Sales and marketing

Commentary: Applying advice from two legendary coaches, adviser Eric Silverman shares the mantra that drives his recruitment efforts and creates the office culture that produces consistent levels of success for his entire team.

Commentary: Many first impressions crash and burn because people are trying to present themselves as something they’re not. Here are four ways to avoid that fate.

Brokers say they increasingly view the ACA as an avenue toward new revenue opportunities and roles around education and communication.

Commentary: Five ways to make positive progress with transforming your business, according to EBA Advisory Board Member Mark Gaunya.

Commentary: If the owner/seller has a management team that can’t sustain the growth of the company without his personal involvement, the business represents little value to a buyer.

Commentary: Is the way I think hurting my business, or is there a lot of groupthink going on? Should I do the opposite of what I think, like Seinfeld’s George Costanza, asks Joe Markland.

Class action lawsuits claim the professional services firm breached its fiduciary duty by agreeing to the $18 billion deal.

Commentary: As you grow and hone your craft, you should feel the privilege and obligation to limit those who get your attention, for your own benefit as well as the clients’, says columnist Wendy Keneipp.

Commentary: The broker’s dependence on the medical carriers — and their value to the broker’s business business — has about run its course, says columnist Nelson Griswold.

Independent insurance brokers recorded a median organic growth of nearly 6% for the second quarter of 2015, continuing a growth trend that’s been steady for the past few years.

Commentary: More often than not, misreading customers causes them to look elsewhere. It doesn’t need to happen, says sales expert John Graham.

There are three types of brokers: the transactional broker, the Zenefits-style broker and the new school premier broker — but soon only one of them will be successful.

Commentary: As a broker offering these benefits to your employer groups, it is important to become proficient in voluntary benefits or choose to outsource this expertise.

Michael Turpin, the former CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s Northeast region, shares his thoughts on the new landscape and the potential impact the deal could have on benefit brokers and the insurance industry.

With just three major insurance companies, brokers must distinguish themselves from carriers, create additional approaches to serve clients and develop alternative risk approaches to health benefits, industry experts say.

Anthem Inc. struck a deal to buy rival Cigna Corp. for $48.4 billion, wrapping up almost a year of contentious negotiations and potentially creating the largest health insurer in the U.S.

Worksite voluntary benefits are gaining in popularity on standard ancillary benefit offerings, but the adviser’s sales approach to each needs to be varied.

Commentary: Technology helps, but it does not replace the expertise and experience of a broker. Rather, it helps to elevate what the broker can supply to a level that is equal to consumer demand, says Zywave’s Dave O’Brien.

Commentary: There is no better time to be a broker, says Zywave’s Dave O’Brien.

How San Francisco-based Equity Risk Partners’ focus on private equity firms had made the small firm a big player in the niche market.