https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1707/INSURANCE-DISTRIBUTION-TRENDS-AND-THE-EFFECTS-OF-CHANGE/
... x No Thanks Loading.. Insurance Distribution Trends And The Effects Of Change 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. INSURANCE DISTRIBUTION TRENDS AND THE EFFECTS OF CHANGE It's remarkable that the insurance industry has experienced only evolutionary - not revolutionary - change in its structure, processes, systems, and culture over the past 50 years. This is due partly to the regulatory nature of the industry and partly to exclusive and/or vertical agency agreements between insurance providers and agents. In this regard, the insurance industry is similar to banking and many other investor-owned utilities that are price regulated by the states and obligated to serve society. This situation is about to change because several external and internal factors are putting increasing pressure on the industry at a faster pace. The ... are expanded) . And insurance agents will emerge as infomediaries. Finally, both insurance companies and independent agents will learn to cooperate and collaborate with each other to serve end users more effectively and efficiently. At the same time, it's likely that some insurance companies will acquire or invest in their distribution partners in the same way pharmaceutical companies dealt with their distributors (Merck buying Medco and Baxter acquiring Hospital Supply Corp.) . Not all the observations, conclusions, and recommendations found in this report will be applicable to all independent insurance agents. Each one will have to analyze their own context and drivers of change and attempt to use lessons learned from other industries and other independent insurance agent companies to determine their own path. MAJOR TRENDS OUTSIDE THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY Embrace of technology. Regardless of the industry ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1807/REACH-OUT-AND-SELL-SOMEONE/
... a result, the telephone has moved to the center of sales strategies in insurance agencies throughout the country. Exact growth statistics for insurance telemarketing are currently unavailable, according to Lee Van Vechten, the Freehold, N.J., publisher of The Van Vechten Report, a telemarketing management resource. However, says Van Vechten, recent studies of the attitudes and expansion plans of managers in a broad range of industries show that telemarketing in general is growing by leaps and bounds. WHY TELEMARKETING? A number of factors account for telemarketing's recent surge in popularity within the insurance industry. Economic trends, for example, have made many independent agents more marketing-oriented. The recent hard market in this area forced agents to look for new ways to stay competitive, ' says Jim Smith, a commercial producer at Leick, Marshall ... says agency president Al Meyers, and we've been doing that pretty consistently for the last two years. Indeed, says Bob Ziegler, if there's a disadvantage to telemarketing, it's that an agency often generates more leads than it can handle. After about three months into the telemarketing program, we had to send out letters to some of the prospects we had contacted telling them that we would be unable to supply the quote we had discussed-the producer in that office simply couldn't follow up all the leads, ' says Ziegler, whose agency has since taken on additional staff at its satellite office to handle the extra business. THREE STEPS TO SUCCESS Not the least of telemarketing's appeal is its logistical simplicity. The process typically entails three basic steps: soliciting and organizing policy expiration dates (x-dates); following up ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2781/Risk-Management-Strategies-for-Small-Businesses/
... something every business must do. According to studies, approximately 90% of data breaches occur due to phishing, meaning people are falling for scams on an alarming scale. Empowering employees to recognize phishing attempts turns them into vigilant guardians of your data, helping to ensure cyber criminals come away empty-handed if they target a business. Compliance and Regulatory Adherence The legal repercussions and financial penalties for not complying with industry regulations are severe. For example, in 2014, Bank of America received a $16.65 billion fine after it failed to make accurate and complete disclosures to investors. While small businesses would not be fined this amount, they could find themselves on the hook for a sum that forces them to fold. Regular audits ensure industry regulations are adhered to, and legal requirements are met. These audits ... Small Businesses Small enterprises navigate a labyrinth of challenges unique to their size and structure. These businesses often operate with constrained budgets and find themselves on a tightrope of limited resources, meaning they must confront uncertainties head-on to ensure their growth and survival. The global economy still feels the aftershocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, including soaring interest rates. Several countries are at war, and pirates continually attack trade and supply routes; these are testing times. Small businesses must proactively approach risk management, anticipating and preparing for challenges instead of merely reacting to them. This article examines some of those distinct challenges and explores pragmatic risk management strategies businesses can employ. Understanding the Challenges Small businesses face many challenges ranging from limited resources and tight budgets to being vulnerable to market fluctuations. A Goliath like the MyBookie sportsbook , ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/7/Find-Prospects-By-Using-The-Internet/
... can be well worth it. ONLINE LIST RESOURCES InfoUSA.com. This site offers access to both business and consumer lists. After completing the selection process, you'll be given the price based on the number of prospects and the amount of data that you want to purchase. CorporateInformation.com. Even though this site looks intimidating, it's a user friendly and powerful search tool for researching an individual business or an entire industry. The site is free and you don't even have to register or set up an account to use it. Research a company, and you'll be provided with numerous links to corporate profiles, news archives, financial information, and message boards dedicated to the business. Research an industry, and you'll be led to industry profiles, news, and more. Research reports are available and you can ... by providing an easier way to identify just the right prospect and help develop good prospect lists. Let's say you want to sell that new policy for welding distributors that one of your companies has developed and you need to identify prospects. Someone somewhere has created precisely the sort of business information database you need, and the owner of this database is willing to sell you the names of all the welding supply distributors in your area. There are any number of lists and databases (the latter is basically a "gussied up" version of the former) available in almost numbing variety and detail — and usually at a reasonable cost. There are lists of almost every conceivable description, affiliation, and category. All you have to do is figure out where to find them. For business databases, ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1997/GROW-REVENUES-OR-SHRINK-EXPENSES-HOW-TO-IMPROVE-AGENCY-PROFESSIONALISM/
...sic as renegotiating your office supplies or as complex as reallocating space ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2145/ADJUSTING-EXPECTATATIONS-AND-THE-LAW-OF-SUPPLY-AND-DEMAND/
... 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. Net result. More revenue for your agency! Clients & Prospects will research you, your co-workers and your agency here. The most comprehensive online insurance industry reference library for - Personal Lines Professionals Commercial Lines Professionals Life/Health & Benefits Professionals Online newsletters and content that you can use for your clients and social media efforts. Ability to attach leads and clients to your specific market searches, with e-mail alerts for all the market, articles, blogs and people searches you make. And much more! All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Monetization type: None ... x No Thanks Loading.. Adjusting Expectatations -- And The Law Of Supply And Demand 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Jon Persky This content has not been rated yet. ADJUSTING EXPECTATATIONS -- AND THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND by Jon Persky Back in the 1960s and 1970s, it wasn't unusual to find people who worked for the same company for their entire career. Today, the average person has at least seven different employers over the course of his or her career. Back in the 1990s, everyone was convinced that the stock market would keep going up and up. Today, we know better. Back in the 2000s, the housing market was rocking and rolling. Individuals were buying multiple properties and flipping them. Today, many of those people are being foreclosed ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/312/Dont-Get-Burned-In-The-Overheated-Acquisition-Market/
... market is also soaking up productivity. There's already evidence that prices are increasing at a much slower pace than last year. These are significant factors that many buyers aren't considering adequately. WHO ARE THE PLAYERS? As in Wall Street's heyday, consultants, buyers, and investors are coming out of the woodwork. Hopefully, they'll bring new ideas and energy to our market. But anyone new to an industry has a significant disadvantage: Not knowing its subtleties. A newcomer doesn't know entirely what to expect. I've seen some professionals make promises that no reasonable person who knows our industry would make. IMPORTANCE OF ADVISERS The active market is a whole new world for many agency sellers, so hiring an adviser can be helpful. Choosing the wrong one can also be a terrible mistake. Consider your goals ... ," to use Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan's phrase. The increasing activity level is enticing more buyers and sellers to jump into the action. However, as market activity increases, so should your caution. Chris Burand presents a few thoughts and caveats for anyone thinking of diving into the market.WHY IS THE MARKET SO ACTIVE? A key factor is that banks, brokers, and investment bankers are supplying large sums of money for the transactions. Given the number of acquisitions they're making and the prices they're paying, banks appear to have a lot of money available for purchases. Many seem more eager to buy agencies themselves than to loan money to others for purchasing them. Investment bankers are supplying money primarily to brokers/consolidators. Although equity markets have lost huge sums, plenty of cash is ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/905/Achieving-Super-Salesmanship/
... x No Thanks Loading.. Achieving Super Salesmanship:8/25/2014 by John Graham This content has not been rated yet. Selling in every industry and every size of business is changing so radically that every month makes a difference. What's happening is so revolutionary that constitutes a selling practice that's totally new. Here are two examples of the changes taking place in sales today: It was 120 days before the lease on my car was up for renewal. The telephone call was professional, sincere, and low-key. What were my plans for the car? Would I be keeping it or getting a new car? Far from being intrusive or offensive, the questions were framed to obtain information. When I expressed frustration over a problem with the leased car, I was told that the ... that General Motors established a relationship with me based on gathering more information about me, not trying to sell me a car! Here are a few thoughts about the role information plays in the sales process today: Giving customers a satisfying experience is what satisfies them A couple of hours before a speaker was to present a seminar, he discovered that he had forgotten to pack the A/C power supply for his laptop computer. Even though it was 6:45 a.m., he found a local store in the Yellow Pages and dialed the number. To his surprise, the call was answered on the second ring. After hours, the owner uses call-forwarding to his cell phone. The missing part was located and delivered by taxi before the laptop's batteries gave out. The owner of the ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/2583/Build-Up-Your-Practice-and-Sales-Via-Referrals/
... there's no reason you need to figure it out all by yourself. I think it's time to elevate referral gathering to a profession. Jay Abraham uses the phrase ethical opportunism, while others call it leverage. As you serve people better, as you create relationships of trust, some assertive involvement will mean a boon to the buyer-seller relationship. Selling Through Referrals Is a Growing Trend in Selling in All Industries. This is, partly, because of the obstacles that I've already mentioned- voice mail (high tech, but low touch), increased competition, and everyone is busier than ever before. However, it exceeds these factors. The United States continues to evolve into a service economy. This means that many more salespeople are selling services instead of products. Also, the salespeople who are ... relationships you form. First, you must be truly committed to using referrals as a major part of your prospecting strategy. You must look beyond the single transactions and revere the lifetime value of each of your clients. Then, you must create trusting relationships with people. This foundation supports your four cornerstones. If you master any one of these four cornerstones, you will come closer to an unlimited supply of high-quality endorsed referrals: The Four Cornerstones of Building a Referral-Based Practice. 1. Exceed Your Clients' Expectations You must serve your clients continuously well. Clients say "thank you" by continuing to do business with you and by recommending you to others. Remember, enough companies are providing such great service these days. Your service will be measured by what your clients know you are capable ...
https://completemarkets.com/Article/article-post/1983/THE-FOUR-FACES-OF-PROFITABILITY-PART-II/
...nd utilities, telephone, office supplies, and data processing expenses. You s...