If you believe that purposely and specifically planning your business efforts to assure your success is a viable way of operating your business, if you would like a larger, more profitable business whose intrinsic value is building, and if you do not fear working toward your goals, it is not too late to develop a…
A small agency has two support staff, one a 23 year veteran and the other a friend of that CSR’s who was hired 4 years ago. The agency owner believes they have too much personal converstation and would like them to spend that time doing account development. How should this issue be addressed and should…
The average productivity in insurance agencies has risen to more than $100,000 (measured in terms of revenue per employee). Yet we still encounter many agencies whose revenue per employee is between $50,000 and $80,000 and can’t seem to advance beyond those levels. Why is productivity important and what can you do about it?
Retaining your good producers and losing your bad ones increases your agency growth and profitability without any other changes needed. Adding more good producers and avoiding bad producers can add growth mathematically and profit exponentially.
Understanding the five basic insurance agency personality types can help an agency principal or manager hire the right person and properly motivate existing personnel, thus achieving optimum performance. The five basic personality types are the CSR, the inside salesperson, the commercial salesperson, the health/life salesperson and the underwriter. This article covers the first two.
How many of us were told to keep practicing if we wanted to be good at sports, instruments, dancing, singing, golf, etc.? Whether it was our mothers, our coaches, or our business consultants, that advice has resulted in ALL of the great performers, golfers, sports players, AND BUSINESS OWNERS that exist today.
The greatest problem for most agency managers lies in the area of management of employees and employee relationships. Even the most enlightened agency managers tend to take their employees for granted and do not give them credit for what they know nor empower them to do their job without significant management intervention. The worst of…
Have you developed a strategic plan then hit a wall, ready to throw up your hands in defeat? What has typically happened is that you are discovering the difference between planning concept and process vs. implementation an management through your staff. You can neither plan alone nor implement a plan alone.
I was recently contacted by a smart young agent who had come into the business through his father, learned the trade, and received a promise of financial backing for the acquisition of an agency. He had formed a relationship with a strong local agency and now felt capable (after one year) of going after much…
A few generations ago the three “R’s” — Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic were the keys to education and success in the business marketplace. While these are still important (and rarer to find than in the fifties, sixties and seventies), the survival of businesses in the American economy now depends on the four new “R’s”…Restructuring, Reorganization,…
