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... general agency. In fact, target marketed' programs, as he calls them, are so profitable the Everhart has abandoned more conventional lines of business. Two of his four niche programs-notary public bonds and used-car dealer bonds-are marketed solely within Texas . The others-personal watercraft (jet ski) insurance and hole-in-one coverage-are marketed outside the state as well. When Everhart started his agency on April's Fool's Day 1970, he handled standard fire and casualty lines and specialized in the trucking industry. But he quickly found that he was spending most of his time ... highly specialized, changes in market conditions, legislation or regulations can erase them quickly. And agents entering new niche markets must spend time learning specialized rules as well as the workings of the industry they are writing. Perhaps most important, there must be genuine need for insurance in the target market. Still, with a little homework, agents can identify potential niche markets, find interested carriers, launch their own programs-and kiss competition good-bye. Open Doors For Ward Insurance Agency of Gatesville, opportunity did more than just knock. It walked ... reducing or eliminating competition by entering niche markets. Companies often pay higher commissions for niche-market programs, and because there are few competitors-and in some cases, none at all-there are few wasted sales calls. Niches are windows of opportunity. They often begin with a request for special coverages from a single customer. If the agent seizes the opportunity, that one request can blossom into a fertile market. In fact, the opportunities are so numerous and the rewards so great that some agencies have dropped their standard property/casualty lines entirely and ...

...organizational, and time management skills and develop a training program to f...any bonus trip, a 4 or 7 day cruise or ski trip, a monetary bonus. Criteria for 'winning' can be the producer (or team) with: the largest percentage of gr...