Scott Simmonds - Insurance Newsletter

Helping Insurance Experts Build Great Businesses
www.ICMentor.com

December, 2007

Ideas for a Great 2008

Longtime subscribers will recognize this as my annual list of ideas to make the coming year better than the one coming to a close. It's the same basic theme as I used last year at this time. I have kept the best items and added a few ones.

How was your 2007? What will you do in 2008 that moves you forward? Some ideas...

--Keep up the contacts with your referral sources. Build your referral network. Expand the list of people who know about you and see the value in your work. Encourage opportunities for your referral sources to refer! Take an accountant out for coffee.

--What will you stop doing in 2008? What activity or process has outlived its value to you?

--Publish at least one article a month in newspapers, trade newsletters, etc. Email the articles to your contact list and add them to your website. Even better, have them printed up and mail them. Most of us don't get much snail mail. Be sure to add a personal note. Differentiate yourself. Letters to the editor in your local paper can have a similar impact as an article.

--Add two new articles a month to your website. Build your content. Build the value your visitors see and receive. This will also build your Google rankings.

--Pick an industry where you have an interest and can offer unique expertise. Join the local or state trade association. Offer to review the association’s insurance program including D&O and to make a presentation to the board of directors.

--Dedicate yourself to constant intellectual improvement, both in your field and outside of it. In addition to continuing education, take a class at a community college or find an online class. There are many college classes that are available online as podcasts. You can download the lecture to your iPod and take it with you - often for free.

--Look objectively at your office setup. What will save you time and effort? What process do you hate to perform? Outsource it or find a way to stop doing it. Become more efficient. Consider adding a second monitor to your computer. You will be amazed at the result an $200 investment can make.

--Find a business author you like. Read everything they have written. Peter Drucker, Alan Weiss, and Seth Godin come to mind. Set up Google Alerts on their name so you can see new stuff as it comes on line. Read Andrea Gabor's The Capitalist Philosophers to learn of the great business minds of the past. Check out some of the ideas of Chris Argyris.

--Consider your brand. What do your clients think of when they think of you? What can you do to increase your audience’s awareness of you? How can you transition your brand from where it is to where you want to be?

--Make yourself into a person of interest to your market. Build your reputation as a "go-to" person; a person of value.

--Review your computer security / backup situation. Is your virus and spyware software up to date? How about your firewall? If your office burned down, would your data be retrievable? Test it.

--Recognize that your clients expect you to provide great service. The key is the ease by which people can do business with you. Make it easy. Meet the client's expectations. Return phone calls within 90 minutes. Reply to emails within a day.

--Forward your office phone calls to your cell phone when you are out of your office. Your clients should be able to reach you by dialing one phone number. Don't make your clients hunt for you. See above comment about ease of doing business.

--Consider using voice recognition software to dictate articles, white papers and email. It's much faster than typing.

--Teach a class at your local community college. I am now finishing up my first semester as an adjunct instructor teaching small business management. The experience is exhilarating. I'm learning as much as the students are.

--Did I already remind you to backup your computer data? Two friends have lost their hard drives over the past few weeks. Don't forget your home computer too. According to Forbes Magazine, one out of every ten hard drives fail each year. What is the cost in lost time, productivity, and priceless photos?

--Refuse to use the excuse of "too busy." Realize that everyone is, in their own mind, busy. Be honest with yourself and others in your life. If something is not of interest or of value to you, so state.

--Apologize when you are wrong and forgive slights by others. Move on.

--Focus on building your strengths rather than on improving your weaknesses. Your uniqueness resides in your strengths. Maximize your use of the skills you master.

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Insurance Agent Mentor Program - Is your insurance career as successful as it can be? Is your book of business growing as fast as you would like? Is your retention as strong as others in your agency? I'm glad to talk about how we might be able to work together to build your book of business. Visit my informational page at Insurance Agent Mentor Program.

Please Forward This Newsletter To Other Insurance People

Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM, CMC
Insurance Consulting
Phone 207-284-0085
Fax 802-992-4027
Scott@ScottSimmonds.com
www.ScottSimmonds.com

Mentoring/Coaching Website: www.ICMentor.com

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Comments regarding insurance policies or products in this newsletter do not constitute an endorsement. I accept no fees of any kind from any company mentioned in this newsletter.