we couldn't retail any vehicle that had had body repairs in excess of $1 ,000. We also had to make available the entire service history of the vehicle upon request. Our marketing campaign used this message: See the entire history of the vehicle you want to purchase — before you buy it! We will sell no vehicle that has sustained more than $100 in frame damage! We will sell no vehicle that has had major collision repairs! Then, to safeguard against future complaints, we added our kicker: If anyone felt that they had purchased a lemon, we would allow them to bring it back and either pick out another vehicle or get their money back. Consumers loved our new marketing and policies. The ...

... need to get a problem resolved want to hear the words "I'm sorry." Those magic words can avoid emotionally escalating conversations. You'll find that you'll quickly begin working together to find a solution. &# 160 ALWAYS TAKE THE HIGH ROAD &# 160 Not everybody you meet will be cheerful. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Don't take someone's crankiness personally. Be patient, understanding, and approach situations as if you can, and will, remedy the problem. Helping people and solving problems are opportunities to learn and shine. Take advantage of them. &# 160 MAKE THE CALL &# 160 Because our business dealings are so dependent on each other — producer to account manager, account manager to underwriter, underwriter to supervisor — we can't always deliver answers in the time frame that we've promised. When this happens, clients want one thing: To be kept advised of the status of the situation. Consider this example: You promise a policyholder that you'll have an answer by noon. At 11:45, the information you need isn't ready. Would you rather make the call to the client at 11:45, or get a call at 12:30 wondering where the information is? Career-security minded people make the call to avoid a potentially negative and damaging interaction. &# 160 CREATE PERCEIVED AUTHORITY &# 160 You can't possibly know the answers to all questions. And some situations are outside your authority level. When this happens, you need to refer to a higher authority to get assistance. How you state this communication to the client directly affects ...

... Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back Surveys Substantiate Theory: Retention Equals Growth 4/30/2013 10:38:55 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. SURVEYS SUBSTANTIATE THEORY: RETENTION EQUALS GROWTH When striving to make an agency grow, most agency managers focus on increasing new business. But it's just as important to address improved retention. Growth in net commission income results from two things: New business written and retained business. Rarely does growth result from enriched commission sharing agreements between agents and companies. DEFINING RETENTION RATES How do you define retention rates? It's easy. Follow this formula: 1) Decide what to define - for instance, Personal Lines in force (Home, Auto, or both) . 2) Choose a time frame - monthly, quarterly, or annually. 3) Count the opening number of policies in force (PIF) at the beginning of the specified time frame, and the number in force at the end of the specified period of time. 4) Divide the remaining balance into the opening balance. That is your retention rate. To determine how well the agency is doing, ascertain the retention ratio and add new business. This reveals the net increase or decrease in growth. Consider this example: Opening PIF Up For Renewal = 250 Auto Policies Policy Cancellations = 31 Renewing Polices = 219 Retention Rate = 87.6% New Business Added For The Month = 35 Policies Net Growth = 4 Policies or 1.6% New business is a function of a prospecting program, which includes the strategies for growth ...

... , through the customer screens. Customer Service Agent: My agency, which is automated with a fully loaded customer database, has determined that this method works best for us at this stage of our development. Claims can be processed quickly and efficiently by the person with whom the client is familiar. Communication The claims-handling process MUST be fully explained to the client. Since our job is to take the information and forward it to the company, we normally verify address and telephone numbers. (It would greatly delay contact with the insured if the system's existing information were outdated, and then the form were faxed, electronically transmitted, or mailed to the company.) After the claims information is completed, the agent needs to follow the agency's procedures, then consulting the company matrix to determine the time frame involved and when the client should expect a call from the adjuster. It is imperative that the client understand that, to serve them better, a professional adjuster will be handling their claim. We ask clients to call us if they have any problems or if the adjuster does not contact them within the allotted time frame. Our philosophy requires us carefully to put clients in touch with the person who will handle the claim while letting them know we are always there for them should a problem occur. We don't get involved before the company has a chance to settle the claim properly. Saying too much or having an agent inject personal opinions could jeopardize our further relationship with the carrier, as well as with the customer. People Skills Each agent handling claims must be thoroughly trained in people skills ...