Are you an amateur or a professional? Now, before you answer, let me offer a perspective that may change your response… I recently had a conversation with a client about a successful agent within his district. This agent is a property & casualty agent who writes a good amount of business. He pulls in close [...]
Marketing Strategies in a Tough Economy
June 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Wow! Talk about a marketing challenge… A weak economy. People in a wait-and-see mode. Bad news on the financial scene every day. The consequence? Prospects are reluctant to make a decision. They’re hesitant to spend much money or make any kind of long-term (or short-term, for that matter) commitment. So as sales professionals, we become [...]
How to Have Success with Direct Mail
April 15, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Direct Mail, when done correctly, produces great results. The problem is that most people don’t really understand what direct mail is, and confuse it with plain old mail. Let me briefly explain the difference. Now bear with me; this may seem a bit simplistic but most people actually misunderstand what makes direct mail different from [...]
The 3 Keys to Referral Success
February 3, 2008 By Leave a Comment
Don’t you get tired of hearing about how great referrals are? Especially if you’re not getting enough of them? I am always speaking to managers, agents and advisors who say they’re so tired of chasing “suspects” and would love real prospects – specifically prospects that come from referrals. I have one acquaintance (a P&C agent) [...]
Motivating Agents: Why it doesn’t work
January 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment
A topic that I’m often asked about is how to motivate agents. Executives are always looking for ways to improve the attitude and performance of their agents. Clients will tell me about how they’ve met and worked with each of their agents to get them to improve their performance but can’t seem to make a [...]
How to Attract Clients
November 23, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Ah, those magic words – “Attract Clients”. Virtually every agent and advisor I know loves the idea of attracting clients, and would be even happier if there was a “magic formula” for accomplishing it. Well, actually there is a formula that works like magic for attracting clients to you. And I’m going to reveal it [...]
It’s Time to Re-Evaluate
September 26, 2007 By Leave a Comment
I know an insurance agent in my area who, every time we run into one another, asks me if I have any good ideas as to how to find new clients without actually having to talk to people. This guy is in the wrong business. He needs to re-evaluate his life and decide to either [...]
Poor Retention is Not a Problem
August 22, 2007 By Leave a Comment
OK. No one likes their retention to be poor. But the truth is that poor retention is a symptom, not a problem. It’s tempting to point the finger at large rate increases as the culprit, but that’s not usually the case. If new agents are writing new business, you can be pretty certain that rates [...]
Insurance Agents Are Like Toasters
May 16, 2007 By Leave a Comment
Insurance agents are like toasters. Let me explain… Everyone owns and uses at least one small appliance at home. It might be a toaster, a garage door opener or a microwave oven. No doubt it’s something we use every day. And yet, we can’t recall the brand name of the appliance. We all know what [...]
Why I Left My Insurance Agent
April 29, 2007 By Leave a Comment
I was talking to a friend the other day, explaining what I do for a living, when she interrupted me and proceeded to tell me all about how wonderful her insurance agent was. Her story caused me to reflect on why I left my previous agent. I don’t think my previous agent will be upset [...]
