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... have no plan to do so in the future. Many of these deadbeat shareholders mistakenly believe that agency ownership is a reward for past performance. It isn't. It needs to be recognized for what it is: the most precious currency a privately held business has to motivate and reward future performance. Other shareholders are taxed when any shareholder in an agency isn't creating value in proportion to the percentage held. Many agency principals suffer from high tax rates' imposed on them by such partners, but they can't quite identify the problem or the way to fix it. Well, it's time for a tax cut! A NEW APPROACH TO AGENCY PLANNING If you're a principal in a privately held insurance agency, establish a value creation quota for each shareholder. Here's how: A month before your next planning retreat, provide each shareholders with a statement showing the value of his or her share of the agency's stock. If you don't have an appraisal, simply use your best estimate. Put the desired rate of agency growth under that value-and if you don't aspire to growth exceeding 5%, you're in trouble. Then apply that percentage to the dollar value of the shareholder's interest. The product is the value creation quota-the amount of value the shareholder needs to develop in the coming year. Assign shareholders to bring ideas for achieving their value creation quota to the planning retreat. If you used this approach as your strategic planning framework, it would create quite a stir! It might be like tossing a hand grenade into your next shareholder meeting-and if it is, so be it. The more disruptive it ...

... have no plan to do so in the future. Many of these deadbeat shareholders mistakenly believe that agency ownership is a reward for past performance. It isn't. It needs to be recognized for what it is: the most precious currency a privately held business has to motivate and reward future performance. Other shareholders are taxed when any shareholder in an agency isn't creating value in proportion to the percentage held. Many agency principals suffer from high tax rates' imposed on them by such partners, but they can't quite identify the problem or the way to fix it. Well, it's time for a tax cut! A NEW APPROACH TO AGENCY PLANNING If you're a principal in a privately held insurance agency, establish a value creation quota for each shareholder. Here's how: A month before your next planning retreat, provide each shareholders with a statement showing the value of his or her share of the agency's stock. If you don't have an appraisal, simply use your best estimate. Put the desired rate of agency growth under that value-and if you don't aspire to growth exceeding 5%, you're in trouble. Then apply that percentage to the dollar value of the shareholder's interest. The product is the value creation quota-the amount of value the shareholder needs to develop in the coming year. Assign shareholders to bring ideas for achieving their value creation quota to the planning retreat. If you used this approach as your strategic planning framework, it would create quite a stir! It might be like tossing a hand grenade into your next shareholder meeting-and if it is, so be it. The more disruptive it ...

... insurance organizations marketing meeting began, the president stated, We need more sales. This might see.. All Articles by John Graham Comments (0 ) Advice On Developing A Producer Recruitment Program This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Peggy Mika 4/30/2013 10:42:47 PM ADVICE ON DEVELOPING A PRODUCER RECRUITMENT PROGRAM What advice would you offer an independent agency on a step-by-step basis, for deve.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Are You A Deadbeat Shareholder? This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , Kevin Stipe 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM If you're a principal in a privately held insurance agency, establish a value creation quota for each shareholder. Here's how: A month before your next planning retreat, provide each shareholders with a statement showing the value of his or her share of the agency's stock. If you don't have an appraisal, simply use your best estimate. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Ask Questions Before Taking Your Next Sales Job This content has not been rated yet. John Graham 12/16/2014 12:00:00 AM If you're in sales, you know the feeling. It's the middle of the night about two weeks after starting a new job. You were enthusiastic and could hardly wait to get going. Now, your head is full of doubts. You try to shove them aside, but they don't go away. "Everything is new," you tell yourself. "I just need to give it a little more ...

... go on, to share what got you there in the first place and push others to their time in the spotlight. When you're in a dry spell, an award is the focus that allows you to say, I did it once and, by golly, I can do it again! ' Tonight, we honor the paths of some of us who have reached a fork in the road. There is a gleaming crystal prize for a job well done. My challenge to these exemplary people is this: Can you take this beautiful icon and lend its shining light to others? Can you help others arrive at this fork in the road and take their turn? After all, a prism that does not reflect light is just a piece of glass. Christina Ward is now conducting personal retreats around the country on personal and leadership growth. You can reach her at (512) 346-3488. Jack Burke is the president of Sound Marketing, Inc., which specializes in audio and video productions for corporate marketing, communications, and education. He may be reached (800) 451-TAPE. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to 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 ...

... a board backing you, you can make tough decisions. You can go out on a limb. You can push through the barriers that might be impeding you. A board can steer you in the right direction when you've lost your road map. When I begin working with clients, I want to know who serves on their board. If they don't have one, we set this as a goal. As their coach, we work together to identify the individuals who will not only wave the pom-poms, but offer constructive and positive feedback. I recommend that clients fill their board with intelligent listeners who are generous with their time and their counsel. A good board should include members with common sense. Never underestimate the joys of spending time with someone who can see the big picture instead of retreating into myopia. It's also wise to staff your board with master strategists who know where to pull the levers and people who don't keep score; that is, who tend to give rather than take. These nurturing souls are standouts when you're at a crux and need immediate assistance. Also, find people who know how to laugh. Imagine your life with a board that backs you completely because they think you're the greatest. Imagine surrounding yourself with believers who have talents you can tap when you need them. Imagine not having to go through the tough days of work and life alone. Ellen Lubin-Sherman, president of LAUNCH, Inc. (Short Hills, NJ), is a marketing and communication coach with 20 years experience packaging and launching new products and brands into the marketplace. You ...

... ever. Revenue and profit growth are strong and outside investors — especially banks — continue to show strong interest in the business. Even the bust of the new economy' has helped by leveling the playing field in the battle for talent, providing agency owners with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit new blood into the insurance industry. If you already own, or are considering owning, an interest in an insurance agency, here are two points to consider: During the next decade, the return potential of stock in a private business might well exceed that of the S&P 500. Analysts are cautioning the current generation of investors that historically there have been long periods in which stocks moved sideways. For example, in early 1966 the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the 1,000 level, then retreated. It bobbed up and down for years, and didn't cross the 1,000 level for good until 17 years later, in 1983! If history were to repeat itself, even a slow growth agency during the next 10 years might appreciate faster than the overall stock market. Stock in a privately held business offers tax advantages that are better than those of a qualified retirement plan, such as a 401(k ) . Does this sound too good to be true? Consider that when an individual sets money aside in a 401(k ), the contribution is tax deductible and any dividends or capital gains within the plan grow on a tax-deferred basis until they're withdrawn and taxed as ordinary income. The tax-deduction on contributions, combined with the tax-deferral on money in the plan, have ...

... that's in decline: The role played by many traditional carriers (headed by many of the very people, presumably, to whom the researchers sent the questionnaire) who've been in denial about what's really happening or who are unable to shift their entrenched cultures in response. This was a novel and provocative observation a few years ago, but it has now become obvious. People who don't know the insurance business very well look at the Property/Casualty marketplace and conclude that agents and brokers are in decline. It reminds me of a child watching a beach erode and concluding that there's no more sand, unaware that it's just moved elsewhere and formed a new beach. I don't mean to imply that insurance agencies and brokerages are rising in unison and marching in some victory parade. Many agencies are in retreat, and there are big changes afoot, along with some failures, heartbreak, and lots of consolidation. Firms that are focused on the customer, willing to learn continuously, and building capital to invest in people and systems can ignore our clucking friends. The sky is not falling. Login or Register (for FREE) to gain access to thousands of other great articles. Need more reasons to 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 ...

...gued with living — quietly retreats.   A monke...