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... , she says, so it takes about twice as long for a producer or customer service representative to become seasoned. Travel and advertising expenses are greater than they are for more conventional property and casualty lines, too. One added expense is industry conventions. Seven years ago, I had no idea what a convention expense was, ' Regnier says. Now, we attend several firemen's and EMS conventions a year. We generally take three people-myself and two other producers-and that's very expensive. But we've seen a good return on that investment. The people in this field like to see you, slap you on the back and buy you a beer. The best advertising is word-of-mouth, and the conventions are one way to get that. Regnier recently added two more dbas to her agency-Municipal Services Agency of Texas and Ambulance Insurance Services of Texas-after CIGNA opened two new markets: municipalities with less than 10,000 people and privately owned ambulance companies. Nobody wants to mess with small municipalities, but after Glatfelter designed a program for them, ' she says. We think this will let us pick up a few of the fire departments and emergency organizations that have to be insured through their municipalities, too. That is where our network of agencies will help. We need people in these small towns who know the firefighters, who know the mayor, who can rub elbows with these people. Cities want to do business with a local agent. So far, the agency has only signed about a dozen municipalities and a few private ambulance companies. But Regnier says the agency is receiving so many inquiries that it will ...

...l Services Agency of Texas and Ambulance Insurance Services of Texas-after C...en municipalities and a few private ambulance companies. But Regnier says the ...

...ived at the hospital from a long ambulance ride, the pain medication she had b...-something-year-old traveling in an ambulance for more than 12 hours might nee...

... get upset when our finger gets sticky. When my mother-in-law was in the hospital, the sign on her door read "No BP/Venipuncture to left arm." A nurse walked into the room and began to inject something into her left arm. When asked about the procedure and its apparent conflict with the sign, the nurse said, "I didn't read it!" Develop and use your Common Sense (read the signs), especially in situations where the people you work with or who "work on you" don't. Episode # 2 — Unmet Needs Motivate. Pyschologist Abraham Maslow was a bright guy. His pyramid of human needs began with Survival, followed by Security, Social Acceptance, Self-Esteem, and Self-Actualization. Shortly after my mother-in-law arrived at the hospital from a long ambulance ride, the pain medication she had been given wore off. She started to hurt. When she asked for pain medicine, the hospital staff (who had been alerted about her pending arrival hours earlier) announced that the doctor hadn't ordered it yet. The system might have anticipated that an 80-something-year-old traveling in an ambulance for more than 12 hours might need pain medication when she arrived (while you're reading this, picture your mother screaming in pain) . When I encouraged the staff to call the doctor, they did. But that call only created the authority to give a pill; it didn't produce the pill. Unfortunately, the computer can't deliver the pill to the patient — only humans do that. Humans take breaks and change shifts, computers don't. Since my mother-in-law was so ...

... , 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 21 Things To Do To For A Safe Workplace 12/10/2014 12:00:00 AM by Don Phin This content has not been rated yet. 21 THINGS TO DO TO FOR A SAFE WORKPLACE Offer employees a share of insurance premium reductions which result from a reduced number of accidents. Match the applicant carefully to the job. Test their skills and physical abilities. Install alarm systems for theft, entry and fire purposes. Make sure that all threats of violence are reported and investigated immediately. Maintain a first aid cabinet, post first aid information, including fire, police, and ambulance numbers, and a poster on how to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Comply with all Federal and State OSHA IIPP requirements. Comply with all hazardous materials reporting requirements, including identification of hazardous substances. Clearly mark and keep clear all your exits, aisles, and passages. Provide stairs with slip resistant surfaces, handrails and proper lighting. Make sure your equipment contains safety guards, electrical grounding, readily available and easily identifiable power shut off switches and emergency stop buttons. When appropriate provide your employees with, and require them to wear, protective clothing including: safety glasses, gloves, hard hats, steel toed boots, headphones, hearing protective equipment, wrist braces, back support belts, and the like. Do not allow productivity pressures to compromise safety. Make sure the furniture and equipment you ...

... and other sources of business owners who have a list of customers. These are known as responsive lists because each person on the list has responded in some way to an offer. They're generally highly targeted and cost more than a simple compiled list. Most of the time, these lists are worth the extra money because the people on them fit exactly the profile of the type of prospect you've identified. Finally, there are federal, state, and local government lists. They're generally free or next to free and can be highly targeted to a specific type of business. Lists of individual consumers are also available. WHERE TO FIND GOVERNMENT LISTS The main problem with government lists is that they're hard to find. My company developed a marketing program for an Emergency Medical Service (EMS), or ambulance service, in Texas. When we first began looking for prospect names, we called the state government offices in Austin. We began with a phone number that provides general information. The people there directed us to the Texas Department of Health. After talking with several people about what we were looking for, we learned that the department had a list of every EMS provider licensed in the state. We purchased the entire list for only $27.50. It included 1,300 names, which we narrowed down to the 350 prime prospects for the program. These names were used as the basis for a very successful marketing program. The only other cost was the expense to type the names into the database. Most agents don't obtain lists this way because the process is much harder that it ...

... 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 Avoiding The Dangers: It'S No Time To Trip!11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM by John Graham This content has not been rated yet. AVOIDING THE DANGERS: IT'S NO TIME TO TRIP! by John Graham It happened on Thursday after lunch as I ran up five steps to the office holding a cup of coffee. On the second step, I tripped. Instantly I knew what happened. "Call an ambulance," I shouted. It was a complete quadriceps tendon tear; this time on the right thigh. Four months later, the surgeon's final checkup concluded with these words of caution, "Don't trip." Those words also make good business advice. While "Don't trip!" is a powerful message, it can be ignored, even at a time when it's easier than ever to take a dive on the second step. When they "trip," many businesses either don't recover or remain badly injured. Yet, their missteps can make us more aware of the dangers and how to avoid them. Here are a few examples: Never compromise credibility. Too many companies can't resist "putting a spin" on their actions, which only makes them look stupid or worse. ...

...or an Emergency Medical Service (Ambulances) Program for the State of Texas. W...

...rgency Medical Service (EMS), or ambulance service, in Texas. When we first be...

...t you should have at hand: 1. Ambulance 2. Fire rescue 3. Poison control ...