Insurance Consultant & Mentor
Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
July 12, 2006

Helping Insurance Experts Build Great Businesses
www.icmentor.com

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Feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues. Comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome. Email: Scott@InsuranceFixer.com or call 207-284-0085.

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Several years ago Forbes magazine interviewed Peter Drucker. The point was made that what you stop doing can be as important as what you do.

Find ways in your own business that you can reduce your labor intensity while increasing the value that you provide your clients. What low-value work can you stop doing? As you structure projects, what tasks do you include that require a great deal of effort on your part, yet provide little value to your clients?

What activities do you perform regularly that provide little value to you?

In the past newsletter I talked about cold calling. Certainly cold calling can result in sales. However, is it worth the effort? Aren’t there better, more fruitful marketing activities that you can perform?

For the last four years I've sent e-mails to past clients reminding them of policies that were about to expire. My logic was, if I remind them that a renewal was coming, perhaps they would call me to help them. In four years it may have worked once. That's an activity I've now removed from my workday. My time is better spent writing an article, polishing my newsletter, or sitting on the deck enjoying the summer breeze.

About a year ago I stopped writing detailed reports for my clients. In the past, I would write 40 page tomes filled with the details of my work and their policies. I’m confident in saying that nobody ever read those reports. My clients are way too busy. They were interested in my recommendations, the problems I found, and how I intended to fix them. Now I focus on the three pages of recommendations rather than 40 page reports.

Look at your own work. Look at how you market your business. Look at the activities you perform for your clients. To paraphrase Peter Drucker, "What are you going to stop doing?"

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Referral Network

I'm investigating the building of an online listing of insurance consultants. This may grow into a referral network and directory. First, however, I need to know who is out there!

If you're interested in being a part of a directory, please complete the form at http://insuranceconsultant.org/listform.htm. There is no cost or fee.

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Visit My Insurance Blog - http://www.InsuranceBuzzer.com/.

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Insurance Consultant Mentor Program - Designed to help you build your business faster, with less hassle, and fewer false starts. Grow your current practice or gain the edge in your startup. The object is for you to make your business the best it can be - faster and more profitably. Go to http://www.icmentor.com/mentor.htm.

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Insurance Agent Mentor Program - A fair number of my subscribers are insurance agents who have no intention of becoming consultants. Several have talked with me about how my methods can help them. The principles of marketing professional services are universal. I'm glad to talk about how we might be able to work together to build your book of business. Call or email me to discuss.

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Scott Simmonds, CPCU, ARM
Insurance Consultants of Maine, Inc.
Phone 207-284-0085
Scott@InsuranceFixer.com
http://www.InsuranceFixer.com

Insurance Consultant Services Website: http://www.icmentor.com

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