During our 20 years in consulting, Agency Consulting Group, Inc. has identified several ceilings above which an organization can not grow without severe hardship – or extensive changes. We call these points the Glass Ceilings because we can see the benefits of growth beyond them but we can’t seem to break these invisible barriers. In this…
Most desirable prospects are deluged with offers for insurance. Another letter or call will not differentiate the agency from all others. A sales letter sent in bulk is NOT a marketing program. Prospects are more likely to do business with agents with whom they’re familiar and comfortable. Knowing this, how do you implement an effective…
Do advertising and marketing work? The short answer is a resounding, “Yes!” The real questions are how do you know which advertising campaign or marketing program works best and how do you measure their success? As John Wanamaker said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the trouble is I don’t know which half.” This…
The Asset Protection Model (APM) is a radical change in agency operations and relationships with both current and prospective clients. It converts agencies from price-driven quote machines always trying to ‘get it cheaper’ as a method of gaining clients to relationship-driven businesses becoming true consultants to their clients, whether the APM agency writes the insurance…
Like many sales consultants with many years of experience under their belts, we have found that there is no “free lunch,” the IRS is NOT here to “help” us, no, he WON’T still love you in the morning — and “Get Rich Quick” schemes in sales are a sure-fire way to spend your time and…
Many agents don’t do a good job of explaining to clients just how much value-added service they provide. Sometimes you must lift the water to their lips because they have tasted bitter water before – they don’t know that you offer them sweet water. In this article, I’ll provide six “Arrows in your Quiver” that…
I respond to marketing calls, letters and telemarketers for insurance purposes. Yes, I am that guy who actually does this. But I respond to these campaigns because I desperately want to find agents and other insurance professionals who actually follow up on their marketing programs. So far, the results are dismal….
I have received many incredulous looks and many e-mails asking what planet I was from in response to my speeches and articles suggesting producers must produce $200,000 gross commissions for an agency to break even on their producers. In particular, many small town agents think this is impossible. Think again….
When advertising, ALWAYS make sure that the consumer understands the significance and value of an independent insurance agent by stressing this, regardless of the form of advertising.
When contemplating a cross-sell strategy, it is important to fully analyze the strategy and set realistic expectations to ensure it is successful. With better analysis, agents can improve their strategy and tactics or maybe choose a totally different strategy, but to assume cross-selling is going to be universally successful is pure folly.
