Inside this month's issue:

How did your agency stack up against others that completed TAAR’s 2009 survey?

The role of the traditional sales manager needs to change.

Are you checking the financials of potential prospects before you dedicate your time to them?

Learn why Gmail is so popular and why it’s growing so rapidly.

SalesForce offers many benefits—and it is dramatically less expensive than traditional CRM systems.

Tips and tricks for using the Flip Video Camcorder.

Meet Ning—an online social media service that allows users to create their very own social networking sites.

Several useful—and free—translation services are available to decipher Internet content not written in English.

A new, intriguing iPhone application; sending crime tips via text messages; Secret Session at AMS Users Group Convention.

The Insurance Information Institute makes it easy for you to use their videos on your site to inform and educate.

April 2009

Guest Opinion

Roper DeGarmo

A Different View of Management Systems

Greetings TAAR readers. My name is Roper DeGarmo. I'm the founder and president of a little specialty agency based in Kansas City called Signature Personal Insurance. Our very tight niche focus is high-end personal lines, which we define as an account with at least one home that has an insured value of $2 million. We acquire and service these clients almost exclusively via e-mail and phone. With this business model and a client base that is located literally coast to coast, technology and efficiency are both keys to our long-term success.

If you read my letter to the editor in last month's issue of TAAR, you may have picked up on the fact that I have a passion for moving our industry forward. There are many reasons we, as insurance professionals, don't garner the respect that some industries receive. Some of these reasons are fair. Some are not. Nevertheless, if we are to strengthen our image as an industry of professionals that responds to the needs of our clients, technology must continue to play an integral role in our future.

As I've read TAAR over the past ...

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