Texas connection november 2014

In This IssueIn This IssueIn This IssueIn This Issue

• Which of your customers could use Which of your customers could use Which of your customers could use Which of your customers could use

an Umbrella?an Umbrella?an Umbrella?an Umbrella?

• 5 Rookie Home Page Mistakes5 Rookie Home Page Mistakes5 Rookie Home Page Mistakes5 Rookie Home Page Mistakes

• Increase Your Hiring Success RateIncrease Your Hiring Success RateIncrease Your Hiring Success RateIncrease Your Hiring Success Rate

• By The NumbersBy The NumbersBy The NumbersBy The Numbers

the

TEXAS CONNECTION TEXAS PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE AGENTS DIGITAL JOURNAL NOVEMBER 2014

Presidents Corner ………………………..… Page 3

Meet The Member …….…………..……… Page 5

Umbrellas, Who Needs Them? …..……… Page 6

Five Rookie Home Page Mistakes ….……. Page 10

Dixonisms …..…………………..…..……… Page 11

TDI Enforcement Ac6ons …….……..…... Page 12

Increasing Your Hiring Success Rate ……. Page 13

Current Events ………………...………… Page 16

Our Partners ……..……………..……….. Page 20

By The Numbers …...…….………...…….. Page 24

Word Scramble ……...…….………….…… Page 25

Texas Trading Post ………………………. Page 26

Classifieds ………………………..….…… Page 30

The Last Word …………………......…… Page 32

THE TEXAS CONNECTION - TEXAS PROFESSIONAL INSURANCE AGENTS DIGITAL JOURNAL Page 3

Let's put the seniors in jail, and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the seniors would have access to show-ers, hobbies, and walks.

They'd receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they'd receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly if they fell, or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool, and education.

Simple clothing , shoes, slippers, P.J.'s and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise out-door yard, with gardens.

Each senior could have a P.C. a T.V. radio, and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear com-plaints and the guards would have a code of con-duct, that would be strictly adhered to.

The "criminals" would get cold food, be left all alone, and unsupervised… lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week… Live in a tiny room, pay $5000. per month and have no hope of ever getting out. Tony HarperTony HarperTony HarperTony Harper


David Mikeal - Eas-Tex Insurance Agency, Nacogdoches, Texas

Meet David Mikeal and his wife, Laura. David a!ended Stephen F. Aus%n University where he met Laura…

and the rest is history. Laura is a creden%aled school teacher… she and David have two boys Aus%n and Zack.

David owns Eas-Tex Insurance with stores in Nacogdoches and Lu+in. He is a long %me member of Texas PIA.

He and Laura were on our 2006 annual mee%ng cruise to Cozumel. Ah, those were the days.

David is a great agent… he understands what it takes to provide good customer service.

Cozumel—2006


When looking at various E&O claims involving umbrella coverage, there are circumstances where the “gaps”

between the actual underlying limits and those required are major concerns. However, in the majority of those

cases, the real issue is the lack of the umbrella. Essentially, there is a claim where the underlying limits were

not sufficient to cover the claim. Unfortunately, when this occurs, the possibility that the agency could be in-

volved in litigation due to the absence of the umbrella increases. Why, then, don’t more personal and commer-

cial customers have this important coverage?

Who has the potential?

There are instances where a customer is provided with an umbrella proposal and chooses not to buy it. This is

fine, providing there is solid documentation of the offer and the declination. Could there be situations where an

umbrella proposal was not even provided because the agency CSR/producer did not think the client needed an

umbrella? Absolutely. On any given day, the news reports on major accidents in which the potential to exhaust

the underlying coverage limits exists.

Which of your clients need an umbrella? Asking the question in a somewhat different manner, which of your

customers has the potential to cause an accident where the underlying auto or homeowners limits will not be

sufficient? They most likely all do! Why, then, has an umbrella proposal not been provided to all of your custom-

ers?

Who receives a proposal?

Some agency staff members may judge whether to offer an umbrella based heavily on the size of that specific

customer’s assets. When an agency CSR deals with a personal lines customer who has two homes, three

cars and a boat, the thought of offering an umbrella

seems much more logical. After all, the customer has

the assets, and umbrella is a coverage that will assist

greatly in protecting those assets. The same is true for a

commercial lines customer with a multiple-vehicle fleet

and a significant general liability exposure.

Going back to the personal lines customer, contrast that

customer with a young adult that owns a car and rents

an apartment. If one were to judge the “need for an um-

brella” by the size of the assets, there is a good chance

there will not be an umbrella discussion with the young

adult client. After all, what could the young adult do that

could cause a serious auto accident or result in a signifi-

cant liability exposure? Plenty!

Bottom line, the potential size of auto accidents or liabil-

ity exposures is not determined by the size of the cli-

ent’s assets. What if the client just graduated and has a

college debt of $200,000? What are this individual’s net

assets? It’s probably a negative number, yet this person

still has the ability to cause a significant loss where the

underlying insurance is not sufficient – just as great as

the person who owns two homes, three cars and a boat.

In the commercial lines scenario, contrast the customer

with multiple vehicles and a storefront operation with a

one-person operation, such as a contractor or salesper-

son. Does one of these exposures offer a greater likeli-

hood there will be a sufficient claim?

While the customer with multiple vehicles probably pre-

sents a greater exposure, it does not mean the custom-

er with one vehicle has no exposure. In addition, ac-

counts such as contractors have other exposures that

present tremendous potential for a sizeable general lia-

bility loss.

Write more umbrellas

To reiterate, which of your customers need an

umbrella? The most likely all do! Agency staff should be

careful not to prejudge customers when determining

customers’ insurance needs. There is the requirement

that certain minimum underlying limits be carried to se-

cure an umbrella, so when dealing with current and pro-

spective customers, discuss the benefit and cost of an

umbrella. Propose a variety of limits for the coverages

being considered. This lets the customer know that you

are not “recommending” a specific limit and that higher

limits are available. This also “forces” the customer to

make a decision on which limit he or she wants and

those which are being rejected.

Most agency management systems provide the ability to

identify those accounts that don’t have an umbrella.

Make it a goal in 2015 to ensure that all of your custom-

ers are advised of umbrella coverage, what it does and

how much it costs. For some customers, you must factor

in the cost to increase his or her underlying limit. If a

customer rejects the umbrella offering, get his or her

sign-off. At the end of the end, you’re likely to find your-

self writing more umbrella policies.


by Curtis M. Pearsall, CPCU, AIAF, CPIA

President – Pearsall Associates, Inc. and

Special Consultant to the Utica National E&O Program


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Check out the rates for the most cost effec%ve method of keeping your

message in front of your customers… professional insurance agents.

Ques%ons? Contact Joe Tipton at [email protected] or (972) 862-3333.

Our CE Mee%ngs are designed to be fun, educa%onal, and profitable. At the mee%ng November 12th, we gave away a Kindle Fire HD. Plus, here are some winners of Free Movie Passes courtesy of Ed Lack with

Empower Insurance. Our Next DFW CE Mee%ng will be Jan. 24, 2015.

It's all too common for small-business owners who build their own websites to make a handful of rookie mistakes.

Unfortunately, it's not unheard of for hired professionals to make errors when designing websites, too.

Your website is one of your most important marke6ng tools, so whether you're taking on the crea6on and design

of it yourself or you're hiring someone else to do it for you, make sure you avoid these all-too-common home

page mistakes:

1. Too Many Choices

People won't actually read your home page. They'll scan it, looking for the informa6on that's most immediately

relevant to them. If they can't find it quickly and with minimal effort, they'll visit a site where they can.

Your site should be designed to guide new eyes exactly where you want them to go, even if they don't know for

sure what they're looking for ... especially if they're not sure what they're looking for. Simple naviga6on with clean

lines is the way to go. If your business requires that you offer robust, complex choices, do that on a deeper page.

Your home page should be simple and easy to navigate.

2. Wall Of Text

A few years ago, a mul6million-dollar ad campaign from five major magazine publishers who were tou6ng the

power of print stated "We surf the Internet. We swim in magazines." To do that surfing, people will interact with,

share and return to websites that have pages with: (con6nued on page 17)


Your website is one of your biggest marke6ng opportuni6es. Don't let it fall vic6m

to these 5 home page missteps.

Texas PIA Offers Members Satisfying E&O Solutions

“Fifteen minutes could save you 15%.... Everyone knows that- but did you know that not all E&O policies are the same?

E&O is like other types of insurance- you buy it hoping you’ll never need it- but if you do- E&O can be the difference in whether you stay in business or not.

How about it? Do you know what your poli-cy covers-. And more importantly, what it doesn’t?

Texas PIA offers members, quality E&O mar-kets and coverage. And members say they have saved as much as 40% when they switch to exclusive PIA programs.

Call today and get an analysis of your cover-age and a competitive quote from multiple markets.

Call Texas Insurance Professional Services:

Ray Reyes or Bob Dixon

(214) 618-2365 (832) 375-0787

[email protected] [email protected]

Think about it:

Careful taking your turkey to church. They have fowl mouths.


A woman runs a red traffic light and

crashes into a man's car. Both of their

cars are demolished, but amazingly, nei-

ther of them is hurt.

After they crawl out of their cars, the

woman says; "Wow, just look at our cars!

There's nothing left, but fortunately we

are unhurt. This must be a sign from God

that we should meet and be friends and

live together in peace for the rest of our

days."

The man replies, “I agree with you com-

pletely. This must be a sign from God!”

The woman continues, ”And look at this,

here’s another miracle. My car is com-

pletely demolished, but my bottle of

wine didn’t break. Surely God wants us to

drink this wine and celebrate our good

fortune.” She then hands the bottle to the

man.

The man nods his head in agreement,

opens it, drinks half the bottle and then

hands it back to the woman. The woman

takes the bottle, immediately puts the

cap back on, and hands it back.

The man asks, "Aren't you having any?"

The woman replies, "Nah. I think I'll just

wait for the police."

Adam ate the apple, too. Men will never

learn…

This column courtesy of Bob Dixon with Texas

Insurance Professionals.

ContactUs

Give us a call for more infor-

mation about member services

and products.

Texas PIA and Young

Insurance Professionals

3632 Frankford Rd 200B

Dallas, Texas 75287

(972) 862.3333

[email protected]

www.piatx.org

- The Insurance Sage


: https://wwwapps.tdi.state.tx.us/inter/asproot/fraud/indictments/clips.asp

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE

LATEST INDICTMENTS AND CASE DISPOSITIONS POSTED

Perez, John

Date of Ac6on: 10/15/2014

Loca6on: San Antonio

Ac6on Taken: Sentenced to 3 years deferred adjudica6on and ordered to pay

$62,239.55 in res6tu6on. Viola6on: Securing Execu6on of a Document by Decep-

6on, State Jail Felony

Carter, Leslie


Loca6on: Athens

Ac6on Taken: Indicted. Viola6on: Insurance Fraud, State Jail Felony

Trevino, Kimberly


Loca6on: San Marcos


Myers, Brent L



Ac6on Taken: Informa6on Viola6on: Insurance Fraud, State Jail Felony

Miller, Bryan W


Loca6on: Dallas

Ac6on Taken: Sentenced to 2 years deferred adjudica6on, fined $1,500.00 and

ordered to pay $10,830.00 in res6tu6on. Viola6on: Insurance Fraud, State Jail

Felony

Brown, Kortlynd S




Factor, Benjamin



Ac6on Taken: Sentenced to 10 years proba6on, fined $2,000.00 and ordered to

pay $11,359.84 in res6tu6on. Viola6on: Insurance Fraud, Second Degree Felony


The eight interview techniques every manager needs to master.

By Kimberly Paterson

Thirty days into the job, your brilliant new hire’s real personal emerges and it’s not preOy. That seemingly confident, pleas-

ant, well-qualified person is wreaking havoc in your commercial-lines department. Two of your best customer service repre-

senta6ves have knocked on your door complaining about how the new person talks to clients and the new hire’s lack of tech-

nical knowledge. You reflect back on the interview. Slowly, you begin to recognize the signs were there. How could you

have possibly missed them?

Don’t feel bad; you’re not alone. According to a Harris Interac6ve Survey, “Close to 7- percent of employers admiOed to

making a bad hiring decision in 2012” The problem is the standard interview process oTen revels liOle about a job candi-

date’s true self. Candidates are on guard and on their best behavior. The good ones are quite skilled at knowing and telling

you what you want to hear. In the end, the interview process tends to be more about who is the best self-promoter than

who will be the best person for the job.

The good news is, you can learn a lot about candidates and how they are likely to perform in the job by simply changing how

you approach and conduct interviews.

PRIORITIZE THE SKILLS YOU NEED

Most professional, independent insurance agencies rely on a job descrip6on when interviewing and evalua6ng candidates.

Typically, this is a laundry list of the skills required and the du6es the person will be asked to perform. The reality is, no one

candidate will have everything and not all skills are equally important. Instead of relying on a lengthy job descrip6on, make a

bullet list that includes: the must-have skills (in order to priority), the nice-to-have skills and the skills that can be learned in

the job. This will help you and your fellow interviewers zero in on what maOers most and significantly improve your ability to


assess the individual rela6ve to the posi6on.

PREPARATION

Agency owners know their business, they know what the job requires and they know what they look for in people. All that

knowledge can lead people to complacency and a belief that they don’t need to prepare. That’s a huge mistake. Develop a

list of good, opened-ended ques6ons that deal with the posi6on in general. Then, thoroughly study the individual’s resume

and develop a second list of ques6ons geared to explore his or her specific experience. Prepare a pre-printed form for each

candidate. Include room so that you can make notes as you go through the interview and a place to summarize your obser-

va6ons/feelings about the person immediately following the conversa6on. It’s important that you make thee notes right

away – especially if you’re conduc6ng mul6ple interviews. People start to blend together and if you wait, you run the risk of

confusing candidates or forgeVng something that could be important.

STRUCTURE THE INTERVIEW

A structured interview asks all the candidates the same ques6ons in the same order, giving you a more reliable basis for com-

paring applicants. There is a wealth of well-documented research on this topic and it consistently shows that structured in-

terviews are more effec6ve in predic6ng job success. Despite their proven success, the structured interview is a tool few

agents use.

KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT

One of the most common blunders interviewers make is talking too much. They get caught up in talking about the company,

what it’s like to work there and details of the job. When you do this, the candidate learns a lot about you, but you don’t learn

much about him or her. Also, the more you say, the more cues you give the applicant about how to answer your ques6ons.

Once you’ve established rapport and

the candidate is comfortable, let him or her do the talking. Prac6ce the 80/20 rule – 80 percent of the 6me the candidate is

speaking and 20 percent of the 6me you’re speaking.

INTERVIEW CONTENDERS THREE TIMES

People act differently in different situa6ons. When you change the situa6on, new aspects of the candidate’s behavior

emerge. Take Karen as an example. She was great in one-on-one interviews with the agency’s two principals and was the

leading contender for the job. Then, she interviewed in a group seVng by a manager and three women who would be her

peers. Throughout the conversa6on, Karen directed her eye contact and answers toward the manager, even when her poten-

6al peers asked the ques6ons. She ignored the other women. The agency’s leaders viewed her lace of social intelligence in

dealing with her peers as a significant problem in an egalitarian agency that valued teamwork and collabora6on.

GO DEEP

When you develop ques6ons for your structured interview, avoid standards like: What’s your greatest weakness? Describe a

difficult experience at work and how you handled it. Describe your best boss and your worst boss. How do you handle pres-

sure? There are hundreds of websites that teach candidates the ideal way to answer these ques6ons. If you ask a cliché

ques6on, chances are you’ll get a well-rehearsed answer. (con6nued on page xx)



DFW November CE Meeting at La Calle

Everyone enjoyed our November Mee6ng.

PaV Romo & Danny Cano from Aggressive

gave us 2 CE hours on Ethics.

Don Hobdy of ITC provided beneficial

training on building and retaining your

book of business. And great food!


WE APPRECIATE

OUR PARTNERS


Aggressive Insurance

21st Century Managing General Agency

Affirmative Insurance

Alpha Insurance

American Southwest Insurance Managers

Ashley General Agency

Berwick Insurance Group

Celestite Group

Columbia Lloyds Insurance Company

Integra Premium Finance

Direct General

Dovetail Insurance

Empower Insurance Group

FloodSmart

Frank Crum

Great American Insurance

Hallmark Personal Lines

Hagerty Classic Insurance

Imperial Fire and Casualty

Imperial PFS

Insurance by Design

iMGA

Louis A. Williams & Associates, Inc.

Lane and Associates

Mendota / American Bankers Insurance

Mercury Insurance

Midlands Management

National Lloyds

Nations Safe Drivers

Personable Insurance General Agency

Premium Funding Associates, Inc.

Progressive

Ramsgate Managing Insurance

Safeway Insurance

Select Insurance Markets Inc.

Superior Access

Southeast Surplus

United Auto Insurance Group

Varsity Insurance Group

Western General Insurance Company


(con6nued from page 9)

• Short paragraphs

• Bullet and numbered lists

• Lots of white space

• Images and other graphics

• Sec6ons with subheadings

Anything that breaks up the informa6on you're

presen6ng means people will read more about

your company, your products and services, and

why they want to do business with you.

3. No Blog

Blogging for your business doesn't mean you

have to post something every day, but it does

give your website dynamic, rather than sta6c,

content. Dynamic content means something on

your site changes oTen enough that people will

come back to see what's new. More important, it

engages Google in a way that unchanging pages

don't.

Even one post per week, or two each month, will

be enough to get the aOen6on of Google and

other search engines. To aOract the aOen6on of

human readers, be sure to announce the newest

blog updates on your social media pla[orms and

encourage subscribers to sign up for your blog.

4. No Op%miza%on

Yes, there's a lot of voodoo feel to search engine

op6miza6on (SEO). Yes, there's a larger-than-is-

reasonable group of charlatans pretending to

provide good SEO advice without actually helping

your business. No, this doesn't mean you should-

n't build your site without sound SEO prac6ces in

place.

A full discussion of SEO could fill several books,

which would then need new edi6ons fairly quick-

ly because of how rapidly Google changes its al-

gorithms. A short list of essen6als includes:

• Iden6fying three to five keyword phrases

for your site to aggressively pursue

• Including keywords in metadata, URLs and

similar "behind the curtain" aspects of

your home page

• Avoiding "black hat" SEO methods like

keyword stuffing and cour6ng unrelated

links

• Using smart, natural instances of your

keywords in your blog and on the sta6c

pages of your site

5. Neglec%ng The Obvious

Google gives bonus points for including a

(con6nued on page 25)


(con6nued from page xx)

Instead of asking about weaknesses as: “you’ve told me about the things you do well, now tell me about the things you don’t do

quite so well.” Rather than asking whether they’re a team players, as “what are some of the things that tend to get in your way

when you work with others?” Follow up with, “what do you do when that happens?”

Once you ask your structured interview ques6ons – the general ques6ons you ask every candidate – go to the specific ques6ons

you developed based on the person’s resume. Resumes can be more fic6on than fact. If something on the par6cular resume is

important to you, be sure to ask at least three ques6ons about it such as: How was that accomplished? What was your role?

What support or resources did you have?

An agency I was working with was hiring a new commercial lines producer. It wanted a sales person who could open doors and

help the agency expand into a new market. The leading candidate for the posi6on was a young ar6culate personable CIC. His re-

sume state that he built a $768,000 book of business in three years. On the surface it looked like he was an effec6ve business

builder. When probed about this, a different picture appeared. Ninety percent of his business came from the agency’s employee

benefits accounts. Thanks to his benefits colleagues, he had warm introduc6ons to clients who already liked and trusted the

agency. He was a good technician and effec6ve closer, but he clearly wasn’t the rainmaker the agency needed.

BE METHODICAL

According to a University of Michigan study on the predictors of job performance, the typical job interview increases the likeli-

hood of choosing the best candidate by less than two percent. That’s because the tradi6onal job interview is a highly subjec6ve

process. If you want to iden6fy the best candidate, it is vital to take as much subjec6vity out of the decision as you can.

Texas Twisted Tangy Turkey Salad

1 1/2 cups diced cooked turkey

1/4 cup spicy Dejon mustard

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon of diced pickled jalapenos

1 tablespoon of dill relish

1 tablespoon of sweet relish

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup chopped red onion

4 slices of Texas toast

Combine all ingredients except toast. Pan fry


The internet can be very interes6ng and funny. But, it can also be scary and sobering. In a

random search, we found the following data regarding turkey fryer accidents. It suggested

that for most of the past decade, Texas leads the country in the number of turkey fryer ac-

cidents. Here is an average:

• Thanksgiving Day is the worst day of the year for cooking fires.

• Fire departments fight more than 1,000 fires related to deep fryers annually.

• More than $15 million in property is damaged or destroyed annually.

• 6 deaths, 36 injuries annually

• More than half of reported non-fatal home cooking fire injuries occur when

the vic6ms try to fight the fire themselves.

Don’t be a sta6s6c. Here are a few things you can do to avoid becoming the recipient of

the next Darwin Award:

• Get a fryer with a thermostat and monitor the temperature closely. Smoking oil catches fire quickly.

• Be sure the turkey is completely thawed and dry. Boiling oil and water are a bad combina6on.

• Use a turkey that is less than ten pounds.


Arrange each of the following anagrams to form a single insurance related word. Keep in mind

that the anagram is not a clue. It has nothing to do with insurance related word. Send us your

answers to be entered in a drawing to win a fabulous prize! Feel free to call us if you’re stuck.

972.965.2025 Email to: [email protected] or fax to 972. 307.7888

TINY DENIM

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Looking to sell? Looking to buy or trade? Just want to haggle? More fun than

EBay, safer than Craigslist. It’s Free, Give it a try! Email your ad

to: [email protected]


Texas Insurance Professional Services

Ray Reyes or Bob Dixon

(214) 618-2365 (832) 375-0787


This new feature of The Texas Connec6on is a column dedicated to

Marke6ng Reps. You have the opportunity to pass on compliments

and cri6cisms, helpful hints and pet peeves… We know there are

things that Agents might do beOer… and this will give you a larger

pla[orm to spread your message. The objec6ve is communica6on

for beOer company/agency rela6ons. It can be anonymous… or we

can publish your contact info… your call… Try it! It will be construc-

6ve… it might even be fun!


AFTER THE INTERVIEW

Use a ra6ng scale of 1-7 and rate each candidate immediately aTer the interview on the following criteria:

ATer you’ve rated these three areas using your scale of 1-7, develop a composite score for each candidate. However, you

can weight each of the three areas, and choose to favor one aspect over the others depending on the posi6on. If mul6ple

people within your organiza6on are part of the interview process, have each person rate the candidate privately. When you

turn the ra6ng process into a group exercise, people tend to be influenced by the feelings of the group. The quality of the

input you get won’t be as good.

WELL WORTH THE EFFORT

A bad hire is a costly mistake and can be a huge setback for an agency. The 6me and expense associated with recrui6ng a

replacement is the 6p of the iceberg. When a posi6on is empty or filled by the wrong person, opportuni6es are lost and cus-

tomer service and sales can suffer. There’s increased pressure on exis6ng employees and morale suffers. The leaner the or-

ganiza6on is, the greater the pain. When it comes 6me to hiring, the 6me and energy invested in making smart, informed

decisions is worth every penny.

• Has the cri%cal job skills. Hard to believe, but this one oTen gets short shriT. Hard to be-

lieve, but this one oTen gets short shriT. Interviewers get caught up in people’s “likeability,”

their poten6al to grown or their ability to perform mul6ple jobs. They hire the person rather

than hiring to fill the job. In a small business where every person is cri6cal, this approach is

usually a recipe for failure.

• Fits with the agency. Look at how the person will fit within your organiza6on. A workahol-

ic is not going to be a good fit in a culture that stresses work-life balance. The person will be

frustrated and eventually resen[ul that colleagues don’t do their share. Conversely, a person

who needs a predictable 9-5 schedule because of family commitments will not fare well in a

business where commitment is measured by the number of hours worked. Someone who

likes to work independently and make their own decisions will struggle n a company with a

top-down management style or one that thrives on teamwork and consensus based decision-

making. Fit maOers. While new skills can be learned, values like work ethic and personality

traits like independence are embedded and virtually impossible to change.

• Interpersonal skills. Here you want to look at core people skills like listening, empathy,

speaking clearly and concisely, being considerate and rela6ng well to others.

(con6nued from page 17)

handful of simple page components on your website, which will help your site perform beOer in searches. In-

cluding "Privacy Policy" and "Contact" pages with specific data about your company, informa6on about how to

reach you and what you'll do with customer informa6on takes no more than 30 minutes per page, but it's been

shown to give sites preferen6al ranking over similar sites that lack those pages.

LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCED CSR

COMMERCIAL LINES CSR

Temple/Belton area. License required.

Excellent salary & benefits.

Send Resume to: [email protected]

North Houston Agency needs personal

lines CSR. Flexible hours... pay scale

based on experience.


LICENSED SOLICITOR OPENING

AGENCY FOR SALE

Dallas area, 2 years old, high traffic

store.

Send inquiries to:

[email protected]

Agency in South Dallas increasing mar-

ke6ng staff. Good compensa6on and

working condi6ons.



The small-business world is full of horror stories about companies that were given bad website ad-

vice. What are some of your favorites, and what did you learn from them? Tell us about them in the

comments below.

Jason Brick has contributed more than 2,000 blog and magazine articles to local, regional and na-tional publications and speaks regularly at writing and business conferences. You can find out more about Jason at www.brickcommajason.com.

Article Courtesy of American Express Open Forum


THE MAN IN THE GLASS

When you get what you want in your struggle for self,

And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t your mother of father or wife

Whose judgment upon you must pass.

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life,

Is the one staring back from the glass.

You may be like Jack Horner and chisel a plum,

And think you’re a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass thinks you’re only a bum,

If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You may fool the whole world, down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartache and tears,

If you’ve cheated that Man in the Glass.

Author Unknown—Courtesy of memory of E. V. Rosenbaum who

gave this to me in 1966

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Texas connection november 2014