10 Tips for New Insurance Agents – By Lynette Gil
(LifeHealthPro) New insurance agents understandably feel overwhelmed navigating a new business in a complex industry. Lynette’s article helps with navigating the complex world of insurance, sales, customer service and agency management.
Drew’s Two Cents: Rome wasn’t built in a day. I especially connected with numbers 3, 8, and 9. Lynette nailed what it takes to be wildly successful.
- Four Birds:
The ABCs Of Annuities: 8 Questions To Ask Before You Buy – By Deborah Jacobs (Guest Post Craig W. Lemoine and Jarret L. Davis)
(Forbes) When chosen carefully, annuities can protect consumers against outliving their money and protect against stock market volatility, features not available in traditional stock or mutual fund accounts.
Drew’s Two Cents: The author zeroed in on the questions a client should ask before purchasing an annuity, specifically a variable annuity. Whether you’re selling fixed or variable annuities, this is a good article to help you connect with the needs of your clients.
- Four Birds:
Should I Max Out My 401K – By Elle Kaplan
(Elle Kaplan) If this makes it easier for you to stay on track with your savings plan, then by all means, make use of the opportunity to contribute to that 401(k)! And if your employer offers a matching program, why not take advantage of it? That is essentially free money.
Drew’s Two Cents: This is a great article for a new agency owner to read if you are on your journey of adding retirement to your services offered. Elle highlights some great points and considerations about 401K that will help you better connect in your next client discussions about 401K. It’s important to properly educate your clients on the options they have for retirement savings and Elle does a good job in this article.
- Three Birds:
5 Traps to Avoid When Negotiating – By Gary Miller
(SDR Ventures) Bill had been thinking about selling his company for a couple of years. He and his wife, Carol, wanted to spend more time with their grandchildren and travel together to make up for all those years when they couldn’t. But, how much and what kind of help does he need or would he be better just going it alone?
Drew’s Two Cents: We often speak with agency owners who are approached to sell their book of business. Gary gets at the heart of why many business owners don’t get what they expected: 75% of business owners who negotiate the sale of their business without help regret the decision to do it alone. This is the last place you want to try to be a lone wolf.
- Four Birds:
My Favorite Underwriters – By David Connolly
(Insurance Journal) If I could distill the qualities of exceptional underwriters into a few words, I would call them problem solvers and educators. Too many agents see them as adversaries.
Drew’s Two Cents: David hit the nail on the head with this one. Agents need to be using underwriters as a resource to make sure they are properly servicing their clients. Having an underwriter available will help you place more business and protect your clients from having declines on their record. Get over your fear of underwriters… we are all on the same team!
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