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...e particular line in question 'installation floater.’ The rating work sheets s...be alerted primarily because most installation floaters are written at 100% co...

... better…) Control your professionals – it's your deal, not theirs! Get advice from them, but don't let them renegotiate the sale. Keep relationships cordial. You'll almost certainly need help of some kind from the seller after the sale. Don't let your professionals poison that well. MOST IMPORTANT: The most important rule for buyers (and for sellers too): Both sides must perceive The sale as a "win-win" scenario. In most cases, neither side is compelled to do this transaction. If either side concludes that the sale is a "lose" for them, then the sale is off. Special Situations Some special situations will be covered in more detail in later columns but deserve mention now. Internal Sales: Many agency owners would like to sell ... Perpetuate An Agency: Ii 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Larry Morrison This content has not been rated yet. HOW TO BUY, SELL, MERGE OR PERPETUATE AN AGENCY: INTRODUCTION, PART II by Larry Morrison and Gary Jacobson A Comprehensive Look at the Best Ways to Handle One of the Most Significant Financial Events in the Life of Your Agency Editor's note: This is the second installment in a series that covers buy/sell arrangements for agency, valuation and tax issues, shareholder internal buy/sell agreements, related estate planning, employment contracts and non-competes. It's part of a unique pre-publication book by the authors that gives you practical street-level understanding of one of the most significant financial events in the life of your agency. In Part I of this chapter, we talked about ...

... interests. Taking that imagery a step further, customers will enjoy the benefits of doing business with a new type of sales rep. While the rhetoric of sales meetings has long attempted to foster the belief that "We're working for the customer," few customers and even fewer salespeople have become true believers. At worst, some salespeople believe that their best strategy is convincing customers that they're on their side. Although customers are put off by such transparent and self-serving tactics, such ploys persist. The advent of E-commerce has changed sales fundamentally. Until quite recently, access to a product or service was through salespeople. They were the gatekeepers. If you wanted to purchase a copier, you visited a trade show or made half-dozen calls. In came the sales reps, each one painting a picture ... the Internet, a number that's expected to climb steadily. General Motors has seen the future, embraced it, and opened the first Internet-based dealership. The vehicles are delivered through local dealerships, many of which are disappearing daily, along with the sales reps. The list grows by the minute. We can buy complicated, customized computer and telephone systems over the Internet and even arrange to have them installed without seeing a salesperson. And it's only just begun. Does this scenario spell doom for the selling profession? The answer is yes — and no. Responding to an article which states that the sales profession is changing and the customer is now in charge of the buying process, one reader wrote, "I believe that my customers are more comfortable dealing with a person than with a catalog ...

... . The terminal user doesn't have that option. For most of us, the monitor remains in one spot at a fixed distance from the eyes, creating such unique irritants as glare and flicker. The ABCs of CVS Eyestrain, headaches, blurred vision, dry or irritated eyes, neck or back aches, photophobia (unusual sensitivity to light), double vision, and afterimages are the most common side effects of extended VDT work. Other symptoms include blurred distance vision, crossed eyes, and-in some cases-the McCullogh effect, ' in which white objects appear pink after using a VDT (This usually clears up within minutes) . Optometrists attribute CVS symptoms among nearly 40% of their VDT-using patients to environmental factors: lighting, poor screen resolution, glare, and so forth. To that list, ... , some filters are supposed to cut static, which means they prevent charged dust particles from collecting on the surface of the monitor. Others claim to block potentially harmful electromagnetic emissions. However, filters cannot block rays from the back of monitors, the greatest source of low-frequency emissions. The big question is: Do filters work? Many users report reduced glare and, often, reduced eye fatigue after installing their filters. With an effective filter, users can work at a terminal all day with virtually no eyestrain and without having to position the monitor away from the sun's path. And you couldn't ask for an easier product to install. Filters come in three basic designs: They attach directly to the front of your monitor, hang from the top, or fit like a glove over the bezel ...

... construction, renovation, and installation trades, although they can arise in...

... but not all have sufficient financial resources. Some are true to their word and others aren't. Hire a consultant to help. Consultants act much like a bonding company, sifting out non-qualified buyers so you won't waste your time. Their experience and objectivity will save you time and money, usually saving you more (including legal fees) than you pay them. While they're helping you on the sale side, keep doing what you do best to maintain agency value. RULE 2. Don't ask more for your agency than it's worth. Only deals that are fair on both sides work. You can't make the agency worth what you need for retirement; it's worth what it's worth! In most parts of the country, the commission multiples of the past aren't appropriate in today's tough market. The ... big ones. RULE 6. Make sure your producers have employment agreements. It's not as easy to get the terms you want if your producers have no agreements. Have your lawyer make sure the agreements are enforceable if they have been drawn up well after the producer was hired, and make sure they are assignable to a new buyer. RULE 7. Demand and expect good collateral for any future installments. Agency assets alone are not enough. The buyer's corporate and personal guarantees are a minimum. It's good to have other collateral, which is usually available if you are an attractive purchase. RULE 8. Expect and be prepared to sign or warrant your accounts receivable, unknown liabilities, and a covenant not to compete. A sale is definitely a two-way street, with promises on both sides ...

... construction, renovation, and installation trades, although they can arise in...

... — customer patience is at an all-time low. Clear and understandable answers to complex questions, from both novices and experienced customers. This situation has created a tremendous need for technology-based tools to support customer service organizations in providing service that "delights" customers. The "soft stuff" is really the hard stuff. Many people still believe that, in organizational change, issues dealing with the "human side" are fluffy and insubstantial, and should be an afterthought. The only things that really matter are technology and hard design. But we're all beginning to learn that what we once considered hard or difficult is, in fact, the "easy stuff." The technology issues are the easiest to deal with and don't usually make the most difference. All too often, simply installing these technology-based ... x No Thanks Loading.. Ten Ways To Maximize The Return On Your Technology Investment 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Jack Fries This content has not been rated yet. All too often, installing technology-based tools doesn't produce either the promised payback or the desired results. Instead of delighted customers, you get frustrated customers. Three trends dominate the agency agenda today: Customers, competition, and change. In customer service, these trends have translated themselves into three key areas. To be competitive your agency must provide: One-stop and one-call access for every customer, whether they're using the telephone, a personal computer, or the Internet. Faster and faster response times — customer patience is at an all-time low. Clear and understandable answers to complex questions, from both novices and experienced customers ...

... December of 2006, federal rules governing civil litigation require U.S. companies to keep better track of their employees' e-mails, instant messages, and other electronic documents in case of litigation." &# 160AP Business writer Chris Rugaber notes that: "Companies and other parties involved in federal litigation must now produce ‘electronically stored information' as part of discovery, the process by which both sides share evidence before a trial. Federal and state courts have increasingly been requiring the production of such evidence in individual cases, and the rules clarify that the data will be required in federal lawsuits." Without a better sense of what data organizations have and where to find it, some companies are settling lawsuits in order to avoid the costs of electronic discovery. Potential Solutions To get yourself in ... groups of employees with different levels of access depending on the role of each employee. Although EIM products can come in the form of desktop software, server-based software, or a network appliance, the latter is generally the easiest to implement and the most cost-effective solution. In many cases, a network appliance can be up and running in less than 30 minutes and does not require technical expertise. Once installed, it requires very little attention, and because content updates are done automatically, the tool ends up being managed by the office manager, HR manager, or even the business owner ASCnet past president Dana Nulty- Beals of Nulty Insurance (Kalamazoo, MI) recently implemented iPrevision's Panoptech device ( www.iprevision.net ) . "It took us less than 15 minutes to get the device out of the box ...

... growing excess and surplus lines market, while standard line carriers are pulling back from business that they were either not prepared to handle and/or hadn't priced at a profit. This hard market trend has, for the most part, resulted in increased commissions from higher premiums. If you speak to agents about these good times, however, you'll find that every rosy situation has its not so rosy side. In this case it's client retention. Agents might be earning more commission, but they're also working harder than ever to retain their client base. Let's face it: Clients facing a double or triple-digit percentage increase in premium from one year to the next need not only constant attention, but also new products and services that will make their lives easier. Agents can provide some relief by capitalizing ... to $1 ,300 or more. Consider the number of financed policies that your agency has the chance to place each week, month, and year and we're talking about a considerable income spike. This new venture becomes an additional profit center that will help the overall value of the agency for years to come. HOW DOES PREMIUM FINANCING WORK? Premium financing is used in place of inflexible carrier installment plans or if the only option is payment of the annual premium in full. The latter is usually the case with the E&S market. By signing a finance agreement, the insured agrees to have the premium finance company advance the annual premium to the insurer on their behalf. The insured then receives a payment plan from the finance company that includes premium and interest payments. If the ...