The Bull Stops Here Blog

Insurance is a relationship business, wouldn’t you agree? If you are a consumer, you need to feel comfortable with your agent and put the utmost of trust in them because they are in charge of protecting your financial future in the event of a catastrophic event. If you are an agent or broker, you need to build a strong relationship in order to earn your client’s business and then keep it.

Recently, a broker contacted me wanting to offer a quote for my client. That’s not unusual, except that my only contact with him was through voice mail and e-mail. When I told him my client wasn’t going to go to market this year, but that we’d be happy to discuss the possibility in 2008, he e-mailed me back “insisting” that we allow him to provide a quote. Insist? Look, agents and brokers are not in a position to use that type of wording, especially when there has been no relationship built. After I tried to call him and left a detailed voice mail, he responded by going directly to my client and asking through him. Not a good move. If you are an agent, you need to know who your prospect is and how they make decisions. Needless to say, this broker will have a difficult time getting the opportunity to ever quote for my client.

Insurance is not a commodity. Price is always important but as with any business or personal relationships, developing trust and respect must always come first. This broker undoubtedly is a nice guy, but his overly aggressive tactics are not always welcome to his prospects. Take the time to cultivate a relationship with your prospects and the people in charge of the quoting process. Remember that old saying, patience is a virtue.

Dan

Ouch is the only way to describe how I feel right now as I sit in the Pittsburgh airport after having said goodbye to Mindy about an hour ago. If you have been where I have, you know what “bittersweet” really means. There’s a feeling that a part of you is now missing, but not gone. It’s hard to describe. I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to spend the weekend with her to help her get started on her new adventure.

I’m at the same time anxious to get home and see Barb, Kelli and the dogs. Kelli just passed her drivers test, so she’s official. Watch out if you’re on the roads in Poulsbo;-]

That’s all for now. I board a plane to Philadelphia soon and then a straight shot home to Seattle. I will do a re-cap tomorrow.

Dan

Today was not as packed with things to do as Thursday and Friday…which was nice. There were several events, including a parent meeting and a brunch with the Franciscan friars. At the brunch, I got to meet some folks who are from Bothell. Mindy was glad to meet another native Washingtonian, especially one who lives so close. Turns out there are nine Washington residents at Franciscan.

I continue to be amazed at the warmth and generosity of this community. It’s a very inviting and welcoming place. If you were like me, your first day of school involved walking to your first class. That’s definitely not the case here. The kids already have an idea of what daily life is like on campus and have met friends. It’s a much better way to begin.

Mindy will get the opportunity to meet with the President of the University tonight at 7:15. All incoming freshman get the chance. After that, since it’s my final night here, we are going out to Dairy Queen for a dessert. It’s starting to finally sink in for me now, just like it did for Barb, Kelli, and Steve a few days ago. Being concerned for her safety is not the issue. I know she’s at the right place…no doubt in my mind. This is the beginning of a marvelous adventure and growth for her. She’s ready for it.

The real issue is I’m going to miss her. She has already left me a voice mail that I’m not supposed to listen to until she’s not around me. I haven’t found the courage to do that yet. I still see myself holding a newborn baby in my arms almost 19 years ago. Where has the time gone?

Many of you out there know what I feel. You have been there, too. In fact, I’m among good company as I see and hear similar thoughts from other parents. Distance doesn’t make a difference; whether it’s 100 or 2500 miles, the pain is still there. I feel fortunate that technology has brought us cellular phones (thanks to family calling plans), e-mail, and webcams. We still will communicate, maybe even better than before, and that will help. It doesn’t change that she won’t be there on Saturday mornings when I make pancakes, or when we are in church as a family, or every night when Barb and I would check to see if she was asleep.

I guess the moral of the story is this. Change happens. We all go through stages in our lives and Barb and I are embarking on a new one. Closing one chapter can sometimes be painful, but always seems to lead to new adventures. As out kids grow up and move on, it will really be like old times again and will give us the opportunity to focus on each other. What changes are you going through in your life? What might you be leaving behind? And, here’s the ultimately important question – what really cool things lay in store for you?

More tomorrow from the Buckeye State..

Dan

The university is having IT issues so I have to type this out first and put in my blogs later. Right now, I’m in the VERY cool library. Not only is it a cool place but the air conditioning is very nice as it’s extremely hot and humid outside.

So far today, Mindy has added a class to her schedule, bought her books ($500 smackers) and put money down to go to Austria next Fall. Well, I guess I paid for the books and the deposit for Austria! She and her roomie are all moved in to their dorm room and after a decent nights sleep, all is well.

We had an awesome experience last night. I’ve only been part of something remotely similar at an NBC Team Camp event. All the kids who came back to run the orientation, affectionately called the “brown shirts” since they were all wearing one, formed a type of gauntlet for all freshman and family to walk through to enter the gym for the opening ceremonies. The brown shirts were whooping and hollering and giving High Fives to everyone walking in. We felt like were rock stars. You can’t imagine the faces of all of us as were walked through…surprise and joy. Talk about being made feel welcome. To me, that is teamwork at its finest…to make your new teammates feel welcome, wanted, and excited to be there. It might make you wonder what would happen if everyone who was new to a team (athletic, business, church, etc.) were made to feel that way!

Dan

Greetings from West Virginia! We arrived safely and I type this from my hotel room in Weirton, WV. I’m only a couple miles away from crossing the Ohio River over to Steubenville. The plane trip was uneventful as you would want one to be.

Mindy and I will be soon heading over to start getting her settled, so this will be brief.

One quick note. Normally I fly Alaska Airlines but they don’t fly into Pittsburgh. I was pleasantly surprised by US Air. It was clean, on time, and the employees had fun, made jokes, and made our trip enjoyable. Customer service is a great thing…especially after my debacle with Dell.

More to come later…

Dan

Do you ever have close calls? Just the other day, I was driving to the post office and suddenly grew concerned that I’d forgotten my cell phone at home. If you’re like me and use your cell phone for business all the time, a twinge of panic runs through you, right? Well, as I went to check my pocket, I looked up and realized that the cars in front of me were coming to a screeching halt. I hit the brakes hard and narrowly missed rear-ending the car in front of me. I was thinking, “Great. A risk management expert rear-ending another car because he was distracted. That doesn’t look very good!”

Even though I don’t use my cell phone while driving anymore, it still was a distraction and nearly caused an accident. How many close calls are there in your business every day? Depending on the type of business you have, it can range from very low (1 or 2) to very high (10 to 12).

It’s important to learn from our close calls if we want to avoid the disaster. For me, I need to remember that forgetting my phone is not as important as the job at hand…driving. I could always check when I pulled in and parked. How about you? What can you do in your business?

A good place to start is by making your employees aware of close calls. If you can raise their awareness about what close calls are, and how they can predict future losses, you will be in a position to avoid costly claims and injuries. The bottom line will be your bottom line! It’s time to learn from your “almost” mistakes.

Dan

P.S. Do you need help with your safety meetings? Would you like to introduce close calls to your employees? Give me a call and let’s schedule a visit for me to your business. Your employees will learn how to protect themselves from injury and you will have a safer, more efficient work environment. To learn more about my risk management consulting, click here…

If you’ve ever watched Tiger Woods play golf, you know you’re looking at arguably the greatest golfer of all time. He unquestionably fits that title for this generation at least. Even if you’re not a golfer, you are certainly aware of his dominance in his profession. This past weekend, he picked up his 13th career major victory at the PGA Championship in Tulsa, OK; moving him ever closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins.

So what can we learn from Tiger? No, I’m not talking about his thunderous drives or his precision putting. We can however learn something about work ethic, perseverance, and a commitment to excellence.

Tiger Woods has been called a “phenom” by many. However, his phenomenal play really comes from an endless regimen that strengthens his mind, body, and skills. The mental focus he brings to his game is really what sets him apart from his competitors. Think about this weekend. After 72 holes in temperatures that soured to over 100 degrees each day, he won a tournament by a mere 2 strokes. Two strokes over 72 holes isn’t a lot by numbers, but it’s that little “extra” that Tiger brings from the mental side that puts him over the top time and time again. His ability to focus on the task at hand, without being distracted about what happened in the past, or what will happen in the future, has made him the most dominant athlete in sports since Michael Jordan.

Do you bring that type of focus to your “game”?

I know I normally talk about insurance, but how about just plain business? Are you focused on all aspects of what is most important for your business – growth, profitability, AND survivability? If you had a major catastrophe today, is your business prepared for the worst case scenario? Here are some things you might need to focus on:

- Is my insurance adequate? When was the last time I really checked?
- Do I have an emergency disaster plan in place?
- Do my employees know what to do in the case of a disaster?
- Will my business survive a catastrophic event?

Be like Tiger Woods in your business. Prepare for the unexpected and be committed to having the best protection possible. It may just save your business someday!

Dan

P.S. Need some help figuring out the best insurance for your business? That’s why I developed my 8 Cool Rules for Better Insurance Buying. You can either purchase the booklet or an e-Book directly from my Toro Store. Click here to learn more…