Many of you have asked for some advice in terms of crafting your prospect employee contact list communications. To begin with (and contrary to popular belief), you don't have to spend a lot of money and have professional graphics people create effective employee contact list marketing materials. Something as simple as a business letter can be very powerful in getting doors opened for your producers. The purpose of this email is to offer some ideas to help you improve your communication and get that first appointment. This message employee contact list describes an initial e-mail or letter called the Opener. It is designed to be the initial personal communication from the producer to the prospect - they know very little about you or your agency. To begin with, nothing you send a prospect is going employee contact list to sell a prospect. This is key, because most agencies try to cram way too much information down the throats of their prospects prior to the first meeting. I've seen very well-written 3 page e-mails devoted to getting that first meeting or call. The result? Completely ineffective because they're just too long - nobody ever reads them. Brevity wins. Use the 2-by-4 rule: Try to employee contact list keep to no more than 2 paragraphs with no more than 4 sentences per paragraph. Rule 2: The communication should always challenge the status quo in concrete, not subjective terms. Bad: "Are your health plan costs spiraling out of employee contact list control?" Good: "Our clients averaged a 6% premium increase in 2009 versus a national average of 19%. We provide valuable services and do more for you than employee contact list your current broker..." Good: "Below is the 12-month schedule we use to deliver the 7 free value-add services we provide every client. Are you getting this kind of value for the dollars you now spend?" Almost EVERYBODY is "happy" with their current broker. It's your job to show them exactly why they shouldn't be... Rule 3: The communication keeps it "Their World". Bad: "We've employee contact list been serving Atlanta for 23 years and our owner is the head of the local chapter of the HGAKA Association..." Good: "We know today your bottom line is what counts - but most businesses we talk to don't really employee contact list know how to uncover their plan's real bottom line.