This month I want to challenge you with a theme we’ve often discussed:
What’s the cost of doing nothing?
This applies to those who consistently do the same old, same old and brings to mind two of my favorite adages: “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get...
Last month’s article was about the Five Profit Zones. Well, after it went to print I had one of my semi-famous BFOs (Blinding Flashes of the Obvious): There is a sixth and very important profit zone—your insurance carriers.
I would love to have just 1% of the dollars left on the table...
Profit zone #3: Non-producer employees
View every employee as either a profit center (contributing to your profitability) or a loss center (taking away from your profitability). Here are the major factors affecting non-producer employee profitability:
- Low productivity. If they’re in a...
Money, in and of itself, is rarely the true motivation for entrepreneurs. It’s what you can do with money that truly motivates people. For some, money equals financial freedom—the ability to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. Whether it’s supporting your family,...
If you’ve never heard the word “simplexity,” you’re not alone; it’s a word I coined by combining “simplicity” and “complexity.” Your objective is to avoid “simplexity” by keeping things as simple as possible. In the process,...
Myth #6: You Can’t Earn a 25% Operating Profit
People are constantly refuting the idea that it’s possible to earn a 25% operating profit, but the truth is, yes you can. How? (And here comes the big trick.) You simply can’t spend more than 75%! Seriously, I could earn a 25%...
Myth #3: You Can’t Have Too Many Insurance Carriers
Are you proud that your agency represents so many companies? If so, you’re not alone. I’m amazed at the number of carriers the average agency has. But what’s even more amazing is when they figure out how many they have....
If you hear the same things often enough, repetition becomes reality. And through the years in our industry, certain ideas have been repeated so often that they’ve become widely accepted as the truth when, in fact, they’re nothing more than myths. As a result, many people in the...
Strategies & behaviors
If producers are not ahead of goal and aren’t getting the desired results, then we need to closely examine the strategies and behaviors that are creating the numbers.
Reverse Performance Management.
Even though fewer than 15% of agencies practice true effective...
According to recent studies, fewer than 15% of independent insurance agencies practice effective true sales management. (Perhaps the key word is “effective,” as in “getting results.”) So if sales management is essentially nonexistent in independent agencies, how is it that...
One of the really great things about owning an independent insurance agency is that you are Independent! You can and do make choices every day that affect your agency’s performance and success, both in the short-term and long-term. In other words, you have options and you’re...
One of the really great things about owning an independent insurance agency is that you are Independent! You can and do make choices every day that affect your agency’s performance and success, both in the short-term and long-term. In other words, you have options and you’re...
