Archives for May 2009

Salsas!

Not dancing but cooking.  Before I became an insurance nerd and later an insurance geek I was a home economics major.  Cooking is one of the things I really like to do.  When I am home I cook as many meals as possible.

IMG_2260When considering what to do while in Santa Fe I thought about a cooking class.  My traveling companions said they weren’t interested so I chose the Salsas class as it fit our schedule the best and it was a hands-on class.  I had not taken a cooking class since my college days but have wanted to for a very long time.  What a really fun time I had.  Gene came in close to the end of the class and got this picture of our Chef/Instructor, Rocky Durham.  Two of my team mates are shown to my left.  The lady with the bowl is from Los Alamos, NM and this was her second class at the school.  The gentleman to her left is from Alabama.  His wife thought he should take this class while she was shopping.  Our other team member was a lady from Dallas.  Funny how the two ladies from Texas found each other right off.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

IMG_2254

A few months ago a couple that has been life long friends with Gene and that I meet and joined in this friendship a few years ago asked us to meet them in Santa Fe for a few days.  They were meeting his sister and her husband here for several days.  We have never traveled with any of these people before and hardly know our friends relatives but we said it sounded like fun, I love Santa Fe and I thought I really needed a few days away.

We have had so much fun.  When we arrived on Tuesday evening we picked them up and went to Tomasita’s for our first New Mexican meal of the trip and a planning session.

What I Learned Setting Up A New Blog

Moving to a self administered blog has been a challenge and a learning event.  First there was learning how to administer the site itself.  I still look around for the function I need.  I am not fully up-to-speed in this piece of software yet.  But with frequent use I am getting there fast.

Next the learning involves researching and deciding what widgets and plug-ins one might need or want.  I have to tell you this is an endless list.  Without the help of articles I have read by other WordPress users and the help of a very special WordPress administrator, I would be totally lost.

I feel a lot like an employee of an insurance agency would when they are learning a new system.  I still have real work to do, clients to talk to, yet I need to spend time learning this new software and develop it as a tool for my clients.  I know I will get through this learning and development curve and cruse along in an effective way soon.

One of the areas that I have spent a lot of time researching is a tool for blogging offline.  I went through several recommended softwares before settling on Windows Live Writer.  This software provides all of the functionality of writing direct in the blog plus a few plug-ins that are actually easier to use outside the blog.  Like in implementing agency systems, I am spending a lot of time upfront for a payback in the long term by having the best, most efficient software in place.  This will allow me to respond normally to my clients and support my website and blogging.

So if you are implementing a new system or updating the way you use your system, remember that the time invested upfront will pay off in the long term.

Impowersoft Selects Patricia Alexander to Aspire Advisory Board

I am honored to share this press release with you.  Watch for my review of this product in the July 2009 edition of The Anderson Agency Report.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 19, 2009

Patricia Alexander: A New Key Member on the impowersoft Team

Today, impowersoft announced the selection of Mrs. Patricia Alexander, CIC, CPIW, as a new member to the Aspire Advisory Board.  As a consultant, coach and mentor to many agencies, her experience spans standard insurance carriers, retail agencies, surplus lines insurance carriers and managing general agencies.  She has been an agency owner in addition to holding several executive level management positions throughout her career. Mrs. Alexander has managed large, national programs both at the insurance carrier level and at the managing general agency level.

Real Time/Download Webinar

I highly recommend this webinar.  I have heard very positive feed back from the agencies I know that have attended.  Independent agencies are deriving major benefits from implementing Real Time as well as Commercial and Personal Lines Download today and I encourage you to attend this highly regarded one hour webinar being put on by the Real Time/Download Campaign on Wednesday, June 3 (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time) and on Wednesday, July 1 (1:30-2:30 PM eastern time).  ACT has gotten great agent and carrier attendance at previous showings of this Webinar, averaging 390! I encourage you register for this webinar today.

Zywave Brokerage Builder Conference – May 09

This week I attended my first Zywave Brokerage Builder Conference.  Wow am I on overload.  For my property & casualty friends, this product is an agency management system built for and used by those agencies writing benefits coverages.  I have watched this product grow over the past several years and it has been impressive.

The conference was a very fast paced two days.  A balance of keynote speakers, product how tos, networking, user panels and of course socializing.  There has to be some fun at the end of those long days of sitting in meetings and piling your brain full of information.

I really like the approach Zywave takes in teaching their users about set up of activities and attachments.  They use the best practices approach of minimizing the number of activity types, matching the attachment types to the activity types and defining the conventions for descriptions.   Consistency is the key to being able to quickly retrieve information from your agency management system.  Consistency is also the key to successful reporting from your agency management system.

For me the most fun session was “Embrace Your Inner Technology”.  My impression of what this session would be about would be the technology of Zywave.  However, it was far more than that.  The session covered, web conferencing, social networking and wikis in addition to the  Zywave technology.  The exercise for each group was to determine what technologies they would use in transacting a particular business scenario with their client.

The Power of the Positive Audit Part I – TAAR – September 08

Last year when I attended the “Building Winning Teams Workshop” with Patrick Lencioni, he introduced his newest book, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job.  Now, at this point, you’re probably think, “Oh no! I don’t want my staff to see this!”  Well the book isn’t really for your staff – it’s for management.

Read Article

Subscribe to The Anderson Agency Report

Blogging for Insurance Agencies

Over the past couple of months I have been having my website re-done into a blog forward site.  I want to share my thoughts and experiences on:

  • Best Practices for insurance agencies.
  • How to integrate and maximize your technology.
  • Discuss issues relating to agency culture and attracting and retaining the next generation of staff.
  • And other subjects of interest to you.

I want to hear from you about the subject that interest and concern you.  I am using Intense Debate for comments.  You will find this a more interactive format for comments and discussions.