October La Voz 2010 by Independent Insurance Agents of NM

EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE

New Mexico’s Experts in Workers’ Compensation Insurance 3900 Singer Blvd. NE • Albuquerque, NM 87109 • 505.345.7260 or 800.788.8851 •

www.NewMexicoMutual.com

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;La Vozâ&#x20AC;? is the official monthly publication of the

Independent Insurance Agents of NM 1511 University Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87102. (505) 843-7231. Fax (505) 243-3367. Web site www.iianm.org. This publication is intended to provide accurate and authoritative information on the subject matter covered, but is distributed with the understanding that neither IIANM, nor any contributing author, publisher, contributor or advertiser is rendering legal, accounting or any other professional service and assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. Further, the electronic links to our advertisers and/or contributors found in this publication are provided as a courtesy to our readers and do not necessarily indicate an endorsement by IIANM.

Features

"The Voice" of Independent Agents since 1934

o VZ

The Best Web Marketing Strategy You've Never Heard

IIANM Releases New Employee Orientation Manual

Coaching Sales People

News items from members of Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico and the general insurance industry are encouraged. The advertising deadline is the fifteenth day of the month, preceding publication.

The Best Way to Ruin an Agency

Analysis of Un-rated Carriers: 9 Best Practices

The Creativity Factor

Advertising rates are available upon request.

Cash Management Services

InsWeb's 2010 Male/Female Car Insurance Rate Index

Review of "HumanClick.com"

IIANM's Christmas Party Invite

This Year's Convention

Meet the 2010 - 2011 IIANM Board

Please contact Rachel Sheffield at rachel@iianm.org for details

IIANM Staff President/CEO Thom Turbett, CIC VP Of Membership Services Lorri Gaffney Director Of Communications Rachel Sheffield Director Of Insurance Programs Carmen Reese Porter, ACSR, CISR Receptionist / Member Services Associate Renee Trujillo

2010-2011 Officers

In Every Issue Tech Talk

Education Edge

October's Clickable Calendar

Odds n Ends

IIANM's Partners Program

Advertiser Index Acuity

Chair Kathy Yeager

American Mining Insurance Company

Vice-Chair Scott Jones

Burns & Wilcox

Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc.

Infinisource Payroll

Litchfield Special Risks, Inc.

National Director Sam Conlee

Market Finders, Inc.

Neff Risk Services, Inc.

Immediate Past Chair Alma Franzoy-Capron

New Mexico Mutual

Risk Placement Services, Inc. (RPS)

Secretary/Treasurer PJ Wolff

The Best Web Marketing Strategy You’ve Never Heard How to get the most out of “local search” By Matthew Marko

y now, you’ve probably heard how creating a website or using social media can help increase visibility and generate leads for your agency. The ACT website is filled with resources highlighting how to use these tools effectively. But there's one tool you may not have heard about -- even though it's a fast, easy way to reach thousands of people in your local area who are shopping for insurance right now. And, it’s free.

• Ninety-seven percent of consumers use the internet to shop locally.

It sounds too good to be true, but “local search” can give your agency excellent visibility at the same moment consumers are looking for a local agent.

• Of the more than 20 million businesses in the U.S., only 2 million (10 percent) have claimed a Google local listing.

What is local search? Quite simply, local search is the name used to describe search engine results that show local business listings when a consumer searches for products or services in his or her area. For example, if a consumer enters “insurance + Savannah, GA” the results page will include a map and a list of the top ranking local agencies. Think of it as the new online alternative to a yellow pages directory.

• Ninety percent of online searches start with a search engine, not a company website. • Americans conducted 16.4 billion searches in June 2010, and twenty percent of Google searches are local in nature. This suggests over three billion local searches are conducted in the U.S. every month.

We all know the internet has changed the way consumers look for information about products and services. But according to a Progressive survey, three out of four independent agencies still haven’t taken advantage of local search. Now is the perfect time for you to take the lead in your market by developing a local search strategy. How to get started The easiest way to claim your local listing is by visiting GetListed.org, a free service that checks your current listings and helps you claim them with major search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Just type in your agency name and zip code, and GetListed.org will score you on how well your agency is represented in local search. If you haven’t claimed your listings, the site will also link you to the claiming page of each search engine. The rest is simple. For each search engine, just register for a free account, then provide information about your agency. Be sure your listing includes the following essential details:

Because local search sifts through business data, not websites, your agency doesn’t need a website to be included in local search (however, websites are still recommended to help consumers find information about your agency). And since local search listings are often positioned higher on the results page than websites, your agency may show up above the top ranked insurance website – a position many spend thousands of dollars in search engine optimization to achieve. By claiming your agency’s free local listing, you’ll open the door for additional exposure and new business leads. Why local search works: Page 4

• • • • • •

Business address; Local phone number; Website (if applicable); Business hours; Insurance products; and, Special services.

Here are a few more tips for setting up your local listing: • Be consistent: Make sure your agency information appears exactly the same everywhere online. When search engines locate information about your agency, they look for exact matches. By providing consistent information, you can start pushing your agency toward

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

• Get verified: As part of the claiming process, you’ll need to verify that you are who you say you are. This verification is different for each search engine, but is typically done by sending a confirmation code via phone or postcard.

line directories, like SuperPages.com , MerchantCircle. com, Localeze.com, and your local Chamber of Commerce website. Also consider submitting your agency information to Universal Business Listing, which distributes your agency information to online directories for only $30 a year.

• List multiple locations: If your agency has multiple locations, claim a listing for each office. However, avoid creating duplicate local listings for the same location. Search engines will likely penalize you for doing so.

• Learn from others: Study the listings of high-ranking agencies in your area and adopt their best practices.

a higher local search rank.

Making the most of local search After you claim your listing, adding more relevant information will likely help your agency move up on the list of local results. Here are some ways to enhance your local listing: • Include keywords: Update your business description and categories to reflect your offerings (ex: auto insurance, home insurance, business insurance). If you represent carriers with recognizable brands, include carrier-approved keywords (ex: “Authorized Progressive Agent” is pre-approved for Progressive agent use, and other carriers have similar programs). • Get reviewed: Encourage customers to post reviews of your agency. • Increase exposure: Add your agency to other free on-

• Add content: Post additional content like photos and videos to your listing.

• Monitor your listings: Assign one person in your agency to monitor listings on a monthly basis. The local search environment is constantly changing. By acting before your competition, you’ll get the greatest impact and value from your listing. You have nothing to lose – it’s easy. It’s fast. It’s free. Matthew Marko is a Marketing Process Manager for Progressive Insurance. He works to provide local marketing strategies and tools to help independent agencies grow their business, and has developed several online marketing webinars for Progressive agents on ForAgentsOnly.com. Matt prepared this article for ACT. For more information about ACT, contact Jeff Yates, ACT Executive Director at jeff.yates@ iiaba.net. This article reflects the views of the author and should not be construed as an official statement by ACT.

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The Anderson Agency Report

Intro Tips Tricks G

mail is a phenomenal free e-mail service from the search giant, Google. It is rapidly becoming the number one e-mail system (if it hasn't yet claimed that title), and for good reason. In this article, I'm going to focus on some of the things that Gmail does differently - and better - than most other e-mail systems. It should serve as an introduction to new users, but is mostly intended to help existing Gmail users improve their use of it. IMAP vs. POP: You all recognize the name "POP mail" but many don't understand it, or know the difference between POP and IMAP. Metaphorically, while you're away, your wife picks up mail and puts it on the kitchen counter. Your son picks up some mail and drops it in the TV room, and your daughter leaves some on the dining room table. You come home, stand in the hallway, and say "Where the heck is my mail?" That's POP mail—it gets downloaded once to one machine, and if you have more than one device you have to figure out where it is. Gmail does POP, of course, but its strength is that it natively supports IMAP, which syncs your e-mail to all e-mail clients. Specifically, your desktop, notebook, iPad, and smart phone all see exactly the same thing. If you archive (store) or delete an e-mail on any one machine, it disappears from the inbox on the others immediately. To turn on IMAP (highly recommended), just go to settings. (FYI, with IMAP you are also not at the mercy of the Web interface. If the Web site goes down, simply use any other IMAP client—like an iPhone—and your e-mail is still there and working.)

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Archive, Don't Delete: Gmail comes with 7 GB of storage with their basic free account, and then they start increasing it steadily. That's a huge amount of storage. With that much space, and the fabled Google search engine to sort through it, why delete anything that is a business e-mail? Although my inbox is usually empty, I have almost 50,000 stored e-mails, many with large attachments, and I still haven't reached 50% of the free storage. FYI, additional paid storage is amazingly cheap, if you ever need it. Labels, not Folders: This is important to understand. Most other e-mail systems have folders, and you move an e-mail from the inbox (folder) to other folders that you've created (prospects, family, church, etc). With Gmail, all mail is contained in an area called "All Mail," and there is a link to All Mail on the left. Most people look at the inbox—which is actually just a label. You can create as many labels as you want, and you can assign multiple labels to any one e-mail. You can easily see all e-mails with a given label at once. To keep your inbox clean, you can archive all e-mails that you've dealt with; what you're really doing is removing the inbox label but keeping it in All Mail. Of course, you can instantly search everything with the fabulous search engine, so finding archived e-mails is really easy, even with tens of thousands of e-mails. Spam and other Filtering: Gmail comes with some pretty effective spam filtering, but you also have the ability to create your own filters. You can, for instance, make sure that all e-mails from certain people or domains go straight to your inbox, or get specific labels already at-

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

tached. Although not called blacklists or whitelists, you create blacklists by filtering e-mail addresses or domains and whitelists by preemptively moving (labeling) them to the inbox. Forgot to Attach your Attachment?: If your subject line and/or the body of your e-mail refers to an attachment, and there isn't one, Gmail will catch it and interrupt the Send to ask you politely if you forgot it. It's amazing how often this happens to me. Labs: Go into the Settings tab (top) and find Labs, and have a lot of fun. New features—such as the Forgotten Attachments feature mentioned above—are tested first in the Labs section. At any given time you'll find 35 or 40 of these, which you can turn on and try. Right now, for example, I'm testing a 10-second send delay, giving me time to rescind e-mails that I send in error.

• Tags, stars, images, logos (think Facebook and Twitter), and more • Support for all major browsers and operating systems • Filtering and forwarding • Themes (make Gmail look the way you want it to) Obviously, I'm a big fan of Gmail. My business runs on e-mail, and after five years and 50,000 e-mails, Gmail has never let me down.

by G. Barry Klein G. Barry Klein is a former insurance agent who maintains UltimateInsuranceLinks.com as an industry service.

Threads: You send me an e-mail, I reply, you reply, and I reply again. That's an e-mail or conversational "thread." When a new, unread e-mail pops into your inbox, it will automatically combine/show the previous e-mails (below it, if you scroll down through it) if Gmail recognizes that it is part of a conversational thread. This is really useful if you have e-mail conversations that are spread over time and/or with multiple recipients. Chat and Video Chat: Video chat is one click away for those who have Gmail and a Webcam, and it's fully as good as Skype but without the setup. Regular chats (IM) are saved just like emails, which means they can be searched and recalled with ease. All the Usual Bells and Whistles: I've tried to focus on areas where Gmail is significantly different from other e-mail systems. Gmail also has virtually all of the normal features that you expect from an e-mail system, including: • Out-of-office responders • Signatures • Support for multiple accounts (switch between them) • Pick your default font

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

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IIANM Releases New Employee Orientation Manual Is there anything more bewildering than walking into a new office on your first day of work and having no clue what you're supposed to do, much less where to find the bathroom? Adding to our collection of informative agency management resource manuals, this Employee Orientation manual will make first-timers feel right at home. Created in Microsoft Word, you are able to customize and use it as a template to fit your agency’s specific needs by introducing the different jobs and tasks at your business. It also provides a run-down of what Insurance is, how it works and what is expected of your new employee. This new manual is just one more resource added to the “Agency Management” section of our site, where you can find other manuals such as, “Internship Guides”, “Training Needs Checklist” and the “Disaster Planning Manual”. We have more customizable manuals in the pipeline, so look forward to another soon!

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Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Page 9

Coaching Sales People by Bob Ayrer Ego has cost the average salesman more than all the fast cars and fancy clothes put together. It has been said that the worst enemy in sales is Arrogance - and boy, does that come through with some successful sales people! They 'know-it-all'. Really? Then let's take a look at the top performers in other big pay areas of life. In football the super pro's have a coach - in fact, one for almost every position - a quarterback coach, line coach, defensive coach, offensive coach. I think even the water boy has a coach! I’ve watched world-class tennis stars - Agassi and Sampras - hammering it out in center court at the U.S. Open. But…every two minutes the TV cameras went to the stands and did a close up of their coach. Athletes have coaches. Opera singers have coaches. Actors have coaches. What about sales people? Naw, they already know it all!

All the books you've read, all of the "rah-rah" rallies you've attended, all of the workshops you sat through don't mean squat if you don't convert the knowledge into skill.

Wait a minute. If you're one of the few that really wants to increase your income and your sales closes, think about hiring a coach. Here are some truths about us as sales people: We get away with all kinds of mistakes because there is no one watching us. What rare buyer will call a Company and say, "Boy, you've got some lousy sales rep calling on me. Get him/ her outta here!" Unlikely. So we need a watcher, a coach, an on-site critic - and the best one would be a competent sales person you know who will accompany you on sales calls. Oh, and tell you the truth. Page 10

Here's what to do: Recruit a coach that understands that selling is a process. You can't coach chaos; you can't develop selling skills without knowing and following the disciplines of selling. For real effectiveness, on each coaching call, first define your strategic objectives for your coach so you're both on the same page. That is, clearly describe the strategy you plan to use and the techniques you intend to use to achieve your call objective. When you arrive at the sales call, introduce your coach casually: "This is Jack Colligan, he's working with me today" and then proceed to make your presentation. Chances are the client won't give your "day visitor" a second look. Have your coach take a position out of the frame of vision where they can observe both you and the prospect/customer. Have him remain silent throughout the sales call. After the call, do a complete "autopsy" of the call - everything from the moment you entered the premises of the prospect through to the exit. Take it apart like a jeweler taking a watch apart - study every move. LISTEN to your coach. Don't debate. Accept the comments and Learn. How do you think you did in achieving your objectives? What did you do well? What could you improve? Next, have your coach give you feedback on the two areas you agreed to be coached on - just those two areas. This autopsy will take you about 2 ½ times as long as the actual call. Now, go make the second call. The second time, repeat the process -- you either did or did not achieve your objective, etc. (It's called Practice - like a football player or Agassi.) Move on to your next call and try again - repeat the process. Three coaching calls in any coaching day gives plenty to learn and think about! Plan to be coached on an ongoing basis. Like the Pro's, you're becoming a real student of selling, not just another doo-doo walking around day by day repeating the same small mistakes you are not even aware of. All Pro's accept help. Just remember Peter Drucker's line, "The greatest knowledge that doesn't result in action is meaningless data!" All the books you've read; all of the "rah-rah" rallies you've attended; all of the workshops you sat through don't mean squat if you don't convert the knowledge into skill. Take a lesson from the pros and get yourself a coach. And for Heaven's sake, lose the ego! If you’re interested, a source for finding a sales coach is www.findyourcoach.com

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

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by Chris Burand

The to

Best Way

Ruin Agency

can already hear the responses to this title: "What a horrible start to an article! This author should be thinking optimistically!" While optimism is in vogue right now, my experience suggests that in this tough economy, excessively optimistic agencies are suffering the most. They too easily buy into happy ending stories. They too quickly buy into happy talk about how to grow quickly without measuring the cost of growth. I have a unique perspective because I often get hired to help fix these agencies after reality sets in. This includes some agencies of the month and best practices honored agencies. Reality always wins in the long run while some unfortunates are focusing on short-term optimism. This blind optimism is best epitomized in the movie "Field of Dreams." "Build it and they will come" is truly the epitome of blind optimism. The reality is that no, customers won't always come, especially now in this economy. And no, customers won't just arrive because you build a good website, not in the flood of data, information, and advertising in which they are inundated daily. Customers have to have a really good reason for parting with their money today. The business world is filled with dozens of examples of companies operating on blind optimism. Even a few insurance companies today are operating on the blind optimism that they have solved high loss ratios forever. These companies believe their short-term success is entirely their own doing and they believe their success is permanent. The irrational optimism I see in agencies usually involves sales and marketing. A lot of agency owners are easy marks for firms selling sales and marketing. They buy from every door knocker that calls on them. No matter how often the product fails, the agency is always willing to buy from the next medicine man. If oil wells were as deep as their optimism, the world would never run out of petroleum. The truth is those marketing spiels often leave out certain facts, especially facts showing certain advantages the person in the story had going into the situation. For example, I was reading a story about a successful entrepreneur. It was a great story, but they left out the part about the free loans he received to get started. Just a minor missing detail. Positive thinking is great, but access to

free loans is even better. I do believe that sometimes a person just has to take a chance, believe with all their heart, and commit to their chosen course of action. Committing is the key word. No systems work without commitment--not even those magic weight loss pills. So when listening to some sales/marketing consultant's spiel regarding how great and easily their system will promote your success without mentioning commitment, accountability, or adequate funding, a wise person will lose optimism and begin wondering about the true viability of such a system. For example, the firms selling web-based marketing often use the premise that when completed, the website will do all the work of marketing the agency and making sales. All the agency has to do is take orders. The ultimate solution! Just take sales orders and never have to ask for sales. Become the Amazon of the insurance world. Of course, the reality is there is much more work involved than paying the invoice and turning on the switch. And, just because you build it does not mean customers will come! Another example is the sales system that does not detail the cost of the system. In fact, one popular system increases sales and revenue per person, but the cost of the people, tools, and system far outweigh the benefits it generates unless it is done on a scale far exceeding most agencies' capabilities. The result for most agencies is significantly greater expenses than revenues. The blind optimism upon which each of these examples is based is ruinous. I'm not suggesting pessimism is the answer either, it has its own faults, but there are not many agency owners that are pessimists. Instead, I'm suggesting a dose of reality will serve agency owners better than blind optimism. Ask the hard questions when someone is promoting the next best sales program. Ask the hard questions when you find yourself falling in love with a prospective producer. Ask the hard questions when you find yourself enthralled with another agency's success. Combine reality and optimism to identify realistic opportunities. Add commitment, hard work, and accountability. Not a lot of people do this. For those that do, opportunities abound.

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

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trust. acuity.com

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Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Analysis of Unrated Carriers: 9 Best Practices for Insurance Agencies SOURCE: Swiss Re With the recent announcement that A.M. Best Co. is withdrawing its public data rating assignments on U.S. health insurers, agencies may be wondering how to evaluate the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the health insurers and others with which they are placing their clients’ coverages.

hile there is no process guaranteed to predict the future performance of any company, agencies can establish a prudent procedure to help navigate the evaluation of carriers not rated by A.M. Best Co. As a starting point, agencies may consider the following steps: 1. Consider using the current ratings from Moody’s Standard & Poor’s, or Fitch Ratings Insurance Group in establishing minimum financial ratings to develop a list of approved carriers with which the agency will place business. For example: • Standard & Poor’s: BBB, as defined on the S&P Web site, indicates an insurer has good financial security characteristics but is somewhat more likely to be affected by adverse business conditions that are insurer with higher ratings. (www.standardpoors.com) • Moody’s: A is defined on the Moody’s Rating website as being considered an upper-medium grade, and these companies are subject to low credit risk. (www.moodys.com) • Fitch Ratings Insurance Group: BBB is defined on the Fitch Ratings website as moderate credit risk. (www.fitchratings.com)

2. Make the approved list part of the written agency procedures used by all agency staff. Reiterate to agency staff that theses are the only carriers with which they are authorized to place business. 3. If the agency allows exceptions for placing business with carriers not on the approved list, make sure that there is a written approval process in place. We recommend designating either an individual or a ratings committee to handle this process.

4. Verify the current standing of the carrier with its resident state’s department of insurance or other appropriate regulators such as the WCA. 5. Determine if the carrier is protected by any applicable guarantee fund by using the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association’s website (www.nolhga.com) or other such sites. 6. Communicate the known financial criteria to the customer at the time the quote is presented, at renewal and any time there is a significant change in the financial condition mid-term. 7. Consider including disclaimer language in your proposals to clarify that while the financial rating of the company may indicate that it is financially stable at the time of performance and, further, that the agency is not an expert in the financial analysis of insurance companies. 8. Review the approved carrier list at least semi-annually for changes in financial ratings, and update the list accordingly. 9. Review your agency errors and omissions policy for any limitations for placing coverage with carriers rated below a certain level or not subject to state guarantee funds. (Note: In New Mexico, group workers compensation funds are not covered by a guarantee fund, and are therefore not covered on most E&O policies for insolvency.)

The financial environment in which agencies operate is constantly changing. By establishing a process, updating information, sharing the information with your clients and documenting your customer files accordingly, your agency will by better prepared to pro actively address the changes that are certain to come in the future. You can find sample customer letters regarding changing carrier rates on the Big ‘I’ risk management website, E&O Happens. (www.iiaba.net/EOhappens.com)

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Page 15

The Creativity Factor

by Jack Burke

hile acknowledging the importance of corporate character or culture, creativity is the very essence of marketing and communication. The creative spark is the cornerstone of business. Creative means “characterized by originality; imaginative.” However most marketing and advertising today would be better placed under the category of mundane: “typical of, or concerned with, the ordinary.” Today’s marketing “creativity” seems to have evolved into new twists on old techniques. The creative brains toil at a new, or better, ways to restate an old message. A catchier print ad, a better letter, a more memorable commercial-the script may change, but it’s the same play. Even with a horizon of new electronic media such as advertising via Internet and CD-ROM, originality and imagination seem to be sequestered in a closet. Every so often there is a breath of fresh air. Every so often, someone somewhere does something unique that provides them with a marketing edge in their community. Every so often, we get to see a unique and memorable piece of marketing. “Every so often” became a reality in Clarksville, Tennessee during the winter of ‘93. Enhancing the holiday spirit was the goal of the Clarksville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas Decoration Contest, which included commercial establishments as well as residential. James W. Dunn of Clarksville’s Dunn Insurance, Inc. had vetoed entering a float in the Christmas Parade due to the immensity of the task. However, he agreed that entering the commercial category of the decoration contest would be less demanding. Little did he anticipate that decision would result in getting Dunn Insurance’s name on the front page of the local paper twice, plus a full front page write up–not to mention extra publicity from a contest within the contest and a new concept for the annual Christmas card. In fact, from the grocery store to private parties, Dunn couldn’t go anywhere without people talking about his agency’s entry. James gives most of the credit to his son, Jimmy Jr., who Page 16

suggested a giant snowman in lieu of a more traditional outdoor Christmas tree. Centered on the agency’s front sign, chicken wire, poly insulation and other odd materials were bonded with glue onto the post. Soon the arms of a giant, 15 foot tall snowman reached upward to hold both sides of the agency sign–seemingly waving to passersby. To add a dramatic touch, over 2,000 white Christmas lights were attached to the interior chicken wire, providing a warm, glowing effect. And, of course, the sign was altered to read “Seasons Greetings” below the Dunn Insurance Agency name. Jimmy’s design incorporated two faces on the snowman, one face facing each direction of traffic. Dunn chuckles as he relates the fact that they even got calls during the construction phase. It seems that they ran short of the poly insulation which covered the chicken wire, leaving the lower section of the snowman “exposed” until more insulation could be collected. The phones soon begin to ring about the Clarksville “flasher.” Jimmy’s creativity was acknowledged by the community voting and the agency won first place in the commercial category, resulting in the aforementioned publicity. Now that’s a nice story, definitely creative, and the publicity was good. However, it’s not the end of the story–although it could have been. Rather than stopping with a first place win, Dunn built on the existing publicity with his own contest, “Name The Snowman.” The lure of a $50 savings bond generated over 400 entries. The winning name, “Bondable Snowman”, was suggested by a 12 year old girl who lived over 40 miles away. And of course, both the contest and the winner generated additional publicity for the agency. But, we’re still not at the end of this story. Dunn then gathered his entire staff for a group photo around the snowman and turned that photo into the agency’s Christmas card. Now that’s what I call full-circle creativity in marketing. Not only was it original, but the Dunn Agency continued to build on the concept. The question most of us need to ask is, “Would we have stopped at the winning of the contest?” Unfortunately I think all too many of us would have. Marketing is designed to gain favorable attention for your company or product. Yet, how often to we: (1) brainstorm for new ideas, (2) take advantage of creative opportunities, or (3) maximize the opportunities when they exist. Here are a few examples of what I consider creative marketing: A Ford dealership in New Jersey builds its image around selected community charities. It started with an annual reverse raffle co-produced with five local charities involving community youth, shelters for abused women and the local hospital. Although the raffle continues, the dealership has gone on to produce two major concerts each year to

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

generate additional revenue for charity. Cosponsors include a local bank and a supermarket chain. During the promotion and ticket sale phase, every bank customer sees signs with the dealership’s name and every grocery shopper has a bag imprinted with the dealership name too! That’s one dealership in one community that has definitely overcome the negative perceived image of “car salesmen.”

Every so often, there is a breath of fresh air in a marketing or customer service technique. Every so often, someone somewhere does something unique that provides them with a marketing edge in their community. Every so often, we see a unique and memorable piece of marketing.

As director of car sales for Hertz Corporation, we developed a program for the leasing of used rentals to augment sales efforts. Not only was this long before leasing became a fashionable alternative to purchase, but we were talking used cars not new. Traditional newspaper and radio advertising was not acceptable–there was just too much to explain and it needed a one-to-one approach. We developed a quick training program to first teach our sales people throughout the country about leasing. But, rather than relying on the initiative of individual sales personnel to talk about it, we needed to find a way to get the potential customer to ask them for more information. We solved that problem with a simple button, which we ordered in the thousands and distributed to all of our employees. All the bright yellow button said was, “Ask Me.” Ask they did, and the total cost was minimal. Business cards and agency brochures are another example of “nice, but mundane.” A number of businesses have gotten creative by producing short audio or video programs that tell their story. These marketing productions get the prospect’s attention and allow you to really introduce yourself, your company, product or service.. Granted that video can get expensive, audiotapes or CDs are fairly reasonable and can be packaged in any number of ways–depending on your budget and your image. There’s also an additional benefit to this type of creativity. All too many business cards, brochures and letters end up in your prospect’s waste basket. Audio and video cassettes have a perceived value in the mind of the holder and are seldom tossed. I’ve received calls as much as a year after an audio mailing. The caller generally says, “it’s been sitting on my desk for a year and I just got around to listening to it.” Sponsoring a local golf tournament is another great way to market your agency or brokerage. It’s done wonders for many major corporations on a national level, why not duplicate their efforts on a local level. Bring in other businesses to help co-sponsor. Maybe a local car dealer can display a vehicle and buy hole-in-one insurance to cover a car giveaway. Local realtors and banks are also excellent co-sponsors who can help with the prizes. Not only is the publicity great, but you get a chance to network. Closer to the office, what about your telephone system? Does a client on hold hear nothing or are you using a local

radio station for music-on-hold? If you answered "radio station," beware that: (1) your clients and prospects may be listening to a competitor’s commercial, and (2) ASCAP and BMI can levy stiff fines if you have not purchased a licensing agreement to “re-broadcast” the music over your phone system. Don’t laugh, many small, medium and large businesses have already been caught and fined. This dilemma’s creative answer is a message-on-hold service. For relatively little expense, you can have a professional message tape produced that talks to your clients about your services while they’re waiting on hold. Do you FAX information to clients and prospects? Do you use a cover page? You’ve probably answered “yes” to both questions. Now comes the big one, “Does your cover page list all the services and products you provide?” If not, and I'm guessing it doesn’t, you're missing a creative opportunity to market your message. There are hundreds of ways to creatively market your company and most of them are far less expensive than traditional advertising. Develop an opportunistic eye within your community. Conduct a brainstorming session with employees a couple of times a year and make it exclusive to new and unique methods of marketing. Maintain strong relations with your Chamber of Commerce and other groups that cater to your particular markets. But above all, get everybody involved. Many of the opportunities that you encounter will come from the least likely source, so it pays to have everyone keeping a watchful eye. Finally, when you do identify an opportunity, maximize it! Jack Burke is the president of Sound Marketing, Inc., host/ producer of Audio Insurance Outlook, editor of ProgramBusiness.com newsletter, and author of both Relationship Aspect Marketing and Creating Customer Connections. For more information, please visit http://www.soundmarketing. com, call 1-800-451-8273. This article is excerpted and digested from Jack Burke’s Creating Customer Connections: How To Make Customer Service A Profit Center For Your Company.

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Page 17

Cash Management Services: What Difference Can They Make to an Independent Agency?

by Mary Grazen

uring this economic downturn, independent agencies are rightly focused on client service, operations, and technology as key factors in their competitiveness in 2010. Every independent agency has a secret weapon to heighten their profitability: their banking relationship.

agencies are matching maturity CDs (certificates of deposit) and CD ladders. Matching maturity CDs allow you to match the maturity dates to financial priorities. CD ladders allow you to distribute money over different maturities and receive a higher, blended rate of return on investments.

Independent agencies can and should expect their banking relationship to help them reduce costs, enhance revenues, and improve efficiencies. Agencies have a significant opportunity to use their banking relationship to their advantage.

You may want to consider a sweep account to take advantage of float in your operating account. The excess cash is automatically transferred into an investment account. By doing so, the agency puts money to work when it would otherwise sit idle.

All banks offer deposit products such as checking and savings accounts. But independent agencies are not like many other businesses. They have unique cash management opportunities by virtue of monthly fluctuations in premium payment volume. A bank that recognizes this difference will offer a variety of specialized deposit products, competitively priced, to help agents facilitate cash management and maximize value. Here is what you should be looking for: Optimize the earnings credit on your bank accounts. Through the earnings credit applied to its bank account, an agency can offset the cost of services provided in conjunction with the account. Charges such as monthly service fees, checks paid and items deposited fees can pile up, but an agency can reduce the impact of these expenses by optimizing its earnings credit. Earnings credit rates and funds availability vary by bank, so be sure your bank is competitive and that there is no minimum balance to apply the earnings credit. A good banker will help the agency set a target balance at the right level, considering the agency’s cash-flow patterns over the course of a year, greatly minimizing fees and adding to the bottom line. Review bank investments to optimize the rate of return. It’s important to make sure your bank offers a variety of investment products with flexible terms to accommodate your unique cash flow needs. You need the flexibility to access your money on your schedule, so finding the right mix of investments is essential. Cash management tools that provide the liquidity and high investment returns desired by

Page 18

Look for opportunities to use technology. Your bank might offer online banking and remote deposit. However, it is important to read the fine print. Ask your banker about monthly fees, and if there’s an option to run them through your account analysis. Carefully check out the product features offered and see how they fit in with your operations. Does your bank provide: client support, appropriate levels of security and controls, and reliable equipment? Inadequacies in any of these areas can be costly to your agency in the long run. In addition, with remote deposit there can be the purchase or rental fee of the equipment to consider. These opportunities are there for agencies, and have been for many years. But many bankers simply do not realize an agency’s unique needs. If they do, they may not take the initiative to discuss them with agency owners. It’s up to the agency leader to take the initiative and ask about banking services. Agency owners have a lot of priorities. But if they take the time to view and understand banking services as an opportunity to improve their bottom line, they’ll make their agency more competitive by reducing costs and increasing revenues.

------------------------Mary C. Grazen Executive VP and Chief Operations Officer InsurBanc Ms. Grazen has been a banking professional for more than 25 years. Mary is an excellent resource to agencies that are looking for advice on cash management issues, helping agencies to reduce costs, enhance revenues and improve efficiencies. Toll free 866-467-2262 ext. 2304 Direct: 860-674-2304

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

www.scottsdale.burnsandwilcox.com

Who has the ability to handle all your specialty insurance needs?

The

Answer is Your Specialty Insurance Professionals

Professional Liability Umbrella & Excess Employment Practices Commercial Property Products Liability General Liability Commercial Auto Personal Lines

Global Resources. Local Relationships. Albuquerque, New Mexico

(866) 643-8538 / (505) 822-0018 / fax (505) 822-0092 scottsdale.burnsandwilcox.com

www.scottsdale.burnsandwilcox.com

www.RPSins.com/scottsdale

InsWeb's 2010 Male/Female Car Insurance Rate Index

Source: InsWeb.com

The national median car insurance rate for women is about 9% lower than the rate for men. According to information collected by InsWeb, the median car insurance rate for women is about 9% lower than the rate for men. The national median rate for women is $698 for a six-month policy. For men, it's $765. Why do women pay less on average for car insurance than men? The answer may lie in the differences between the men and women that shop online for insurance, rather than the way insurers actually view the genders. Based on an examination of male and female drivers who request insurance quotes at InsWeb.com, several differences are noteworthy, including: •Women are almost 50 percent less likely than men to have a DUI/DWI on their driving record •Women are approximately 10 percent less likely to have a moving violation on their record •Women own vehicles with an average list price that is over 8 percent lower than the vehicles owned by men ($22,815 vs. $24,861, respectively) •Women listed as the primary driver are less likely than men to purchase a car insurance policy with multiple drivers and/or multiple vehicles To the right you'll find InsWeb's complete list of men's and women's median car insurance rates for each state and Washington D.C., ranked by the percentage difference between the rates. Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

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Colonial General Insurance Agency

Commercial Lines/Brokerage Department Founded in 1985, Colonial General Insurance Agency, Inc. is a wholesale General Agency providing quality insurance products to the Independent Insurance Agent. Colonial General specializes in both standard and non-standard business. Our Property and Casualty business includes:

♦

Preferred BOP

♦

Property

♦

Inland Marine

♦

Professional Liability

♦

Commercial Liability

♦

Workers Compensation

Avoid monthly or annual membership fees, use Colonial General for your Preferred Business Owners Policies. We have several markets available to give you the best quote possible. For additional information contact your underwriter.

Transportation Department

♦

Commercial Auto

♦

Truckers

♦

Physical Damage

♦

Commercial Contract

♦

NB Mexican Truckers

♦

Local Radius

♦

Personal Lines

♦

Garage

♦

Intermediate Radius

♦

Professional Liability

With 2,500 active producers under contract, Colonial General operates in eight states throughout the South-West. Our offices are located in Murray, Utah and Scottsdale, Arizona. Most of all, we pride ourselves in our friendly customer service and our ability to help our producing agents with their many insurance needs.

Please contact our Utah office for all your Transportation needs! P.O. Box 571770, Murray, Utah 84157 Phone: (801) 562-1188 Wats: (800) 594-8900 Fax: (801) 562-2218 Toll Free Fax: (800) 332-9285

Personal Lines Department ♦

Masterpiece Company

♦

Standard Company

♦

Umbrellas

♦

Stand-alone Liability

♦

Vacant

♦

Seasonal

♦

Dwelling Fire

♦

Homeowners

Preferred Commercial Lines Division P.O. Box 14770 Scottsdale, AZ 85267 8475 E. Hartford Drive, Suite #100 Scottsdale, AZ 85255 Phone: (480) 991-7889 Wats: (800) 848-8860 Fax: (480) 948-1394 www.colonialgeneral.com

You will never pay a fee to access our companies. No volume or binding contracts.

Review of HumanClick.com

his software allows you to have personal interaction between your web site and the visitors to your site. Visitors can click on a button to "speak" directly with a live representative in your office. While this function isn't really "speaking" to a rep, it is chatting back and forth in real time via the internet. It is similar to AOL's instant messenger. Anyone with kids knows the excitement of sending and receiving typed messages in real time.

HumanClick is a public domain software that can be downloaded for free. Just visit http://www.humanclick.com for more information. There are other versions available like Pro or Express, with many more bells and whistles, but there are fees involved with these (anywhere from $19.50 per month to $89.50 per month). Once you are registered as an operator, HumanClick will be activated every time you connect to the internet. By default, the HumanClick application is minimized and provides you with an audio/visual alert as visitors browse into your site or when they ask to chat with you. Using the operator window, you will receive a real-time view of visitor's profiles including information such as their host name, pages viewed, length of visit, how they navigate your site,

etc. This information can be helpful in planning changes to your web site. At any point during a visit to your site the operator may, in one click, open a chat request on the visitor's screen and offer him assistance. If the operator is not online, the button can be set to "leave a message" and visitors can still leave an e-mail message to be acted upon when the operator returns. Visitors do not need to download any software to use this service, just click from their own computer. This is extremely helpful to those new internet users who are intimidated by the process of downloading and storing anything via the internet. You can also embed a HumanClick button in the signature file of your e-mail messages. Recipients of your e-mail simply click on the button at the bottom of your e-mail message, and a dialog box opens between the receiver and sender. The real time chat function is enabled. There is one drawback with using this signature file option. If the sender isn't online at the time the message is received, there won't be a response if the recipient requests a chat session. All in all, this is a good solid program that is available to by Jack Fries everyone for free.

2010 IIANMConvention

Al Berryman, NMSU and George Shaffer, MarketFinders, Inc.

Chair, Kathy Yeager and Immediate Past-Chair, Alma Franzoy-Capron

The winner of the “Pot of Gold” raffle was Josh Reel, from The Hartford, who in turn donated the $5,000 to Denver’s Children’s Hospital. Page 24

Hundreds gathered for the TradeShow to make new contacts and to see new products available.

The 76th annual convention, held September 15 & 16, 2010, at the Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino, drew lots of participants. Hundreds of agents and company representative gathered together and a good time was had by all! Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

B oard Executive Committee 2010 - 2011 IIANM

D irectors ,

Kathy Yeager High Country Agency Chair Ruidoso, NM

Diana Hobbs

Millennium Insurance Agency

Sam Conlee Wells Fargo Insurance National Director Albuquerque, NM

Farmington, NM

Hector Baeza, Leavell Insurance, Inc. Hobbs, NM

Connie Sevier,

Scott Jones

Western States Insurance Group

Brown & Brown Insurance Vice-Chair Albuquerque, NM

Lovington, NM

Gabe Portillo, Berger Briggs Insurance

Alma Franzoy

Albuquerque, NM

Leavitt Group SW Immediate Past-Chair Hatch, NM

Heather Fortner, AVI Risk Management Farmington, NM

PJ Wolff Northern Insurance, Inc. Secretary/Treasurer Santa Fe, NM

Genevieve Kluckman, Benefit Solutions Albuquerque, NM

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Page 25

IIANM’s

EducationEDGE Insurance Education Programs in New Mexico are critical to a successful and profitable career in the insurance industry. Every year, we offer exciting opportunities to expand your professional horizons. All of these education programs are designed to help insurance agents thrive in the most competitive of marketplaces. The pre-licensing classes are designed to be a review for the state licensing examination. We recommend that students be familiar with the study material prior to attending class.

Pre-Licensing Study Materials

Pre-Licensing Classes

To see a list of what is available and to purchase your study materials online, click here.

Study materials are NOT included in class prices. Property & Casualty Review Class (2 days)

Life & Health Review Class (1 day)

Regular Price: $150 Member Price: $120

Regular Price: $115 Member Price: $90

Instructor: Instructor:

Kitty Leslie Jack Cleary

- October 12 - 13 8am - 5pm - November 9 - 10 8am - 5pm

Instructor: Instructor:

Click here for a full listing of our education program.

Bob Ouellette - October 14 8am - 5pm Manny Mansour - November 11 8am - 5pm

The FINE PRINT: IIANM reserves the right to cancel/reschedule classes. Please call ahead to verify when classes will run. Decisions will be made three days prior to class. Cancellations received after 5 business days, will be assessed a $50.00 cancellation fee. Cancellations received on or after deadline and ‘no shows’ will forfeit the registration fee altogether. A substitute is always welcome, with no extra fee, but prior notification would be appreciated.

Class Name/Date: Full Name:

Method of Payment:  Bill Agency (Members Only)

First Name for Badge:

 Check Enclosed (Payable to IIANM)

Agency / Company:

 M/C  Visa  Disc  Amex

Address:

Amount:

(all prices include tax)

Card No:

City, State, Zip:

Exp. Date:

Telephone: ( Fax: ( Send in your registration:

)

Signature:

E-Mail:

) Go on-line: www.iianm.org or E-mail: jeff@iianm.org

Page 26

Give us a call: (505) 843-7231 (800) 621-3978

Mail in: 1511 University Blvd. NE Albuquerque, NM 87102

Fax in: (505) 243-3367

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

October's Clickable Calendar - Click on a class to register online -

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

5 P&C Pre-licensing Class

Wednesday

CE = continuing education hours

Thursday

6 P&C Pre-licensing Class

Friday

Saturday

7 L&H Pre-licensing Class

13 E&O Workshop 8CE Hours

Classifieds

New Mexico’s Job Bank We’ve re-vamped our Job Bank. Looking to fill a position within your agency? Trying to find a job but don’t know where to look? Whether you are looking for somewhere new to share your special skills or an employer looking for quality, professional employees, we are there to lend a helping hand. Click here to take advantage of IIANM’s Career Center. Do you have an agency you’re trying to sell, or in the market to buy one? Check out our Classifieds!

Independent Insurance Agents of New Mexico - www.iianm.org - * October 2010

Page 27

Virtual Risk Consultant a “No-Brainer for Most Agencies” Decrease E&O exposure and increase sales with this valuable tool. The benefits of increasing sales while lowering E&O exposure have Big “I” members from across the country flocking to purchase the Big I Advantage® Virtual Risk Consultant Powered by Rough Notes (VRC). And those who have purchased it are glad they did. A recent survey of registered VRC users found that 92% were extremely satisfied and would recommend VRC to other agents. Starting at $250 a year, the VRC is an easy-to-use agency resource website offering:

Risk Exposure Analysis Tools:

Commercial and personal risk exposure analysis information at your fingertips with hundreds of industries, including narrative descriptions, minimum coverages and suggested WC, ISO GL, SIC and NAIC codes. The popular “Coverages Applicable” material, customized questionnaires and E&O coverage checklists are also included.

Reference and Proposal Tools:

Reference materials to make sure agency staff understands the product they are selling and help create winning proposals. Included are access to ACORD forms, PF&M and a glossary of insurance terms.

Marketing and Prospecting Tools:

Access to articles on various insurance topics that the agency can share with customers, post on their websites or use to create a client newsletter. There are also hundreds of professionally-written building business letters so you can spend more time selling and less time writing. Gain a competitive advantage by purchasing the exclusive VRC today. Visit www.independentagent.com/VRC to learn more, view a product demo and purchase the tool.

Recession has spurred the entrepreneurial spirit

snE nd s

If there’s a silver lining to the recession, it may be the surge in entrepreneurial activity as more people start their own companies instead of seeking employment at established firms. According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, a leading indicator of new-business creation in the United States, 340 out of 100,000 adults started a business each month in 2009, an increase of 4 percent from 2008. (The recession officially began in December 2007.) That added up to 27,000 more businesses a month over 2008, and 60,000 more monthly than in 2007.

Add bite to the spooky season with fiendish food ideas & horror-themed Halloween recipes

Why you can’t avoid ‘Trick or treat!’ on Halloween Wherever you live, chances are that on Oct. 31 you’ll be visited by pirates, ghosts, princesses, and monsters demanding “Trick or treat!” at your front door. It’s all been part of the Halloween fun for as long as most of us can remember. Costumes and going door-to-door for treats can be traced back to pagan and Christian rituals from the Middle Ages. In Britain and Ireland, poor people would beg for food door to door in exchange for prayers for the dead on the day before All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2). This practice, called “souling,” evolved from a European pagan tradition. The wearing of costumes and masks originates in Celtic traditions of attempting to placate evil spirits by copying them. Immigrants from Scotland and Ireland brought the tradition of “guising” to the New World, with children going through their neighborhoods requesting food and coins, usually in exchange for a dance or poem.

Most Popular Costumes for 2010 Alice in Wonderland - Tim Burton Style - Alice, the White Queen, the Red Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum & of course, The Mad Hatter! Avatar - these costumes make for a great couples costume if your attending a themed party this year Michael Jackson - more popular than ever before Shrek - Other characters that will be popular are Princess Fiona, Rapunzel, Puss N’ Boots and the Donkey. Dragons & Vikings - “How to Train Your Dragon” is making dragon and viking costumes big this year for Halloween Robin Hood - will be the favorite Halloween costume from the movie. You’ll also see costumes for Maid Marion, Friar Tuck and King Richard. Toy Story - Besides the usual Buzz Lightyear, Woody and Jessie Halloween costumes, other popular characters will be Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear, Ken doll and Peas-in-a-Pod.

The term “trick or treat” in print was seen in Alberta, Canada, in 1927, and in The Oregon Journal newspaper in 1934: “Other young goblins and ghosts, employing modern shakedown methods, successfully worked the ‘trick or treat’ system in all parts of the city.” Trick-or-treating had become an established fixture of American popular culture by the 1950s, when Walt Disney produced a cartoon called “Trick or Treat” and an episode of the popular TV show Ozzie and Harriet showed children overwhelming the Nelson household in search of candy. Today, the only way to avoid costumed kids on Halloween is to hide in your house with the lights off—but where’s the fun in that?

Once in a young lifetime one should be allowed to have as much sweetness as one can possibly want and hold. ~Judith Olney

a very special thank you to iianm’s partners

More information can be found about IIANM’s Partner Program by visiting our website at iianm.org or calling Lorri Gaffney at (505) 999-5805.