Posts Tagged ‘benefit’
By: George Francis, President / CEO at Alta Vista Insurance Agency
As social media platforms become vehicles for businesses to steer down the vast Internet freeway, the complexities of these once simple applications are growing. It’s no secret that what was once considered “hip” niche marketing has now evolved into a strategy that many businesses are now utilizing. Social media was previously thought of as a tool used by younger generations to interact and network on the web. Now, while remaining that, it has become an avenue for businesses to expand their brand awareness and reach new customers they may have not encountered before—not to mention it allows independent insurance agencies like ours, to be visible and active right where our consumers are.
Brand awareness ultimately is the goal companies have in mind when creating these online accounts and they do this by acquiring as many Facebook fans as possible. But how is this accomplished? How does a business go from 100 fans to 1,000? The answer is simpler than you’d think; although it takes the proper diligence and patience – you can’t expect massive social success overnight. Below we’ve broken down some social media best practices that have proved successful for our agency:
• Call to action for your current fans: The easiest and most direct way to accumulate more Facebook fans is to ask the fans you already have to spread the word among their friends telling them to “like” your business page. Your current friends can do this by using the “suggest to friends” link under your profile in the left-hand column.
• Put links on your website and blog: Make sure your website has links for your Facebook and Twitter in a prominent spot on your homepage while suggesting that they like your Facebook and follow your Twitter somewhere near the links.
• Have fun! Above all, social media should be a fun, refreshing way to interact with current clients and build relationships with prospects. Sometimes it’s good to think outside the box, such as spicing up your social efforts with things like having contests or polls on a certain day of the week. Be creative and make sure you are appealing to the public with news and information you know people will find value in. Sharing information about California business insurance may not seem all that glamorous; but with a little imagination and creativity you can find ways to make the topic exciting and appealing to your audience.
• Be consistent, relevant & valuable: Again, remember that social media success takes time, you really are aiming to build lifelong relationships with your insurance clientele, and that doesn’t come easy. It’s recommended that you post every day on your agency’s Facebook page. Try posting at least once per day, and no more that once every 3 or so hours – you don’t want to over-stimulate and cripple your Facebook Fans with meaningless content. Make sure what you are posting is relevant – does it tie into a product or service you offer? Is it beneficial to the surrounding community? Try sharing links to recent, educational blog posts you may have written or sharing information about an upcoming community event – ask yourself if what you’re posting will or can benefit your consumer in a positive way.
It’s important that you diversify your Facebook account in order to make it more appealing and add more traffic. If you fill it with only insurance related posts, you won’t get much traction. Keep the content informative, interesting, and entertaining and you’ll see your “likes” go up in no time!
Howard Kaye of Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc. Recommends Life Insurance As Vehicle for Wealth
Howard Kaye knows a thing or two about growing wealth. The son of the famous Barry Kaye, Howard Kaye has been a leader in the field of wealth creation since 1984. Under his leadership and guidance, Barry Kaye Associates grew to become a leading provider of life insurance. Now running his own firm, the Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc., Howard Kaye assists his clients in growing and managing their wealth with the goal of passing it down to their heirs or charities as part of their estate plan. Life insurance is a prime vehicle for doing this.
Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc. Explains The True Worth Of Life Insurance to Clients
At the Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc., advisers spend a lot of time counseling clients on the benefits of life insurance policies as a means to grow wealth. Unlike investments that are dependent on the stock market, and hence, susceptible to ups and downs, life insurance is oftentimes a safer and more steady product that can provide its beneficiary with a guaranteed* sum upon payout. At Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc., advisers spend time getting to know the client and their estate planning goals before recommending appropriate life insurance policies.
*Guaranteed payment of insurance proceeds is based upon the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier and sufficient premium payments to keep the policy in force.
With the ever-changing economy, today’s businesses are looking to make sure the choices that they make are the best ones possible for the long term. More often than ever, this means planning far into the future, making smart financial investments. But the term financial investment can be loosely interpreted.
In order to ensure that the future your business is as secure as possible, you must look at both existing assets for the company in addition to considering looking into technology based investments for the good of your business. But before jumping into this arena, consider that you must do your research first in order to sure that your choices are providing investment that is future-proofing your company. Some examples are provided below.
Long term vs. short term software investments – A short term investment is a license to run a certain number of software titles according to its licensing agreement. A wiser and longer term investment is hiring a company to come up with an open source software solution that can be crafted to meet your company’s needs to the letter. An example of this is live chat software for the company website. It will require a bigger initial investment, but will cost much less in the long run as it prevents any sort of vendor lock-in headaches. This alone can save your firm thousands of dollars down the road and will also provide you with real security knowing that your software can be updated anytime you need it to be.
Long term vs. short term hardware investments – One common misconception is that investing in lots of the latest in notebooks and smart phones is a solid long term investment. Nothing could be further from the truth, as both have a relatively short shelf life in the long term value department. While there is nothing wrong with a limited number of both items listed previously, I’d suggest putting the bulk of a company’s long term hardware investment into virtualization and server access. Both of these can help your company grow without significant hardware investment later on. Bundle this with the software investment of open source software, it’s easy to see how long term investments that will benefit your business for years to come can be put into play pretty easily.
Modern day telemarketing is used to several different new-age tools. It could be the additional use of the internet or the optimization of certain telemarketing services procedures for additional benefit. In this ever-changing BPO world, there are two tools that have stood the test of time. These tools are basic, almost skeletal and you can build up any successful campaign with these. Come to think of it, BPO units with less advanced technology or less skilled manpower can actually carry on with their work if they are making the best use of these tools. They are so valuable that you can also call them assets. They are known to be the framework that supports all your call center services. One is data and the other is customers.
Let’s take them up one at a time. Data is the building block of the telemarketing framework. Call centers with shrinking databases often rely on third party sources for their data. Though they do not really make lead generation any easier, rather makes it difficult, but they do underline the need for data. Ask any BPO expert and you are sure to learn how data is being generated by every possible source. Even traffic to websites is being tracked and those users are contacted! Call center units have to understand that properly assorted data can be useful. You can study a lot of trends by merely studying the statistics you have on your hand. Numbers have to be analytically interpreted and quantified by the managers and supervisors.
After analysis, you will have to draw conclusions from the data. For example, while providing call center support for a fast moving consumer good, you will have to identify a target group. This is the section of the population that will buy your products/services. After you identify them, it’s time to carry out sales lead generation. If you jump into the bandwagon without studying the data you have, you might end up wasting valuable BPO resources without making any impact. Calls will not be justified on the ROI scale when you call the wrong people. The data becomes primary then. Without the data, BPO service looks groping in the dark.
The second one is customers. Customers may be existing or prospective. In either case, call centers have to take care of them. They are open to switching brands and moving over to the rival camp. You can retain them successfully through some quality customer service. Ensure that they are feeling good about being associated with the client’s brand. When you are representing the brand, kudos for the brand will translate into praises for you. Brush up efficiency on the inbound call center department. Make people realize that you care for them and their support counts. Conduct polls and discussions on Facebook and other platforms. Give your customers a voice and make sure you empower that voice with all you have got. Customers will definitely recognize the effort you are making and make allowances for your brand. Money comes secondary when it is brand we are talking about.
From Discomfort to Opportunity
There is nothing pleasant about receiving a collection letter. But there is a powerful credit repair technique, known as debt validation, which can turn your discomfort into opportunity. Like most credit repair techniques debt validation should be done carefully and only in circumstances conducive to success.
Your Rights
Debt validation is the right to challenge a debt and receive written verification of a debt from a debt collector. This right is granted by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Section 809. The intent of the law is to prevent errors in collection of debt, including billing the wrong person, the wrong amount, or for debt that has previously been paid.
Timing Your Validation
It is important to know that you only have 30 days to exercise the right to validate debt under the FDCPA. Practically speaking, collectors are sensitive to the 30 day time limit and if you ask for validation beyond the time limit it is highly likely that your request will be ignored.
Avoiding Action
Before attempting debt validation you should investigate the statute of limitation (SOL) on the debt and establish the extent of your legal exposure. The SOL is the length of time a collector can force the payment of a debt through the courts. Understanding SOL is helpful for all credit repair efforts, as beyond the SOL, a collector cannot sue you. Or if they do, you will prevail in court by claiming the SOL defense.
State Differences
The statute of limitation varies from state to state as well as by debt type, so you will have to research your specific SOL on the Internet. If the debt was incurred in a state other than that of your current residence, check both state SOL rules, as a collector may apply the one that is most favorable to their cause, i.e. the longer one.
Settlement Opportunities
The importance of knowing your SOL is considerable. Validating a debt that is beyond the SOL is not likely to set in motion unwanted legal activity, such as a lawsuit. Conversely, be aware that some collectors treat debt validation as a trigger for the intensification of collection efforts. Debt validation within the SOL is still a valuable credit repair technique, but you might chose to limit your efforts to debts that you are prepared to settle.
Preparing Your Letter
Once you have researched the SOL and decided to move forward, it is time to prepare your validation letter. Keep your letter as simple as possible. Like other credit repair communications, there is no benefit to sharing your life story. There is also no value, at least in your initial communication, in taking an aggressive stance. Be polite and ask them to validate the debt and provide a bulleted list of specific requests including documentation that the collector owns the debt and an accounting of the amount due.
The Outcome of Validation
Per the FDCPA, if the collector has not reported your debt to the credit bureaus they are not allowed to do so until they provide validation. And if have already reported and are unable to validate the debt they must cease collection efforts and stop reporting.
Following Through
Debt validation is a powerful credit repair tool which, in most cases will produce excellent results. But you should also be aware that legal precedent defining the obligations of the collector is inconsistent. As a result, some collectors will provide only minimal documentation and consider their job done. In addition, as there is no time limit for a collector to respond, you may occasionally need to press the issue.