Clients are valuable assets. When you go to sell your agency it is always a toss-up as to which has greater value—the customer list or the agents.  Both are integral to the success of your agency, so it is imperative that both are happy.  Hopefully, we all know what keeps a client and an agent happy, but what might turn a client off of your agency?  I have some thoughts.

Unless you are rolling the dough (and none of us are) make sure you are answering your phone so that your clients (and more importantly your prospects) know these two…

We have a strange relationship with what we know. We know we should have a written business plan, and we know we should have a written budget. We know we should have a mission statement. We know we should always offer travel insurance to our clients or get a waiver.

When we hear best practices, or even the general principles of marketing, sales, and customer service, seldom are we surprised. Good business advice is not often a revelation, but a matter of common sense, reminding us of what we already know.

Moving from "I know" to "I always do" can be a major undertaking. There is a big gap between knowing something and doing something. We sometimes convince ourselves, in fact, that because we know something, we…

I guess you could safely say that flying was embedded in my DNA. My grandfather was the President of Republic Aviation and was responsible for building the P47 Thunderbolt. My dad flew in World War II, and my Uncle Al also flew single-engine airplanes. It only seemed natural to earn my private pilot’s license back in 1983.

Today’s story involves a near land-based catastrophe. It was colder than expected the morning when my Uncle Al and I were going to satisfy our urge to take to the skies over Morristown, New Jersey. The sun was shining brightly when we arrived at the airport but the overnight cool air lingered, which made it difficult to start the single-engine.

Rather than jeopardize the remaining juice in the battery, Uncle…