Agent’s Sales Journal November 01, 2007

Sales From The Darkside

  • Renee's Dress for Sales Success Fails

    By Dan Seidman

    Our company sells financial services to banks -- we have a great office, our team is fun, and we celebrate for any reason in any season. So on Halloween, we dressed up and held a costume contest. Donning my cowboy outfit, I knew I wasn't

Front Page Stories

  • Critical Illness Gives Prospects Extra Coverage

    By Wilma G. Anderson

    Introduced in 1983, critical illness insurance (CI) has long been a top seller in other countries. At one point, more than 70 insurance companies in the United Kingdom were offering critical illness policies -- in fact, more critical illness in

  • Web 2.0 Puts New Spin on Insurance Prospect

    By Michael Murillo

    You schedule face-to-face appointments to discuss your clients' finances and insurance needs. You dial their phone numbers when you have questions or need more information for their application. And you join networking groups, bringing stacks

Short Takes

  • From The Agent's Desk

    By David Douglas Ford

    Big Brother Financial Securities, Inc. Compliance is Our Passion, but Profit Is our goal Member NASD/SIPC/SPCA TO: JOE DOKES Registered Rep #2567 FROM: YOUR BBFS Service Department RE: Year End Changes Nov. 1, 2007 This is to inform you that we

  • 7 Keys to Forming Successful Partnerships

    By Ronald Lombardi

    Over the past several years, insurance agents and financial planners have started seeing the value of teaming up with other industry professionals. More and more, independent agents are coming together to form groups designed to more efficiently

  • Annuities and Qualified Money

    By Jonathan Neal

    The final part of an eight-part series When it comes to annuities and qualified money, some may take the position that annuities are good choices for wealth accumulation. Historically, however, fixed annuities just can't compete with mutual

  • 7 Signs It's Time to Leave Your BGA

    By Ron W. Rawlings

    Not everything works for everyone, and no BGA is a universal fit for every agent. If you're unhappy with your current BGA, you should watch out for red flags that may indicate it's time to switch. Your livelihood depends on the business

  • Changing Times: Working with a BGA in the 21st Century

    By Doug Mishkin

    There's no way around it: This is the information age. Twenty-first century brokerage general agents are beginning to jump on the technological bandwagon -- computers have revolutionized how we exchange information, which has placed

  • Inside Agents' Businesses, BGA Relationships - 2007 Agent Media/NAILBA Brokerage Study

    By Christina Pellett

    Three decades ago, the insurance distribution channels were not what they are today. The concept of an independent producer was fairly new -- in fact, the independent brokerage channel was practically nonexistent at the time, as about 85 to 90

  • BGAs Speak Out

    By staff writer

    It's a struggle today for insurers and BGAs -- so many of the products they sell are becoming commodities. That's where value-added service should be provided to agents in order to recruit the biggest field force.

  • The Next Big Boom: Marketing to 'Echo Boomers'

    By Jonathan Rice

    In recent years, agents and insurance companies have focused their efforts on reaching boomer and senior Americans -- and with good reason. They're both huge markets whose members may need vehicles for wealth accumulation, long term care

  • Return of Premium Term: 1 Product for 5 Markets

    By Marian Sole

    Despite the fact that term life insurance rates have continued to decrease, total term premiums collected did increase from 2005 to 2006, according to LIMRA International -- and one product that has helped drive this overall increase is return

  • GASB 45 - Retiree Health Care in the Public Sector

    By Samuel H. Fleet

    When you look at your book of business, it likely doesn't include large public entities, which are currently struggling with how to handle their unfunded liability for retiree health care coverage. As a new government accounting standard kicks

  • Using Life Settlements as an Estate Planning Tool

    By Geoffrey A. Weg

    In a life settlement, a third-party purchaser buys an in-force life insurance policy for its fair market value. That value is typically more than the policy's cash surrender value but less than the death benefit. The policy's seller

  • Is a Reverse Mortgage Suitable for Your Client?

    By Barabara Steinberg

    For many homeowners, reverse mortgages can improve their quality of life. But is it the right fit for all clients and prospects? And how will you know if it's not? This service allows homeowners who are age 62 or older and who have equity in

  • Study Reveals Top 10 Insurance Compliance Blunders

    By staff writer

    A new study by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services' Insurance Compliance Solutions Group has identified the top 10 reasons insurers don't meet compliance regulations during market conduct exams. Industry research in the life and health

  • Health Insurance Premiums Rising Faster than Wages, Inflation

    By staff writer

    Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers' wages (3.7 percent) and the overall inflation rate

  • New Study Urges Credit Union Brokerages to Hire Financial Advisors

    By staff writer

    Credit union brokerages that currently lag behind their bank counterparts can improve their investment sales performance by hiring more financial advisors and getting them more referrals, according to the 2007 Kehrer-LIMRA Credit Union Brokerage

  • AHIP Looks at How State Laws Impact Insurance Market

    By staff writer

    A new study from America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) assesses the impact of prior insurance market reforms across the country. Over the past decade, numerous states have launched insurance reforms with significant yet unintended

  • Annuity Sales Reach Record High in Second Quarter

    By staff writer

    Individual annuity sales hit a U.S. record in the second quarter of 2007 at $66.5 billion, a 6 percent increase over the same period in 2006, according to LIMRA International. Sales for the first half of 2007 were up 3 percent over the first half of

Perspectives

  • Survey Says: More of the Same for Health Insurance Clients

    By Sharon Alt

    Are your ears burning? They should be. Seems that lately everyone's talking about us, or at least about our industry. You can't turn on the television without hearing yet another story about America's health insurance crisis. This

  • Fostering Your BGA Relationship

    By Christina Pellett

    Businesses are not easy to run. Retail chains, auto shops, restaurants -- you have to move with the times, keep up with your competitors' business, and constantly analyze your potential revenue from all angles. It's not a part-time

Selling Guides

Marketing

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Prospecting Corner

  • You're Not Working Unless You're Networking

    By Joanne S. Black

    Networking is one of the best ways to strategically build your business. Most of us, however, are uncomfortable simply walking into a room full of strangers. Networking can be doubly daunting when we try to juggle it with work, family, and other

Objection of the Month

  • Objection Of The Month - November 2007

    By staff writer

    How would you respond to a prospect who says... "You have a great idea and I'd like to think it over. What I'd like to do, though, is first talk to my (accountant, attorney, etc.)." If they need to check with their