Search CompleteMarkets

...h different products and different tiers to permit each customer access to th... that never even tempts customers to shop. These agencies are almost religiou...

...rs or Renters needs. Other possibilities: Floaters, Flood, Umbrellas, Marine, ...power with potential markets. Platt's shop is part of a cluster group covering...

...ll advantage of e-commerce opportunities, not all businesses are e-commerce co...the freeways. For those of us who feel tied to our jobs, our vehicles break th...

... of major agency companies that have left Personal Lines. "I'm interested in agents who say, ‘Let's find a new way to do this because what we did in the past isn't working so well. That means developing a closer relationship with a single company, with the agency stressing sales, and the company policy and claims service," he says. 12. USE COMPENSATION TO MOTIVATE Tie CSRs annual increase and/or bonus to sales and service goals, use of automation, retention of the business, educational accomplishments, and teamwork. Says Cunningham, "Agencies are experimenting with new compensation arrangements in an effort to keep their costs in line while also rewarding their best people." And have some fun. Anyone working at the Eidson agency gets five bucks for bringing in an ... be like car salesmen: Sell, sell, sell, because the only real commission will be on new sales," he adds. But Eidson acknowledges that a producer who makes a lot of mistakes in servicing might have no option but to go into a service center. 15. CONSIDER A CLUSTER Forming partnerships with other agencies means that you can wield greater premium power with potential markets. Platt's shop is part of a cluster group covering 35 individual agencies in five states, with total premium volume of $100 million. The cluster gave him an entree to the Hartford and Metropolitan (under customer service center contracts) . 16. AUTOMATE! Automation can increase your productivity through transactional filing: As correspondence arrives, it's entered in the appropriate client file on a computer and later filed chronologically in ...

...ir client needs. Because we are not tied to a specific insurer, we also serve ...inancial statements, the lease on the shop, and her business ledger showing sa...

... you'll have the advantage! The last strategy is to reduce your agency receivables and bad debt write-offs. This one is obvious. Agents are not selling when they are collecting and by establishing an agency credit policy and sticking to it, you can spend more time on sales and less on collections. Get sufficient deposits and don't bind anything without either full premium or a proper deposit. Have your producers tie down payment terms before the account is bound and written. Monitor and enforce uncollectable audit payment provisions so they are turned back to the carrier when they are delinquent. Monitor producers who have consistently large additional premium audits or who have a higher than average ratio of over 30-day receivables. We have discussed receivables in past newsletters, so we won't spend a lot of time on this topic other than ... expense items in your budget and survey your staff about the use of things like: Memberships Subscriptions & publications Entertainment Travel Advertising Education & training Rent (if you are a tenant) Do you have more space than you need? Are you using the space efficiently? Supplies Equipment repair Etc., etc. The biggest expense items you will have are payroll and benefits. Do shop your benefit program every year and try to negotiate the best price after you get a quote, especially with the carrier who is your current provider, assuming your experience has been good. (After all, your clients do it to you and this is a large expense to an agency.) On payroll, always keep looking for areas where you can combine duties or absorb a position into ...

...ould be counted, as long as their duties are in either area. Administrative pe... a proper deposit. Have your producers tie down payment terms before the accou...

... agents sell more profitable business with concise and simple marketing plans, you will have a loyal business partnership. Some claim that target marketing doesn't work for the long term because of market swings. On the whole, however, target marketing is the only way to effectively plan for, and defend against, market swings. It simply requires pro-active planning, rather than reactive responses. How does all this tie into the sale center concept? The sales center is a system of controlling the variables that impact insurance sales. Put another way, the sales center controls time-wasters that impede selling. Major time-wasters are: Prospects who use the agent to leverage existing relationships; those for whom the agency doesn't have a fit technically or with the right carrier; and those who manipulate. Carriers that are elusive about ... be followed-up. None can fall through the cracks. Most business people receive letters that claim that someone will call-yet most never receive that call. This selling system requires integrity. SALES CENTER RESULTS What are some of the results the sales center can expect? The nice thing about such a center is that it can be turned on and off as needed. It works just as well for the one-person shop as it does for the mega-shop. The sales center should generate a closing ratio in the 20% - to 40% -range. A higher closing ratio may indicate that there isn't enough activity. A lower closing ratio may indicate poor marketing, suspect-selection choice, carrier match, or sales skills. Appointments from the expiration dates should be in the range of 65% to 80% . ...