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...uted to an explosion of industry meetings during the past decade. Is there a s.... They range from small (100 or so) meetings that offer panel discussions, lec...

... that you want to have quarterly meetings with the branch manager during the f...

...old an open meeting or series of meetings to showcase your agency. Once again,...

...nnual reviews or have one-on-one meetings with their employees, they can fail ...

... input of each employee in the planning process? Listen carefully — you might be surprised. The purpose of profiling your agency is to develop a thorough knowledge of your agency's strengths so that you can capitalize on them. Don't ignore the weaknesses in your agency. You might discover that your agency is suffering because of a lack of an accounts receivable control program or that you have inadequate staff meetings, which is creating a communication breakdown in the agency. Use you profile to build on the positives and work on eliminating the negatives. THE PLANNING MEETING Use the research about your agency as the basis of a planning meeting at which you will use this knowledge to create a plan of action for the year to come. Finish the plan at least two months before the end of your current ... back into the details" and finalize your plan. I particularly like using the one-page matrix because it enables everyone to visualize the end result so that you can begin to discuss the details of how to get where you want to be. Here are a few suggestions on the use of the planning matrix: Revenue increase. When projecting gross revenue for the coming year, don't be bound by such conventions as projecting across-the-board 10% increases in revenue. During your brainstorming session you might have decided that the agency could produce a 15% to 20% growth in some areas. Sales people/Support staff. If you're projecting revenue increases, consider adding to your staff sometime during the year ahead. If so, decide when you'll start recruiting and when you'll want new employees to begin. Space ...

...s at state, regional or national meetings all work to reinforce the importance...

...nual parade into his office. The meetings went much like those of the past sev...tic goals set by the companies. The meetings got him thinking about sales. His...

...hat question? How many corporate meetings have ever been held to determine the...

... products and services to, say, an independent agency you need to ask yourself these questions: Who is your customer? Banks, agents working with banks, joint ventures, vendors and suppliers to these new systems. What kind of information do they want or need? Distinguish between the external customer and the internal customer, such as an employee or the board. What products do you offer that meet these wants and needs? At what price will this product or service sell? This is the most important step! Henry Ford's genius lay not in the creation of the assembly line, but in his discovery that at $500 he could sell an unlimited number of cars. The assembly line evolved as the only way to build a $500 car. A change in pricing is creating a ... that foundation: Where/who are the prospects? Consider banks, agents, and associations (American Bankers Associations, state bankers associations, correspondent banks and their associations, association of banks in insurance, insurance companies wanting to sell to/through banks) . Who is the individual decision maker in each group? How do you communicate with these prospects? Where do they get their information? What conventions do they attend? What magazines do they read? Which decisions makers can you contact on a one-on-one basis? Where can you get their names? Can you reach them through the Web? How? Who will refer you to them? What's the best way to sell them? What's the best way to sell them? What makes them thirsty? How does your product benefit them? Don't ...

... , technology: Provide and allow Internet access for all employees. This is the communication tool of the future, equivalent in magnitude to a telephone. Yet most employers are still resistant to providing individual access. What if they play around on it? ' they ask. So what! ' I reply. Any time they spend on the Internet is time that they're learning, and I've yet to meet an employee that works every minute of every day. Establish individual E-mail accounts. This costs virtually nothing and is a tremendous morale booster. I recently found a major association in our industry that still utilized a central E-mail address for everyone. The employees had no privacy and total inconvenience. Cybersavvy clients expect to be able to contact your people by E-mail, so establish individual accounts and post a ... . How we treat them is exactly how they in turn will treat our clients! If you have trouble connecting this philosophy to profitability, just look at the extremely tight job market, coupled with the high costs of training and turnover. Nurturing employees is not an extra: it's a bottom-line necessity. Every year, we see business cycles, as demonstrated by the lecture topics of speakers at various conventions and conferences. In insurance, we seem to concentrate on management until sales slip; then we move to sales, and then to growth through merger and acquisition, which brings us back to management issues, then sales, then-well, you get the idea. I think it's time for the cycle to reflect on the value of our employees. Here are 16 ways that a business can enhance ...