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... Develop an agency mission statement that defines these objectives. Create written statements of overall financial, operational, and personnel policies. These statements basically set the parameters within which other decisions will be made. For example: "In the interest of maintaining private ownership and to maintain a financially stable organization, we will maintain average annual earnings of 10% over the next five years." STEP THREE: DEVELOP A SALES AND MARKETING PLAN Once you know what you have and what you want to have, you can determine how to get from where you are to where you want to be. This third step in the sales management process will result in a Sales and Marketing Plan. The opportunities and weaknesses identified in the first step and the long-and short-term objectives defined in the second step need to be translated into specific strategies and goals. These goals will then follow certain broad strategies. The strategies state what has to be done, while the goals and objectives outline how this will be accomplished. An agency will usually have one or two major sales and marketing strategies, with other growth needs addressed in strategies that relate to the financial operation and support mechanism. These categories that should form the framework for your agency's specific list of goals and objectives: Sales and Marketing Sales Support Services External Communications Company Relations Financial Stability Personnel Development Automation Internal Communications Space Planning Perpetuation Set the specific goals in a format that facilitates monitoring their completion. Each goal must be measurable, time bound, and have someone with the ultimate responsibility for carrying it out. List all of the goals that apply to a particular strategy ...

... because it didn't fit into any existing category. The Japanese company that bought the rights did not limit its thinking; it let the consumers decide. Agency management should survey their clients annually for feedback on customer service and suggestions. QUALITY AND THE END RESULT The incorporation of quality techniques into the service industry lags behind a similar movement in the manufacturing industry, perhaps because the concept is confusing. Theories tend to be too simple, failing to allow for the complexity of dealing with real-time subordinates, changing needs, and conflicting demands. Other theories are so complex that only an armchair academic could love them. Faced with declining profits and competition from new sources, agency owners are discovering the advantage of quality. But even when the commitment to quality is made, the question remains, How do we translate our goal of quality to results? ' Quality is not just the process of checking policy forms for errors or documenting feverously to avoid Errors & Omissions claims. Quality is a thought process that everyone must develop. It requires focusing on the end result. Everything we do can have many different purposes. By keeping the end result in mind as we perform a task, we'll open our mind for more innovative approaches to any process. The end result that insurance agencies must focus on is satisfaction of existing clients and attraction of new customers. The decisions and actions made every day must be made with this result in mind. How does this all fit into an insurance agency? Very simple: Chuck out all your old beliefs and tear down the current system-but first finish reading this article! ...

... is not as great an issue, you can avoid relocation costs. The option of telecommuting makes your company more attractive to prospective employees. Chances are good that you will even reduce employee turnover by providing a work environment that adapts to a variety of circumstances. Saves money. You are guaranteed to save money with your telecommuters. The quality and quantity of work increase, office expenses decrease, and you retain productive, satisfied employees. BENEFITS OF A VIRTUAL OFFICE TO THE EMPLOYEE Offers flexibility. People are searching for quality of life as they balance work and family responsibilities. A virtual office provides you with flexibility and more control over your life. You can creatively work around personal errands, child care, continuing education, and so forth. Ultimately, the satisfaction derived from this new lifestyle usually translates into greater productivity. Eliminates commuting stress. Futurist Alvin Toffler wrote "Commuting is the single most anti-productive thing we do." For instance, it is estimated that Californians waste 300,000 hours in traffic delays every single work day. A trip that took 15 minutes on a southern California freeway in 1984 will probably take 47 minutes in 2010, and other urban areas are seeing comparable increases in commuting times. A virtual office allows you to translate the wasted time and stress of commuting into top-quality work performance. Enhances productivity. Telecommuters focus on achievement rather than time. Structure your work hours to the times you are most productive and creative. If you function best during the morning, you can begin work at 7 a.m. in your virtual office instead of wasting valuable time in traffic ...

... In other cases, many foreign nationals sent here on corporate assignments for multinational firms are choosing to stay, and many wealthy citizens from Asia are migrating here and purchasing homes and businesses with hard cash. Despite all this, most agents' tunnel vision ignores minorities, often precluding any marketing efforts to gain their business. One Business Tackles The Market A friend of mine is the second-generation owner of a Chevrolet dealership. He watched his sales plummet as the demographics of his community became predominantly Asian. He had failed to learn the negotiation and buying habits of this minority, let alone figure out how to reach them with advertising. Daily he watched his white sales staff idle away the hours without a single customer. When an entire family (we're talking three generations) would arrive, usually with a translator, the sales staff would seldom close a sale. They did not know how to handle a group negotiation. Finally, before either selling the dealership or going bankrupt, he hired a new general manager who was experienced in trading in the Asian community. The new GM (who, by the way, was not Asian) began a multifaceted campaign that started with an analysis of the community. It turned out that there were about five or six dialects in the local Asian community. Moreover, about 25% of the population was Hispanic. Advertising in the major papers was canceled; ads now run in about a dozen small, local papers written in specific languages. A new sales staff was hired, with language skills being one of the major job requirements. Now, each of ...

... the industry's reliance on legacy core systems. Many organizations still depend on manual data rekeying and spreadsheet-based handoffs between policy, billing, and claims platforms. Ask any operations manager at a regional MGA, and they'll tell you the same thing: applying AI on top of these broken workflows often accelerates bad processes rather than fixing them, creating more problems faster. Industry reports confirm that the top barriers to scaling AI are data readiness at 45% , security and privacy at 43%, and legacy system integration at 41% . For MGAs, wholesalers, and program administrators, modernization often depends less on buying a new AI tool and more on integrating the systems already running submissions, user portals, and partner-facing experiences. So if you've been wondering why that slick AI demo you saw last quarter hasn't translated into real-world results at your shop, the answer is probably sitting in your tech stack, not your strategy deck. Technology providers that work inside insurance operations say the issue often isn't a lack of enthusiasm for AI; it's the condition of the underlying systems and data. "The clever teams we partner with aren't usually held back by a lack of business ideas. They struggle because traditional options are so one-size-fits-all that they pawn off the same tired services on everyone, resulting in disconnected operations," said a spokesperson for Brain Box Labs, a firm specializing in modern application development and custom insurance software . "The practical path is to focus on a personalization experience centered around an insurance software capable of melding well with your pre-existing digital operations. You have to ensure you are not overdoing it ...

... nonsense that obscures or distorts reality. Here are a few examples of the nonsense spouted by professionals who should know better: "We're the best." (Who says so?) "We have 12 service centers." (So what?) "Let our experts help." (Who says they're "experts"?) "Thirty years in the same location." (What's the value to the customer?) Phrases like this are designed to bolster the way the company sees itself, not to attract or hold customers. The same is true with much of today's advertising. The largest type in an ad, for example, is often the company name. This sends no message to a prospect. These ads focus on features, rather than benefits. How does that translate into helping the customer? Becoming customer-focused requires more than a mushy mission statement on the back of a business card. Sell ideas, not just products or services. Xerox takes the lead with its digital multi-task equipment's networking capability. These devices combine a good digital copier with a fax machine — yet that isn't enough anymore. Having a network is the benefit that makes the equipment different. The idea that you can copy and fax from your desk, increasing productivity, makes the sale. Today's customer isn't captured by the latest model, but by the powerful and persuasive idea. From a marketing perspective, differentiating a business from its competitors makes the difference — not the brochures, logos, ads, or direct mail. Be committed. Even though "commitment" is one of the big ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. Secrets Of The Successful: Focus And Commitment 4/30/2013 by Al Diamond , CompleteMarkets Editor This content has not been rated yet. The IIABA publishes an excellent Best Practices study that provides objective benchmarks of the country's most successful agencies. Agency Consulting Group, Inc. publishes its highly successful Composite Group studies, now available on a state-by-state basis, that review a large number of agencies of all sizes, types, and success levels to determine the "average" industry benchmarks. This series by Al Diamond on the Secrets of the Successful' takes the objective measures and translates them into the characteristics that separate successful agents from the also-rans. It's not enough to know that a successful agent has more than $150,000 revenue per employee. Unless you know how this agent achieved this result, only two things can happen to the average agency striving for success — both of them bad. First, the agent comparing his results against the Composite Groups or against Best Practices will be very frustrated because his actions don't permit a level of success anywhere near those of the best agencies. The second possible result is that the agent will strive to adapt their agency to those results of the more successful agencies. Unless the "wannabe" agent changes their characteristics, physical changes (automation, training, etc.) will prove useless. It's not how much money we spend on upgrading our agencies that counts. It's how much we're willing to change ourselves that determines the degree of success we'll achieve in the future. You see, the agency's potential and ...

... than agency growth rates. Saying "Increase productivity" is easy. Doing it, on the other hand, requires management skill well beyond insurance technical knowledge. You must create annual objectives — in writing — for this expressed purpose. You must support these objectives with active Action Planning. Saying that you "want" to do something is meaningless unless you pay attention to that goal every day. Action Plans that support this goal include: • Commission Net Growth — Both new business and retention • Cost Control — This word is almost unheard in the agency industry. Cost control means real budgeting, not just monitoring spending habits and hoping for the best. • ICP (Incentive Compensation Program) — An ICP pays employees more money only as they become more effective. Effectiveness in its final form translates into increased productivity. This means no more raises for simple longevity, historical performance (for which they've already received compensation) and because of implied threats of departure. • Automation advances — Permit your staff to do more than transactions within the same workday (i.e. eliminating double handling and the "paper shuffle" that costs each of us so much in lost time) . THE TOOLS The tools to accomplish the rather modest 5% annual productivity gain are the devices in a standard Tactical Plan, an active (rather than passive) budget, and a Management Information System (MIS) that can track the exact issues that will define increased productivity. For instance, tracking new business is fine. Simple tracking worries you if you aren't getting any new business and it strokes your ego in ...

... MARKETING by Steve Anderson Executing some delicate dance steps can help ensure that your e-mails are read. Use these 10 tweaks.. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Eight Ways To Evaluate A Marketing Program This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM Rarely will you get something for nothing. But how do you know if you're getting what you should out of your marketing program? This document by John Graham provides you with the guidelines to properly evaluate your marketing efforts. Getting something for nothing seems to be a universal human desire that extends into the business arena. For example, company owners and managers often ask, What should we expect to get out of our marketing program? How will our dollar investment translate into increased sales? All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) Having A Plan Makes Marketing Work This content has not been rated yet. CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham 4/30/2013 12:00:00 AM 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. All Articles by CompleteMarkets Editor Comments (0 ) It Works If You Have A Plan: Making Marketing Work This content has not been rated yet. ...

... x No Thanks Loading.. It's About The Message: Use E-Mail, Voice-Mail, And Cell Phones 4/30/2013 by CompleteMarkets Editor , John Graham This content has not been rated yet. Improved communication has turned us into less adroit communicators. With e-mail, voice-mail, and cell phones, getting the message to another party is so easy that we no longer worry about the content of the message. Poor communications skills translate into lost business. This article by John Graham discusses these consequences and offers guidelines for improving communications.Together with the laptop computer, e-mail, voice mail, and the cell phone are among the best tools business available today. And they keep getting better, more efficient, and easier to use. Although we can't escape from the ubiquitous reach of one communication device or another, it's preferable to being cut off. When the chair of a meeting asks that all cell phones be turned off, half the group goes into withdrawal, while the other half ignores the request. No one says, "I can hardly wait to go on vacation and get away from the phone." Yet, not so long ago these were the last words spoken before heading out. Although the plus side of the communication ledger is impressive, there's another, darker side. And it isn't "wouldn't-life-be-wonderful-without-the-technology" nonsense. There's little room today for latter-day Luddites. The problem isn't the technology — it's the users. Great communications has not produced great communicators. Just the opposite holds true. As communications technology improves, communications skills decline. This includes e-mail, cell phones ...