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... 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,...

... 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...

... with the impression that agents were just fine with the Web sites. ACT decided that first it needed to assist agents by developing a clear message that reflects their perspective on current interfaces; and second, it needed to convince agency principals and managers that they should make this issue a priority and communicate their concerns and needs to their companies and vendors at every opportunity — whether at an agency advisory committee meeting, a convention, or a one-on-one meeting. The ACT Interface Statement , as well as Agent Talking Points, are available on the ACT Web site . Briefly, the ACT Interface Statement states that the benefits of real-time processing and access to information through company proprietary Web sites have become overwhelmed by the sheer inefficiency of agent having to deal with a multitude of sites. These inefficiencies result from agents ... to entry data separately for each company site, log on separately to each site, learn different workflow procedures for each company, and train agency staff on all of these differences. ACT seeks to pave the way for our industry to enjoy the benefits of real-time processing while transcending the limitations on current proprietary Web sites. Companies should work toward offering agents the ability to interface in real time with them through the agency management system, so that the agent can achieve a consistent workflow while working with multiple companies. Similarly, vendors should facilitate these agent-company interfaces through their systems. In addition to setting the objective, companies should begin to incorporate the ACORD XML standards and participate in industry standards-based initiatives to achieve real-time interfaces that work with multiple companies. The IVANS Transformation Station is the most prominent example of ...

... with the impression that agents were just fine with the Web sites. ACT decided that first it needed to assist agents by developing a clear message that reflects their perspective on current interfaces; and second, it needed to convince agency principals and managers that they should make this issue a priority and communicate their concerns and needs to their companies and vendors at every opportunity — whether at an agency advisory committee meeting, a convention, or a one-on-one meeting. The ACT Interface Statement , as well as Agent Talking Points, are available on the ACT Web site . Briefly, the ACT Interface Statement states that the benefits of real-time processing and access to information through company proprietary Web sites have become overwhelmed by the sheer inefficiency of agent having to deal with a multitude of sites. These inefficiencies result from agents ... to entry data separately for each company site, log on separately to each site, learn different workflow procedures for each company, and train agency staff on all of these differences. ACT seeks to pave the way for our industry to enjoy the benefits of real-time processing while transcending the limitations on current proprietary Web sites. Companies should work toward offering agents the ability to interface in real time with them through the agency management system, so that the agent can achieve a consistent workflow while working with multiple companies. Similarly, vendors should facilitate these agent-company interfaces through their systems. In addition to setting the objective, companies should begin to incorporate the ACORD XML standards and participate in industry standards-based initiatives to achieve real-time interfaces that work with multiple companies. The IVANS Transformation Station is the most prominent example of ...

... , 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 ...

...ime and caring. 2. Regular sales meetings give you the opportunity to recogniz...ORMS OF RECOGNITION In addition to meetings and groups, there are a number of...

...ionships are marked face-to-face meetings for business or professional reasons...quently gather at local or national meetings.   'Once a company notes ...