Commercial Marketing Manager - Greensboro, NC

I'm really excited about this opportunity.  My client is a very well respected independent agency that is very well known throughout North Carolina.  They are looking for someone to step into a marketing manager position that can come in and transform the practice into a proactive, modern group.  This person needs to be the type of individual that is comfortable "rolling up their sleeves" and being involved with marketing even the smallest of risks when necessary.


Commercial Marketing Manager

Our client is a regional insurance agency with the capacity to provide insurance and risk management programs for complex, high risk insureds.  The goal of this position, Marketing Manager, is to lead the agency's centralized marketing functions ensuring the most efficient and diligent work is set forth for new and existing accounts.  It’s important this role can balance traditional relationship building with the ways technology has changed marketing in recent years.

Marketing Manager Responsibilities:
Oversee the accurate compilation and timely release of prepared submissions to market.
Assist in the ongoing training of account managers and producers with respect to submissions, proposals and renewal marketing.
Seek out appropriate relationships within standard and E&S markets; work closely with wholesale brokers and insurance companies as the agency's primary point of contact for contract negotiations, premium commitments, etc.
Contribute to the overall business and sales strategies of the agency's Mid-Atlantic operations.

Marketing Manager Qualifications:
At least five (5) years of commercial underwriting and agency marketing experience with multi-line commercial coverage like general liability, commercial auto, large property and workers compensation.
Knowledge and design capabilities for unusual or high risks clients including large deductible, SIR and captive programs.
Ability to partner with sales executives, client service staff and marketing specialists to analyze risk, strategize renewals and help advise clients on appropriate insurance programs.
Must have extensive regional carrier and wholesale brokerage relationships to provide an advantage when negotiating the best coverage and rates available.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Senior Commercial Insurance Producer - Texas

This is a great opportunity for a strong producer that is looking to step into a niche.  Our client is an expert in several niches and is looking for someone to join their commercial healthcare practice.  They are seeking someone with large account experience and with a strong hunter personality.  They are open to this position being based out of Dallas, Austin, Houston or San Antonio.

Commercial Insurance Producer

Our client is a multi-state independent agency focused on building continuous relationships with clients.  They are a leader in providing business insurance, including group benefits, to a variety of industries.  This position, Senior Commercial Insurance Producer, is responsible for expanding the agency's Texas footprint in commercial healthcare.  Defined as middle market business, the core focus will be doctors and hospitals within the state.

Senior Commercial Insurance Producer Responsibilities:
Identify, solicit and service physicians groups, hospitals and other related commercial healthcare accounts.
Lead marketing efforts; help direct the agency's resources in other offices to secure the best pricing and coverage with Texas underwriting contacts.
Assist with the state's marketing strategy, help create marketing materials and participate at associations and trade shows to promote the agency's resources.
Identify ways to round out the coverage through the sale of group employee benefits.

Senior Commercial Insurance Producer Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree is required.
At least five (5) years of demonstrated sales experience, particularly in the areas of successfully moving a mid-sized commercial account from the prospect through the closing stage.
Broad property and casualty product background; ability to manage relationships with underwriters to garner competitive pricing and coverage during the marketing phase.
Understanding of group benefits health plans is helpful as well as any prior medical malpractice or commercial healthcare product knowledge.
Early on the marketing focus will be in Austin; non-Austin residents can work remotely but there will be an active travel component to the position.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x17  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

Year in Review

Five Dumbest Mistakes You can Make in an Interview

Five Things Employers Do in the Interview Process that Suck

The Four Skills that Every Insurance Account Manager Needs to Succeed in Their Career

So You Got Fired…  What Do You Say in an Interview?

Five Things You Should Know When Working with a Recruiter

Five Reasons to Look at Making a Move in 2012

Self Defeating Job Search Moves

Forward Emails:  The Silent Job Search Killer

Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Answering the Salary Question

The Four Worst Interview Tips

Six Tips for Preparing for an Interview Part II

Hi there!  Welcome to the second part of this series about basic interview tips.   As I described in the first article I think that sometimes people gloss over the basics because they already know them.  I can tell you from experience that many people either don’t or they forget them.  If you’re just joining us the first part can be read here:

Six Tips for Preparing for an Interview Part I

Here are tips 4 – 6:

4.  Dress the Part!

This is something that people surprisingly mess up all of the time.  There are many people that give all sorts of advice about dressing to match the people in the office and so on.  Here is the deal.  WEAR A SUIT!  The reason that you dress up for an interview is not to look impressive.  It is a sign of respect.  To this day I have never heard of someone losing out on a job because they were overdressed. 

If you are in a position where you absolutely can’t wear a suit - like it would draw attention to your current employer.  Call the interviewer beforehand and ask for permission to wear your regular work attire.  When you do this you are still accomplishing your goal.  Giving them respect and acknowledging proper protocol.

5.  Know Where the Interview Is!

Back in the old days when people prepared for an interview they would pull out a map and drive to the interview the night before to make sure that they could get there on time.  Nowadays in our sophisticated world of GPS we make the assumption that our smartphones will magically get us where we need to be on time. 

I’d like to introduce you to Finagle’s Law.  Finagle’s law states “Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment.”  Being late is a cardinal sin in a job search.  Calling to tell them that you are running late can minimize the damage but you will look bad.  The best bet is to use your GPS to drive to the interview site the night before and call it good.

6.  Send a Thank You Note

We have evolved into a digital age where manners are secondary.  Emily Post would be horrified with how we handle our affairs.  In this day and age it is customary to send a thank you email that instantaneously gets delivered to the interviewer in a generic and antiseptic manner.  Sending an actual letter in the mail – using handwriting and a stamp – will set you apart.  An added bonus is that the mail takes so long that it will serve as a positive reminder of your awesome interview a couple of days later when they are getting ready to make a decision.  However, please remember that you need to send both the email and the letter.  Unfortunately, because virtually no-one else uses the mail anymore you will look bad if you don’t send an immediate email too.

Happy interviewing out there!!

If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below or to email me at sthompson@insurance-csg.com

Please check out some of my other articles below:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Employee Benefits Account Manager – Greensboro, NC

This is a great opportunity with one of my best clients.  They are looking for a very sharp account manager with middle market and large account experience (250 – 2,500 lives).  Self funded experience is a must.  This place offers terrific benefits and a great work life balance.  As always please let me know if you have any suggestions or are interested yourself.

  

Employee Benefits Account Manager

Our client is an independent agency with a dynamic, professional sales and service staff that strives to offer service above their competitors.  Their service department seeks a knowledgeable, senior client manager with experience handling large, complex group employee benefits accounts as the primary account service coordinator.

Employee Benefits Account Manager Responsibilities:

Serve as the primary client service point of contact to the insured.

Answer questions about coverage and pricing, create and execute the renewal cycle, coordinate all renewal marketing and create RFPs.

Be a resource for producers and client service colleagues concerning markets, coverage issues enrollments and claims.

Employee Benefits Account Manager Qualifications:

At least five (5) years of group life and health insurance experience as an Account Manager or Account Executive.

Bachelor's degree is strongly preferred; pursuance of continuing education endorsements are highly desired.

Large account experience with groups over 100 lives; self-funding and consumer driven health plans is important.

Knowledgeable with compliance issues- HIPAA, ERISA, COBRA, etc.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x17  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Regional Sales Executive Employee Benefits - Atlanta, GA

I'm working on a great opportunity for someone looking to move into an exciting carrier representative role.  Our client is a well respected carrier that offers a Business, Travel & Accident product geared towards the 100 - 1,000 life group and is looking for someone in Atlanta that has agency connections and can market the product to agencies in Georgia.  They are focused on someone coming from the carrier side with group medical experience and would consider someone in a sales role or an account executive role.  If you have any suggestions or questions please feel free to reach out.


Regional Sales Executive Employee Benefits
Our client is a global provider of specialty lines insurance. They offer a range of insurance products—including Personal Accident, Business Travel, Accident and Sickness and other specialty health coverages. They presently offer an opportunity to join their growing organization as a Regional Marketing Manager in four different locations to include: Atlanta, GA;  Los Angeles or San Francisco, CA;  Dallas or Houston, TX; Chicago, IL. While the product line will be A&H, the best fit for my client's needs will likely be someone from an employee benefits sales background calling on a defined territory. This position will actively promote Client's A&H products and services to brokers, consultants and any other distribution sources in their assigned territory.  The Regional Marketing Manager will provide the necessary servicing to these producers to make sure they are satisfied and to maintain strong working relationships with these individuals and be responsive to their needs.  

Regional Marketing Manager Responsibilities:
Frequent sales calls to brokers and consultants in all parts of the assigned territory
Identify new distribution sources to sell A&H products and services
Educate the producer community about A&H products and services
Develop new broker relationships within territory
Work with VP of Sales on a regular basis visiting producers in the defined territory

Regional Marketing Manager Requirements:
Minimum of 7 years of experience in the group benefits and/or A&H business
Minimum of 7 years of sales experience in the group benefits and/or A&H business
Strong existing relationships with brokers and agents within assigned territory
Strong written, oral and presentation skills

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 ext 17. See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

Six Interview Tips Part I

Six Tips For Preparing For An Interview Part I

Hi All! This week I thought I’d go back to basics and cover some things that we all think we know.  Before I start sounding like the adults in a Peanuts cartoon – please listen.  This stuff is really important.  The basics in an interview are what set the winners apart from the losers.  The reason:  If you can’t do the simple stuff right an employer will assume that you can’t do the important more complex stuff – like breathing….

So below are six tips for preparing for an interview.   Getting these right will not get you the job.  However, getting  these wrong will cost you the job!

1.  Check out Social Networking

Many interviewers look at people’s social networking to get a feel for them before an interview.  I have no doubt that this practice will increase.  Honestly, I think that you should be way ahead of the curve and have already taken all of those pictures down when you decided to look for a new job but if you haven’t yet.  

Your future employer does not want to know how fun
you were in college...

Make sure you do so before the interview.  Also – do a quick Google search of your name.  Make sure that there isn’t another person with your name out there writing horrible things.  If there is you can’t do anything about it but you can be aware of it and be prepared to deal with it. 

2.  Research the Company

This is one place where people really stumble.  Nothing ends an interview more quickly than admitting that you don’t know anything about the company.  It is not acceptable to say I meant to research you but I was too busy.  With this in mind you need to know what the interviewer is looking for.  They don’t want a ten minute report about all of the information that you found – they work there…

Organizations simply want to know that you took the time to do some research.  A good way to handle this is to make sure that you know about the company and its product.  From there look for something that interests you and answer their question with a question.

Example:

Interviewer:  So what do you know about the company?

Interviewee:  I have to say I was really impressed with your website.  You guys look like a top notch insurance agency.  I noticed that XYZ company placed a strong emphasis on your support of XYZ charity.  Why do you guys do that?

Boom!  You just nailed it.  You answered the question.  You made the interviewer happy because they get to do what everyone likes most – talk about yourself.  AND you can move on to the real point of the interview – why you are so awesome.

3.  Research the Interviewer

In most cases you will know the name of the person that you are interviewing.  In this day and age there is really no excuse to take this information and do some cyber-stalking.  Look up these people on LinkedIn and Facebook.  See if there are any common interests.  Find out where they went to college.  Find out if there is anything that you can use to your advantage. 

Use Care.  Don't look like this guy!

However, please heed my warnings.  You should keep the following things in mind:

• It is only acceptable to acknowledge that you looked them up on LinkedIn or on their company website.  Don’t say that you looked them up on Facebook – this can weird them out.
• Only use the information if you are given an in – don’t start the conversation by saying – I noticed you went to XYZ State University – did you like it there
• Find a way to get the interviewer talking about themselves – people like this

Tips 4 – 6 can be found here:

Six Tips For Preparing for an Interview Part II

Please feel free to check out some of my other articles below:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do

As always please feel free to comment below or to send me an email at sthompson@insurance-csg.com.  

Commercial Lines CSR - Atlanta, GA

This is a great opportunity for someone that is looking to get into a niche.  Our client is a well respected organization that focuses exclusively on insurance for the healthcare industry.  They are looking for a sharp individual with p&c experience that can step in as a CSR.  The biggest requirement is that this individual must be high energy, task oriented and be able to manage multiple things at once.  Please let me know if you have any suggestions or if you are interested.

Commercial Lines CSR
Our client is a specialized property and casualty agency focused on providing exceptional customer service.  The position, Commercial Insurance CSR, is responsible for providing sales support and building client relationships.  Teamwork is an important part of the agency's client service success, so your ability to communicate and support the work of colleagues is critical.

Commercial Insurance CSR Responsibilities:
Provide support to account managers and producers; help to coordinate renewals, prospective clients and respond to customer inquiries in a timely fashion.
Be thorough and accurate with all client correspondence, checking to make sure requests are completed and documented in the agency management system.
Conduct quote and policy reviews as well as assist with certificate and billing questions.
Learn the agency's comprehensive list of commercial and personal lines product offerings.

Commercial Insurance CSR Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree is strongly preferred; equivalent work experience will be considered.
Active GA P&C license.
Minimum of three (3) years experience in property and casualty customer service; prior agency experience is required.
Can manage a high volume of calls and emails from insureds.
Strong command of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Please contact Scott Thompson for immediate confidential consideration and additional details.  Email:  sthompson@insurance-csg.com  Phone:  515-987-0242 x17  Fax 515-987-0004  See our website at, www.csgrecruiting.com/ins_opportunities.htm for a complete listing of nationwide opportunities.

Check out some of my recent articles on the blog here:

The Six Biggest Challenges Faced by Insurance Producers

How Insurance Producers Can Use Social Networking to Increase Sales

Four Skills that Every Account Manager Needs to Succeed

Bad Customer Service Experiences

Four Keys to a Great Reference

Three Things that Account Managers Should Do