I just came across this article from PropertyCasualty360 that discussed the growth of “program business” in the insurance industry. In fact, the Target Markets Program Administrators Association (TMPAA) shows the industry grew 9 percent from 2010 to 2011. With consumers increasingly turning to the internet to research agencies, coverage, and pricing, it shouldn’t be any […]
Infograph: The Inbound Marketing Explosion
I came across this infograph done by the folks at InboundWriter that shows how inbound marketing is quickly becoming the preferred method for obtaining customer for businesses. (Inbound marketing refers to creating valuable, insightful, and educational content that brings readers to your site where they are converted to prospects and eventually customers.) There are just […]
How to Generate Income with Social Media
Social media is definitely the buzz right now in the insurance industry. You won’t find a trade publication that doesn’t mention its importance and necessity. Missing from these articles, though, is a discussion on how to generate qualified leads from social media. Instead, they focus specifically on creating a Facebook page and getting as many […]
Personal Touch
I came across a great article from Property Casualty 360 this week talking about using technology to give the personal touch to your clients. The article describes how agents (specifically Independent Agents in this case) do a poor job of using digital marketing and websites to really expound upon the value they bring. And, while […]
Agency Entrepreneurs
I came across a fantastic article by Tom Barrett entitled “Nu Waves” from Agent & Broker magazine. In it, he discusses the recent emergence of new agencies across the U.S. In fact, he points out that more than 4,000 new agencies have opened over just the past few years. The focus of his article, though, […]
Company Culture
I came across a very interesting article on Company Culture written by Arshad Chowdhury for Fast Company. The article points out a few very cool culture ideas for companies to implement for happier employees. Here are a few from the article: Celebrate Going Home Early. By focusing on work output rather than hours worked, you […]
Flex Work Schedules
I came across an article about an interesting study released by Mom Corps on work schedule preferences. After polling more than 1,000 workers, the study showed that approximately 2 in 5 people are willing to sacrifice pay for a more flexible work schedule. The study also showed that the 18-34 age group is three times […]
Training New Employees
Today we bring you our fourth installment in our series on improving customer service through your employees. Here we offer you a few detailed ideas on training your employees. Personalize the Training Process– All of your employees are different, so you should be training them all differently. After going through the normal company training program, […]
Stop Being a Commodity
We’ve allowed ourselves to become a commodity. As insurance agents, we have allowed the online direct carriers to sell exclusively on price, and we have turned our products into commodities while it couldn’t be more the opposite. Insurance can be complicated, confusing, and frustrating. Consumers want some guidance in purchasing insurance; but, we are not […]
Generating New Ideas
In my dealings, employers generally do a terrible job of creating an environment where employees consistently are willing to share new ideas. If employees are not rewarded for their new ideas, there is a good chance they are not going to be willing to share them. Here’s what kills me: what could a really good […]