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Archive for November, 2011

So why is a Content Management System so important? There are a number of systems to manage websites with and most web designers will offer the best CMS that suits your needs. Some offer unique tools to use on your site, others are designed to enable the website owner to easily make changes to the content of their site as and when they wish. This is aimed at those who may not have strong I.T skills or not feel confident making any changes. They are really simple to use and they can help you make your site professional, unique and ultimately a success. It’s important to choose a good reliable CMS as they important functions such as Security of website and also the Managing Servers, so you need a quick reliable server which will enable you site to run with no problems. The most popular CMS are probably the 3 shown below:

Drupal - this is an open source content management platform powering millions of websites and applications. It’s built, used, and supported by an active and diverse community of people around the world. You can use Drupal to build everything from personal blogs to enterprise applications. Thousands of add-on modules and designs let you build any site you can imagine. Drupal is free, flexible, robust and constantly being improved by hundreds of thousands of passionate people from all over the world.
Joomla - Joomla is the world’s most popular open source CMS (content management system). With 2.7 per cent of the Web running on Joomla, the software is used by individuals, small & medium-sized businesses, and large organizations worldwide to easily create & build a variety of websites & web-enabled applications.
WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time. The core software is built by hundreds of community volunteers, and when you’re ready for more there are thousands of plugins and themes available to transform your site into almost anything you can imagine. Over 25 million people have chosen WordPress and its popularity makes it the most popular CMS on the internet. Those who are not sure what CMS to use should use this statistic as WordPress is very easy to use as one feature is you can edit without having to use HTML code.

These are the main systems used but there are many others out there. But best to speak to your web designer to see which one they would recommend for your site and also which one they believe would be best for you. If you’re not very confident with I.T but still want to be able to have an active part in your websites design, layout and future changes then choosing a CMS that you feel comfortable with it important. But there are also so many support features that come with these CMS that you’re never far away from someone who can help.

Risk management is one of the most important parts of any business activity. Risk management is the assessment of risks related to a product, managerial decision, or any other company policy. It is an important aspect as it familiarizes the faculty with probable risks and also helps put up a backup plan in case of failure and worst case scenario conditions. Risks can be incurred from instability in various fields like finance, marketing, credit, legal issues and also from natural disasters, accidents attack from competitor or adversary etc. Risk management involves avoiding the activities that will lead to a risk or threatening condition and if a threat does occur then having a mechanism in place to deal with it.

Risk management is a simple process if done in a proper manner. It usually comes into play after the development phase of a project or before designing of a new project. There are a few simple pointers one must remember to put up a risk management plan. First of all identify the areas where risk can occur. Then identify the risk. Determine what losses will occur if risk does actually take place. Formulate a plan to ensure that all the processes and activities in the company are carried out in such a way that minimum risk is involved. But sometimes you cannot ensure that risk will not occur like in case of human error or natural disasters. For such cases formulate a risk detection and recovery plan. For new products consider product liabilities and risks involved with the product.

Though no matter how much planning is done only experience can help avoid risks. So regular meetings and discussions must be carried out for up-gradation and re-fabrication of risk management plan. For financial risk management the market should be studied regularly and proper investments and research should be done. Whenever making a decision on company policy or launching a new product all legal liabilities must be considered. It is a must to take human error into consideration. Human error cannot be predicted and hence risk assessment in such cases becomes difficult. But still every possible error should be considered as far as possible and a plan for risk management and recovery must be formulated. This can involve easy undo options or double check mechanism for critical process, auto save on unexpected shutdown etc.

One of the major risk conditions occurs during a natural disaster. Though they don’t occur that often they are the most dangerous in terms of risk for any organization. A company has loads and loads of date stored in databases of different types. This data contains important information like customer records, employee records, sales information, product information, management policies etc. A natural disaster like earthquake, volcano eruption or tornado can destroy these databases and make the company lose all its vital and sensitive information gathered from years of research. To avoid this strong and effective risk management plans for natural calamities must be formulated. Such a risk management plan involves making of duplicate databases with all sensitive information and storing them as backups in some other safe location. Also in case of failure of system these databases can be used to continue operation of critical processes.

Risk management is of great importance in any company policy and must be strongly implemented to ensure optimized working of the organization.

Most insurance industry experts agree capturing leads is the cornerstone of a successful insurance sales training program and the insurance sales management systems employed to ensure an producer’s success in generating those leads is pivotal to the overall success of the company’s business marketing strategy.

These three insurance sales management systems are all good systems in their own right, designed to capture leads and create sales opportunities, but when taken together, and in the order described, they guarantee an inexhaustible supply of prospects and a high probability of success.

The Referred Lead Card System is designed to generate good quality leads through referrals. It begins on the initial sales call when an producer interviews a prospect to assess needs and determine whether or not a sales opportunity exists. Before the interview begins, the producer sets out three pre-printed referral lead cards right alongside his/her laptop. At the end of the interview, whether this customer buys or not, the producer asks for three referrals. Using pre-scripted questions, like “Mr. _____, I know you know a lot of people. Who would you want to tell about the products, services and ideas I shared with you today?” and handling objections, like “I don’t like to give names out” with responses, like “I can understand that, but I have found from past experience that many of my referrals were very interested in the products and services I offer and appreciated seeing the type of work I do.”

The producer then completes a card on each referral — a perforated card with all the relevant contact information on top (which the producer then keeps as a filing and phone call reference card) and with a pre-scripted note signed by the customer making the referral on the bottom. This card is then mailed to the new prospects. Five days later the producer calls the new prospect to schedule an interview.

Advocates of the Referred Lead Card System strongly attest to its success and believe it is the single, most significant resource they have in training their insurance producers to sell. Not one of them recommend buying insurance leads. Research shows that only one out of every 13 cold calls results in an appointment. However, two out of every three calls made to qualified lead referrals result in one. Better yet, producers who use the Referred Lead Card System close 80% of the business generated from those referrals.

Quality lead referrals generate sales prospects for the producer. As the list of prospects grows, a sales pipeline is created. It is in the pipeline where gaining trust and creating actual sales opportunities begin. A sales pipeline or “funnel” is typically a series of emails sent to prospects at pre-determined intervals. These emails all pertain to a particular topic of interest and are written with the expressed intent of slowly building a relationship between producer and prospect. Prospects or “subscribers” receive the emails at a comfortable pace with ample time to digest the contents.

The best and most versatile system an insurance company or agency can employ to enhance an producer’s selling experience and ensure operational efficiency of the producer’s pipeline or “funnel” is an Auto-Responder System. This piece of software resides on a mail server that holds, tracks and sends pipeline or “funnel” emails out in an organized fashion to all pipeline prospects on a pre-set schedule. Regardless of when they subscribe, prospects receive the same series of emails that all other subscribers receive, but on their own schedule.

A key advantage to using an Auto-Responder System is that the information and products sent to the prospect are done in a way that brings their understanding and experience level up gradually. However, if prospects are going to stay subscribed, value will be key — value in the form of highly relevant and useful information as well as free products or services that lead the prospect to buy something. The more value added to the sales pipeline, the easier it is to monetize. When adding value or when making product or service recommendations, though, make sure the products and/or services being recommended are reputable ones than can be authenticated. Reputation is everything here.

Prospects stay in an producer’s pipeline for as long as it takes the producer to sell them a product or service. While they are in the pipeline and as they increase their knowledge base and experience level about the products and services being offered, they may elect, with an invitation from the producer, to subscribe to an E-Newsletter. New and long-established customers can also subscribe to this.

E-Newsletters allow producers to add any and all relevant, quality information about product offerings, cutting-edge developments in the industry and any additional material for customers with advanced or experienced product knowledge. They are generally a key component of the insurance company’s or agency’s Internal Marketing System. As prospects gain a greater understanding of the products and services being offered, or if their experience level becomes greater than the information contained in the sales pipeline, the E-Newsletter proves to be the better option for them. The same is true for new and existing customers.

Proponents of the Auto-Responder System and the E-Newsletter recommend using both but recommend keeping two separate lists — one for prospects and one for customers. By using both systems, and keeping their respective lists separate, there is no overlap between them. Prospects sign up for the Auto-Responder to bring their knowledge base and experience level up to speed slowly. Once they have completed the Auto-Responder Series, they can sign up for the E-Newsletter and begin forging a lasting professional relationship with the producer or insurance company. Prospects who take this route tend to be more loyal and profitable to the company. Additionally, they are not overwhelmed by information and their inbox is not overrun by constant emails which can drive them to unsubscribe. New and experienced customers can skip the Auto-Responder Series and simply sign up for the E-Newsletter. That way, they can begin receiving advanced product information and product offerings immediately.

These three insurance sales management systems are all excellent stand-alone systems for capturing leads, and when taken together and in the order listed, they are a dynamic and proven powerhouse of tools, methods and strategies designed not only to capture leads, but create sales opportunities that virtually guarantee the success of every producer and insurance company who uses them.