On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 26: ‘Uncomfortable Change’ Paves Road to Perpetuation
August 23, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Too often agency principals find themselves facing a forced sale as a result of not having a proper perpetuation plan. In this podcast, MarshBerry president John Wepler discusses the many difficult and “uncomfortable” decisions required of an owner seeking to properly–and profitably–perpetuate the firm. Listen to this frank conversation as John offers some good news: It is never too late to start to implement a perpetuation strategy but it takes a “burn the ships” commitment. That is, once you start down the path there is no turning back. Get some good ideas for your firm from one of the industry’s best-known management consultant.
The podcast was published Monday, August 23, 2010. Run time is 25 minutes 43 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 22: A Renewed Energy
June 28, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Peter and Rick discuss the renewed energy and engagement they are seeing across the industry. For example, at the recent ACORD conference they noticed many new vendors and lots of younger folks in attendance. The exhibit hall was filled with activity and a renewed energy that had not been in evidence for several years.
Clearly, there is a realization that in spite of value of social social networking — face-to-face networking is still a critically important component in a successful business strategy. Perhaps associations, user groups, and others who hold conferences can learn from this. More than education and keynote speakers, it is the networking opportunity that may drive the events of the future.
More than their experience at several recent events, Peter and Rick are seeing a resurgence in confidence and a commitment to the independent agency system by agents, brokers and carriers alike. Yes, part of that is technology based. The growing implementation of Real Time is helping agents do business in a more efficient and effective way and social networking is giving them a whole new set of tools to help them build and strengthen relationships and more effective way to communicate with their community.
The podcast was published Monday, June 21, 2010. Run time is 15 minutes 6 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 21: The Definition of Retirement Has Changed
June 24, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
This podcast is an interview with Sharon Emek, President and CEO of WAHVE.
Listen to Sharon as she shares here vision for this new company with Rick and Peter.
“The definition of retirement has changed. Consider two trends:
1) People who are “retired” from the insurance industry in the traditional sense (no longer going to an agency or a carrier to work in a management or professional position) still want to work, but under different working arrangements.
2) Those who are hiring in our industry now consider “retirees” as a prime market to fulfill their demand for a quality workforce for their businesses.
Matching up vintage workers (those people who have left the traditional workforce but want to work from their homes) with hiring managers is what this innovative new company is all about. The acronym “WAHVE” reflects the focus in placing “Work-At-Home Vintage Employees” with insurance organizations such as independent agencies.
As an insurance producer, I came to learn how vital agency staff people are to selling and servicing insurance clients. As an agency principal, I came to appreciate how precious quality performers are to running an insurance agency. Now, as the founder and CEO of WAHVE, I’m pleased that we can offer employees and principals the only remote domestic staffing option for insurance agents and brokers.” – Sharon Emek
The podcast was published Friday, June 4, 2010. Run time is 22 minutes 6 seconds.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 19: Having Fun Growing Business
May 11, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
“On Point, with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan” is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Linda Rey is a second-generation agent and owner of Rey Insurance in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Frank Rey founded the agency in 1978 to serve bilingual clients in the local community.
Linda discusses how she has incorporated the use of social media into the agency’s marketing strategy. For Linda, it was an “effective way to be present, visible, and increase awareness and exposure.”
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 18: Blogging Tips & Other Online Ideas
April 28, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Social media expert Amber Naslund is Director of Community for Radian6. Her job is to steward the Radian6 brand on the social Web—monitoring what the community is saying about company.
There’s no perfectly right way to blog, Naslund says. “I tell people if they are going to start blogging, it is kind of a commitment; something that will take some time.” Blogging a couple of times a week should keep you in the habit, she says. Her blog is Altitude Branding.
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan, Episode 16: Commercial Lines Is An Accommodation
March 29, 2010 by Charles Wasilewski · Leave a Comment
On Point with Peter van Aartrijk and Rick Morgan is an audio conversation with insurance industry leaders who champion change and challenge all of us to think.
Peter and Rick spoke with Steve Brooks, an independent agency owner in Westlake Village, Calif. who is a proponent of personal lines and social media as a marketing tool.
While many agencies sell a mix of commercial and personal lines, Steve is very focused on upscale personal lines accounts. He started his firm from scratch 20 years ago, and is 98% personal lines.
Personal lines is stable, with higher persistency than commercial, especially in an economy where businesses are moving their insurance, or going out of business altogether. And the personal lines book is worth more to an agency, Steve says.
Traditional media—such as TV ads and direct marketing—don’t work as well as they once did for personal lines, he maintains. He likes social media—like Facebook and Twitter—for reaching a higher-end clientele. “It’s hard to measure ROI on social media sites,” he says, “but the intangible references are priceless.”
And he likes to work relationships. Commercial lines agents refer preferred personal lines to Brooks because they take the line seriously and want it handled well. “You can’t wait until business slows to start doing this,” he says. “You need to be doing it all the time.”
The podcast was published Monday, March 29, 2010. Run time is 24 minutes 18 seconds.