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... . Following the tweets all day Saturday, I knew things back home were bad and were going to get worse. I drove back to BWI early Sunday morning to fly back to Nashville. When I landed, I didn't know if I was going to be able to get home. I tweeted when I landed, asking which roads were open and the best route to take to get to downtown Franklin. I received several eyewitness suggestions and made it home with hardly any trouble. Fortunately, we live up a small hill, so the floodwaters from the Harpeth River never got more than a block away. I found 8' of water in my basement and a small roof leak upstairs - very minor compared to the damage that many friends suffered. I knew I was going to need a pump to get the water out of my basement. I checked a couple of stores on my drive home Sunday and they were sold out. That night I tweeted a request for anyone who had a pump or knew someone who did that I could borrow. Within minutes, a friend who lives outside downtown said they had two. I drove to his office early the next morning to pick it up, pumped out the water and got the dehumidifier running. I'm often asked, What's the big deal about the social web? ' Events such as this illustrate the power of being connected. Here are a couple of reasons why the social web is a very big deal to me: It allows me to stay connected to my family, friends, and business associates in a way that is ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. How To Keep Your Sales From Running Out Of Gas 11/19/2014 by John Graham This content has not been rated yet. HOW TO KEEP YOUR SALES FROM RUNNING OUT OF GAS by John Graham Most of us have figured out that it's smart to have a least a few gallons of gas in the tank at all times. It's not very bright to see how far we can go before running out of gas. A couple of "come and get me" calls is usually all it takes before we get the message to head for the gas station before disaster strikes. Nevertheless, far too many businesses somehow missed this memo. Every day they are running out of gas and don't know how to find their way to the nearest pump. Now, if this seems somewhat obtuse, try this: Salespeople find themselves trying to run on empty and there's no gas station within 50 miles. Worse yet, they can't find their way to the pump even with a GPS. The message here is elementary: As salespeople, we let the good times deceive us. Because we were so successful, it didn't take much to convince ourselves that it would go on forever. However, as we all know, it didn't. Although all of this history, few, if any, salespeople and even fewer sales managers and business owners, have anything that even resembles plan B. Here's where things gets really interesting: These same companies honestly believed their strong sales figures were the direct result of their prospecting prowess, when there was absolutely no connection ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Agency Development: Big Spenders Vs. Investors 4/30/2013 by Al Diamond , CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. Agents come in distinct varieties when it comes to spending money on agency development. Some agents are penny-pinchers, preferring to save their money and make it available for their compensation and benefits. Others, who understand that spending money on agency development is like priming a pump, realize that money spent now might generate major gains in future income and revenue. The Spenders fall into two categories, Big Spenders' and Investors. Big Spenders tend to throw money at problems and take advantage of every opportunity they can afford. So when computers are too slow, they buy new computers. When backlogs become unmanageable, they buy more staff. Big Spenders are easy to identify because they shell out for every gizmo and gadget as it becomes available. Big Spenders are missing one key trait that separates them from the Investor personality type. Investors cost-justify every expenditure by tracking results. Big Spenders are almost paranoid about not tracking the results of the spending in case a purchase turns out to be unwise. After all, ' they reason, the money's already spent. What good is crying about it if the results don't match the expectations of the cost of the purchase? ' In a way, the Big Spenders are right — you can't take back an expenditure made to help the agency grow, prosper, or become more efficient or effective. But where he misses the boat, while the Investor understands the process, is in score ...

... Reviews IMMS Library Immerse yourself in our stacks. Take some time and browse through our library. We have thousands of articles, checklists, tip sheets, sales letters, and more! Communications Marketing Customer Service Planning Finance/Accounting Risk Management Human Resources Selling Legal and E&O Technology Life/Financial Services Glossaries Management Resources & Links Categories Popular Recent All Back Agency Development: Big Spenders Vs. Investors 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by Al Diamond , CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. Agents come in distinct varieties when it comes to spending money on agency development. Some agents are penny-pinchers, preferring to save their money and make it available for their compensation and benefits. Others, who understand that spending money on agency development is like priming a pump, realize that money spent now might generate major gains in future income and revenue. The Spenders fall into two categories, Big Spenders' and Investors. Big Spenders tend to throw money at problems and take advantage of every opportunity they can afford. So when computers are too slow, they buy new computers. When backlogs become unmanageable, they buy more staff. Big Spenders are easy to identify because they shell out for every gizmo and gadget as it becomes available. Big Spenders are missing one key trait that separates them from the Investor personality type. Investors cost-justify every expenditure by tracking results. Big Spenders are almost paranoid about not tracking the results of the spending in case a purchase turns out to be unwise. After all, ' they reason, the money's already spent. What good ...

... most part, profitability has been flat during the past four years or so. Although the hard market added some nice top-line growth, such expenses as staff compensation, employee benefits, automation, and Errors & Omissions insurance all increased, having a neutralizing effect on revenue growth. Because the first part of value — profitability — hasn't changed much, this would not indicate an increase in value. Risk — the second part of agency value — hasn't changed when looking at the overall industry. When factoring in these two elements of value, it appears that value should not have changed much during the past few years. However, there's a third factor in agency value: The marketplace. Perception becomes reality. If buyers outnumber sellers, then sellers will be able to play buyers against one another, pumping up the price. Sellers also hear the legends of other sellers getting high prices, so they become more willing to hold out for the big bucks. Herein lies the self-fulfilling prophecy. Because of the marketplace factor, agency value increased significantly between 1999 and 2004. As business appraisers, our firm has noticed an overall increase in value from about 10% to 25% during this period. Profitable, well-run firms posted increases of 20% to 35% . So will the good times keep on rolling? The trend is for the rate of increase to drop. With the advent of the soft market, as profitability decreases, so will return on investment. However, as long as buyers continue to outnumber sellers, the marketplace factor will remain key. Because the "speculative seller" ...

... Five Kinds Of Customers Demand Different Treatment 4/30/2013 10:38:40 PM by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. FIVE KINDS OF CUSTOMERS DEMAND DIFFERENT TREATMENT There are only five types of customers in terms of the service they demand, according to Ketchem Advertising USA, an ad agency in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Fitting customers into these profiles can enable you to provide the type of service they demand. The service pacifist is the kind of person who patronizes a bank only because it's just across the street, even though the service is abysmal. The service pacifist doesn't complain, but will quietly leave when he or she gets fed up. But you'll never find out what went wrong unless you ask. Service pacifists are conservative. The service resister uses self-service gas pumps, prefers not to have to deal with an agent, and doesn't trust anyone to do things right. Service resisters are conservative and family-oriented, and want to stay in control. They might say, I dread the thought of calling an agent. I feel I might get taken. The service realist is the most desirable type of customer. Go with the flow' is his or her motto. Service realists have fairly high expectations and expect service delivery-but they realize that they can't expect perfection. The realist is a well-established member of society who values work, and is well-informed and self-assured. The service compulsive's motto is life without services would be too difficult. Compulsives are big users of hair stylists, manicurists, and so on. They want a lot of attention, and are willing to pay ...

...vices; emergency shutdown systems; pumps; and controls such as monitoring devi...

... added some nice top-line growth with few added expenses. However, expenses increased independently of the hard market. During the past few years, staff compensation, employee benefits, automation, and E&O premiums all grew, with a neutralizing effect on revenue growth. Because the first part of value — profitability — hasn't changed much, this would not indicate an increase in value. Risk — the second part of agency value — hasn't changed when looking at the overall industry. So, when factoring in these two elements of value, it appears that value should not have changed much during the past few years. However, there's a third factor in agency value: The marketplace. Perception becomes reality. If buyers outnumber sellers, then sellers will be able to play buyers against one another, pumping up the price. Also, as sellers hear about other sellers getting high prices, they become more willing to hold out for the big bucks. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because of the marketplace factor, agency value increased significantly between 1999 and 2004. As business appraisers, our firm has noticed an overall increase in value from about 10% to 25% during this period. Profitable, well-run firms posted increases of 20% to 35% . Will these good times keep on rolling? The trend is for the rate of increase to drop. With the advent of the soft market, decreasing profitability will drive down return on investment. However, because buyers will still outnumber sellers, the marketplace factor will remain a key. The "speculative seller" won't sell for the true ...

... that only your most valued executives will receive. Fred and his wife are poised on the edges of their chairs, waiting for your pronouncement when you spring it on him, Fred, we're going to give you a $100 monthly increase in salary! ' ' What do you suppose Fred's reaction would be? The minute he got home he'd start updating his resume. If this 2% raise of $100 (less than $30.00 after tax each semi-monthly pay period) is his thanks for doing a great job, it's time to start looking for another opportunity. Of course, no employer would make such a dumb move. If they only had $100 to spend they certainly wouldn't make a big deal of it..unless.. Now let's assume exactly the same scenario, but this time as the pumped up Fred anxiously awaits his special recognition, Mr. Employer says the following: Fred, we know how important your family is to you, so we want to provide you with some extra security. If you were to die while you're employed by us, we're going to put your wife, Mary, on the payroll for one-half of what you're currently making. We'll pay her $25,000 per year and we'll keep that payment up for 20 years. Only, Mary won't have to come to work. She won't have to do anything for her $25,000 of annual salary. Now, what would Fred's reaction be? Wow, what a great benefit! ' And what would Mary's reaction be if Fred later decided to leave for another job? Are they going to ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Personalized Service Is Now The Norm 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. Do customers really want more personal service? The answer may seem obvious, but is it? It's true that there are plenty of complaints-many of them justified-about shopping in stores where sales and service personnel are in short supply and the workers lack training, courtesy, and a desire to be helpful. But is all this a plea for bringing back old-fashioned personal service? It may seem so, but what's actually happening is quite different and far more significant. Only those over 50 can remember the days of personal service when smiling, neatly uniformed attendants pumped gas, checked the oil, and hand-washed your windshield. These are the same people who recall the local five-and-dime, where a corps of quiet, unassuming sales clerks waited patiently behind counters. Only those who have passed the half-century mark can recall the day they turned 18 and went down to the local bank with mom and dad to meet the bank president, who personally opened that first checking account. Help was plentiful because labor costs were low, making it possible to render a level of service that was solicitous-often almost patronizing. It can still be found in certain upscale shops, many country clubs, some law firms, exclusive restaurants, and other venues catering to the wealthy. But is this what customers are looking for today? Is this the customer service model for the new century? Today, the force redefining customer service is the Internet: the one realm where ...