March 2011
Strategies for Success Newsletter March 2011 Issue 63
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Published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies
www.sellingstrategies.com
Copyright 2011 Emily Huling. All rights reserved.
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In this March 2011 issue:
Thoughts to ponder
Thoughts from home
Check it out
On the road in 2011
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1. Thoughts to ponder
Welcome to our newest newsletter category! I hope the issues presented provide the impetus for thoughtful conversation.
An honest dilemma
Grilled porterhouse steaks are one of John’s culinary specialties. Because it’s an expensive cut of meat, we usually wait until Harris Teeter, our preferred grocery store, has an advertised special. Instead of $13.99 a pound, the steaks are $8.99 a pound. Pretty good deal. As I approached the meat department during my weekly shopping visit, I saw swarms of people at the steak display. The steaks were flying out of the case and the young meat worker was waiting to replenish the supply. When I finally got near, there were two steaks left. I took them. I noticed the price marked was not $8.99 a pound. It was mismarked at $1.99 a pound. The sign in front clearly stated that the steaks were $8.99 a pound. No wonder they were flying out of there!
I wondered how many steaks had been sold at this incorrect price. How much money was the store losing? It’s a big successful store. Did it matter? Why hadn’t someone brought this mistake to the attention of the meat department manager?
I started to walk away with my two steaks when I saw the same meat department employee coming back with another cart of steaks.
Question to ponder: What would you do? Would you be the one to tell the employee of the mistake? Next month, I’ll let you know what I did.
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Make service a selling strategy in your agency….DIY Program
Great Service Sells: How Great CSRs Turn Service into Sales is a book and audio CD do-it-yourself customer service training program.
Designed for CSR group learning in staff meetings, using both the print book and accompanying audio CDs. Presented in 21 five-minute chapters, the tips, techniques, real-life stories, and personal challenges offer a year’s worth of training sessions. For a complete list of chapters and facilitation tips, go to www.sellingstrategies.com. Newsletter readers receive a 20% discount by using coupon code NEWS11 at checkout.
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March’s Energizer Minute
Tune in to hear Cutting back can improve the situation. Go to the www.sellingstrategies.com home page and click on the Energizer Minute.
Now available! The Energizer Minute Collection CD. The first 24 Energizer Minutes on CD recorded from January 2009 through December 2010. Receive a complimentary copy on product orders over $75.
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Thoughts from home
Aging beautifully
My once fresh tulip bouquet is past its prime. Many of the yellow and white petals have fallen on my kitchen counter, leaving the fragile, interesting looking pistils exposed. If it weren’t for this unseasonably snowy, icy winter week that has kept everyone inside who had a choice, I would have replaced my tulips with flawless ones. Who wants old flowers?
Well, I do. Over the past couple of days, I’ve gained a new appreciation for the beauty of the natural process of my maturing flowers. It’s a different kind of beauty than the early stages of life, but pretty nonetheless.
Lesson learned: I need to remember this when I look in the mirror.
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We cannot go back, so we had better embrace moving forward. EH
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3. Check it out
Independent Agents – How secure is your client data?
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers’ Agents Council for Technology (ACT) recorded a webinar Implementing an Effective Information Security Program in your Agency that was presented January 13, 2011. The program covers the security risks agencies face, practical steps to take to manage these risks, and the free tools and articles that ACT has produced to assist agencies with their security program including a prototype agency information security plan. Agents will learn how federal and state laws have made it mandatory for agencies to implement an information security program that is anchored by a written security plan. Visit www.iiaba.net/ACT for more information.
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Recently updated information on the website: Free Stuff: Tips to Hire Right, Zero and Low Budget Marketing Ideas, 2011 Speaking Topics, and a new article Lessons from a New Producer.
For dozens of resources to build individual and organizational top performance, visit www.sellingstrategies.com or get in touch with me at emily@sellingstrategies.com or 888-309-8802.
Apply Coupon Code NEWS11 to receive a 20% discount on all online product orders.
Receive a complimentary copy of The Energizer Minute Collection CD on product orders over $75.
Feel free to share any of my free stuff, articles, or newsletter content as long as proper credit is included.
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On the road
Business travel is taking me to these places. Please give me a call if you’d like to connect when I’m in your area.
NAMIC Commercial Lines Underwriting Conference, Chicago, IL March 3, 2011
Private clients – Minneapolis, MN March 8 -10, 2011
Independent Insurance Agents of Arkansas, Young Agents Conference, Hot Springs, AR March 25, 2011
Private client – Louisville, KY April 27, 2011
NetVU Conference – Kissimmee, FL April 28-30, 2011
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Selling Strategies: Strategies for Success Newsletter is published by Emily Huling Selling Strategies. For further information contact emily@sellingstrategies.com.
© 2011 Emily Huling. All rights reserved. Feel free to share our newsletter if copyright and credit are always included.