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What Makes A Great Firmr> ...5-6565, Fax (707) 935-6515, e-mail catherine@oakandassociates.com, or visit www.oakandassociates.com. ...

Pulling New Clients To The Professional Services Firmr> PULLING NEW CLIENTS TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM by John Graham It's taken long enough, but the professional services field has discovered marketing or, perhaps more nearly accurately, the value of marketing. So if you're waiting for word-of-mouth to attract new clients, you have a long wait ahead of you. Take a look around at who's marketing what. Business consultants are marketing mavens. In fact, some of the largest advertisers in the Wall Street Journal are consulting firms. The number of business books authored by consultants keeps climbing. For example, a popular book on the value of chief executive officers is a thinly-veiled promotional piece for a major financial-services firm. A book-length quarterly journal published by a big management consulting company presents an intriguing and attractive mix of fact and opinion to position the company as the expert. Several of Boston's largest law firms have gone to casual dress codes. Rather than hide this not-so-subtle change, the firms made sure they got national news coverage to recruit eager young lawyers and attract laid-back technology clients. Some more aggressive personal injury lawyers are abandoning their high-priced high-rise offices for shopping malls to be more approachable and accessible to prospective clients. The walls of restraint are tumbling down. To be sure, stodgy tombstone ads still announce the appointment of partners in law and accounting firms. The debates over 'the ethics of marketing' are mostly irrelevant and marginalized, though. Some professionals of all types - accountants, lawyers, financial planners, dentists, doctors - believe they're a little above everyone else in business. Some believe the quality of their work is the only marketing that matters. Actually, marketing is perfect for professional services. That sponsored book has one goal: to make believers out of readers, some of whom will recommend hiring the financial-services firm it touts. The title of the book names the targeted reader - the CEO, the decision-maker who says, 'Let's get this company in here.' By definition, that's good marketing: creating customers who want to do business with their company and no one else. Effective marketing harnesses the customer creation process. Successful professional services marketing can be summarized this way: Be perceived as the solution to the problem when the customer has a need. The principles of marketing professional services are all the same for the international firm and the small local company alike. Here are the objectives: Marketing lets a professional services firm pre-establish a relationship with a client. For example, referrals are rarely based on detailed inquiries into a particular firm's competence. Usually the selection of a lawyer, doctor, or accountant is a low-involvement decision. Someone says, 'I know a great CPA firm,' and that's recommendation enough. Whether the firm has the necessary expertise fails to become an issue. How many times do people engage a law firm to handle a particular problem without even asking if it has expertise in that field? This process is inefficient and often brings in less-than-optimum clients. The basic marketing task is to pre-establish a relationship with a prospect to become their professional of choice. Without recognizing it, the prospect has made a buying decision, often long before they have a specific need. Marketing builds the perception that a professional services firm is the leader in its field. Marketing can be extremely powerful in this area. Clients gravitate to successful professionals. For example, a dentist specializing in implants has impeccable credentials but is less than successful. Another dentist who lacks the experience and credentials of the first one has an extensive implant practice. Why the difference? The second dentist, who has made a commitment to marketing their services, is perceived as the leader in the field. In professional services, it's essential to be recognized as the expert, the cutting-edge leader. Marketing pulls clients into the professional firm's orbit. The goal is to be perceived as the professional of choice by client and prospect both. Clients like to act as if they have a close relationship with a professional services provider, regardless of whether they actually do: They refer to 'my' doctor, lawyer, accountant, insurance broker, and so forth. Marketing helps cement the client relationship. This is essential because professional relationships are more vulnerable now than they were in the past. Accounting firms can't depend on keeping the same client companies for decades, and other professionals have the same problem. To retain your clients' business, you must keep making them feel that engaging your services was the right decision. The quality of your work is important, of course. But competence alone doesn't build relationships. Client relationships must be reinforced continually, or the client will eventually make a change. Marketing lets you communicate the reasons that selecting your firm was wise. These techniques can help a professional services firm best utilize a marketing strategy: Marketing helps create the right identity.Many professional services firms cling to a dull, stodgy identity. Massachusetts attorney Thomas Montminy, whose firm specializes in collections, wanted to ...ic and doesn't get updated often. One firm received an e-mail asking why the usual rotation of articles on its Web site had stopped. The person who wrote the message said they looked forward to the articles and was disappointed not to find them. Of course, the firm began a proper rotation schedule. An effective Web site carries helpful information, tells visitors about a company, and encourages interchange and requests for information. The most pressing marketing issue when it comes to Web sites is promotion. A major source of advertising revenue for The Wall Street Journal, for example, is from companies spending millions of dollars attempting to attract customers to their Web sites. Any cost of a Web site must include an adequate promotional budget. These are just a few of the effective marketing techniques that professional service firms can use successfully. As part of a consistent, unified marketing effort, they attract prospects to you. Today marketing isn't a luxury for professional services - nor is it an option. It's a necessary element for building a stronger professional practice. More importantly, an effective marketing program frees professionals to do what they do best - give clients top-quality service instead of squandering time looking for new business.

... and Catherine Oak Today, it is critical for insurance agents and brokers to plan their own destiny. One can never be quite certain what the future may bring. You can't control the market cycles, legislative activities, or the strategies of your competitors. But you can control your own firm's activities. As consultants, we have evidence that following a well-thought-out plan is certain to increase the firm's value over time. However, less than 10% of all insurance agents and brokers have developed and followed a written business plan. Even fewer have developed a marketing strategy. Those who have taken the time to develop and implement their marketing plan are outperforming their peers in internal growth, productivity and overall profitability. All three of these factors seriously affect the firm's value. The owners of these growing high-performing firms are reaping more benefits today in the form of higher incomes, nicer cars, more perks, and better-paid employees than their peers. Tomorrow, when they sell their firms, either internally or through sale to a third party, they will undoubtedly receive the highest price for their stock. What's the secret to their marketing success? It's simple. They have planned and streamlined their marketing time and efforts by emphasizing their strengths and minimizing their weaknesses. To do so, these strengths and weaknesses need to be identified. The first step in planning is self-assessment. If you don't know where you've been and how you got there, how can you possibly plan for the future? This article focuses on "Assessing Your Firm's Marketing Resources" -the first critical step in the process of planning your ...

Assessing Your Firm's Resourcesr>ASSESSING YOUR FIRM'S RESOURCES by  Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak Today, it is critical for insurance agents and brokers to plan their own destiny. One can never be quite certain what the future may bring. You can’t control the market cycles, legislative activities, or the strategies of your competitors. But you can control your own firm’s activities. As consultants,...motivated to sell. It must be a key characteristic of any good producer. Don’t hire anyone into production (or into the firm in any position for that matter) who does not have a sales personality and sales skills already developed. The firm can only create an atmosphere that is motivating to both producers and CSRs. CSRs should also receive incentives for their production efforts. The key to the producer compensation issues is to base pay on who is doing the work. When experienced commercial producers receive renewal commissions on direct bill personal lines accounts or small commercial accounts, profitability can suffer. This is true if the CSRs actually handle the majority of the work. When you determine what the firm can afford to pay producers, you need to take into account: who is doing the work; is marketing/placement assistance provided; is service support adequate; what is the local competition paying; what benefits and perks are paid to producers; and most important, what amount of profit is budgeted (before owner bonuses) for both new and renewal business. Some firms forgo some profits for new versus renewal business to encourage producers to write new business to reach the firm’s new business growth objectives. Your marketing strategy plan is essential to your firm’s ability to grow and prosper. The steps outlined in this article are the starting point for the development of an effective marketing plan. Your marketing resources need to be assessed before you can plan for the future. In this time of increased legislative activity and carrier pressure to meet volume commitments and obtain “preferred” status, you can’t afford not to plan your firm’s marketing strategy. Reprinted with permission from Oak & Associates, Glen El...

... consider the following: 1. Would you recommend this company? 2. What about this company do you like/dislike? 3. Why did you choose this rating? Submit This Anonymously Submit Cancel Contact Us contact_phone Click to call Unfollow First name: Last name: Email: Are you sure you want to deactivate your CompleteMarkets Company Profile Deactivate Cancel Loading.. About Us Services Jobs PR Newsletters Employees Articles Blog Photos Group Connections 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 Outside Telemarketing Firm Use 7/31/2014 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. Instead of hiring telemarketers to work within your agency just for you, you could choose to pay an outside vendor to provide telemarketing services. These vendors generally charge a per-call fee or an hourly rate per telemarketer. An additional fee is sometimes charged for each successful contact (X-date received, appointment set) . There may be other fees for services such as having to look up a telephone number. Using an outside vendor has advantages and disadvantages. Let's run through them so you can make a more informed decision: ADVANTAGES DECREASED COSTS: Unless your own in-house program involves a massive and steady volume of calls (in the range of 100,000 or more per year ...

...g A Compatible Business Combinationr>  FINDING A COMPATIBLE BUSINESS COMBINATION by Catherine Oak Over the past few years, many firms have entered into a merger, acquisition, or some type of cluster arrangement with another firm or a producer with a book of business. And often the venture has turned out to be unsuccessful. Many mistakes are made because the participants don't take enough time to effe...penly. A good business combination will result only if this process is followed and these 10 areas are determined to be workable. A third party may be needed to facilitate this process. Catherine Oak, along with Bill Schoeffler, runs Oak & Associates in Glen Ellen, CA. Their consulting firm specializes in agency management, automation, clustering, errors and omissions, evaluations, mergers, and producer compensation. You may E-mail Oak at [email protected] or call her at (707) 935-6565.

... Smith This content has not been rated yet. CHANGING ENVIRONMENT MAKES HIGH VALUED AGENCIES EASIER TO RECOGNIZE by Robert Smith Stories are starting to circulate around agency/brokerage meetings, Did you hear what the ABC or XYZ Agency sold for? ' Some of the multiples being discussed are actually accurate. However, many describe an inflated price or fail to address the earn-out elements of the transaction. Despite the partial truths about value, the prices many acquirers are willing to pay for the best agencies are higher today than in many years. But the value of many agencies hasn't increased significantly, while the value of good agencies has grown dramatically. Acquirers have created the potential for bidding wars for quality agencies. Agencies that are profitable and growing with a strong management team command significant prices in the marketplace. Firms with these characteristics, however, are also the very agencies that control their future because of the way they run their business. The prices paid for many agencies are quite high compared with both historic multiples and with many under-performing agencies. But when you consider the opportunity for the acquirer to leverage the operational and intellectual capabilities of the acquired firm, the price paid for the quality agency is usually quite reasonable. What are the business characteristics of high-value firms and what steps can an agency owner take today in order to position the agency for the future? How does a local or regional agency make the decisions that will enhance its value? Although there are a variety of features common to the best firms in the nation, the most prolific buyers of agencies have identified a number of characteristics that ...

Productive Employeesr>  PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYEES by Catherine Oak, CIC, AAI The productivity of employees has a great effect on the profitability of a firm. In an insurance agency, personnel costs are in the 50 percent to 70 percent range of each revenue dollar, depending on the firm. Setting standards of performance, delegating work to the next level down whenever possible and recognizing and rewarding good efforts will all lead to achieving a well-run operation and much happier, more productive workforce. The number of accounts and commission volume that need to be handled in order for the agency to be average or well-run should be understood by support personnel, CSRs and producers. Having standards should also alert management to the need for additional staff or realignment of workloads. If expected levels of performance are exceeded, then above-average performance contributions to the firm should be recognized by management and rewarded to encourage employees to achieve higher levels of performance. Two concerns of many employees are: 1. They don't know what is expected of them. 2. They feel that their efforts are not properly recognized and rewarded. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS What are acceptable standards of performance for CSRs in the average versus the well-run firm? The average commission per account in both personal and commercial lines greatly affects the amount of commissions and accounts a CSR can handle. In personal lines, there is not as wide a spread in average account size as there is in commercial lines. Therefore, it is more common to judge performance in personal lines based on the number of accounts as opposed to commissions handled. The employee productivity table below gives an overview as determined by the Oak & Associates database. EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY ... a good job. They will also know when performance falls below management's expectations. When productivity standards are established, management will also know additional staff is needed for the workload, or when workloads need to be realigned using existing personnel. Management should also strive to ensure that work is delegated down to the least costly qualified employee whenever possible. This is called staff stratification and can lead to increased employee productivity. Employees should make a list of clerical, but time-consuming things they could delegate to non-insurance personnel, so management can determine if hiring part-time or full-time clerical support would be cost-effective. Examples include having a CSR assistant, a sales assistant to producers, a marketing or claims assistant or data entry personnel. However, the more automated a firm is today, the less need there is for other personnel, as the computer can easily handle the repetitive tasks in a firm when computer account profiling is complete and when interface with carriers is achieved. RECOGNITION OF EFFORTS AND REWARDS Many employees are concerned about the lack of recognition and reward for their efforts. Today most good employees will not stay with a firm for more than a few years when they don't see a good opportunity to grow and expand in a firm. Employees can feel dead-ended in firms that do not promote people from within, especially to management and sales-type positions. In these firms, morale is adversely affected when open positions are filled from outside the firm without looking to promote employees. Everyone wants to be recognized, to have people admire and acknowledge them. Money is only one form of recognition. Besides expressing appreciation verbally, other rewards of importance to individuals are time off, more authority, a new title, a parking place, a private office and an employee-of-the-month award. PERCEPTION VS. REALITY Morale can be negatively affected when personnel are not reprimanded for being unproductive, being continually late or absent from work, making an excessive number of personal phone calls and/or not completing tasks on time. The high performers will begin to slow down in those firms where the poor performers are allowed to get away with this lack of respect for fellow employees, clients and with the adverse effect on productivity. Nepotism is also a problem in many firms. Perception is more important than reality. Even when management does not know what is going on or when the employees perceive that management is indifferent toward recognizing efforts or reprimanding poor performance, morale can also be affected. The perception is just as destructive as if it were reality. Lack of proper communication is the cause. Annual performance reviews are extremely important. A standard review form should be used. The reviews should be held on anniversary date of hire, and both the employee and the reviewer should complete the form regarding past performance. The evaluation should be discussed by the two parties, and goals for the next review should be set in writing, including any additional training needed. A mid-anniversary-year performance review should also be held to discuss performance only, without any pressure on management to give a raise. Performance that is unacceptable should be documented in the personnel file, with copies given to the employee. Reprinted with permission from Insurance Journal, May 30, 1994.

Successful Firms Need to Master These Techniquesr>In a recent edition of The National Underwriter, Editor Sam Friedman recommended that risk managers begin to explore the capabilities of sophisticated regional and local brokerages. This recommendation was based on recent broker megamergers and the growing lack of choice available to buyers. For an independent agency or brokerage to take advantage of this opportunity, it should adopt the consultative brokerage style. In particular, its managers must learn the techniques that these sophisticated buyers have come to expect. The stewardship report and the executive summary are two techniques that firms must master to be successful in large accounts. STEWARDSHIP PROPOSAL Brokers call it "stewardship"; others call it a mid-year client review. Whatever the name, it's the single most powerful way to protect your renewals against the competition. When executed properly, the mid-year client review provides your firm a tremendous opportunity to: Cement client relationships for the coming year. Determine the client's expectations. Judg...ent will benefit. This could take the form of a simple display. Refer to the body of the proposal for details and an in-depth demonstration of these benefits. After all, the executive summary simply sums up the facts. Finally, restate what your organization is proposing for the client, the time frames, and your unique qualifications for providing these solutions. Avoid making this closing too sales oriented. As a consultant, you need to be perceived as a partner, not as someone looking for a commission. Use statements such as: "XYZ recommends this course of action to client." "XYZ is prepared to implement these actions in the following time frames and with these expected results. Effective use of stewardship reports and executive summaries is a critical skill that independent agents and brokerages must master. These techniques will allow an organization of any size to improve its perception in the buyer's eyes. The result will be improved success in the large-account marketplace.

Payroll Deduction Employee Benefits: Modulev-Br>  PAYROLL DEDUCTION EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: MODULEV-B   THE COVERAGE Payroll deduction employee benefits can involve a number of coverage products ranging from Term, Whole, or Universal Life to Disability Income products and 401 (k) plans. An agent can sell just one of these products on a payroll deduction basis, or a combination of them. The agent can also sell specialized payroll deduction plans such as Section 125 plans (these plans are discussed later in this campaign). The concept of payroll deduction is simple: An employer provides employees the opportunity to purchase these products by paying premiums out of each paycheck. Premiums are automatically deducted from the employee's pay. Most often, these plans are used as a supplement to the insured's company-paid Group plan. The variety and arrangement of plans available depends on the insurance carrier through which the plans are written and the type of plan offered. The agent's role in selling these plans can also vary-from just selling the idea to the employer and then letting an outside enrollment firm handle employee sales and administration to selling and administering the plan entirely alone. Most agents choose the former course because the administration of such a program entails specialized knowledge and much work. The plans themselves vary with carriers, as noted, but, typically, a payroll deduction employee benefit plan will have these features: Several coverages offered, such as Life, Disability Discounted premiums due to the Group sales volume Either guaranteed-issue coverage or liberalized underwriting with no medical examinations required Employee ownership of coverages-the employee owns the policy and therefore can keep it if employment is terminated Spouse-only coverage-an employee need not be enrolled in order to enroll a spouse or dependent Double Indemnity for accidental death Waiver of premium if the insured becomes totally disabled during the policy period Immediate protection-coverage begins immediately upon completion of enrollment forms and authorization for payroll deduction Agents can become involved in these programs on different levels. Basically, there are three options. An agency can design, sell, and administer the voluntary benefits program itself, sell programs that are designed and administered by an insurance company, or sell the program to employers and engage the services of a firm that specializes in selling and administering these programs on the employee level. Each approach has its pros and cons. With the first option, the agent has total control of who talks to the client when, and receives full commission for his or her efforts. But this method also means a lot of work. An agency needs a strong 'back room' staff to handle the administrative work for a program like this. An agent's staff must also know or learn how the enrollment process works, and should work at enrollment full time. Without proper administrative support and knowledge, the program is likely to fail. (You'll find more information on this under the subtitle 'Cons.') Choosing a plan administered by an insurer eliminates some of the work to be handled by the agency, but means no choice of markets and a lower commission to account for the work the carrier is doing. (You'll find more information on this under the subtitle 'Cons.') If an agent chooses to use an outside firm, he or she will again pass on some of the workload, but will also have to share the commission. The outside firm will also have access to his or her client's employees. If they don't do a presentable job, the agent won't look good. The key is to choose the right firm. (More on what to look for in an enrollment firm later in this campaign.) PROS Payroll deduction employee benefit programs offer advantages to the agent, the Commercial client, and the client's employees as well. For the agent, the advantages of selling such a program are added commission income and client retention. According to estimates by firms in the business, a 300-employee group can generate $15,000 in commission income to the agency in the first year. Re-enrollment a year later can add new employees and those who didn't sign up the first time around, which adds new commission to the agency. On those who continue the program, renewals will usually be paid. Most carriers will also pay renewals for the lifetime of the employee's participation, either within the company or on direct bill should the employee terminate employment. An agent can also benefit from a payroll deduction program through client retention. Number one, you're offering a service that many people are talking about these days as costs of Group benefits rises. If you haven't offered it, chances are fairly good that someone else will at some t... cannot pull out at a whim. Once pay is reduced, it is permanently reduced until renewal of insurance. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PAYROLL DEDUCTION ENROLLMENT FIRM As noted previously, the right payroll deduction enrollment firm can be instrumental in an agency's success with a voluntary benefits payroll deduction program. The agent who chooses to use a provider instead of doing the administrative work in-house should choose carefully to ensure that insureds will get the best service. These basic characteristics of a good payroll deduction service provider should help you make your choice: 1. Specialization: The firm should specialize in providing payroll deduction services. It should be well-versed in all the options, including Section 125 plans and their applications. 2. Exceptional References: The firm should be able to provide references from carriers, agents, Commercial clients, and individual insureds. 3. Good Service: This is an absolute necessity. Check references and ask about quality of service. 4. Multiple Carrier Access: More than one carrier should be available through the firm, and these carriers should be top-rated and reliable. See the following section on 'How to Choose a Payroll Deduction Carrier' to find out some of the qualities that constitute a good carrier in this market. Ask the service firm about the characteristics of the carriers it uses. 5. Procedures: The firm should be able to provide you with step-by-step procedures that are followed for the enrollment, reenrollment, and persistency processes. 6. Automation: A computerized system should be in place to help the firm efficiently administer any size group, and all paperwork between the insurance company and the employer should be screened through the firm to detect and correct any errors or omissions. 7. Flexibility: The firm should be flexible as to the size of group it can handle. Some handle as few as two or three lives. If the firm's lowest threshold is more than 25 or so, that's going to narrow your prospects down considerably. 8. National Operations: A firm that operates nationally will be able to install a program anywhere across the country, opening up possibilities for Commercial clients with branches in more than one location. 9. Administrative Capabilities: The firm should take on as much of the administrative work as is possible, relieving your Commercial insured's personnel department of the burden. Payroll deduction service firms will vary in the types of services they provide, so check this out carefully before signing any agreements. This administrative work includes billing, re-enrollment, correspondence, and much more. 10. Easy-access Service: Individual insureds should be provided with a toll-free or local telephone number they can call when any policy service problems or claims arise. A full client service center should be in place at the firm's office. This prevents insureds from having to deal directly with an insurance company's office, and prevents you, the agent, from having to deal with problems you're not equipped to handle because the service firm has provided all administrative and policy support to that point. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A PAYROLL DEDUCTION CARRIER If an agent chooses to use an enrollment firm to provide payroll deduction services, that firm will usually provide the carrier for the coverages. The agent in this situation need not go searching for a carrier, although it's still wise to know those qualities that constitute a good payroll deduction carrier and to question the enrollment firm if these qualities aren't apparent. When looking for a carrier to provide products for the payroll deduction market, and perhaps to provide service on those products as well, an agent should keep in mind that this is a specialized market that requires some specialized work and service from carriers. When choosing a company, the agent should consider the following points: 1. You should mistrust a carrier that will give out guaranteed-issue coverage carte blanche. A carrier who is solidly in the market will require prior underwriting approval beyond a maximum guaranteed-issue threshold via a request form. 2. The carrier should have previous marketing expertise in this area from previous case experience. 3. The carrier should prepare the preliminary bill after applications are submitted. This saves the agent work and cuts down on the probability of errors. rdan