big i virginia, fall 2012

Building a Sales OrganizationHiring New Producers and CSRsCross-Sell 365...Why, When & How?Is There a Bully Lurking in Your Workplace?ACT Releases Prototype Agency Information Security Plan

BIG IOfficial Publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia

Virginia

The

Fall 2012

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Fall 2012 • THE BIG “I” VIRGINIA 3

The Big I Virginia is a publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia8600 Mayland Drive, Richmond, VA 23294Phone: 804.747.9300 / Toll-free: 800.288.IIAV (4428)Fax: 804.747.6557 / E-mail: [email protected]: www.iiav.com

For information on advertising please contact: Jim Aitkins, Blue Water Publishers, LLC / 22727 161st Ave SE, Monroe, WA 98272phone: 360.805.6474 / fax: 360.805.6475 / [email protected]

The Big I Virginia is a publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia and is published quarterly by Blue Water Publishers, LLC. IIAV and Blue Water Publishers, LLC do not necessarily endorse any of the companies advertising in the publication or the views of its writers.

TM IIAV is an organization devoted to promoting,

enhancing, serving and assisting independent

insurance agents.

IIAV extends our appreciation to the following sponsors of this publication:

Insid

e t

his

issu

e6 Message from the Chairman of the Board - Tommy Via

8 Message from the State National Director - James P. Bradner

10 Message from the President and CEO - Bob Bradshaw

12 Beginner’s Guide to SSL Certificates - Making the Best Choice When Considering Your Online Security Options

18 Building a Sales Organization

26 Hiring Producers and CSRs

28 Cross-Sell 365 - Why, When and How?

33 Buying, Selling and Merging Agencies - What Should You Do?

36 ACT Releases Prototype Agency Information Security Plan

42 Is There a Bully Lurking in Your Workplace?

45 Hiring Sales People - Getting Behind the Mask

Allstar Financial Group 43AmTrust NA 29Astonish Results 47Atlantic Specialty Lines 9Builders Mutual Insurance 11Burns & Wilcox 17Delta Dental 15Eastern Insurance Holdings 40FCCI Insurance Group 13GNY Insurance Cos. 30GUARD Insurance Group 35Harford Mutual 26Indiana Lumbermens Mutual Ins. Co. 48JMWilson 21

Jackson Sumner & Associates 2Johnson & Johnson 24, 25Keystone Insurers Group 13Millers Mutual Group 31Penn National Insurance 7Preferred Property Program 27RPS Rollins 3SIAA 23Southern Insurance Company of VA 37TAPCO Underwriters 21The Iroquois Group 5Utica National Insurance Group 19WineryPak 22

FALL 2012

BIG IOfficial Publication of the Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia

Virginia

The

IIAV STAFF

Nettie Ardler, CPIW, DAE, AIAM Insurance Account Executive [email protected]

Robert N. Bradshaw, Jr., MAM President & [email protected] (804) 929-4134

Teresa Chester Executive Secretary/ Receptionist & Membership [email protected]

Sherry Grubbs, AISM Accounting [email protected]

Joe Hudgins, CPCU Technical [email protected] (804) 929-4138

Bonnie Joyce Insurance Administrative Assistant [email protected]

Melanie Kjar Communications/Website Director [email protected]

Linda Loving, CIC, AISM, AIAO IIAV Chief Operating Officer & VFSC Executive Vice President [email protected] (804) 929-4133

Danny Mitchell Vice President Business [email protected] (804) 929-4135

Susan E. C. Perkins Membership/Education Coordinator [email protected]

Kristina Preisner IIAV Education Marketing Coordinator & VAIA Executive Director [email protected]

Lori R. Reed, CISR, CPIA Insurance Account [email protected]

Marie Toney Sales Associate [email protected] (804) 929-4136

James West Director of [email protected]

4 THE BIG “I” VIRGINIA • Fall 2012


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When I entered the insurance business over 30 years ago, our only real means of communication was by phone, mail, or in person. Our “Fed-Ex” was getting

in our own car and driving an application to Richmond. Now we have texting, email, twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to constantly communicate with clients and prospective clients, but our message seems to be lost in the traffic. Even considering the barrage of media and information through many sources, insurance continues to be a one-on-one relationship business. Customers continue to seek insurance information on the internet and other sources yet they want an agent that they know and trust to help them with their purchase.

Just as agents struggle to communicate with and meet the individual needs of our clients, IIAV struggles with the best means to help our agency members. The IIAV membership is as diverse as the American population. We have virtual agencies with one employee and we have agencies with multiple locations throughout the commonwealth and/or nation. We have agencies owned by minorities, females, young agents, families, banks and employee owned agencies. What makes us even more different? As agents, we all have different visions, goals and long range plans for our individual agencies. Therefore, we all seek different values and services from IIAV. As the incoming chair, I want to make sure that our community of IIAV agents understands the resources available through IIAV and IIABA. We, as a board, are going back to the basics and reaching out to our agency partners. What are your needs? What are your problems? Do you know we are here to help you? Do you know we are helping you? Take for example Monty Dise, who has committed days if not weeks as a member of the Governors Health Care Task Force on behalf of our membership. Bob Bradshaw and Joe Hudgins, who dazzle our Virginia General Assembly with their insurance industry

knowledge and work to protect our interests and the interests of our clients. Bob Rusbuldt and his staff in Washington who keep up with the stand still (but keep the flood insurance going) there. E&O through Swiss Re, InsurBanc, Virtual University, Insurance Marketplace, Company Contract Reviews, Insurance Certificate Request Assistance, Insurance Code questions and the Consumer Access Portal are just the beginning of the benefits provided to our agency members.

As a part of this effort, we will be adding a “Long Range Planning Task Force” that will be chaired by Bob Yergey. We want to make sure that our association activities and committees of today are working toward goals that will benefit our industry, our customers and our agency membership of tomorrow.

On another matter, our members have not been stellar contributors to VAPAC or INSURPAC. With several significant elections coming up including the Virginia Senate, Virginia Governor and others, we need to make every effort to ask every agency to support these efforts.

Finally, but not less important, we must support our Young Agents, INVEST, VAIA and our Universities who are providing graduates in the field of insurance. I encourage all agencies to get their young agents involved in the association. The Young Agents involvement provides social and professional networks where they will develop into our insurance leaders of tomorrow.

I thank you all for your participation establishing the association’s direction and future. Please encourage your agency members and other agents within the state to join our activities, committees and goals over the next year.

It’s never too late to get involved. Just ask me or Bob Bradshaw, “what can I do to get involved in IIAV?” We look forward to your help and input.

[email protected]

Chairman of the BoardTommy Via



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Some of us can remember when our Insurance Company Partners would hire, train and season future producers and account managers for us. How many times have we, agent to agent, discussed what Insurance company we were with before changing “teams”. As with most things, that too, has

changed. Companies spend a lot more time and effort in their hiring process to get the right people and keep them. Many companies have in-depth internships to get a good impression of interested candidates, without the expense of hiring the wrong person. Personality and aptitude tests are used extensively to cut down on expensive hiring mistakes. In other words, they have taken great pains to hire the right person for the job.

And we have to do the same thing. Once upon a time, jobs were more plentiful and changing careers was “no big deal”. The economy and the sophistication of our industry has made it more important that we hire the right people, and nurture them into insurance professionals.

Our State and our National Associations have recognized this problem and are working on solutions. Our Associations are big proponents of testing. Caliper has formed a relationship with us and, while not the only testing company, they are an excellent resource. We can’t totally rely on their results, but they give an excellent indication as to whether a candidate has an opportunity for success.

Another resource is the InVEST program. They do high school classes about insurance to get students interested in insurance as a career, either out of high school, or college. Check with Kristina Preisner at IIAV about an InVEST program in your area. They need volunteers to help with the classes and to be advocates for our industry.

And don’t forget the value of your association with educational classes. We know a lot of CE is moving to the internet, but that opens an opportunity for real content education. Classes that are tailored to the agency business, for account managers, producers and owners. Your education department is one of the best in the country…support it!

Experience has taught me that before you hire an inexperienced person, you need to have a detailed plan to get them the training and mentorship they need to be successful.

State National DirectorJames P. Bradner [email protected]

Finding, Training and Nurturing Talent….our future


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9

The theme of this quarterly magazine relates to adding CSR’s and producers to your agency. These employees are probably the most critical tools of any

insurance agency. They’re certainly the most valuable. Having said that, there are times when it seems that more attention is provided to the company car than the agency’s staff resources. I heard the question once, “do you REALLY want someone working for you who is not keeping up-to-date with the industry/profession??” Clearly a rhetorical question, but a critical one at that.

I tell people that I try to hire the best staff possible and then get out of their way. Sadly, they don’t do things exactly the way I would do it, but that brings me to my favorite quote of all time:

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” - General George S. Patton

Having said that, you must also give them the tools to get the job done and for professionals…that’s called continuing professional education. IIAV is here to help you provide the right tools for your agency hires. From pre-licensing classes to specialty insurance classes to even designation classes which include:

• Accredited Advisor in Insurance – AAI• Accredited Customer Service

Representative – ACSR• Agribusiness and Farm Insurance

Specialist – AFIS• Associate in Insurance Account

Management – AIAM

• Associate in Insurance Production – AIP• Associate in Insurance Supervisory

Management – AISM• Construction Risk & Insurance Specialist –

CRIS• Management Liability Insurance Specialist

– MLISThese programs and many more are available

to you and your staff for continuing professional education. Frankly, in your association office, I’ll cut our budget – and have – in many places, but continuing education is not an area to cut. I don’t think I’ve ever attended a class offered by the Virginia Society of Association Executives where I haven’t learned something that I could apply to and help our association. I believe the same could be said about IIAV’s education classes. We seek to have the best classes and the best instructors – bar none – in the Commonwealth. We’re not going to be the least expensive, but quality education requires an investment that we believe you want us to provide.

Moreover, today your association has to provide CE in many different ways – directly to your door, to a location near you and/or even to your computer through webinars. We haven’t tried Podcasts yet but that can’t be far behind.

Remember – IIAV exists to help you and your agency. We’re an extension of your office. In terms of education – let us be your education department. Let us hear from you. If there’s a class you want us to offer let us know and we’ll do our very best to bring it to you.

President and CEOBob [email protected]

Education – It’s not just for CE anymore!


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Introduction Whether you are an individual or a company, you

should approach online security in the same way that you would approach physical security for your home or business. Not only does it make you feel safer but it also protects people who visit your home, place of business, or website. It is important to understand the potential risks and then make sure you are fully protected against them. In the fast-paced world of technology, it is not always easy to stay abreast of the latest advancements. For this reason it is wise to partner with a reputable Internet security company.

This guide will de-mystify the technology involved and give you the information you need to make the best decision when considering your online security options. For a glossary of terms, please see “Tech Talk Made Simple” at the end of this document.

What Is an SSL Certificate? An SSL certificate is a digital computer file (or small

piece of code) that has two specific functions:

1. Authentication and Verification: The SSL cer-tificate has information about the authenticity of certain details regarding the identity of a person, business or website, which it will display to visitors on your website when they click on the browser’s padlock symbol or trust mark (e.g., the Norton™ Secured Seal). The vetting criteria used by Certifi-cate Authorities to determine if an SSL certificate

should be issued is most stringent with an Ex-tended Validation (EV) SSL certificate; making it the most trusted SSL certificate available.

2. Data Encryption: The SSL certificate also en-ables encryption, which means that the sensitive information exchanged via the website cannot be intercepted and read by anyone other than the intended recipient.

In the same way that an identity document or passport may only be issued by the country’s government officials, an SSL certificate is most reliable when issued by a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). The CA has to follow very strict rules and policies about who may or may not receive an SSL certificate. When you have a valid SSL certificate from a trusted CA, there is a higher degree of trust by your customers, clients or partners.

How Does SSL Encryption Work? In the same way that you lock and unlock doors using

a key, encryption makes use of keys to lock and unlock your information. Unless you have the right key, you will not be able to “open” the information.

Each SSL session consists of two keys: The public key is used to encrypt (scramble) the

information. The private key is used to decrypt (un-scramble)

the information and restore it to its original format so that it can be read.

Making the Best Choice When Considering Your Online Security Options

Beginner’s Guide to SSL Certificates


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The Process: Every SSL certificate that is issued for a CA-verified entity is issued for a specific server and website domain (website address). When a person uses their browser to navigate to the address of a website with an SSL certificate, an SSL handshake (greeting) occurs between the browser and server. Information is requested from the server – which is then made visible to the person in their browser window. You will notice changes to indicate that a secure session has been initiated – for example, a trust mark will appear. If you click on the trust mark, you will see additional information such as the validity period of the SSL certificate, the domain secured, the type of SSL certificate, and the issuing CA. All of this means that a secure link is established for that session, with a unique session key, and secure communications can begin.

How Do I Know That a Site Has a Valid SSL Certificate?

1. A standard website without SSL security displays “http:// ” before the website address in the browser address bar. This moniker stands for “Hypertext Transfer Protocol,” and is the conventional way to transmit information over the Internet. However, a website that is secured with a SSL certificate will display “https:// ” before the address. This stands for “Secure HTTP.”

2. You will also see a padlock symbol on the top or bottom of the Internet browser (depending on which browser you are using).

3. Often, you will also notice a trust mark displayed on the website itself. Symantec™ customers use the Norton Secured Seal trust mark on their web-sites. When you click on the Norton Secured Seal or the padlock symbol on the page, it will display details of the certificate with all the company infor-mation as verified and authenticated by the CA.

4. By clicking the closed padlock in the browser window, or certain SSL trust marks such as the Norton Secured Seal, the website visitor sees the authenticated organization name. In high-security browsers, the authenticated organization name is prominently displayed and the address bar turns green when an Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate is detected. If the information does not match, or the certificate has expired, the browser displays an error message or warning.

Where Would I Use an SSL Certificate?The short answer to this question is that you would

use an SSL certificate anywhere that you wish to transmit information securely.

Here are some examples: Securing communication between your website

and your customer’s Internet browser. Securing internal communications on your

corporate intranet. Securing email communications sent to and from

your network (or private email address). Securing information between servers (both

internal and external). Securing information sent and received via mobile

devices.

Different Types of SSL Certificates There are a number of different SSL certificates on

the market today. The first type of SSL certificate is a self-signed

certificate. As the name implies, this is a certificate that is generated for internal purposes and is not issued by a CA. Since the website owner generates their own certificate, it does not hold the same weight as a fully authenticated and verified SSL certificate issued by a CA.

A Domain Validated certificate is considered an entry-level SSL certificate and can be issued quickly. The only verification check performed is to ensure that the applicant owns the domain (website address) where they plan to use the certificate. No additional checks are done to ensure that the owner of the domain is a valid business entity.

A fully authenticated SSL certificate is the first step to true online security and confidence building. Taking slightly longer to issue, these certificates are only granted once the organization passes a number of validation procedures and checks to confirm the existence of the business, the ownership of the domain, and the user’s authority to apply for the certificate.

All Symantec SSL Certificates are fully authenticated. Even though an SSL certificate is capable of

supporting 128-bit or 256-bit encryption, certain older browsers and operating systems still cannot connect at this level of security. SSL certificates with a technology called Server-Gated Cryptography (SGC) enable 128- or 256-bit encryption to over 99.9 percent of website visitors.

100

191540%

oral health

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15Fall 2012 • THE BIG “I” VIRGINIA 15

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITYCOVERAGE IS IN THE DETAILS

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Without an SGC certificate on the Web server, browsers and operating systems that do not support 128-bit strong encryption will receive only 40- or 56-bit encryption. Users with certain older browsers and operating systems will temporarily step-up to 128-bit SSL encryption if they visit a website with an SGC-enabled SSL certificate. For more information about SGC please visit: http://go.symantec.com/ssl-certificates.

A domain name is often used with a number of different host suffixes. For this reason, you may employ a Wildcard certificate that allows you to provide full SSL security to any host of your domain – for example, host.your_domain.com (where “host” varies but the domain name stays constant).

Similar to a Wildcard certificate, but a little more versatile, the SAN (Subject Alternative Name) SSL certificate allows for more than one domain to be added to a single SSL certificate.

Code signing certificates are specifically designed to ensure that the software you have downloaded was not tampered with while en route. There are many cybercriminals who tamper with software available on the Internet. They may attach a virus or other malicious software to an innocent package as it is being downloaded. These certificates make sure that this doesn’t happen.

Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates offer the highest industry standard for authentication and provide the best level of customer trust available. When consumers visit a website secured with an EV SSL certificate, the address bar turns green (in high-security browsers) and a special field appears with the name of the legitimate website owner along with the name of the security provider that issued the EV SSL certificate. It also displays the name of the certificate holder and issuing CA in the address bar. This visual reassurance has helped increase consumer confidence in e-commerce.

Tech Talk Made Simple Encryption: Information is “scrambled” so that it

cannot be used by anyone other than the person for whom it is intended.

Decryption: “Un-scrambling” information and put-ting it back in its original format.

Key: A mathematical formula, or algorithm, that is used to encrypt or decrypt your information. In the same way that a lock with many different combinations is more difficult to open, the longer the length of the encryption key (measured in number of bits), the stronger the encryption.

Browser: A software program that you use to access the Internet. Examples include: Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE); Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, RockMelt, and Google Chrome.

Conclusion Trust makes all the difference in the world of online

business. Investment in technology to protect custom-ers and earn their trust is a critical success factor for any company that does business online or hosts an e-commerce website. The effective implementation of SSL certificates and correct placement and use of trust marks are proven tools in the establishment of customer trust.

With the acquisition of VeriSign Authentication Servic-es, Symantec is now the leading provider of SSL certifi-cates globally, helping to assure customers that they are safe from search to browse to buy and sign in*. Symantec secures more than one million web servers worldwide, more than any other CA.* Symantec also secures over two-thirds of websites using Extended Validation SSL – including the biggest names in e-commerce and bank-ing.* When you choose Symantec, you can rest assured that your website and your reputation are protected by the CA with a proven track record and the most recognized trust mark on the Internet.

For more information, visit http://go.symantec.com/ssl-certificates.

Disclaimer: This document is intended to be used for general informational purposes only and is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on or use of any of the information contained or referenced in this article. The information contained or referenced in this article is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal, accounting or professional advice, nor shall it serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of IIAV and/or its subsidiaries and/or management and/or shareholders.

PROFESSIONAL LIABILITYCOVERAGE IS IN THE DETAILS

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Sales Does Not Diminish ServiceA sales organization does not imply a lack of

concentration on service. In fact, we have seen no successful sales organizations that weren’t obsessive about high levels of service to clients and to prospects. However, the insurance agency industry has become so centered on service that it has all but forgotten how to be professional salespeople. We must remember that service is necessary for us to live up to our commitments to our customers and to retain them. The lights of competition are bright and uncomplimentary.

Many of Agency Consulting Group, Inc.’s customers have found that having a good price does not compensate for the promises of your competitors of service levels that you have not been able to reach with your existing customers. So, regardless of how much emphasis we put on the sales effort, we do not mean to diminish the stress of agencies to constantly enhance their service levels.

The Sales DilemmaFor the last fifty years, the industry has sunk into the

morass of commodity products that all look alike. The companies, and the agents behind them, have fallen into the mode of being the technicians and “experts” who understand the products and coverages, but not the methods of selling them. Both companies and agents have relied on the “P” word (the word is Price – but I’ll not repeat it again) to gain customers. “We can be more competitive” is simply a gentler way of saying, “I can get it for you cheaper!”

No wonder we sound like Used Car Salesmen! Our

competitors in the industry (direct writers) and from outside the industry (banks, self-insurance funds and other innovators) have found that they can play the “P” game as well, or better, than the agency companies, but they have an edge. They are still creating their niche and are learning from our mistakes. They can become just as knowledgeable as we are about the products, provide equal or better claim service, advertise more effectively than our companies can, and they can teach their salespeople how to SELL.

On the other hand, the insurance agents and companies have been in the sales game for two hundred years. As Sales moved from the category of art to that of science, the insurance industry did not follow. For some period, the carriers provided professional sales training for agents (much like the life insurance industry). But the companies did not see the payoff as the result of these investments, so they stopped much of the sales training when the market changed and cash flow diminished. The agents are far to fragmented to develop organized sales training for the industry, so the decline accelerated.

Some large agencies (invariably with sales management) developed in-house and outside sales training for their sales staff. These firms continue to grow and professionalize. A few innovative smaller agents also created sales training programs using outside facilities. These firms now fit the IIABA’s definition of “Best Practices” agencies. They continue to grow and prosper regardless of the industry direction because they have the ability to flex to the current situation and sell the products that are available at any time.

By Al Diamond

Buildinga SalesOrganizationOrganization



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The Producer TrapOnly one in seven people have the personality

characteristics to become a successful salesperson. The problem is that most of these 14.3% of the population never get into sales careers. They can be found graduating from colleges and high schools. They can be found in existing sales careers. They can be found in careers totally unrelated to sales. There are even some (but not many) working in the insurance industry – and most of them are in the life insurance industry or with direct writers.

If you hire any of the other 86% of the population, you will find that you have either failures or mediocre producers on your hands. They may sell (when they have the lowest price), but have problems responding to objections, managing rejection or in the closing process, itself. You are lucky if you encounter the truly terrible salesperson. Eventually, you will fire him (or he will leave).

But the worst case scenario is to hire the “Mediocre”. These producers will eke out a living, selling just enough for you to justify keeping them around. They will never be successful and will be personally stressed most of the time. They are a generally unhappy lot, subverting the agency (inadvertently or on purpose) to other employees, companies and clients as a transferal of guilt about their inadequacy in sales. They are more trouble than they are worth, but inertia causes them (and the agency principals) to keep them around long enough that they become a “fixture”.

At that point, we hear the phrase, “Oh, he doesn’t sell much but he supports his book of business and has been here for a long time. He doesn’t COST us anything.” But of course, the agent is wrong. The mediocre producer, like the failed producer, costs the agency and the owner much in terms of money, aggravation, lost opportunity, time and morale. Compare this, all to common, scenario with that of a Sales Organization.

The Sales OrganizationThe Sales Organization begins by carefully selecting

its producer candidates. They spend considerable amounts of time and money to be sure that the selected candidate is right for the job and the organization. They understand that a poor selection will cost far more than the selection process itself. This is one area most frequently overlooked by the traditional agent who will hire anyone who says they want to sell, has a good personality and doesn’t ask for much money.

It often takes six months or more to verify that a producer has “caught on” and will become successful. If the hire is bad, that means six months of management effort, six months of service and marketing support, six months of frustration and ever-increasing levels of management (in the effort to correct the problems) before the decision is made that the person was the wrong one for the job. The

Sales Organization has found that spending the time and money to find the right candidate up front results in higher producer retention and more sales and revenue in the short and long term.

Once selected, the Sales Organization does NOT give the producer a desk or office and the assignment to, “Go out and sell something!” Instead, they provide a manager, a “big brother” or a shepherd to advise and assist the new producer until success is apparent. The role of this advisor is to coach, counsel and train. This is not a policeman, responsible to be sure that the producer is out selling. If you need a policeman for a producer, you have the wrong person in the sales job. The advisor teaches the producer the agency way of performing in the job. He goes out on sales calls with the producer and helps him hone his sales skills if they need polishing. If he notes a deficiency in sales or technical skills, he arranges for more formal training to permit the producer to become successful as quickly as possible.

Producer compensation is an involved subject deserving of its own dedicated discussion. However, it is important to note that the successful Sales Organizations do not look for producers who will not cost the agency much money. Of course, cash flow is important in every agency. However, the intelligent sales managers will seek the success oriented personality and compensate based on how fast they can be expected to generate income and by how much the individual needs to support his/her current lifestyle.

The validation schedule created by the Sales Organization is individualized to assure that the producer’s results will validate the amount paid to sponsor the individual. They develop the validation schedule with the producer in order to assure the agency and the producer that the compensation can be earned through expected levels of production.

The Sales Organizations continue to manage producers during their initial stages in the agency and for many years thereafter. Management, again, does not imply police efforts. Rather, the manager’s role is to make the producer’s job as easy as possible. It puzzles us to find so many agents actually resisting providing lead generating activities to the producer – as if the producer is not doing his job if he isn’t cold calling or providing all of his own leads. In actuality, the goal of the agency (and the producer) is to generate as much revenue from new sales as possible. There are no limitations or exclusions to that phrase.

The manager’s job is to help the producer establish realistic estimates of annual production, to provide sufficient training and marketing support to permit the attainment of those goals, and to track the results in order to refine the marketing program, as needed. The producer’s objectives are best tied to compensation expectations since that is of key importance to every producer.


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The SolutionHire well. Prepare job description both for your

sales candidates and for you. Use the job description to formulate interview questions designed to elicit the candidate’s ideas, personality, future desires, income needs, work ethic. Use open ended questions only. If your question can be answered yes or no, refine it. Explain the job then let the candidate be the predominant speaker during the interview. Test every candidate that passes your interview screen and would be hired. Most agents use Caliper or Omnia, simple but effective personality tests. However, many agencies are moving toward full psychological testing to assure that the candidate will fit the culture and personality of the organization. This avoids putting a “Sales Shark” in the agency that has a non-confrontational, amiable culture.

Train your producers. Every producer from your most experienced to the least should be involved in on-going training, preferably weekly. One-half hour training sessions are adequate and most can be given by the producers, themselves, and other employees or by company personnel. Constantly train in the specifics of company products that you are selling. Use company marketing personnel to perform the training. Stress the differences between their products and their competitors, both in basic coverages and in the “bells and whistles.” Use seminars

and professional trainers for Sales Training.Sales training has become a science. The career

salespeople understand that, like marksmen, they must constantly practice and hone their skills to keep them sharp. We all tend to fall into “grooves” and make the same mistakes over and over. Sales training reminds us of the core qualities needed to make a sale. We need to train ourselves and our personnel that we, in fact, don’t SELL anything! We simply find out what the prospects problems are – and solve them.

We are successful in direct proportion to the degree of problem solving we can provide to our clients. That is what creates value and loyalty in the eyes of the customer (much more so than the “P” word). If they see us as both seeking the best value for their dollar and solving their insurance problems, we will insure them for many years. Sales training, reinforced properly, will imbue the sales force with the Problem Solving philosophy of sales.

Manage your producers. Whether or not you can afford a professional sales manager, your sales organization is doomed by the strengths and weaknesses, by the degree of motivation and by the ability of your salespeople. If you can afford a Sales Manager, it is one of the best investments you can make in your business. If not, you must become the Sales Manager – or discard the thought of being a sales organization.

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What To Do If You’re Just a Small AgencyYou don’t have to be a large insurance agency to be a

Sales Organization. But you are limited by your time and your financial resources. Here are some guidelines that will permit you to determine if you can (or want to) become a Sales Organization:1. Be prepared to support a new producer on a decreasing

cost basis for one year. During that period of time a new producer should be at least successful enough to cover his/her total compensation. Your soft costs (service, marketing, and your time) will be your investment in the producer’s future.

2. Don’t even place an ad in the newspaper without a detailed, written job description defining all of the functions that you expect a producer to accomplish for you. Read it over and strike out any function that does not relate to direct sales. The less administrative functions given to a producer, the better his chance of success. Those functions that are not directly related to sales are both reasons and excuses for not being out on the street with prospects.

3. Use the job description to write out a series of questions that will tell you if the candidate’s experience and personality fits your culture and the functions that you expect. If a question seems to call for a “yes” or “no” answer, change it to an open-ended question that

requires the candidate to talk about himself or herself.4. Budget both the time and the money to provide constant

sales training to the producer.5. Don’t be cheap when considering salespeople. Instead

of thinking that you got a bargain if a producer is willing to come to you for $20,000 draw, ask, instead, if you would be satisfied if that producer just validated that $20,000? -- Or would you be hiring mediocrity?If you are not willing to follow these minimal guidelines,

you will be disappointed in every producer you hire (and vice versa). Most agencies will not become Sales Organizations. The agencies who do succeed in sales are led by motivated salespeople and by visionaries who see the potential return on their investment. They see producers, training, and management as investments, not costs.

Like the stock market, wise investors can win and they sometimes lose. However, the person who sits on the sidelines because he doesn’t want to risk the price of admission to the market can not possibly see a gain on his money from investment. Similarly, there will be many agents who find that the investment is not worth the risk that they perceive in the sales organization. They would be best served continuing their organizations as they are currently configured.

Copyright 1999 by Agency Consulting Group, Inc. Used with permission.

(Revised: October 2011)

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When hiring new producers and CSR’s it is imperative that agency managers

communicate the agency’s E&O risk management culture. Below are some tips to share with new and existing employees. Route them around the office or hang them on the lunch room bulletin board. They are great for keeping the issue of E&O risk management a hot topic in your agency.• NEVER sign a document on

behalf of an insured.Carriers rely on statements made on the application, and any error will be attributed to the party signing the application.

• NEVER change carriers without first advising the client.It’s tempting to save your insureds money on premiums; however, the decision to change carriers should be made by the client, not you. Never change carriers without confirmation in writing of what coverages have been arranged and mutually agreed upon.

• NEVER rely on memory. Document everything.Memories fade over time and E&O claims often take months or even years to develop. In a credibility dispute between you and another party, your position will be stronger if you have carefully written records regarding the transaction. Most claims are won with excellent documentation.

• ALWAYS advise your clients of the inherent risks of coverage

through a non-admitted carrier.While there are many strong participants in this marketplace, agents must proceed with caution, particularly when using markets, companies, brokers and products, they are not familiar with.

• ALWAYS document when a client declines to purchase coverage.If an insured refuses to purchase coverage for an exposure or asks that coverage be terminated, always document that decision. If you don’t and a claim arises later, it will be your word against your client’s. American juries tend to empathize with

aggrieved plaintiffs, and without documentation, the agent usually loses in a credibility match with a client.

• ALWAYS advise your insured in writing when faced with no market for a particular risk.You may be held liable for precluding the proposed insured from taking appropriate steps to obtain coverage elsewhere. If you can’t place your client’s business, make sure you tell the client in writing.

E&O risk management tips provided by

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Hiring New Producers & CSR’s


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Your Success is Our Policy. SM

Cross-selling is not exclusive to the insurance and risk management industry. It translates into just about any business—an essential strategy to build brand loyalty, increase

revenues and drive profits. It involves products and services that complement the original purchase.

Cross-selling is based on bringing value to the client team in ways that they may not have expected when they hired you. It requires understanding the client’s business, not just focusing on the initial technical issue. Cross-selling increases the customer’s reliance on you and decreases the likelihood of switching to a competitor. It is a critical performance indicator of an agency. High performance “best practice” agencies know why, when and how to cross-sell. In today’s turbulent insurance marketplace and challenging economy, cross-selling is no longer an option. It must be part of the life blood of your firm. It is a requirement for your future and that of your business.

Although you may not be conscious of it, as a consumer, you make decisions every day on cross-selling strategies. Examples of cross-sell purchases include souvenirs at sporting events, the detailing of a car at a car wash, golf balls at a pro shop and fresh squeezed lemonade and cotton candy at a carnival. Cross-selling is

one of the easiest and most effective means of marketing. It is a winning formula that takes marginal effort as compared to the original sale. After the buyer is committed and has demonstrated pleasure with the initial experience, the subsequent sale or sales are much easier.

Research on cross-sellingA research study by Deloitte & Touche uncovered that

the odds of selling a product or service to a new customer are generally about 15%, whereas the odds of a sale to an existing customer are 50%. Plus—it costs five to eight times more to sell to a new customer.

Addis Intellectual Capital has also performed research on this matter through the administration of a survey question to more than 5,000 agency principals, producers and account managers. The results are shown in the box below.

These results indicate that 63% of those surveyed readily admit that they lack, or are uncertain if they have, an effective cross-selling system. This is startling. At a time when customer loyalty and trust is at an all-time low and the cost of new customer acquisition is at an all-time high, agents and brokers must appreciate the importance and value of a disciplined, strategic and results-oriented cross-selling system.

BEYOND INSURANCE >>

By F. Scott Addis, CPCU, CRA

CROSS-SELL 365…WHY, WHEN AND HOW?

Understanding the connection between cross-sell success and organic growth leads to improved performance


For more information about how you can write business with AmTrust, please call 877.528.7878 or visit www.amtrustnorthamerica.com.

Think AmTrust for all your small business insurance needs. We offer workers’ compensation and

commercial package products in a variety of classifications, including specialty niche segments such

as: Fine Dining | Lumber Specialty | Auto Service Plus | Businessowners Policies

Insure them accordingly with AmTrust.

Their businesses are as different as the tools they use.

* Not all products available in all states

Your Success is Our Policy. SM


Barometer for organic growthCross-selling success is an important barometer for

organic growth and profitability because it represents the revenue associated with each customer. As cross-selling success improves, so does revenue, customer retention and the lifetime value of each customer.

The importance of cross-selling translates into most successful enterprises. In the fast food industry, customers are invited to try new products or complementary items. For example, when ordering a hamburger, the server asks if fries or a shake should accompany the order. In retail sales, the salesperson often extends a special offer to entice the buyer to purchase a complementary item.

An agency that understands the connection between cross-sell success and organic growth demonstrates significantly improved performance. These organizations see cross-selling as a key ingredient to the customer experience. With each subsequent purchase, the agency benefits from loyalty and profitability.

As you and your firm successfully execute a cross-sell plan, you will gain enhanced knowledge about the customer. The accumulation of wisdom about the customer is essential to a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship.

A formula for successAs I look back at my career and the success of The

Addis Group, I see that the firm has benefited from a disciplined and strategic cross-sell plan. Being recognized as one of the premier agencies in the United States is not dumb luck. It happened with strategy, execution and a carefully designed cross-sell plan. Once the first sale is consummated, each member of The Addis Group understands his or her role as it relates to cross-sell execution. A cross-sell map, score cards, incentives and reports energize the system.

The Addis Group’s plan incorporates eight components. While the majority of steps involve exposure identification encompassed in a client-focused “discovery process,” the Stewardship Review has proven to be the most opportune time to cross-sell. The Stewardship Review is conducted at the six-month point of the renewal process and is focused on deepening the customer relationship. At each Review, we carefully listen to the client talk about his or her visions, aspirations and goals—both personal and professional. While we spend time discussing the performance of The Addis Group, the primary intention of the meeting is to better understand each client’s short- and long-term objectives. We encourage the client to speak about the strengths of his



or her business, opportunities for enhanced performance and potential issues that impact the organization’s bottom line. It is the discovery of goals and the recognition of issues that facilitates The Addis Group’s ability to connect the cross-sell dots.

The Addis Group’s plan is supported by a handful of strategic initiatives including customer intimacy benchmarking, client profile forms, newsletters, e-newsletters and risk management leadership forums. In 2011, The Addis Group instituted its “21 Club”—a team-oriented and fun program through which members of the firm receive points for cross-selling and referral harvesting initiatives. The 21 Club includes monthly score cards and quarterly recognition. It has added energy, discipline and revenue to the firm’s cross-sell system.

Cracking the cross-sell codeIf you are serious about a results-oriented cross-sell

system, 10 strategies will guarantee success:

Strategy #1—Cross-sell plan. As with any successful initiative, you must have a plan. Cross-selling success begins with a strategy map that responds to Why? When? and How?

Strategy #2—Understand the client›s concerns. The biggest obstacle to cross-sell success is not knowing enough about the client. While agents and brokers have vast data, most lack a “discovery process” to understand the customer’s goals, passions and struggles. High-performing organic growth agencies understand the importance of uncovering customer issues to position cross-sell opportunities.

Strategy #3—Fulfill every promise. The foundation for cross-selling success requires you to excel on the initial project. You must solve the specific issue at hand before introducing a second initiative. You will consistently be rewarded for jumping over the bar with room to spare.

Strategy #4—The principle of worthy intent. Cross-sell experts always put the customer’s interests ahead of their own. Your cross-sell initiatives should always be focused on improving the performance of those you serve.

Strategy #5—Connectivity. Cross-selling success involves connecting a subsequent sale to the initial engagement. It requires helping clients understand how decisions they make in one area uniquely position you and your team to expand your role in other areas.


Strategy #6—Know your capabilities and limitations. To effectively cross-sell, you must feel confident with the products, services and capabilities of your firm as well as the limitations of your organization.

Strategy #7—Trust others in your firm. Cross-sell strategies often fail because people do not effectively work together. They have not learned to trust each other. To stimulate cross-selling success, consider bringing your associates together to build knowledge, trust and respect.

Strategy #8—Customer relationship management. High-performing organic growth agencies have a disciplined customer relationship management system that fosters credibility, intimacy and knowledge. A customer must feel valued before the cross-selling initiatives bear fruit.

Strategy #9—The art of listening. Far too often, agents and brokers spend too much time demonstrating their level of expertise in the sales process. Their presentations are self-serving and viewed by the customer as “product dumps.” Cross-sell success begins and ends with the art of listening to the customer.

Strategy #10—Benchmarking cross-sell performance. The success of your cross-sell plan requires measuring and benchmarking plan performance in a variety of ways including revenue generation, cross-sell hit ratios and retention.

Cross-Sell 365…your most important strategy to build brand loyalty, increase revenues and drive profits.

Scott Addis is the president and CEO of The Addis Group and Addis Intellectual Capital, LLC (AIC). AIC is a coaching and consulting company whose purpose is to transform the process that insurance agents, brokers and carriers use when working with their clients. Scott is a recognized industry leader, having been awarded the Inc. Magazine “Entrepreneur of the Year” award as well as having been named one of the “25 Most Innovative Agents in America” by The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. He can be reached at (610) 945-1019 or [email protected].

Reprinted with permission from the December 2011 issue of Rough Notes magazine.


?

One of the biggest decisions of your professional insurance carrier comes when you decide to either sell the agency you’ve worked long and hard to create, or to buy another agency that someone else has worked

long and hard to create. You’ve met with the owners of the agency, you’ve looked at the book of business, you’ve agreed on a price, hopefully you’ve contacted your attorney to help you draft the buy/sell agreement, and you’re a few short days away from closing the deal when suddenly someone asks: what about the E & O coverage? Who’s doing what? Are you going to pick up the prior acts or am I? Can we just transfer the E&O policy to the new owners? What kind of losses have you had? All of these questions should be asked at the beginning of the talks regarding the sale/purchase, but unfortunately they usually aren’t discussed until the last minute and they can have a big impact on the deal.

Think about this, when you buy a new car or are selling your current one, one of the first things you should do is contact your insurance provider. It’s no different when you are buying or selling an insurance agency. It also applies when you are only buying or selling a book of business. In most, if not all cases, your E&O policy states that you must notify your E&O provider within 90 days of a merger or acquisition (check your policy for verification of the time limits.) Failure to notify your carrier in a timely manner could result in a gap in coverage. So let’s go through the steps you should follow when you are making a life and business changing decision regarding your agency.

g Buying an agencyYou’ve been talking with a fellow agent about buying their

agency for some time and now you’ve both decided that the time is right. There are many details to consider, the first of which is to do your due diligence to review the other agency’s operations, book of business, finances and E&O Policy. At this point it is advisable to retain an attorney to help you through the process. Remember, an attorney can only represent one party, not both. You and the seller should each seek separate counsel. It is a good idea to have a confidentiality agreement with the seller so that you can freely review all of the documents necessary to begin the change of ownership. After you have completed your due diligence and you and the seller are comfortable with all aspects of the agency, the attorneys will draft the buy/sell agreement.

&

By Ronald Kettner, CPCU and Richard F. Lund, J.D.

BuyingSelling

MergingAgencies

Whatshouldyou do


Included will be such things as the timing of the sale, the assets to be transferred, the price, and of particular importance, who is responsible for the liabilities of the selling agency. The cleanest way to do this is for each party to retain their own liabilities. In regard to the seller’s E&O policy, they will purchase tail coverage and the buyer will add the new agency’s book of business to their current E&O policy.

The reason this is the cleanest way to make the change is because the seller will have the peace of mind of knowing that, should a claim arise after the sale for acts while they owned the agency, their E&O policy will provide coverage for them. For the buyer, they know that they will not be responsible for any acts that may have occurred prior to the purchase of the agency. This is true whether or not the selling agency will continue as a separate entity or location for the buying agency. In most cases, even if the buyer maintains the new agency as a separate entity or location, it can be included on their current E&O policy for errors and omissions that are made after the sale.

Another option, while not the best way to transfer the ownership, is for the purchasing agency to agree to accept responsibility for prior acts. This is accomplished by adding the selling agency to the buying agency’s E&O policy. However, please remember that this must be approved by the E&O carrier before the sale is completed. It is imperative that you contact your E&O agent as soon as you begin the buy/sell process. You will be required to provide a loss history of the seller, and the carrier may require an application providing information about the mix of business, gross annual premium, commissions, staff, etc. In some cases the carrier may not agree to provide prior acts due to claims history, nature of the book of business, etc. In that case the seller should purchase tail coverage from their current E&O carrier.

One thing to keep in mind is that the cost of tail coverage or additional premium expense if the prior acts are provided by the buyer can, and should, be considered in determining the sale price of the agency.

g Selling an agencyAs a seller of an agency, you may feel that it is

important to maintain your agency’s legacy. If this is important to you, be sure to discuss this with your attorney so that it is properly addressed in the agreement. If you have valued employees that you wish to provide for, you should include how they will be taken care of in the agreement. This may be a source of negotiation as the seller may not wish to add any permanent staff, so make sure this is brought up in your discussions with the buyer.

An important aspect that was mentioned previously is protection for you if a claim should arise after the sale. As

stated before, the best way to ensure this is to purchase tail coverage from your current E&O carrier. While you may not want to add the expense of tail coverage and you believe you are protected because of your agreement with the buyer that they will provide coverage for prior acts and will maintain an E&O policy, you have no guarantees that it will be done. It is not unheard of after an agency sale for the buying agency to either go out of business, sell their agency to another party who will not agree to provide prior acts, or have their E&O policy terminate either voluntarily or involuntarily. In each of these cases you could be left without coverage.

Another thing to consider should your agency be added as an additional insured on the buyer’s policy is that any claims, whether they are for your agency or the buyer’s agency, will be subject to the policy limit of the buyer’s policy, regardless of whether there are multiple claims as a result of either agency. In other words, are you comfortable that the policy limits of the buyer’s E&O policy are sufficient to cover both your and their claims? Also, it should be made clear who will be responsible for any deductible payment.

g MergersIf you are merging with another agency to either form

a new agency or be a continuation of one of the two, there are a couple of different ways to handle this in regard to your E&O coverage. One way is to have a new E&O policy for the newly created entity. This ensures a clean slate for all involved. If a new policy is created, each of the former agencies can purchase tail coverage or they can be added as additional insureds on the new entity policy. Again, keep in mind that any claims will be subject to the limits of the remaining policy and remember that this must be approved by the E&O provider prior to the completion of the agreement to ensure that the carrier can comply with your wishes. Another way to handle a merger is to terminate one policy and have that agency added as an additional insured to the policy of the “surviving” agency. The agency that is terminating their policy can either purchase tail coverage or be added as an additional insured upon approval by the E&O provider.

g Internal saleMany times an owner has a key agency employee

who they believe is qualified to take over the agency. Everything that has been stated before applies just the same in these situations. There should be due diligence by both parties, attorneys should be retained, agreements drafted and entered into, and all other aspects of the change of ownership should be carefully contemplated and resolved.


g Transfer of a book of businessRemember that even if all you are doing is transferring

a book of business, either as a buyer or a seller, all of the things mentioned previously apply. While you might think that a transfer of only a small book of business should be uncomplicated, as soon as a claim is made it can become very complicated.

g Key points to remember1. Consult your attorney and have a formal written

agreement outlining the duties and responsibilities of all of the parties.

2. Contact your E&O provider as soon as you can to ensure that coverage can be provided as you intend and that there are no gaps in coverage.

3. Giving timely notice to your E&O provider is of utmost importance as many carriers may be unable to comply with your intent after the transaction has already been completed.

You spent your professional insurance career building a business that has provided you with a livelihood and personal fulfillment. If you are either growing or selling your agency, you want the peace of mind of knowing that you have adequately protected yourself.

This article is intended to be used for general informational purposes only and is not to be relied upon or used for any particular purpose. Swiss Re shall not be held responsible in any way for, and specifically disclaims any liability arising out of or in any way connected to, reliance on or use of any of the information contained or referenced in this article. The information contained or referenced in this article is not intended to constitute and should not be considered legal, accounting or professional advice, nor shall it serve as a substitute for the recipient obtaining such advice. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the Swiss Re Group (“Swiss Re”) and/or its subsidiaries and/or management and/or shareholders.

*Ronald S. Kettner, CPCU is a Vice President and Senior Underwriter of Swiss Re/ Westport underwriting insurance agents errors and omissions coverage. He has over 30 years experience in the insurance industry, underwriting personal and commercial lines insurance as well as professional liability insurance during his career. Richard F. Lund, JD, is a Vice President and Senior Underwriter of Swiss Re/Westport, underwriting insurance agents errors and omissions coverage. He has also been an insurance agents E&O claims counsel and has written and presented numerous E&O risk management/ loss control seminars, mock trials and articles nationwide since 1992.

Copyright 2011 Swiss Re

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Recent headlines have underscored the impor-tance of agents having written security plans to protect the security of their operations and the privacy of their clients’ personal information.

Not only could a breach of clients’ personal information devastate an agency’s reputation; it is likely to result in the agency’s having to undertake time consuming and costly actions on behalf of clients whose personal information is compromised.

We are aware of agents being fined in at least two states for not having a written security plan and of a major firm recently having to announce two data breaches, one occurring online and the other when a laptop containing confidential personal information was stolen. Just as a well managed agency takes specific steps to protect against E&O risk, it needs to have a written security plan, incorporate the plan into its procedures, train its employees to implement these procedures consistently, and monitor for compliance.

ACT’s Information Security Plan ACT has developed a free prototype security plan

to assist agents and brokers in formulating and imple-menting specific procedures, training and monitoring to protect the security of their operations and the privacy of their client information. The plan is the product of ACT’s Agency Security Best Practices Work Group, with assistance from ACT’s Security Issues Work Group and IIABA’s Office of General Counsel. We owe the Massa-

chusetts Association of Insurance Agents special thanks for making the plan it had developed for its members available to us, which we used as a starting point for our plan.

Before sitting down to develop your agency’s security plan, or to refine your current plan, it is essential for you to be thoroughly familiar with your state’s data breach notification and privacy laws, your insurance laws and regulations, applicable federal laws and regulations, as well as the laws of any states where you hold nonresident licenses or possess personal information on the state’s residents. This will enable you to conform your agency’s plan to these requirements. We used the Massachusetts privacy law as a starting point for the ACT prototype plan, because Massachusetts imposes some of the most specific requirements.

Before providing some specific guidance on how best to use the ACT prototype plan in your agency, it is impor-tant to provide you with a brief overview of some of these laws and regulations.

Massachusetts privacy law applies to “all persons that own, license, store or maintain personal information about a resident” of Massachusetts. Similarly, the recent August, 2010 Connecticut Insurance Bulletin applies whenever there is an “unauthorized acquisition or transfer of, or access to” the personal information of any Connect-icut resident, even if the data is encrypted, and the Insur-ance Department must be notified within five days from when the “information security incident” is identified.

ACT Releases Prototype Agency Information Security Plan

By Jeff Yates, ACT Executive Director


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State & Federal Privacy Laws Agents need to be aware of the general busi-

ness and insurance specific security and privacy laws, regulations and administrative letters that apply to them in their resident states, as well as in states where they hold non-resident licenses or where individuals they insure are resident. For example, the

The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act) requires businesses to proactively implement admin-istrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect customer non-public personal information. Many states have enacted laws and regulations to implement the GLB Act for the insurance industry in their state. Overlay onto these requirements the Security Breach Notification laws that have passed in 46 states and the District of Columbia.

We are now starting to see state privacy laws move from the implementation of general safeguards to much more specific requirements. For example, the Nevada law and Massachusetts law (March 1, 2010) specifi-cally require that email containing “personal information” be sent in an encrypted manner. This would include, for example, personal information submitted on commercial applications. The Massachusetts law in addition would require the encryption of personal information contained on laptops and mobile devices because of the higher risk posed that these devices will be lost or stolen.

Implementing Your Agency’s Security Program After familiarizing yourself with the laws and regu-

lations that apply to you, you are ready to develop or refine your own Information Security Plan using the ACT prototype plan as a starting point. It is important that you either use ACT’s prototype plan as a checklist or customize its terms to fit your particular agency’s operations. The various state and federal laws typically provide that the administrative, technical, electronic and physical safeguards a business incorporates into its security program be appropriate to the size and complexity of the business and the nature and scope of its activities.

ACT prototype plan also contains a series of “Notes” designed to help agencies in customizing the plan and pointing out the need to consult additional laws that might apply to your agency. A good example is the Note on HIPAA, pointing out that if the agency is a “Business Associate” handling “protected health infor-mation” (“PHI”), there are additional specific security requirements that the agency would need to add to the prototype plan, along with some resources for the agency to consult.

Consider taking the following implementation steps:

1. Appoint a Data Security Coordinator who will oversee the development and implementation of your agency’s security program.

2. Ascertain all of the types of private client and employee information that your agency retains, every place where it is stored (whether in paper or electronic format), exactly who has access to it and how it is used and transmitted. Be particularly sensitive to the types of private information that are singled out in the privacy and data breach laws that are applicable to you.

3. Decide whether you really need to store or transmit all of this private information that you possess, and if not, don’t keep it. If you do need to possess it, restrict its access to only those employees who need to use it, keep it off PCs, mobile devices and home computers, and encrypt it wherever it is stored (where possible) and when it is transmitted.

4. Have an employee team go through the proto-type plan and customize it to your agency’s operations and develop new procedures and workflows as necessary to implement it.

5. Acquire or upgrade your hardware and move to the latest versions of your software so that you incorporate the latest security protections, and then keep your agency current on both hard-ware and software versions in the future.

6. Thoroughly train all employees on your agen-cy’s new security plan and any accompanying new procedures and workflows, and secure their written commitment that they will abide by the plan. Change your procedures so that new hires are immediately trained on the security plan. Make sure your procedures assure that the access of terminated employees is cut off immediately from the agency’s systems, as well as from any carrier websites or other third party sites. Ongoing employee training and reminders about your security requirements and protecting clients’ private information are absolutely key, because security breaches often result from employee error or a lack of sensitivity to protecting this information.

7. Make sure that third party vendors that possess any of your agency’s private information have equivalent security plans and procedures in


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place, as well as a strong commitment to security and protecting this information.

8. Monitor your employees’ adherence to your agency’s security plan and procedures, monitor the traffic over your systems for any unusual activity and consider periodic security audits by an outside security professional.

9. Review and update your security plan, proce-dures and workflows at least annually.

The Big Picture One year ago ACT completed its latest report on key

trends and “must do” issues the industry must tackle to be properly positioned to succeed in the future. We identified three critical “must do” issues and the first was to increase industry awareness and collaboration on security & privacy. ACT concluded that the significant progress the industry has made with Real Time and other new work-flows is directly dependent on protecting the security and privacy of the client information being used. In addition, agents have unprecedented opportunities with online marketing and servicing using their websites, social media and other Internet tools, but again, protecting the security of these mechanisms and the privacy of client information on them is critical.

ACT is committed to providing independent agencies with information and tools to help them protect the secu-rity of their operations and client information. We believe ACT’s new prototype information security plan will be a major resource for agents and brokers and it provides a good example of the kind of industry collaboration on security issues that needs to occur.

Please visit www.iiaba.net/act at the “Security & Privacy” quick link for ACT’s free Agency Information Security Plan and other security related resources, including an online version of this article with links to the various laws and regulations mentioned.

Jeff Yates is Executive Director of the Agents Council for Technology (ACT) which is part of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. Jeff can be reached at [email protected]. ACT’s website is www.iiaba.net/act. This article reflects the views of the author and should not be construed as an official statement by ACT.


Is there a bully in your workplace? Even worse, is it your boss or a key manager in the company? Busi-ness owners should do everything

in their power to identify bullies and rid them from their organizations. Re-search has proven that the workplace bully can contribute to a toxic work environment that can affect employee health and productivity.

Most bullies are defined as narcis-sists. A narcissist (or workplace bully) regularly demonstrates the following behaviors:

• Has a grandiose sense of self importance

• Is pre-occupied with power and believes himself to be su-perior to others

• Requires excessive valida-tion, admiration, and adulation (narcissistic supply)

• Manipulates and triangulates workplace relationships

• Has a strong sense of entitle-ment, exploits others and lacks empathy

• Envious of others and dis-plays haughty, arrogant be-haviors

• Cunning, deceptive, immoral, unethical and illegal activity

Don’t take this lightly. Bullying is a real and harmful workplace phenom-and harmful workplace phenom-enon. When the schoolyard bully is in the workplace, BEWARE. Workplace bullying involves the abuse of power. The bully repeatedly intimidates, de-grades, offends, discredits or devalues a worker, often in front of others and almost always because he is threat-ened by the victim. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), the bully usually targets those who: 1) refuse to be subservient; 2) are more technically advanced; 3) are well liked by customers and employees; and 4) are ethical and honest. WBI has found that the narcissistic leader actually targets employees for their apparent strengths which threaten the defensive, narcissistic perpetrator.

The irony is that the narcissist usu-ally surrounds himself with talented, skilled people and attaches himself to their success. However, when they become too successful the narcissist feels deeply threatened and begins to act out. Deep down, the narcissist is afraid of abandonment, which is ironic because everything he does drives the people around him away, thereby com-pleting his self-fulfilling prophecy.

Is There a Bully

By Julie Leutschaft, MPA, MHAContributor – HR Affinity Group

Lurkingin Your Workplace?

42 THE BIG “I” VIRGINIA • Fall 2012 continued on page 46


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The hardest hire you will ever make is finding and hiring a good sales person. Sales people are trained to mask their behaviors and feed a prospect what they want to see. Now they

are selling themselves to you. Sometimes the best “interviewer” is best because they have had so much practice.

Remember, interviewing is like sales; it is a learned behavior. The worthwhile sales people are interviewing you as you are interviewing them. Rather than opening with the traditional “tell me about yourself”, start your interview with a detailed job description. Give the applicant a clear picture of your marketing plan (within the bounds of proprietary information). Describe in detail the action plan required to achieve your goals and targets, and a typical buyer profile from your major target market. At this point SHUT UP! Allow the prospective sales person to take control

(that is what you are hiring them to do in the field, isn’t it?).

Did they follow a disciplined process in collecting additional information? Did they commit you to anything before presenting themselves as your best alternative? Did they summarize for your verification before presenting? Did they identify your “special concerns?” Did

they present themselves in terms

of your “benefits?” Did they try to close

you on an action plan? If you answer “yes” to most of these questions, you may have a good candidate.

Your probable answer to the above will be “no.” What then? As previously noted, the skills listed above are learned behaviors that can be easily taught. Whether the answer is “yes” or “no,” pursue your primary objective: to seek honesty, integrity, stability, dependability, “trustworthy, faithful, and kind” (from the Boy Scout Oath).

The interviewer must be careful not to violate the Fair Employment Practices Act, or any other application of law that protects the privacy of the employee. The safest format in getting information on the applicants value system, work ethic, etc., is to ask open questions regarding a value based story. “How do you handle Purchasing Agents on the take?” “What did you have to do to land your toughest account?” “Tell me about your biggest deal ever.”

If you got more “yes’s” than “no’s” to the first part, and identified personal qualities in the stories of the second part, you may have found a “Gem.” If your answers to the first part were mostly “no,” but you found strong values in the stories, you may have a diamond in the rough. If your answers were “no” to the first part and you didn’t find much personal quality in the second part, you’ve found a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” applicant.

When you have identified the short list of applicants, take the time to personally call both personal and professional references. When evaluating the professional references, remember that sales people are at the mercy of their previous management. Many first rate sales people are often dismissed in a company before the real problem is identified as being in the sales management. A poor sales manager can avoid accountability by changing people and blaming the learning curve time for poor results.

When it comes to personal references, try for medium range relationships -- not close enough to lie for them, but close enough to have an opinion. Neighbors and former co-workers are usually truthful.

The Second InterviewThe second interview should be used to clear up

any inconsistent or unverifiable information (gaps in

Hiring Sales People...

By Bob Ayrer

Getting Behind the

Mask


Does the bully in your organization do any of the fol-lowing?• Give you repetitive and unwarranted or invalid criti-

cism• Treat you differently than other co-workers• Shout at you or humiliate you in front of others or be-

hind your back• Exclude you from meetings or withhold key informa-

tion which prevents you from doing your job• Sabotage your career and discredit your value to

your peers• Triangulate your relationships with coworkers• Make you constantly rework projects and assignments• Excessively monitor and micro-manage you to the

point that it has diminishing returns on investment

The sad truth is that with a bully in power, things rarely get better and the only thing you can count on is the constant chaos he will create. But there are things that you can do. The narcissist needs at least one person in the company who will worship him and give him the validation he needs to survive. When he loses validation, he will act out irrationally and erratically. Like an alcoholic needs alcohol, a narcissist needs someone who is con-stantly giving him license to continue to behave the way he does. Don’t validate the bully; you will only prolong the abuse.

According to WBI, bullies do not run organizations well. Staff turnover and sick leave are usually high and morale and productivity tend to be low. Stress, depression and physical health problems result in time away from work that is costly in terms of workers’ compensation and lost productivity. The breakdown of trust in a bullying envi-ronment also means that employees will fail to contribute their best work.

Although the discussion about bullies in the workplace is relatively new, it is a real concern. Increasingly, courts and federal agencies are looking at bullying as a serious issue and increasingly are viewing it as a form of harass-ment that contributes to a hostile work environment. The best thing to remember is that good people join “compa-nies” … but they leave “bad bosses.” If you don’t want your employees running for the door, then put a stop to bullying immediately!

To find out more about bullying and what you can do to prevent it, go to The Workplace Bullying Institute website at www.workplacebullying.org. Every individual deserves the right to work in an environment free of unwarranted harassment.

the employment record, references not available, etc.). Quite often the second interview is used to establish the degree of mutual interest. Now is the time to be brutal in interviewing; you are going to rise or fall on their performance. It is at this time that the full company benefits and compensation package may be discussed, and the degree to which the business goals complement the personal goals of the applicant. Frequently an offer is negotiated here. If you have found a match, you may have found your future star.

At this point many sales managers take a position that, “They are on their own now. Let’s see if they make it!” Employees don’t “make it” for one of two reasons: you picked the wrong person or you did not manage them correctly! If you have found your future “star,” their success is YOUR responsibility.

No manager would hire a machinist without providing a machine for them to operate. No truck driver is hired without a truck to drive. So, why do sales managers regularly send new sales people into the arena without adequate preparation or support? Even Little League teams have “Coaches.” The major league teams have specialty coaches to assist the manager in getting star quality performance from the players.

The average cost of replacing a poor sales performer runs between $3,000 and $25,000...some industries run as high as $100,000! Use every tool at your disposal, from behavior analysis reports to third level personal reference checks. If you want to make a silk purse, start with silk!

To summarize:• Identify the “right” type of sales person based upon the

marketing plan before you start to solicit candidates.• Make your solicitation attractive to the people that you

want.• Be skeptical of previous experience and credentials.• Hire quality people.• Interview carefully, encourage the prospect to take

control.• Use stories to identify qualities that you desire.• Check arms-length references.

Bob Ayrer is a successful survivor of corporate life who now consults to organizations on building top performing sales programs. Bob is a popular speaker at conventions and sales rallies. Professional speaker, trainer and consultant -- Bob Ayrer can be reached through:

REA Performance Consultants, Inc. 9082 Bermuda Dr., Suite A

Huntington Beach, CA 92646 (714) 968-4136 Fax (714) 962-1889

E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.ImprovingSales.com

Copyright 2001 by Bob Ayrer. Used with permission.

Bully continued from page 42 Hiring continued from page 45

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