Industry Trends to Exploit for 2019
It is time to take out our crystal ball and plan for 2019 and how our insurance industry will be impacted by the trends around us. Those that consider these changes, and plan ahead, will usually be in a better …
The 12 Days of Christmas – Good Personnel Management
On the first day of Christmas, the agency owner said to staff: “Our growth was phenomenal this year, thanks to you.” On the second day of Christmas, the agency owner said to staff: “Everyone will get a percentage bonus based …
Preparing to Sell the Agency
There seems to be an insatiable frenzy of agency acquisitions for many years now, with private equity firms and publicly traded brokers taking the lion’s share. These well-funded buyers are paying a premium well over what a local peer independent …
Time to Revisit Independent Contractor vs. Employed Producer Status
Insurance agencies across the country hire some or all producers as independent contractors instead of as employees. The mixed use of employees and independent contractors in insurance is common in other industries as well. The ramification of this hiring decision …
Why Profit Center Accounting Is Important
Is personal lines costing the agency money? How profitable is that new program business? What would happen to the bottom line if employee benefits sales increased by 25 percent? When is it time to hire a new employee for commercial …
Sam Walton’s 10 Rules to Run the Agency
Sam Walton built the world’s largest retail store in the world: Walmart. In his autobiography, Sam Walton: Made in America, he detailed some of the keys that helped him build Walmart into an enduring company that has held the number …
Becoming a Socially Responsible Agency
Social responsibility is becoming increasingly important to all agencies, especially for millennials. Whether the social issue is local, national, or global, the concern for some aspect of society is becoming more and more a part of doing agency business. Many …
Why It’s Important to Find the Agency’s ‘Why’
A new book, “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek covered this topic and gave us inspiration for this article. “When you fill an organization with ‘good fits,’ those who believe what you believe; success just happens,” said Sinek. Sir Ernest …
Minding Your Business: How to Hire the Right People
A new book called “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek covered this topic and gave us inspiration for this article. In the book, Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher talked about how his hiring practices of not hiring “for skills [but …
Minding Your Business: Contingency Planning for Agency Owners
Most of us don’t want to think about what would happen to our businesses if we were not able to be there one day because of disability or death. Most owners that are key to the organizations know that their …