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Posted By Administration,
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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By: Matt Banaszynski | IIAW CEO
* This article was featured in our April 2020 Wisconsin Independent Insurance Agent Magazine. Read the full April issue here.
The Coronarita is a drink that seems to defy gravity. You would expect that, when you flip the beer upside down in your cocktail, the mixture would overflow and spill all over the place. But curiously, it all stays in place.
How the Coronarita works has to do with pressure. If you flipped a bottle of Corona upside down normally, the beer would fall out and be replaced inside the bottle by air. But, in a Coronarita, the mouth of the bottle is surrounded by liquid, which prevents air from entering the bottle. The air that is inside the bottle creates pressure that keeps the beer from spilling out into the margarita. But, when you sip on the margarita with a straw, the liquid level in the glass will go down, and the beer inside the bottle will then flow into the glass to make up for the missing liquid.
Matt's Mixology - Coronarita
Ingredients:
• Ice cubes
• Rimming salt
• 1 1/2 oz. silver tequila
• 3 oz. lime sour mix
• 1 12 oz. bottle of Corona, Dos Equis, Pacifico, Tecate, Carta Blanca, Modelo or your favorite Mexican beer
Steps to Make It:
1. Pour ice cubes, tequila, triple sec, and lime sour mix into a cocktail shaker.
2. Shake the mixture and strain it into a salted pint glass.
3. Quickly flip the beer upside down and place it into the drink, so it dispenses slowly as you drink your delicious Coronarita from a straw.
Whether you call it a Coronarita, a Mexican Bulldog Margarita, or a Mexican Car Crash, this tequila-inspired Mexican drink recipe is sure to be a hit with your friends and family. Though this drink is not always served in a traditional margarita glass, it still delivers on the familiar and refreshing flavors of two classic beverages. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo!
Tags:
Insurance Bartender
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Posted By IIAW Staff ,
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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By: Aggie Alvarez | Caliper
•This article was featured in our April 2020 Independent Agent Magazine. To read the full magazine, click here.
Did you know that the average sales employee turnover rate is nearly triple the average employee rate? Turnover in sales makes an impact on the entire organization, and it’s expensive. Sales employees are some of the most vital contributors to a company’s growth and bottom line, and hiring for sales effectiveness is critical.
Did you know that the average sales employee turnover rate is nearly triple the average employee rate? Turnover in sales makes an impact on the entire organization, and it’s expensive. Sales employees are some of the most vital contributors to a company’s growth and bottom line, and hiring for sales effectiveness is critical. Yet, leaders continue to find it challenging to hire and develop the right people for these roles, and then keep them there.
Hiring for Sales
How do you determine if a candidate will be an effective salesperson? While sales effectiveness is not a generalized trait, there are qualities and habits that are greater indicators of success in a sales role. When hiring for sales, you should look for these six traits or the potential to cultivate these characteristics in candidates:
• Hyper-focus: Salespeople have many tasks and clients to focus on at once. In order to be successful, they need to be able to
prioritize and focus on what is most important.
• Active listening: The best salespeople listen to their customers and ask the right questions.
• Networking Master: Building relationships is a key element for success in sales. Effective salespeople are able to build trust which improves customer loyalty.
• Work smarter, not harder: Successful salespeople follow a consistent process and balance their tasks. They don’t reinvent the wheel when there is already an efficient process in place.
• Adaptability: When faced with an unforeseen challenge or obstacle, effective salespeople are able to quickly adapt their approach.
• Be prepared: Exceptional salespeople know their product better than anyone. They do their research and are able to anticipate the questions their customers might have.
• It’s also crucial to consider sales effectiveness as a function of the tasks themselves, although these tasks will differ across industry and organization. In order to hire the right candidates, start by defining the relevant tasks for your strategy, and reflect those tasks in hiring criteria and a disciplined hiring process. A combination of structured interviews, assessments, and background and reference checks allows hiring managers to observe and predict the candidate’s job behaviors which can yield the best results when hiring for sales.
• Talent assessments have become more available and intuitive, which is great news for sales leaders. The Caliper Profile pre-employment assessment, for example, was built to help predict a job candidate’s potential success in the role. The assessment not only measures specific behaviors and competencies, but also uses the data and insights to match candidates to scientifically-validated job models for sales professions. The Caliper Profile also goes a step further to provide hiring managers with interview questions, coaching recommendations, and training for skills gaps, meaning that it can be used at both the hiring and developing stages of employment.
Set Them up for Success
Did you know that less than 45% of companies have a formal sales training process? Given the lack of training and development structure in sales, it’s easy to see why the turnover rate is so high. Companies tend to invest more heavily in recruiting and hiring activities than on the processes and programs that focus on developing employees and keeping them engaged. However, investing in training and development will likely improve retention and increase your company’s margin.
Professional Development and Productivity
Playbooks are a great tool for training employees and creating consistent sales processes across your organization. A playbook ideally contains all the content necessary for your sales reps to succeed, including buyer personas, call scripts, negotiation tactics, and proposal guidelines. Creating a playbook can be very time-consuming and should involve multiple stakeholders throughout your company. However, it is time-saving in the long-run as it allows new employees to be trained more quickly. Additionally, a playbook frees up time for selling. Research by the CMO Council shows that sales reps spend 40% of their time searching for or creating content, and a playbook can help centralize the resources they need.
Professional development is integral to individual success in sales and overall retention. When career advancement paths are unclear, sales reps will start to question their place in the company. This is where sales leaders can make an impact by investing in the professional development of their team with a coaching mindset. Effective coaching includes building a plan for your employees, establishing expectations, challenging your staff, and helping them find solutions. By implementing these practices, employees are more likely to become engaged with their careers and increase their overall performance.
Sales productivity is the #1 challenge for 65% of B2B organizations and directly impacts a company’s ability to grow and improve its bottom line. Hiring and developing for sales can be difficult, but the right investment in these processes will help you find the most qualified sales candidates and keep them invested in your organization.
Caliper can make implementing these processes as simple and seamless as possible. Want to see how our products can help you increase your success in sales? Contact us and we can get you on the right path to hiring and developing more sales effective employees.
Tags:
hiring
networking
professional development
sales
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Posted By IIAW Staff,
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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By Misha Lee | IIAW Lobbyist
This article was featured in our April 2020 Wisconsin Independent Agent Magazine. Click here to see our full April 2020 magazine.
NAIC Model Cybersecurity Bill Advances
NAIC model legislation creating cybersecurity standards for the insurance industry is quickly moving through the Wisconsin Legislature. Assembly Bill 819 was approved on a bi-partisan, voice vote in the Assembly and awaits final approval from the Senate in late March. We anticipate unanimous approval when the Senate convenes its final floor period. The legislation creates standards for insurance businesses that will help protect private consumer information from data breaches. Under the bill, businesses are required to conduct risk assessments, develop information security programs based on those assessments, and submit those plans to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI).
During development of the model legislation last year, IIAW worked with OCI’s legal staff to advocate for an exemption for our members with fewer than 25 employees, or annual revenues under $5 million, or assets less than $10 million from having to comply with the provisions in the bill. The draft model had originally only exempted businesses with fewer than 10 employees. In addition, IIAW worked with the department to ensure that our member agencies would not be directly responsible for cybersecurity events that occur in a system maintained by an outside third-party service provider. The initial draft model had included this burdensome requirement.
So far, eight states have adopted a version of the NAIC model Law and more like Wisconsin are on the way.
Sweeping Data Privacy Legislation Fails
With Industry Opposition
River Falls Republican State Representative Shannon Zimmerman unveiled late in the legislative session three bills he headlined, the Wisconsin Data Privacy Act (WDPA), that would fine companies up to $20 million or assess a portion of their annual revenue if found in violation of rules established in the legislation. IIAW opposed these bills at a public hearing held in February by the Assembly Science and Technology Committee. These sweeping bills, if enacted into law, would have unnecessarily created millions of dollars in added compliance costs for our industry and placed significant regulatory burdens on agents. Furthermore, the legislation overlooks the importance of how innovation, new technologies and the use of data within the insurance industry is benefiting consumers and enhancing marketplace competition. Property and Casualty insurance is a heavily state-regulated industry and it’s important that any proposals related to data security and privacy take into account existing laws and regulations administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI). The Assembly has adjourned session without any action on these proposals. See Assembly Bill 870, Assembly Bill 871, and Assembly Bill 872.
Gov. Evers Signs Public Adjuster
Consumer Protection Bill
Legislation brought forward this session by State Representative David Steffen (R-Green Bay) and State Senator Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) will make registration of public adjusters part of Wisconsin law following a recent bill signing by Governor Tony Evers. The bi-partisan legislation, Assembly Bill 357, requires registration with the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) for nonresident public adjusters not already registered with their home state. Those registered as nonresident public adjusters will be subject to examination, continuing education and fee requirements. Wisconsin resident public adjuster have the option of registering with OCI and are also subject to requirements in the bill related to contract formation, certain compensation arrangements and professional conduct.
Wisconsin becomes the 46th state to regulate public adjusters in some manner. Matt Banaszynski of the IIAW testified in support of the bill highlighting in his testimony the importance of protecting Wisconsin homeowners from increasing public adjuster scams that have been occurring in the state following natural disasters.
Gov. Evers Signs 45-Day Renewal With
Altered Terms Notification Bill
Governor Evers also signed legislation supported by the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance (WIA) that shortens the time requirement on personal lines property and casualty coverages from the current 60-day requirement to 45 days on a renewal notification that includes less favorable terms or higher premiums. Twenty-eight states have notice requirements of 30 days or less. Eleven states use the 45-day requirement and five states have a 60-day notification requirement. The WIA had initially asked for a 30-day notice and the final bill as signed by the Governor reflects the good-faith negotiations between the independent insurance agent community and insurance carriers.
Tags:
consumer protection bill
data privacy
government affairs
governor evers
insurance industry
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Posted By IIAW Staff,
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
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By: WAHVE Work At Home Vintage Experts
* This article was featured in our April 2020 Wisconsin Independent Agent Magazine. Read the full April 2020 issue here.
With four primary generations now coexisting in the workplace, it’s not surprising that a few generational feuds are brewing and bubbling.
Boomers (born roughly between 1946-1964) mock millennials (1977-1997) for expecting participation trophies and being like Peter Pan (never wanting to grow up), while millennials think Boomers are out of touch. Gen X (1965-1976), once viewed as the slacker generation, now paints millennials as the new slackers – often referring to them as unicorns and snowflakes who are entitled and difficult to manage. Gen Z (born after 1997) are portrayed as disloyal job-hoppers who are addicted to their phones and unable to handle face-to-face interaction. They have taken to calling Gen X the “Karen” generation – a privileged, irritating and entitled generation brought up by Boomers.
All of this back-and-forth sparked this year’s viral two-word dismissal by millennials and Gen Z: “OK Boomer.” The phrase, typically used to respond to anyone over 30 who says something condescending about the younger generations, quickly went mainstream. The backlash phrase implied that Boomers are out of touch and don’t understand millennial and Gen Z culture or politics. Boomers, on the other hand, saw the phrase as an example of ageism.
Pitting one generation against the next isn’t new. As Aristotle put it in Rhetoric: “[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstance…They think they know everything and are always quite sure about it.”
No matter where you fall on the generational spectrum, the recent online feud is a good reminder for all generations that there are fallacies in stereotypes and dangers in discounting the contributions, strengths and ideas of others not like you.
The next time you’re faced with working with someone older or younger than you and are tempted to brush their generation off with a negative comment, try instead to understand differences. Different doesn’t have to mean bad, so take time to focus on strengths and preferences. Allow their strengths to improve your weaknesses, and vice versa. Each generation is an integral part of successful teams and companies, so ignoring difference and problems isn’t an option, especially today, when Boomers are actively choosing to stay in the workforce longer and millennials make up the largest segment in the workplace.
At WAHVE, we started our entire business on the idea that combining the knowledge and skills of the retiring and retired workers with the fresh perspectives of the younger generation is a winning combination. And that’s proven: statistics show that companies that employ an age-diverse workforce have higher productivity, a wealth of new ideas, and a wide knowledge base.
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Posted By Kaylyn Zielinski,
Monday, April 27, 2020
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By: Matt Banaszynski | CEO IIAW
During this time, COVID-19 is creating many obstacles for businesses across the country. Whether it requires small businesses to close their doors for the time being or large corporations to activate their disaster response plan, the consequences are creating road bumps for everyone. Governor Evers issued a “Safer at Home” order on March 24th and the OCI has released a variety of recommendations and requirements for insurers. Independent agents are deemed as “essential businesses” (as of the time of this writing) and for the time being, allowed to stay open. However, agencies are encouraged to use their discretion in determining essential functions for essential employees. For example, an agency may determine it is appropriate to close to walk-in visitors, while remaining open for business, and available to consumers through calls and e-mail. Subsequently, non-essential staff with the capabilities to work remote are directed to work from home.
The IIAW addressed the issue early by introducing a COVID-19 Online Resource Center (www.iiaw.com/coronavirus), and began sending out “text alerts” when new information is announced or updated online. The team continues to create new resources to assist our members with their operations. It’s critical to stay up-to-date with information and be agile in the changing environment. As you continue to work during the pandemic, here are some resources and considerations for your agency as you implement new policies.
IIAW’s COVID-19 Resource Center
IIAW’s COVID-19 Resource Center contains all of the resources your agency will need to stay educated on the topic and tools you can implement in your agency. The page includes 4 different sections: Communicating to Customers, Agency Considerations for Employees, General Information and Webinars. The page is updated daily to provide our members with the latest news and resources, some of which can be shared with your clients.
If you haven’t already, join our text alerts by texting “IIAW” to (833) 384-0094. You will receive a text alerting you to when important information is announced and uploaded to our resource center.
Virtual Learning (CE)
The IIAW also offers a variety of continuing education classes online. Almost daily, there is a new CE class presented via webinar for agents to stay up to date on their CE credits. You may have employees working from home and unable to work at full-capacity or one of your employee’s license renewal is coming up. This is a great time to allow them to complete all their continuing education credits. Our online CE classes are conducted by professional instructors and accessible on any computer. Don’t let your license expire, take an online CE class with the IIAW!
Click here to view all of the available online CE courses.
Remote Access
Does your staff have the capability to connect and work remotely? Do they have or can they be provided with a computer at home? Do they have internet access from home? If they can get online, can they access work files? This would be the time to check the “cloud access” of your programs (Ex. AMS), server and files with your IT professional. If you need other options for remote access, consider programs like Logmein, Gotomypc, Remotepc, Teamviewer and others. Need phone access as well? If your agency does not have a VOIP system, it may be difficult to set up call forwarding and other features. Host My Calls are a solution worth exploring. The staff at the IIAW all have remote workstations, a VOIP phone system in place and VPN’s setup on their computers to access work files not stored in the Agency Management System or Association Management System.
Agency Management Systems (AMS)
Hopefully your agency management system has a cloud option, app or other online/remote interface (perhaps a VPN connection) that allows staff to enter and retrieve data. If not, this will likely be a vital question for your remote work plan. If your agency doesn’t possess these capabilities, you should develop a system where information is shared with one key contact at your agency who can enter the data. Use an Excel form or other template (Google Sheets is a free online option) that promotes standardization so that there aren’t lapses or E&O exposures created. Then review the data when everyone returns to work. The staff at the IIAW has their AMS and Association Management systems on the cloud.
Conferencing
To continue having meetings and discussions with your staff, it will be important to set up conference calls, video chats, etc. There are free resources out there like Skype, Google Hangouts, and Lifesize. Some require downloads of software and may have limits, but your agency can investigate which one may be the best fit. iPhones and Android phones allow “Add Call” as an option for small group conferencing– just select it from your screen (assuming your phone’s service provider allows it). Other options may be conference call services like UberConference or using a free trial from a service like GoToMeeting or Join.Me. The staff at the IIAW uses GoToMeeting.
Collaboration
Have projects that your team needs to work together on in a shared format? Programs like Slack, Microsoft Teams, Basecamp, Asana and others can give you a platform to communicate, work on files, update project statuses and pool resources. Facebook even has a solution called Workplace. The staff at the IIAW uses Slack.
Client Tools
Your clients will have new access needs as well. Look at the offerings made available by your carriers for client portals apps and other tools. Consider programs like DocuSign for digital signature, ePayPolicy for online payments and other programs that allow remote ease of doing business. The IIAW uses DocuSign and ePayPolicy.
Promote Routines
Try to provide some structure to the group as they learn this new environment. Schedule conference calls for your staff, encourage daily team meetings, have video happy hours, virtual lunches or other social options like virtual games. Suggest people create a specific workspace at home and develop a workday routine.
Encourage Strict Cyber Security Measures
On top of everything else, cyber security is an even greater concern in times like this. When possible, encourage your staff to use a secure wi-fi connection or set up the security on their home’s internet if they haven’t already. Ask them to be extra vigilant on opening emails and links. Have them confirm any unusual requests like wire transfers or monetary transactions they receive by phone with their supervisor. (
Be a Resource
Do what you do best during times of hardship for your clients – be a resource. Try to provide useful information on business continuity, how to apply for government assistance programs, help promote initiatives to support your community and show the power of small business. One platform to consider using to help spread your message and market you and your agency is SoapBox.
Please reach out to the IIAW if you need further assistance and have any questions regarding the transition. Remember that our COVID-19 Resource Center will continue to be updated with the most recent news and resources for you to use at your agency. Click here for a downloadable "Become a Digital Agency" handout.
Source: Brian Hunter of the Insurors of “Remote Work Resources for Your Agency” article
Tags:
COVID-19
digital agency
online resources
social media
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Posted By Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin,
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
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Our Comeback will be Stronger than this Setback
"Coming together is a beginning, Staying together is progress, and Working together is success" -Henry Ford
Tags:
IIAW
insuring Wisconsin
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