Sales and Marketing

Commentary: If you can’t articulate your marketing position clearly in two or three sentences, value-conscious prospects and clients certainly are not going to take the time to figure it out, says columnist Jack Kwicien.

Commentary: Additional benefits or coverages that adapt to an employer’s needs can create a niche offering that often can help employers think holistically about their employees’ financial future, says The Standard’s Breanna Scott.

Commentary: The quality of writing that appears on a brokerage’s website, newsletters and even social media needs to improve to represent the industry in a more client-centric, modern and sophisticated way, says Wendy Keneipp.

Commentary: Our minds tell us we’re on the right track, that we’ve got a winner. Unfortunately, we don’t even know we’ve been tricked and it all results in costly and embarrassing missed opportunities, says sales expert John Graham.

The decrease in compensation is negligible since the medical loss ratio took effect, study finds, but other industry organizations disagree.

There’s room to grow in the investment-only variable annuity space, and educated advisers are the key.

After two enrollment seasons under the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, the easily accessible and amenable are signed up for health care. With year three starting this fall, the task will be tougher to target the remaining uninsured, who are harder to reach. Who better to drive the message home, Washington state thinks, than brokers?

Commentary: The loyalty and bonds of the fire department can translate well into a successful insurance culture, says retired fire fighter, Colonial's Brian Summers.

Commentary: A new series from industry veteran Kyle Hodges highlights products designed to improve your bottom line.

Commentary: There’s much to learn from rapidly growing firms. Columnist Jack Kwicien shares the business philosophies that make market leaders successful.