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... x No Thanks Loading.. Agencies Are Getting Help These Days!4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Grace Bauer This content has not been rated yet. Every agency I talk to these days wants help. How can we be better? ' How can we stay in touch with the client? ' How can we maintain accounts? ' How can we write more business? ' You might be wondering, How can I get help? ' There are plenty of resources! Local, state, and national insurance associations are willing to help with any issue. Automation vendors have lots of programs and are developing more to make insurance agencies successful. Insurance companies, too, are a great resource. And consulting groups are here to stay. I talk to at least 30 agency staff each day, and a day doesn't go by that I don't hear how a consulting group has helped some agency. Agencies are making sure they'll be here for a long time. LOCAL, STATE, AND NATIONAL INSURANCE ASSOCIATIONS Whether at the local, state, or national level, insurance associations are wonderful. Don't be afraid to call them - they're there for you. If an association doesn't have the answer, they'll get it for you. Often associations already have what you need, such as education, errors and omission coverage, and marketing programs. Ask them! I'm not a member of any insurance association, but, whenever I call, someone is always willing to help me. Call them if you have any question! AUTOMATION VENDORS At times just thinking about agency management systems ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Help Your Employees Help Themselves 3/9 /2015 by Don Phin This content has not been rated yet. HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES HELP THEMSELVES by Don Phin More and more employers are discovering the advantages of helping employees through today's rough times. Don Phin explains how Employment Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Dependent Care Services can provide unique value-added benefits for both you and your employees. EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Today's employers face more workforce challenges than ever — many of them because of problems that employees face in their personal lives. Employee Assistance Programs can help. EAPs provide face-to-face clinical counseling for such issues as relationship concerns, family problems, stress, workplace problems, and alcohol/chemical dependency. These programs also provide telephone consultations and information for such life-management issues' as financial concerns, finding providers for child or elder care, tax issues, legal advice, organizing personal affairs, and pre-retirement planning. The information that employees share with an EAP is strictly confidential and not shared with the employer. Considering the fact that substance abuse alone costs businesses more than $120 billion a year in lost productivity, an EAP program can be highly cost effective. EAPs have led to significant reductions in use of sickness benefits, work-related accidents, Workers Compensation claims, and employee conflict. The three largest EAP providers are: Magellan ( www.magellan.com ), with 14 million total lives covered, ComPsych Corp ( compsych.com ), with 7 million total lives covered, and CIGNA ( www.cignabehavioral.com ), with 4 million total lives covered. DEPENDENT CARE SERVICE PROVIDERS Increasing demand for child and elder care ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Consider Outside Help Today!4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Grace Bauer This content has not been rated yet. An outside facilitator can help you to run processes much quicker. They can also warn agency principals of possible errors and omissions exposures. In this document, Grace Bauer tells you how to work effectively with a facilitator. Over the past month, I've begun overseeing weekly agency procedural review meetings as a facilitator. Agency principals had been telling me that their office managers were just too busy to prepare and oversee these meetings. They wanted to save management time and see if I could oversee everything. GET IT DONE NOW What a difference. What used to be a six-month or one-year project of developing procedures now takes three to four months. Organizing the process eliminates delays and keeps things on track. Involving an outside person helps things get done now. Agencies, like most people, tend to delay meetings and assignments when staff comes to them with problems: "Let's just cancel this week and plan for next week." Believe me, canceling one week's meetings makes it all too easy to cancel lots of others — and that's exactly what happens. Consider outside help today on a project if you just know it might not get done. KEEP PRINCIPALS INFORMED If you need to take a good look at every procedure inside you agency, consider outside help today. Do not leave it to office management or another individual to conquer this task. After my experience, I doubt that the review would be performed efficiently. During a recent ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Ecommerce Chargebacks - Effective Tips That Can Help You Reduce Them Drastically 10/22/2021 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. Ecommerce is like a chargeback minefield. When you present a card for payment, and the swipe machine shows a message, card-not-presented, there arises an opportunity of fraud. It gives birth to too many disputes and a situation of deliberate scam. The merchants and shopkeepers can face the consequences of losing revenue from too many chargebacks. You must know how to minimize the chargeback numbers. This article will prove to be a guide to chargebacks for merchants facing this fraud. Effective Ways to Stop eCommerce Chargebacks By following some of the practices, you can make your customers happy, and at the same time, cut the number of chargebacks. Customer Service - A poor customer service is one of the reasons for increased chargeback numbers. Answering the customers' queries and making them understand their purchases will help in decreasing the chargeback. An easy refund policy will surely help your business. Prevention of Fraud - A chargeback fraud is a problem for both the cardholder and the merchant. As a merchant, you should give attention to defending against chargebacks. Representment - Take the matter to representment if you believe that the chargeback is a fraud. It will help you recover some lost revenue. You must be sure that you have the evidence supporting your claim. The eCommerce merchants are much exposed to the danger of facing chargebacks issues. Let us now discuss some basic preventive measures to overcome online payment chargebacks. What is an ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Consumer Online Access: Help Your Customers Help You 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Rick Morgan This content has not been rated yet. CONSUMER ONLINE ACCESS: HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS HELP YOU by Rick Morgan Technology has had a profound impact on our everyday activities — from fueling our vehicles to preparing our food — to such a pervasive degree that we often don't even notice it's there. This document by Rick Morgan examines how you can employ technology in your business to increase productivity, and your bottom line. People used to get into elevators and give the floor number to an attendant. He'd close the outer and inner doors, and pull a lever to take you to your floor. There was a time when you couldn't telephone anyone yourself. You'd pick up the phone and give the number to the operator, who would dial for you. We used to endorse a check and push it under the glass to the teller. God forbid you should show up after hours — sorry, mister, we're closed. Remember when searching for reference materials used to be a librarian's job? Now we use the Internet. And when we're lost in the car, a computerized voice helps. People are even scanning and bagging their own groceries. What's changed? It's all about convenience, control — and technology. Technology has made it convenient for us to do these things ourselves. We also like to be in control. You know something's done right if you do it yourself. Not that we all rush to use new technologies. For example, people ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. 10 Tips To Help You Become A Better Manager 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Jack Fries 1 Verified Reviews - 5 of 5.0 1 2 3 4 5 Whether you're running a mega-agency or a boutique, following these proven management guidelines makes sense. Learn what motivates each of your employees Use this information to help manage their performance. Although status, power, or additional authority might motivate some people, others might be more excited by the opportunity for tapping into their flair for creative, job-related activities or more face-to-face contact with customers. Rewarding good employees with assignment that speak to their unique motivations, interest and long-range career goals can help you retain them. Work actively on improving your communication skills Rather than thinking about what you want to say, think about what you want people to hear. You might need to alter your message Depending on your audience, Your customer service reps will probably respond better to your message if you talk in terms that relate directly to them, rather than speaking to them as you would to the executive management team. Of course, listening plays a key role in communication. Ask for input and listen to what you hear. Encouraging people to share their new ideas and concerns will help keep the lines of communication open. Play to your employees' strengths Know what their talents are and allow them to participate in projects and activities where they get to use them. When people are able to do what comes naturally to them, they are more successful as well as more satisfied. Use the Gentle Nudge' approach ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Being Assumptive With Referrals Can Help Or Hurt!4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , bill cates This content has not been rated yet. There are times when being assumptive in the sales and referral process can help you help your clients. there are also times when this approach impede your efforts or hurt your efforts to build trust. For instance, you know that in the VIPS Method™ to Asking for Referrals, I strongly advise you not to assume that the client is ready, willing, and able to give you referrals just because you ask. The "P " in the VIPS Method™ acronym = Gain Permission to Brainstorm. You need to soften your request so you get buy-in from your client. Being assumptive in this situation can hurt your efforts by making your client feel anxious and even defensive. On the other hand, once you've received one or more referrals, you can be assumptive for the introduction. For example, you might say: "I suspect George would prefer to hear from you before he hears from me." "Let's talk about how you would introduce me to George." "Let's come up with an introduction that feels comfortable to both you and George that's also effective." "What do you think you need to say to George to pique his interest in hearing from me?" Being assumptive about the value you've provided or the satisfaction level of your prospect or client can hurt your efforts to generate quality referrals. Checking in for value recognized with your prospects and clients will help you get ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Osha Help For New Businesses 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. INFORMATION DATE 19910805 DESCRIPTION USDOL Program Highlights for New Businesses SUBJECT OSHA Help for new businesses ABSTRACT A booklet designed specifically to help small businesses comply with OSHA requirements is available through the OSHA Publications Office. It is entitled OSHA Handbook for Small Businesses' (OSHA 2209) . A catalog, OSHA Publications and Audiovisual Programs, ' (OSHA 2019), is available through the OSHA Publications Office. A kit containing free' OSHA publications may be obtained by writing or telephoning the OSHA Headquarters, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210 (telephone (202) 219-8021) or through the OSHA Regional Offices. U.S. Department of Labor Program Highlight Fact Sheet No. OSHA 91-43 OSHA HELP FOR NEW BUSINESSES This fact sheet will give you-the employer starting a new business- basic information about OSHA requirements and additional publications to assist you in complying with those requirements. Responsibilities As an employer, you are responsible under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to your employees. You must comply with standards, rules, and regulations issued by OSHA under the act. You must be familiar with the standards and make copies available to employees for review upon their request. Standards Copies of various OSHA standards may be purchased through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325 (telephone (202) 512-0000) ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Stratch Their I.T.C.H. – Watch People Beat A Path To Your Door!4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Mitch Axelrod This content has not been rated yet. What business are you in? Today, you, I, and everyone else is in the I.T.C.H. business! Information - to help make good choices and decisions. Transportation - to get people from point A to point B. Communication - to send clear messages that attract resources and relationships. Help - to serve, and improve the lives of others. The more people who's I.T.C.H. you scratch, the more success you'll have. The more ways you scratch a buyer's I.T.C.H., the more business you'll get. Information Everyone needs sound information to make good decisions. In his terrific book, Creating a New Civilization, Alvin Toffler says, "development and distribution of information is the central productivity and power activity of the human race." We organize information into knowledge, and draw upon our experience and wisdom. All these weigh heavily in the choices and decisions we make. You can provide useful information in many forms: Newsletters, special reports, bulletins, audio magazines, online E-zines, etc. If you don't write or can't create one of these in-house, joint venture with someone who does, provided it offers value your audience will appreciate. Your readers (customers, buyers, or prospects) don't really care who writes the information. They care that it has value to them. The three keys to communication are Impact, Frequency, and Medium. Send ...

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