Practice management

Commentary: In sales, there’s often too much boasting and not enough doing. Sales expert John Graham shares seven steps to boost your bottom line.

President Obama late Monday signed into law NARAB II, the highly-anticipated legislation re-establishing the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, creating a clearinghouse that would ease the ability of brokers to sell insurance in states across the U.S.

EAPs have evolved from counseling and call centers to offering employer clients a breadth of services, including regulation compliance.

There’s little evidence that wearable fitness tracking device technology alone can change behavior and improve health for those that need it most, according to University of Pennsylvania researchers.

Commentary: While agents providing these value-added services have disrupted the market and changed the nature of the benefit sales game, they were but a precursor to the far bigger disruptor taking over huge chunks of the benefits marketplace, says columnist Mel Schlesinger.

Commentary: Not holding producers accountable does immeasurable damage to your culture and morale, says columnist Wendy Keneipp, who shares how to build a plan to keep your producers productive today.

It’s no secret that smaller businesses are stretched thin. Finding the time to actually run the organization can be extremely taxing. Using a PEO usually runs its course and it makes sense to unpeel from the arrangement—when the time is right.

The House and Senate have passed a bipartisan bill that contains legislation making it easier for benefit advisers to sell insurance across state lines.

Commentary: How to win the game by exiting the technology arms race — and saving money in the process. Tech expert Joe Markland shares 8 guiding principles.

While the advent of the Affordable Care Act has placed a spotlight on preventive care and employer wellness programs, less attention is being paid to Americans’ financial health, particularly that of women and their need to save for retirement.

Plan sponsors continue to invest 401(k) assets in stocks, but employees and other individuals are increasingly seeking investment diversification.

Commentary: If you work with businesses that have high-income earners, you have an opportunity to sell IDI policies on a guarantee issue basis, which creates many advantages for the insureds, the employer and you.

Commentary: Benefit professionals still struggle to have a seat at the table with a company’s big decision makers. Workplace expert Brad Karsh shares five tips on how to get the C-suite to take notice.

Hectic work schedules and lack of communication are hurting workplace wellness programs. How can benefit advisers help?

Employee engagement is a term often tossed around employer HR and management circles as being fundamental to productive workforces. But Assurance, a large independent insurance brokerage company, has figured out a way to both increase participation and revenue per employee.

Commentary: Why employers need benefit advisers more than ever to fight rising generic drug prices.

Welcome to the 5th annual edition of the ABC’s of Employee Benefits. Given the tremendous amount of activity and volatility in the employee benefits space, this version can be summed up in one sentence: Surround yourself with quality, interested, and engaged help or else 2015 will be a very long and painful year.

Employers who tap into the specific generational needs of their employees and address certain desires could provide an upswing in benefit enrollment.

Employers increasingly have been asking benefit advisers to provide simplified solutions to their HR challenges and meet new reporting requirements under the Affordable Care Act — making 2014 the year of client-focused technology solutions.

How one brokerage’s dedication to community service strengthens its business and ties to its clients, changes lives, and honors the legacy of its people-focused founder