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... to include those resources in your marketing activities so that when you approach them, you're top-of-mind with them as well. Identify and exploit your brand to promote unique attributes and your differentiation from competitors. This is essential in a competitive marketplace. You can do this directly through advertising and direct mail, but often more subtly through press and publicity, speaking opportunities, and cultivating industry analysts. If you specialize in a particular industry niche, look into attending related trade shows to demonstrate your commitment and expertise. Focus on your production and support personnel. This is critical to any marketing effort. Branding and promotion are only believable when they come to life in the performance and behaviors of your staff. Use effective employee communications to build and sustain your desired company culture, communicate goals and objectives, and ... 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 Cycle-Up Your Marketing 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM by CompleteMarkets Editor , Nanci Evarts This content has not been rated yet. Check out these solutions to soft-market woes. Shifts in the marketplace are either heralded ...

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... in person. Then they set up sales as the last step of the marketing formula, dealing only with prospects who have qualified themselves by responding to accurately targeted marketing tools. Income Buster No. 2: Trying to Be Everything to Everyone Main Street agencies with a broad portfolio of services still have a viable future, but those that are breaking through to the next level have realized the power of specialization. In a recent seminar, we asked 57 agents to brainstorm the advantages of specialization. Within 10 minutes, they created a list of 28 different advantages-yet, fewer than 20% could really declare themselves as specialists who stood out in the marketplace. On their list were such advantages as super-high closing ratios, higher-than-average income-per-employee ratios, more efficient marketing, more internal operating efficiencies, more expertise, ... x No Thanks Loading.. Are You Making These Marketing Mistakes?4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Michael Jans This content has not been rated yet. ARE YOU MAKING THESE MARKETING MISTAKES? NINE HUGE INCOME BUSTERS FOR INSURANCE AGENTS by Michael Jans You've heard it before. You've read about it in trade magazines. Most important, you probably feel it every day in your agency. The long soft market. Commission cuts. Carrier changes. Pressure on expenses. Banks in insurance. Alternative distribution systems. The Internet. New technologies. Insurance is not the industry it used to be. As competition heats up, so does the rate of mergers and acquisitionS. Sadly, so does the number of agents who are not reaching their personal income goals or retirement dreams. For savvy ...

... the specific tactics or activities that are required to meet the objectives. A marketing plan will include these three marketing activities: Self-Promotion. Every business has an obligation to tell its story in order to communicate its message. This is called self-promotion and it involves the use of specific techniques. Although the options are endless, here are the basic self-promotion tools: company newsletters, direct mail, seminars, special events, trade-show exhibits, capabilities brochures, collateral materials, and various Internet technologies. If you opt for a newsletter that provides an effective communications experience to the reader, the issues of size, design, content, style, frequency, and distribution come into play. The options of a database, brochures, and direct-mail pieces also require extensive planning. Finally, the Internet offers impressive opportunities ... x No Thanks Loading.. Having A Plan Makes Marketing Work 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. GETTING IT STRAIGHT Marketing may be second nature in large companies, but smaller firms tend to have a tough time implementing, managing, and monitoring an effective marketing strategy. The title of marketing director' is often conferred on the person designated to answer requests for sales literature, or the title is added as an afterthought to the role of the sales manager who thinks that marketing is just an alternative spelling of sales. As a well-defined function permeating a business, marketing is generally non-existent. There's no comprehensive plan or program road map to guide, direct, or measure marketing results. There's no consistent, purposeful commitment to communicating with customers ...

... either narrative or outline form that details the information they want to convey to the audience they've targeted. However, telemarketing experts caution that a scripted presentation can often sound stilted. The script has to be so well-rehearsed that it becomes intertwined with the telemarketer's own personality-it can't sound like it's being read, ' advises Raymond Spies, president of Development Associates, and Eau Claire, Wis., firm that specializes in telemarketing, sales training and sales management. According to Spies, the script's opening lines are crucial. Studies have shown that you have about 8 to 15 seconds to grab the attention of the person at the other end of the line. So, for example, if you've sent a letter, have the telemarketer mention that right away. Spies also recommends that the script avoid references to I ... , a telemarketing management resource. However, says Van Vechten, recent studies of the attitudes and expansion plans of managers in a broad range of industries show that telemarketing in general is growing by leaps and bounds. WHY TELEMARKETING? A number of factors account for telemarketing's recent surge in popularity within the insurance industry. Economic trends, for example, have made many independent agents more marketing-oriented. The recent hard market in this area forced agents to look for new ways to stay competitive, ' says Jim Smith, a commercial producer at Leick, Marshall, Neal and Associates in Dallas. Moreover, ' adds Smith, many oil-related companies were eager to reduce their premiums and become much more receptive to what insurance telemarketers had to say. By using the telephone to spawn new leads, an agency often can lower ...

... every buying decision will be based on price. This is the posture they take in approaching every prospect. As a result, they don't listen to what a customer is saying. There are two reasons for price being the primary factor in making a buying decision: First, no effort has been made to differentiate the product or service from what the competition is offering. Second, the sales staff specializes in order-taking, not sales. Either they aren't selling benefits or they haven't been trained to cope with the competitor's offerings. 4. It's the end of the month, we've got to do something. This occurs so frequently that there should be a book on panic-based' marketing. While it's often necessary to respond to an urgent situation, far too much activity is the result of panic. Wait ... x No Thanks Loading.. 13 Techniques For Subverting A Marketing Program 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. The goal in business is to outdistance the competition and make profitable sales by producing more customer-friendly products or services. To reach this goal, you need an advantage to improve your batting average-but it's getting more difficult and complicated to obtain this advantage, let alone keep it. Just adding more salespeople is no longer the solution. It's important to have the right message delivered to the right prospects at the right time in a way they want to receive it. This is the marketing mission. Only when this is achieved will there be a need for additional sales staff. Unfortunately, marketing activities are often subverted by those who misunderstand ...