Search CompleteMarkets

... shared his experiences, telling us a number of stories. I believe that two of these should qualify for CE credits for all professions. Unfortunately I'm reasonably certain that neither story would be approved. They're separate, yet linked. These experiences are about innovations that have saved millions (if not billions) of dollars in productivity costs, but have probably never been studied at the Harvard Business School. These were lessons learned in fields with weeds, not in buildings with ivy-covered walls. &# 160 Lynn explained that when he first started in the timber industry, the companies would cut the timber, clear the land, and then replant new seedlings. The supervisor at each plant would stress the importance of lining the seedlings up in "perfect" rows so that the machine could cut them at harvest time. Lynn became curious because he knew that trees weren't cut with machines, but by men with band saws. One day he asked the supervisor about these new tree-harvesting machines. &# 160 The "boss" explained that, although these machines currently didn't exist, if we planted the trees right — in perfect rows — the machines would be invented some day because straight rows and a large supply of trees would facilitate their invention. This supervisor understood the future. I'd bet all I own that this guy had very little "schoolin'" (brain tissue), but I'm equally certain that he had great experience (scar tissue) . &# 160 Lynn then took us back to the future. He told another story — and he's a master storyteller — about a timber ...

... for cards was a small idea. Giving them away is a really big idea. David Cowan of Bessemer Venture Capital added, People expect a lot of things for free. And if you don't give it away, some other start-up will. So free' doesn't mean that the companies have to lose out. Advertisers are now paying visitors to visit their sites. 14. There will be no more hunters. In selling, the image of a hunter' (a male) going in for the kill remains intact. The notion of the gatherer' (a woman) as a salesperson is disdained. Now this notion is crumbling like the Berlin Wall. The Internet turns the tables- the successful salesperson will be the gatherer. Selling today requires nurturing prospects, and the gatherer uses a cultivation and harvesting process to make the sale. There's an interesting implication in all this. With such dramatic changes in buyer behavior, it's probable that sales, like other professions, will be rejuvenated by people in whom the traits necessary for cultivating and harvesting are often observed: Women. 15. It's 24/7 for everyone. Although some people erect firewalls between work and their personal life, the direction is toward a blending of the two. A wired world sets no boundaries on place or time. This translates into changing customers' expectations. In an amazing about-face, customers are less willing to travel to make purchases. Online buying is breaking the back of a deeply ingrained 50-year shopping-center mentality. You might want to check out the luggage at 7:35 a.m., browse again at 12 ...

... hand laborers in the field; to provide each employee reasonable use of the above; and to inform each employee of the importance of good hygiene practices. U.S. Department of Labor Program Highlights Fact Sheet No. OSHA 92-25 OSHA'S FIELD SANITATION STANDARD &# 160 SUMMARY Requires employers of 11 or more field workers to provide toilets, potable drinking water, and handwashing facilities to hand laborers in the field; to provide each employee reasonable use of the above; and to inform each employee of the importance of good hygiene practices. EFFECTIVE DATES May 30, 1987 for potable drinking water July 30, 1987 for toilets and handwashing facilities SCOPE OF COVERAGE Any agricultural establishment hiring 11 or more workers for hand labor. Includes work done by hand or with hand tools during cultivation, weeding, planting, and harvesting of vegetables, nuts, fruits, seedlings, or other crops including mushrooms, and the packing of produce in the field into containers, whether performed on the ground, on moving machinery, or in a shed. Does not cover logging operations, the care and feeding of livestock, or hand-labor operations in permanent structures (e.g. canning facilities or packing houses) . POPULATION COVERED An estimated 471,600 farm employees, about one-fourth of whom are migrant workers, on roughly 54,000 farms with 11 or more employees. From 25 to 30 percent of these workers are women; the number also includes young adults and children under 18. The greatest number of field employees covered tend or harvest fruits and nut trees (175,000) . Others tend vegetables and melons (137 ...

... producers build their skills - and grow their sales. I remember the time I first understood the concept of a system. It was mid-May, and my dad was planting cotton on our farm. I asked him why we planted cotton in late April. Dad told me that way, the cotton would have the summer to grow and be ready for picking in October or November. I had a brilliant idea: Why not plant the cotton in March, or even February? Then it would be ready in July, and we could beat everyone else to market. I excitedly explained this to Dad, who listened patiently, then gave me my first lesson in farming. Son, everything has a time. You have to plant when it's time, water and weed when it's time, and harvest when it's time, ' he said. You can't rush the first step, or you'll be planting in the wrong season, and your seeds will die. For the same reason, you can't forget to water and weed, or your plants will die. And you have to pick cotton at the right time, or it falls off the plant and is useless. So we don't fight the natural cycle of planting and picking - we learn to understand it and work with it. The best farmers are the ones who know the system, then take care to perform each step well. Years later, I found that this held true for selling as well. All you have to do is understand the system, be careful to cover each step, and harvest at the right time. ...

... the product or service. Telemarketers assume facts not in evidence, and literally force the prospect to scream, Prove it! ' Avoid the generalizations many sales courses teach: Anytime sales pitches are I- or me-centered, they are subject to challenge, and rightfully so. Additionally, prospects may retaliate with, Who cares? ' Questions hold the keys to answers. Since prospects are the only ones with the right answers, prospects should be the ones making the statements. You should be asking the questions that keep you out of the challenger's corner: I feel we are uniquely qualified . ..: If you give us a chance, I know you will . ..: Our new policy is so much better than . ..: I'm sure that we can . . .. Harvest Every Call When calling a prospect who is not available to come to the phone, don't hang up or just leave a message. Seize the opportunity to question the person to whom you are speaking. It's amazing how someone with time will answer these questions and even expound on them. It's up to the producer to determine if the person answering the phone has enough time. The key is preparation; be ready with the appropriate questions. And don't limit questions to Auto, P/C , or Workers Comp: How often does your insurance agent call? ': Have there been any claims problems? ': How many employees are currently working there? ': Have you had to deal with a lot of insurance people lately? How many? ' Phone Time Management The telephone ...

... build their businesses. They'll become so entwined with your organization that, with their shortage of time, they'll eagerly resolve any problems with your organization rather than sever the relationship and re-forge it with another organization. 3. Technology is the driving force behind the rapid pace of change. You must embrace technology and use it as a tool to serve and retain your clients. Since the insurance industry is furthest behind the technology curve and has a higher cost of rework than just about any other business, there's a dire need to reduce your heavy reliance on paperwork and to become technologically integrated. Technology absolutes: Realize what technology offers. Banking and insurance are the only two industries in which I hear people referring to computers as "automation' elsewhere, they're called" information technology." Learn to harvest the rich beds of marketing information that are at your fingertips. Offer e-mail to all clients as a mode of regular communication. Design and promote a Web site that's customer friendly, content rich, and interactive. Set a goal as to when your company will upload and download all information to all carriers, agents, and insureds. Insist that everyone at your company become "computer-competent." Computer illiteracy is too costly for any company. Hire only individuals who are knowledgeable about, and comfortable with, computers. As a rule of thumb, learn a new technology tool or skill every month to stay current with the technology boom. 4. You'll need more items in your "tool chest" to solve problem. All industries have sacred, unspoken rules of the game. You know ...

... Agencies - Introduction 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. LEGAL OUTLINE FOR CALIFORNIA INSURANCE AGENCIES &# 160 INTRODUCTION This outline is written for the owners of small or medium sized California property and casualty independent insurance agencies, and the broker/agents who own them or produce insurance for them. It is intended to raise practical legal problems facing agents, and to help them find practical answers. The outline is based on California law, but it may be helpful to broker-agents in other states as well. There are some legal areas which are California specific, such as covenants not to compete. An interest in an agency or a book of business is like a farmer's crop. There is a life cycle, from planting the seed to bringing in the harvest. By planning ahead from the beginning, an agency principal helps both the agency's operation and its ultimate disposition. Choosing the form of doing business is an important decision. Deciding whether to incorporate requires the agent to weigh the protection of a corporation against its increased cost in time and money. The small producer needs to consider the possible advantages of joining with others. The owner of a larger production agency needs to consider how to grow and to develop new producers. An agent also needs to think ahead about how he plans to sell or transfer his agency or book of business when he retires, and how to structure his business to accomplish his plans. I feel that an agent with any substantial assets should either be incorporated or join with someone who is. Important questions of structuring the ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Online Invoices Get Paid Twice As Fast 6/4 /2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Steve Anderson This content has not been rated yet. Web-based invoices that give recipients the option to pay online result in payments being made twice as fast as those that don't, according to data from Harvest, an online time-tracking and invoicing vendor. The company looked at data from more than 250,000 paid invoices from their system. They found that invoices that included the option to pay using PayPal were paid 16 days faster than those that did not, which took an average of 32 days. Although online payment isn't new to the Internet, few agencies have used it. As their clients become accustomed to being able to pay all of their bills online, agencies need to offer this method as an option. The increase in the use of direct bill options helps agencies manage receivables more effectively. It's important for agency Web sites to offer, and display prominently, all types of payment options. Steve Anderson is a licensed agent who heads The Anderson Network, Inc.;, PO Box 1546 Franklin, TN, 37065-1546; (615) 599-0085; e-mail [email protected] ; or visit www.SteveAnderson.com . Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to join? Need insurance for you, your business or your family? Get quality appointments - Save yourself a whole lot of time & money when you use our directory of carriers, wholesalers and service providers. Negotiate lucrative contracts with carriers and wholesalers. ...

... it's boring, prepare an exit strategy. If it's adoring, keep up the good work and get on the consulting circuit! Are you willing and able to lead your organization through the future? If you aren't, prepare an exit strategy. Are your organization's members willing and able to change? If yes, proceed to the next question. If not, are you willing to terminate those unwilling to change? If you aren't willing to make the tough decisions, including terminating those unwilling or unable to change, prepare an exit strategy. Success in the future is like performing on the high wire without a net. Will you commit the time, energy, discipline, and other resources to achieve best of class' status? If yes, continue the process. If no, begin the harvest process' and recognize that you'll need an exit strategy. The process is simple but arduous. You must: Arrange your equipment Rehearse your performance Execute flawlessly — you'll eventually remove the net Constantly inspect the equipment and process and adjust as needed THE EQUIPMENT This is essential. If the equipment fails, the best case is that your performance suffers; the worst case is that you fall and die! Your life is literally on the line. Make sure everything is perfect. The best performer might be able to work on flawed equipment, but it's not a risk you want to take. The equipment: Guy wires Support poles Platforms The wire Turnbuckles The net You've seen the set-up. Do it right the first time. You won't get a second chance! Guy wires. There are two ...

... business strategy, you want to focus on the events that are about technology exclusively. They range from small (100 or so) meetings that offer panel discussions, lectures, and networking opportunities to the major technology shows (several thousand) like Comdex. There are also a few insurance or financial services technology events that provide education and, at times, an eclectic showcase of exhibits. The wired world is a confusing place. The challenge for ACORD is to bring people from different parts of the industry together. We build the standards necessary for processing business and communicating from end-to-end is no simple matter when the industry resembles a patchwork quilt of isolated special interest groups. Association leaders driving industry technology agendas on behalf of a constituency must reach out to others doing the same thing. We need to harvest good ideas from everyone, forge a consistent industry direction, and encourage trade associations to work more closely together on technology and standards. Industry trade associations must share information, listen to each other, and perhaps merge limited resources to accomplish more. There's such a glut of information that it has become difficult to separate fact from fiction. Don't take everything you read at face value. What you read and what people believe is largely influenced by perceptions, attitudes, and self-interest. Remember: The future is shaped and influenced to a great extent by those who have the most to gain or lose. Gregory A. Maciag is president and chief executive officer of ACORD, the non-profit industry association based in Pearl River, N.Y. ACORD develops and maintains standards for the insurance and related ...