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Why should I join an agency network and what are the benefits? Most people would provide the answer of: “access to markets and carriers!” Although that probably is the biggest reason, the truth is that agency networks offer so much more than that.

While I could list dozens of reasons and benefits for agencies to be part of a network, it might be more advantageous to think about all the reasons agents traditionally cite for not joining a network.

Smart Choice® has continued its streak of explosive annual growth this year, with the addition of 1178 new agency partners year-to-date — and on pace to add a milestone of 1,200 new agency partners by the end of 2018.

In today's hyper-competitive insurance market, agency marketing is more important than ever. In Safeco’s Agent for the Future survey, 38% of independent agents said they plan to increase their investment in marketing. However, only 16% said they planned on hiring a dedicated marketer.

Almost every salesperson in the world has some method of keeping track of appointments; most often it’s a calendar of sorts. And, while it should come as no surprise, so do most people who make appointments with salespeople.

I recently rolled out the 2019 theme for my territory: Failure is a choice. My management team and I identified our top goals for next year and made a plan for keeping them our number-one work priorities. By doing so, we’re making the choice to work actively toward our goals rather than take a passive, come-what-may attitude.

As we finish up 2018, I look back over another record year for Smart Choice® agencies and the growth we’ve experienced together. We have reached two significant milestones this year.

In business, this is often the time of year when we begin planning for what’s to come in the next year – from budgeting and goal-setting to creating actionable punch lists and enacting plans. But, it should also be a time of reflection.

Guilford County, located in North Carolina, is in the top ten for hungriest counties in the United States, and just three years ago, the county was ranked number one. Local companies, including Smart Choice®, have rallied together year after year to prioritize the stocking of our food pantries.

Negative prospects are the easiest people in the world to sell if you remember one thing as you work with them: They don’t want you to get in the way of their buying your product/service.