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E-Marketing Strategies That Are More Bricks Than C...dent of Graham Communications, a marketing services and sales consulting firm. He is the author of The New Magnet Marketing and 203 Ways to Be Supremely Successful in the New World of Selling. Mr. Graham writes for a variety of publications and speaks on business, marketing, and sales topics. He can be contacted at 40 Oval Road, Quincy, MA 02170 (617) 328-0069; fax (617...

Working In My Swimming Trunks: Home-Based Opportunities
Millions of Americans operate businesses from their homes. This document by...you afford to lose these home-based business clients when an aggressive competitor comes their way? Think about it.

Emerging E&O Loss Exposures
With so many new concepts, new types of business, and changes in existing insurance products, insurance agents need to be more diligent than ever in analyzing their Errors and Omissions risks and e...USION These are only a few of the emerging E&O exposures that agencies face. Making sure producers and staff know about them and practicing due diligence in day-to-day activities will go a long way toward reducing agency exposures. There’s no guarantee that asking the proper questions and taking appropriate action will prevent an E&O, but doing nothing is certain to leave an agency in a poor position to defend itself. Du...

Five Ways To Improve Business Survival After A Windstorm
FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE BUSINESS SURVIVAL AFTER A WINDSTORM by Doug Henderson For many businesses, windstorms present A worst-case disaster scenario. In addition to disabling or destroying business assets, as a community-wide disaster, a windstorm can disable employee homes, disru...ons, at least temporarily. Pre-positioning personnel and using alternate sites will probably be effective. However, bear in mind that these strategies require a great deal of logistics planning to succeed. Douglas M. Henderson is president of Disaster Management, Inc., 1531 SE Sunshine Ave. Port St. Lucie, FL 34952, tele...

... Recent All Back Growth-Loaded Producer Compensation 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by Al Diamond , CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. Use this plan to give your producers an incentive to target growth, while protecting the agency from financial losses. Everyone is motivated by money to some extent. For some people, money is the source of security, providing funding for home, food, and the necessities of life. For sales people, money is also a way to get things. Things form a sort of scorecard by which many salespeople measure success. The more money they make, the more things they can have. This is not meant as a value judgement. It's just a fact: Money motivates salespeople more than people in other types of careers. ... in sales as in other careers, most participants have a target, called the Comfort Zone, at which they have the things that they desire. After they reach the Comfort Zone, their goal is to maintain it more than to exceed it. For many years, agency producers have been paid a commission on new business and renewals. This is not bad in itself; the producer ought to be interested in keeping the business that has been put on the books, as well as in writing new business. However, a strange phenomenon takes place when producers generate a large enough book of business to reach their Comfort Zones: They basically retire from sales into a service and maintenance career. Sure, they'd sell if a referral called them or if some of their customers left the agency ( ...

General Agency Advertising
WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON If there's any one common thread among independent agencies, it is that we are all very independent in the way we do things. For example, a new agency will have ...s shoes.' Both said exactly the same thing, both had exactly the opposite viewpoints. And both probably did what was in the best interests of their company, considering their perspectives. If you don't think a market is right for you, don't waste time in it. Someone else may think it is perfect for them. Define what you are, see what the opportunity is, and find your degree of uniqueness to go aft...

Why Do You Need Business Insurance?
Most business owners would agree that it’s important to maintain insurance to protect business assets. When they think about insurance, business owners generally consider protection against hazards such as fire, flood or theft ...tection with the types of coverage outlined here. Since you invest so much time, money and effort into your business, it pays to make sure you have th...

How To Power-Up Your Business
If you're thinking about what will be happening on the business scene in the future, the first step is to clear your mind of several popular misconceptions. Mor...ieved, it will be the direct result of individual companies seizing the moment to position themselves for more profitable business. These seven ways are fundamental building blocks which will serve the best interests of a business in good times and bad. Today, however, they are the essential ingredients for success.

Term Insurance: Module V-D
  TERM INSURANCE: MODULE V-D   THE COVERAGE Term Life insurance is the purest form of Life insurance-it provides only for death protection with no cash values or interest-sensitive features. Term policies pay only if the insured dies with in the policy period. Most Term policies ...e low rates, and ask for the appointment. Then proceed with the remaining steps in the sales process. Also, make it a policy to ask about Life insurance on the owner whenever you insure a new business or make changes to existing business policies for small business owners. Your question could lead to the sale of Term insurance to your Commercial clients for many business Life insurance purposes. A fledgling or small business won't be able to afford to tie up its liquidity and cash in a cash value Life insurance account where it might get pe...

Are Your Clients Home-Based Businesses Covered?
Many people are now running businesses out of their homes. With the advancements in computers and telecommuting technology, and the need by more families for two incomes, home-based businesses have become widespread. Recently, ...ill need to stay up to date as changes in this area continue. This will allow them to prevent E...