Insurance Agents And Financial Planners: Do You Really Know Your Market?

If you ask a group of agents or planners what they believe their market wants, they will rattle off their opinions with conviction. But if you ask them how they know, chances are they will say they have been in the business for a number of years, and they just know. The problem is, if these agents and planners really knew their market, they would have their agencies filled to the brim with prospects waiting to fill out applications.

Knowing your market is an essential ingredient to the success of any insurance agent or financial planner. Knowing your market allows you to craft marketing messages and close sales faster and easier than anyone else in your field. Because if you really know your market, you know how to create desire for your financial products and services by addressing your clients core needs and wants and adapting them into your presentation and promotions.

So how do you find out exactly what you market wants and needs? Here are a few tips:

A very inexpensive way to find out this valuable information is to simply ask them. If your market is seniors, or you want to target seniors, call or mail your senior clients. Explain to them that you are conducting a survey and you would appreciate their assistance. Reward them for doing so.

If you don't have any senior clients, ask your current clients for referrals to seniors. But don't ask for the referral, if your intention is to sell them something. Tell your clients that you are conducting market research in the senior/retiree market.

A second alternative is to send out a survey to a list of seniors and reward them in some way for filling out the information. You can even insert a survey in a newspaper or newsletter that caters to seniors.

The information you glean from these surveys will not only give you valuable information on your market's needs and wants, but you will also build a solid list of prospects.

A more expensive alternative is to test ads and find out which ones are getting the best response. For example you could test a product offering, like long-term care, but instead of marketing the product, offer free information on long-term care. Then test another ad that offers another product or service. Once you find out which and gets the best response and produces the best revenue, you can roll out your advertising on a larger scale.

Identifying what your market requires research. Otherwise you are just guessing, and guessing at what your market wants will not only waste your time, but you will waste a significant amount of advertising dollars.

Accounts Receivable Financing - The Fine Art of Happiness

Four thousand years ago, a long time before banks were invented, the concept of accounts receivable financing, or factoring, was invented somewhere in the midst of the Roman Empire. Why did this make merchants happy? Because they would be paid for their merchandise many months before payment for their merchandise was received. With this cash in hand, suppliers, employees and Imperial taxing authorities could be paid. These financing agreements were based on long term relationships and trust.

Two hundred years ago accounts receivable financing evolved in the United States of America, primarily for the textile industry, for the same reason: to accelerate growth and profitability by accelerating cash flow. Again, long term relationships and trust were the main basis for these financing arrangements because there was no effective court system to enforce international contracts for the purchase of European fabrics for American factories.

Thirty years ago the concept of accounts receivable financing, or factoring, was considered to be on the fringes of respectable financing for products or services other than textiles. It was considered radical to finance the accounts receivable of relatively high risk businesses. Since then accounts receivable financing has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry. Long term relationships and trust are still very important because when you utilize accounts receivable financing you are entrusting a commercial finance company with the lifeblood of your business- your cash flow.

Let's make some assumptions. The purpose of life is to be happy. As a business owner, you are happier if your customers pay immediately when they receive your invoice as opposed to many months later. As a business owner, you are happier if you are more profitable when you are selling more goods or services at greater profits.

Accounts receivable financing may be the enabling tool for more capacity, more flexibility, more fluidity, more efficiency, and more sales if you have to give credit terms to your customers and your internal cash flow, or bank financing will not keep up with you need for cash to grow. So you need to ask yourself, are you happy with the status quo? Do you feel like you are stuck because your capital expenditures and operational costs are too high? In the life of your business, do you feel like you are being held back from succeeding- like receiving the "Do not Pass go, do not Collect $200" card from the game, Monopoly?

Here are some questions to ask yourself regarding overcoming obstacles to your happiness and success: What is your market? Is it local, national and/or international? What are your short term and long term challenges? What is your customer base? What is your company sales and distribution strategy? What is your strategy for accelerating growth, market presence and penetration? Do you have strong gross margins with additional opportunities to drive operating efficiencies as you business scales upward? Will you realize increasing margins as a result of increasing sales? Query: could your business be expanded exponentially if you had virtually unlimited financing? Is this a reasonable goal and would this make you happy?

You need to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of accounts receivable financing versus the scalability and capability of your own company. Accounts receivable financing may be your solution to the fine art of happiness and your success as a business owner.