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... they should be. Separation doesn't make the heart grow fonder; it makes the head more detached. When principals separate themselves, managers tend to follow suit. Managers are accountable for certain results-and when they can't see those who produce these results, they're operating under a considerable handicap. Management is not a solitary undertaking. You can think and create behind glass walls with an open door. COUNTERS: COUNTERINTUITIVE, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE Clients or prospects who visit a traditional agency often see a counter separating them from the agency staff person. There's enough to ... are supposed to service what they write. Get over it! Producers should be salespeople. Written accounts need to be handled by account managers (what used to be CSRs) . Overlap should be minimized. Salespeople must spend the vast majority of their work hours on active sales activity. Producers who spend most of their time working in the only place where your prospects don't go-your office-are in the wrong place. Only in the insurance industry is the outside producer inside most of the time. Most producers don't justify their annual income from ... business sales. Management justifies their income with the book they've previously written and then pay CSRs, too, to handle those accounts. Placing producers in a service team (or, heaven forbid, letting them try to manage a service team) reinforces this insanity. Producers need space within the agency for very specific functions: Client meetings: Your agency needs at least one (maybe more, depending on the number of producers) impressive client-meeting room equipped with technology for rating, looking up information, and giving presentations. Sales-program development ...

...is often ideal for a physically handicapped person. In short, your best bet i... Activity/ Result (Including X-Date) ...

... business is greedy. A major story in a big-city daily newspaper focused on a high-visibility automobile dealer with a net worth of some $200 million, including a well-known $10 million vacation home. When asked about his charitable contributions and a barbecue for a group of handicapped kids, he is reported to have said, I guess I could do more. Whether this automobile dealer realized it or not, he was describing his business philosophy. As far as he's concerned, everything should move in one direction-toward him. In spite of his ... you want your business to end the year firmly in the black, here are seven ways to power-up your company now: 1. Quit dreaming and put your marketing and sales plan on paper. The key to making something happen is getting ideas, plans, and activities on paper. Unless this happens, the coming year will look just like the last one, only a little worse. Ask yourself a basic question: Who's going to do what to whom and when? ' Everything you need to know about transforming foggy generalities ... fix. 2. Look sharp! Throw off the old image. Old-timers are fond of saying, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Although this may be good advice most of the time, there are occasions when new makes a positive difference. A copy center increased its copying business by 30% during the slowest time of the year. When the results were analyzed, only one change occurred during the period: The increased business came after a new copier was installed! During difficult times, companies tend to ignore what ...