Stop Selling Like It’s 1985 June 15, 2015 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak There is a video on YouTube by Jim Muehlhausen of CEO Focus called “Stop Selling Like It is 1985.” It...
Offering Value Added Services May 18, 2015 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak Insurance producers sell roughly the same product as their competitor. The competitive edge often touted by producers is that their...
Creating Performance-Based Compensation April 20, 2015 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak For many businesses and employees, the standard business model is for the employer to pay the employee a fixed salary...
How to Attain What Agencies Want in 6 Easy Steps March 23, 2015 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak There’s a very simple formula for getting whatever you want for your agency. This is so simple it seems trivial...
Profile of a Great Account Manager February 23, 2015 By Catherine Oak What ingredients make up a good account manager? What do you look for in terms of skills, knowledge, education and...
Industry Trends to Exploit for 2015 January 26, 2015 By Catherine Oak It’s time to get out the crystal ball to think about what trends might help or hurt the agency in...
Do You Need an Agency Manager? December 15, 2014 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak Congratulations! You are an excellent salesperson and your business is growing. You first hired a customer service representative (CSR) to...
Perpetuation Planning – Part Two November 17, 2014 By Catherine Oak Last month’s “Minding Your Business” column explored a few reasons an agency might perpetuate the firm, the four common techniques...
Perpetuation Planning – Part One October 20, 2014 By Catherine Oak Long before owners want to retire, perpetuation planning should begin. The four major techniques to transfer ownership of a business...
Finding and Selling to Ideal Clients September 22, 2014 By Bill Schoeffler and Catherine Oak When an agency is started, most new owners will be happy to sell their products or services to anyone that...