Suffolk magazine iss 29 vol 1 2016

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SUFFOLK Big Eye INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENTS & BROKERS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY

IIABSC ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP GOLF OUTING AUGUST 22, 2016 INSIDE: • IIABSC Golf Outing • Care to Share?

• How to Make Good Hires

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Editors Feedback Editor

Don Hester nnn

The world is full of anacronyms .SOS EMS. How about ESL. For those not familiar with that term, this refers to English as a second language. Using English to communicate is a skill many non English speakers seek to achieve. The ability to use it in a way that is incomprehensible to those who have it as their mother tongue is an even greater achievement. Some government agencies have developed this to an incredible level. Let's talk about the skill set of FEMA manual writers. What is a residential building? Going back to early training one would think it has something to do with a place one resides. Is a hotel motel or rooming house a residential building? A normal man in the street if given the opportunity would probably say “ yes”. What other options are there? FEMA says there are four :

A one family home , A two to four family dwelling, another type of non residential business .( there is that word again) and a non residential building.

This is where their skills in understanding English and it's obsfucation come into play. For example, how many times have any of you readers stayed in a hotel or motel or B&B? Typically did you stay for less than six months? FEMAs obsfucators say that hotel, motel etc is

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the Editors Feedback cont’d classed as a non residential building if you only stay for a few days a week. Of course if your stay is over six months the same hotel suddenly becomes a residential building by their definition.

The professional insurance agent can't rely on their English understanding but must carefully review these unusual definitions to escape making E&O's when writing flood coverages.

Another new E&O development is the application now doesn’t require the insureds signature , just the agents. Why should the insured have any responsibility for what information is provided on the application. They don’t have E&O coverage.

After a claim,which is the most likely time for considering who will pay if false information that was on the application, FEMA can walk away blaming guess who as the culprit.

I have never been able to predict the future. Our good friends at FEMA have found a new way to encourage new purchasers of their product to also fear buying the coverage:

If the new buyer can't guarantee in writing where they will be living one year in the future ,the Federal Government can imprison them and void their policy.

All of this seems bizarre doesn't it! Look at the new manual pg GR3 of the October 1 2014 edition and believe .....all you English speaking agents

I wonder why so many shy away from writing this coverage with confidence.

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IIABSC Scholarship & Stony Brook University Business School Acquisition of a Chair initiative

IIABSC began the search and creation of a Scholarship to aid Students

in Suffolk County and more importantly to try and attract them to our Insurance Industry Two (2) Years ago. During the development phase our initiative grew to now include the Acquisition of a Chair @ Stony Brook University Business School. The Chair requires $1,500,000 for the University to identify and hire a PHD Professor to develop and administer a curriculum for a Bachelors Degree & Masters Degree in Insurance & Risk Management.

IIABSC is committed to raising the Funds necessary to accomplish these

Goals and is actively & aggressively seeking partnerships with Insurance Companies , Vendors , Common Industries (Banks & Credit Unions) & Independent Agents & Agencies. Barry Goldstein & Kingstone Insurance Co was the first to see our initiative and commit to our need . With Barry & Kingstone continued help , IIABSC feel confident in accomplishing our initiative.

IIABSC Scholarship & Fund Raising Committee have raised over

$50,000 towards that effort so far. We are meeting , identifying new partners & continuing to plan for 2016 and the future. We are attacking this initiative in 5 Year increments. We have enlisted the Aid of John Reiersen to sit on our Committee.

Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Suffolk County Invite You To Their Annual Scholarship Golf Outing Benefiting The IIABSC Scholarship Endowment Fund at Stony Brook University College of Business

Honoring Peter N. Resnick NEW LOCATION

Monday August 22, 2016

Huntington Country Club, Huntington, NY

NEW LOCATION

Sponsorship Opportunities

All include prominent signage and promotion in Suffolk “Big Eye” Major Sponsorships Course and Dinner Sponsorships Tournament Sponsor $ 10,000 Sold!

Hole in One $ 750 Dinner Sponsor $ 5,000 Awards Sponsor $ 500 Golf Sponsor $ 2,500 Craft Beer Station $ 450 Cocktail Sponsor $ 2,000 Beverage Cart $ 400 Lunch Sponsor $ 1,000 Driving Range $ 350 Cigar Sponsor $ 300 Tee Signs $ 250

Golf & Dinner $ 350 9:30 am – 11:00 am 11:00 am 5:00 pm Special Golfer Packages: The Event Package $2,500 Foursome Sponsor $1,500 The Special Package $1,000

Dinner & Cocktails Only $ 125

Golfer Registration and Brunch Shotgun Tee Off: “Scramble” Format Longest Drive & Closest to the Pin Challenges, Hole-In-One Prize Cocktail Hour & Dinner Buffet Includes four golfers, Dinner Co-Sponsor recognition & Tee sign Includes four golfers & Tee sign Includes two golfers, Golf Co-Sponsor recognition & Tee sign

A Special Thanks to Our Tournament Sponsor Companies

Please reserve my early registration of the sponsorship circled above under the following: Company / Ind. Name_____________________________________ Contact /Title__________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________ Email _________________________________________________________ Mail this completed form with check made payable to IIABSC Golf to: Jeanne Abatelli * 150 Dartmouth Drive * Hicksville, NY 11801 Or register with a credit card online at www.suffolkagents.com For additional information call Stephanie at 631-981-4364 or email sbarry@theresourcegroupinc.net

IIABSC Scholarship & Stony Brook University Business School Acquisition of a Chair initiative con’t

IIABSC mechanism for raising Funds currently is the Annual Golf

Outing. This Annual Event was the most successful ever in the History of the Suffolk Association with the help of Barry Goldstein & Kingstone Insurance Co.

Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Suffolk County Invite You To Their Annual Scholarship Golf Outing Benefiting The IIABSC Scholarship Endowment Fund at Stony Brook University College of Business

Honoring Peter N. Resnick NEW LOCATION

Monday August 22, 2016

NEW LOCATION

Huntington Country Club, Huntington, NY

Show Your Support With A Journal Ad! Please see reverse side for sponsorships and golf information.

____ Back Cover (if available)

$1,250.00

____ Inside Covers (Front or Back if available)

$1,000.00

____ Full Page

$ 600.00

____ Half Page

$ 350.00

All Journal Ads Must Be Received By August 3, 2016!!

Please send ad in a .pdf format. If you need an ad created for you, please contact Jeanne Abatelli injeanious1@mac.com or call 516-681-6265.

A Special Thanks to Our Tournament Sponsor Companies.

Please reserve my Journal Ad: Company/Ind. Name_____________________________________ Contact/Title__________________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone ________________________________ Email _________________________________________________________

Mail this completed form with check made payable to IIABSC to: Jeanne Abatelli * 150 Dartmouth Drive * Hicksville, NY 11801 Or register with a credit card online at www.suffolkagents.com

Care To Share?

Insurance in the Age of Uber and Airbnb

by Tim Dodge

Last November, I attended the Mid-America Insurance Conference in

Kansas City, Kansas. Needing transportation from the airport to my hotel, I pulled out my iPhone and, for the first (and so far only) time, summoned an Uber driver to pick me up. Less than 15 minutes later, a Prius pulled up with a young guy behind the wheel. He helped me throw my bags in his trunk, and off we went. The car was clean and he was friendly. The trip ended with no exchange of cash. On the whole, it was a very pleasant experience, and it was cheaper than the hotel shuttle.

Was the driver insured? Maybe.

Sharing car rides and homes has become a big business. Uber launched

its smart phone app in 2011 and is now worth an estimated $62.5 billion, operating in at least 300 cities in 58 countries. Lyft, its biggest competitor, is in 65 U.S. cities and has raised more than $2 billion in capital. Home-sharing Web site Airbnb has more than 1.5 million listings in 34,000 cities and 190 countries. HomeAway, a company that owns several home rental Web sites, reported $447 million in revenue in 2014.

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft (called “transportation network

companies,� or TNC’s) use software applications running on smart phones.

Drivers register with the service and install the app on their phones. They are

“on call” only when they have the app running. The user installs the app and creates an account, including a payment method. When she wants a ride, she runs the app and inputs her destination. The app notifies all active drivers in her area. A driver accepts the request, drives to her location, picks her up and takes her to her destination. She pays Uber via the app, so she does not have to pay the driver.

Most personal auto insurance policies do not provide liability or physical

damage coverage for this activity. The Insurance Services Office policy excludes both coverages when a vehicle “is being used as a public or livery conveyance” (other than share-the-expense car pools.) Most carrier proprietary forms that I have reviewed contain similar exclusions.

In response to this problem, the major TNC’s say that they insure their

drivers. Uber provides $1 million in liability and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage during trips, plus contingent comprehensive and collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible. Lyft offers something similar.

Some insurance carriers have designed products for TNC drivers. GEICO,

Allstate and USAA have all piloted policies or endorsements to cover this exposure, though not in New York. MetLife insures Lyft drivers in five states.

However, I did not find any independent agency carriers mentioning ride-sharing coverage on their Web sites. ISO filed three endorsements last year to completely exclude or provide limited coverage for ride-sharing. They are not yet available in New York.

As with ride-sharing, home-sharing services use Web sites and smart phone

apps to match people looking to rent out their homes with people looking for a place to stay. Think of a high-tech version of newspaper classified ads.

ISO homeowners, renters and condominium unit-owner forms provide

limited coverage for home-sharing. The Homeowners 3 Special Form provides $2,500 (up to $10,000 by endorsement) for the named insured’s “appliances, carpeting and other household furnishings, in each apartment … regularly rented or held for rental to others.” Coverage applies for most standard causes of loss, but not for theft. If a TV is damaged by fire, it’s covered; if it walks away, it’s not. There is a standard endorsement available to add theft coverage.

The Homeowners 6 – Unit-Owners Form does not automatically provide

this limited coverage. However, an endorsement to add it is available.

The Homeowners 3, Homeowners 6, and Homeowners 4 – Contents

Broad Form cover liability for bodily injury and property damage arising out of “the rental or holding for rental” of the home “on an occasional basis if used only as a residence.” There is no definition of “occasional,” so the meaning is in the eye of the insurer.

An insured paying someone else to rent a home for some period of time has

limited liability coverage for damage to that home. The policy covers damage caused by fire, smoke or explosion only. If you leave a frying pan on the stove a little too long and it starts sending smoke signals, you’re covered. If you flood the upstairs because you left a bathtub faucet running, you’re not.

People will likely continue to sell rides and rent their homes for the

foreseeable future. For both new and renewal business, insurance producers should ask whether clients are engaged in these activities. You can then either offer available coverage or warn them of coverage gaps. People have found new ways to make money. It’s up to the insurance industry to adapt.

Tim Dodge, AU, ARM, CPCU is the assistant vice-president of research for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York.

Upcoming Industry Events JUNE 2016

22nd - IIABSC Scholarship Golf Outing

28th - IPALI Installation Dinner

25th - Downstate Fishing Outing

JULY 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016

19th - Downstate Nine & Dine Golf Event

20th - Downstate Bowling

AUGUST 2016

OCTOBER 2016

15th - NY YIP Golf Open - Seawane Club, Hewlett Harbor

6th - TriCounty Oktoberfest

28th - LIIC Gala

Have an event you would like listed, please contact Jeanne Abatelli 516-681-6265 or click here to email me. Calendar is available on line please visit Downstate

LIIC 22ND RAFFLE RAFFLE TICKET PRICE $100 BUY 3 GET ONE FREE (ONLY 300 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD)

$10,000 CASH OR

Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, NC Two traditional rooms—2 adults per room for 4 nights Four rounds of golf Pinehurst 2, 4 & 8 (based on availability) cart & Titleist golf balls.

50 minute massage per person OR

The Cove Atlantis, The Bahamas 2 Deluxe Ocean Suites—2 adults per room for 4 nights Round trip air from JFK and shared airport transfers Continental Breakfast daily and $100 food and beverage credit per room OR

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Florida 2 Theme park view rooms—2 adults per room for 4 nights Disney’s Magical Express airport to hotel and return Dining (1 counter, 1 sit down table, and 1 snack per person per day) 4 Day Park Hopper unlimited admission to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

SOLD BY:____________________________________________ Website: www.l-i-i-c.org The Winner assumes responsibility for any and all applicable taxes

CONTACT INFORMATION return form to L. Grant, United Way of LI, 819 Grand Blvd. Deer Park, NY 11729 OR lgrant@unitedwayli.org Contact Name: Company:

Address: City

State

Phone

Email

METHOD OF PAYMENT Check enclosed

Zip Code

Make payable to the ‘United Way of Long Island

Credit Card Number Name on Card

Amount $

Signature

Exp. Date

MasterCard

VISA

AMEX

2016 NINE & DINE EVENT Tuesday July 19, 2016 Wheatley Hills Golf Club East Williston, NY 11596 516.747.8822 The name “Wheatley” appeared on maps of the area, currently referred to as East Williston, as early as 1758. Wheatley Hills Golf Club was organized in 1913 and consists of 110 acres ultimately purchased from the A. H. Titus Estate for forty eight dollars per acre. The Titus homestead was converted into a clubhouse.

JOIN US FOR GOLF & DINNER! ONLY 40 SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE, REGISTER SOON! Nine & Dine Golf Package $275.00

NOT A GOLFER? JOIN US FOR COCKTAILS & BBQ DINNER! Cocktails & Dinner Only $100.00

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY $500.00

DRESS CODE: Proper Golf Attire is Required, Soft Spikes Only!

Business Casual Attire for Dinner.

SPONSORSHIP INCLUDES A TEE SIGN, SIGNAGE AT DINNER AND 1 DINNER TICKET.

EARLY BIRD OPPORTUNITY REGISTER BY JUNE 15TH FOR $250.00 NINE & DINE GOLF PACKAGE

Registration: 4:00pm

$400.00 SPONSORSHIP REGISTER ONLINE AT WWW.DOWNSTATEINSCOUNCIL.ORG

Shotgun Start: 5:00pm

DOWNSTATE INSURANCE ASSOCIATIONS COUNCIL IS COMPRISED OF THE FOLLOWING SEVEN GROUPS:

Cocktail Hour 6:15 pm

CIBGNY, CPCU, IIABSC, IPALI, PIANY, QCIP & TRICOUNTY IIAA

BBQ Dinner: 7:15pm

REACHING OVER A THOUSAND LOCAL INSURANCE

Rain or Shine!

PROFESSIONALS

Enclosed is a check for $___________for _____________________________________________________________ Name & Company: _______________________________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.______________________________Email:___________________________________________________ Please remit form & check payable to “DOWNSTATE INS” to: Jeanne Abatelli * Downstate Ins, 150 Dartmouth Dr * HIcksville, NY 11801 Phone: 516-681-6265 * Email: DownstateInsuranceCouncil@gmail.com

Jerry Brunell Memorial Fishing Outing Thursday August 25, 2016 Again this year, Downstate will hold its annual Fishing Excursion on the “Fishtale” boat departing Captree Boat Basin. Ticket price includes a full day of fishing, breakfast, lunch, beer, soda, prizes, bait & tackle, fishbags.

Amount: $85.00/person Place: Captree Boat Basin Time: Departs 7:45 am. Return 3:30pm Directions: Southern State Parkway to Exit 40, Robert Moses Causeway, take south 5 miles to Captree Boat Basin exit Footwear: Sneakers, dock-siders or equivalent DOWNSTATE IS COMPRISED OF THE FOLLOWING GROUPS: CIBGNY, CPCU, IIABSC, IPALI , PIANY, QCIP, TriCounty IIAA, Next Gen & YIP’s

Note to donate fishing prizes and more information call Jeanne Abatelli 516-681-6265 or email: injeanious1@mac.com

Please fill out and send with your check payable to Downstate Council Return to: Jeanne Abatelli 150 Dartmouth Dr Hicksville, NY 11801 or Register On Line at www.downstateinscouncil.org Firm Name:___________________________________________________________________ Name:_______________________________________________________________________ Address:______________________________________________________________________ City: _______________________________________ State: _______ Zip: _________________ Tel No._____________________________________ Email: ___________________________ No.Fishing _____ @ $85 each = $__________ Total Amount of Check enclosed ___________ Use back of form for additional fishermen.

BOWLING TOURNAMENT Tuesday September 20th Join Us As We Bring Together the Local Insurance Associations on Long Island for Some Friendly Competition!

CIBGNY, CPCU, IIABSC, IPALI , PIANY, QCIP, TriCounty IIAA, Next Gen & YIP’s

Whose team are you on?

Six bowlers per team.

The top 3 teams will receive a trophy and bragging rights!

Cheerleaders Needed Too! Place:

Bowlmor Lanes 895 Walt Whitman Rd. Melville NY

Time:

5:00 pm Check in; 5:30 pm Bowling & Pizza Party with beer, wine & soda

Cost:

$65.00 per person

Advance registration required. Please register by September 15, 2016.

Organized by the DOWNSTATE INSURANCE ASSOCIATIONS’ COUNCIL Register On-Line at www.downstateinscouncil.org or print and mail in this form Questions? Contact Jeanne Abatelli 516-681-6265 or email: injeanious1@mac.com

Reservation for 9/20/16 Please make check payable to Name(s) ______________________________________________ DOWNSTATE and mail this form With your check to: Agency/Co.____________________________________________ Jeanne Abatelli 150 Dartmouth Dr Hicksville, NY 11801

Tel: ______________Email _______________________________ I am participating by bowling/cheerleading for _________________

STRENGTH ! INTEGRITY ! COMMITMENT

We are so proud to celebrate 100 years of doing business. Times change, people change but our relationships with brokers continues to thrive. We truly look forward to the next 100 years!

• Homeowners & New Expanded Multi-Tier HO Product • Multi-Tier Personal Auto • Personal & Commercial Assigned Risk

155 Mineola Boulevard Mineola, NY 11501 www.IAOins.com 516 248-1100

THE COMPANY YOU CAN TRUST...SINCE 1914

How to Make Good Hires

by Brandi Hinen

The success of your business is in the hands of your people. They take

hundreds--possibly thousands--of actions on your behalf every day, and if the sum total of all those actions is positive, you win. If the overall result is a negative, you lose.

We all know a company is only as good as its team, which is why the

hiring process is critical as you build and grow out your organization. And everyone who has made a bad hire along the way knows that hiring the wrong person can cost you far more than time and money.

Consequences of Poor Hiring

We’ve all been warned about the cost of a bad hire, and that cost is more

than just monetary. One marginal employee can throw an entire department into disarray. Being part of the management team, you end up investing your own time training them, retraining them, then possibly training them another way, counseling them, and then handling complaints from other employees.

All this time, production is decreasing --Â all for someone who has no future with your company.

Every time you hire someone who does not perform their job well, the

entire organization suffers. Bad hires not only create customer ill will, but they affect the team who must work with them, causing stress and disruption in the

entire company. Morale is lowered, productivity decreases, and absenteeism increases. And, your life gets miserable (and even worse, it causes your organization crash).

Avoid these these common (and costly) hiring blunders: • Inadequate job description • Hiring a “jack of all trades” • Focusing solely on skills and experience, without considering culture fit or attitude aspects • Not understanding the applicant qualities needed to excel with the current team • “Winging” the interview • Not having a true consistent interview process • Failing to ask for enough references and/or not checking references sufficiently

Tips to Hiring Success 1. Ensure that human resources knows how to correctly carry out the hiring process. Finding the right person means making sure that all the components are in working order. Posting the job with the correct information, updated job descriptions, handling and organizing the applications and resumes, conducting interviews, personality profiling,

performing background checks, checking references, and finally evaluating all of the information about the different candidates are all critical steps to this process each with its own unique requirements and skills.

2. Don't make the process more complicated than it needs to be. There isn't time for umpteen dozen interviews to make sure he is the one or she is perfection. Too many interviews can actually intensify unnatural behaviors and end up giving you artificial results anyway. Keep it simple!

3. Create relevant job descriptions. A good job description meets the need of each participant in the hiring process, identifies and describes the essential functions of a particular job, and sets the bar on the skills, education and experience necessary to fill the position. Job descriptions focus on 3 key factors: (1) Position Description: Describes the essential and marginal functions of a position. A well-written position description clearly, concisely and accurately documents the duties and responsibilities of a job; (2) Key Result Areas and Accountability: The most important piece of the hiring puzzle. It’s essential to align the key result areas with accountability to be clear on position needs. Select interview questions that will enable you to quickly determine if the candidate’s experience is relevant to your job opening; (3) Job Specifications: Describes education, experience, skills, knowledge required to perform a job. This is typically the piece that job seekers respond to when applying for the position.

4. Be clear about what your organization wants and needs. Do make sure you’re well defined about what the job entails and the skill set you need in the person who will fill the position.

5. Apply focused interviewing. Don’t get too creative with the interview questions. At this point do you really care what the applicants retirement dreams are in 25 years? Asking the applicant probing interview questions with your strong team members doing the interviewing - THAT is what tests the candidate’s ability to the job BEFORE you hire them. This means that the candidate must be able to explain exactly how they will deliver the performance standards defined in your job description. They must detail how they will do these in your company, with your resources, your culture, your budget, with your management style, with your customers. And of course they won’t be able to tell you this exactly but with their answers (or lack of detail in their answers), you will have a clear picture if they can do the job or not.

6. Look within your current employees. Don’t neglect to look inside your organization when you’re filling open positions. Employee referrals are a great source for potential hires because a current employee is likely to give a realistic preview to a candidate and is less likely to refer someone who will not be a positive reflection on themselves.

7. Referrals make the best hires — a fact that comes as no surprise to corporate recruiters. After all, it makes sense that the people closest to your best employees are also likely to be good employees. That’s why more and more forward-thinking HR departments are trying to optimize their employee referral programs (ERPs) to yield a greater number of highquality referrals.

8. Explore different avenues of a candidate’s skills, knowledge and abilities. Managers should not just be relying on their own assessment but are getting well-rounded feedback. At the end of the day hiring decisions have to be made on qualifications. A well rounded panel is key to ensuring that.

9. Do your research. We always expect the candidate to have done their research on the company, but you need to be equally diligent about researching the candidate. This might involve not just checking references but looking at their social media accounts and web presence, as well as doing a background check.

10. Don’t be quick to hire based upon gut feel. Instead, take time in the interviewing process to let the prospective new hire get a feel for your culture and your company. Never oversell the company, but rather disclose problems and weaknesses within the department and/or organization so the candidate can make a good decision that won’t later be concerned by inconsistent messaging or practices. Above all, don’t be attracted by qualities that while they may be appealing on the surface, won’t ever make-up for a lack of character and integrity.

11. Test drive applicants before hiring. Consider trying out arrangements such as temp-to-perm, contract-to-hire or a working interview. This allows both you as the employer and the potential candidate a chance to see if there’s a good fit. Sometimes candidates aren’t good at interviewing but once they start working they are a rock star. Other times, we interview someone we love but they can’t begin to do the job. A few examples

include: for sales a role play or a ride along; for marketing writing a short press release; for customer service put them on a few phone calls of at the front desk.

There was a time when simply hiring people with the needed skill set was

the key to success, but not today. Today every organization must a have deliberate hiring process to consistently build a strong and aligned team and organizational culture. When you hire outstanding candidates and immerse them in a culture of empowerment, positivity, and collaboration, their skill sets--both tactical and emotional--will only expand and contribute more to your organization. Only then can you be sure they will continue to perform like the great hires you expected, and only then can you expect them to stay for the long run.

For more information on how intuitive strategies can help your

organization with the interview process please contact Powerhouse Learning or Brandie Hinen brandie@powerhouselearning.com directly.

Brandie J. Hinen, Founder and CEO Powerhouse Learning.

Secure the Future of your Clients Business

by Ted Mageau

When it comes to your clients business, hoping for the best won’t ensure

their future. Take Jake Karoli for example. Jake spent thirty years building a successful contracting business, Karoli Contracting. However, due to the rigors of maintaining his company he had little time for any personal financial or estate planning. Then, Jake died unexpectedly in an accident. Suddenly, Karoli Contracting, a multi- million dollar business was facing an uncertain future caused by the loss of its owner and key executive.

What would happen to your clients business and family should the owner

and key exec’s become disabled or die unexpectedly? Do they have family members who could step in and run the business? Other employees who could?

Business Continuation Basics

It is essential to the future of a business and the family to have a

succession strategy in place. In order to maintain continuity a business needs

to align the strategy to the owner’s goals and objectives. One key goal is determining who or whom the successor(s) will be.

Determining who the successor is should be done early in the process as it

may take years to prepare that person in the finer points. For many smaller business’s it is common for this to be a family member.

If your client wants to pass their business on to future generations, it is

important to make an honest assessment of: the needs of the family and the business, the qualifications of a potential successor, and weather family would be best served running the business. In these matters communication is critical.

Here are some points that need to be explored: • A thorough description of each position in the company • A management/organization plan • Assuring availability of cash and cash flow to meet the demands of immediate needs , estate taxes and other items • A list of potential successors and a mechanism to ensure in depth training for the successor • Other considerations A succession strategy may also include a written buy-sell agreement, drawn up by an attorney, and funded by life insurance. More than likely, your clients chosen successor will not have the cash, or the ability to borrow when it is most needed.

With the buy-sell agreement, the death benefit from the life insurance will

provide the cash to purchase the owner’s share of the business in the event of his or her untimely death.

In addition, it may be prudent to explore how an unexpected disability could affect not only your client’s plans for succession, but also their own financial wellbeing. Utilizing a disability buy-out arrangement a disability policy provides a successor with cash to purchase shares.

Your clients should consult with you as, well as their legal and tax advisors to devise a plan of action that provides security to their business and family. With proper planning they can ensure the business they worked so hard to build can remain viable for generations to come.

Ted Mageau, Board Member of The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Suffolk County.

Our Annual Scholarship Golf Outing ********************************** will be held on Monday August 22, 2016 at The Huntington Country Club 483 West Main Street Huntington, NY 11743

Space is Limited Register Soon!

Pryor Personnel Agency Inc. The Insurance Specialist since 1970 local, National and International Recruitment www.ppryor.com ppryor1578@aol.com

When Do You Use Contests and SPIFFs to Motivate Your Sales Force?

by Dan Mageau Consultant at Optymyze Over the years, we have received many questions from leaders concerned about the success of their sales incentive programs. Our experts have turned the answers into a series of blog posts – Sales Ops FAQs. Here’s one of the latest questions we got.

Q: Is there a perfect recipe for contests and SPIFFs? When should we boost our sales incentive programs with contests and SPIFFs? A: Contests and SPIFFs are like diamonds – their rarity enhances their value. To add them to your sales incentive programs, start by analyzing your business needs. Is a new competitor entering the market? Are you launching a new product or, on the contrary, struggling with a lagging one? In cases such as these, your organization may gain value from contests and SPIFFs. These sales incentive programs can help create excitement in your sales organization. But be careful not to let them overwhelm the impact of your core sales compensation plan. Overusing them may create strategic misalignment between your plans and your objectives.

SPIFFs and contests can dramatically change the “effective weights” of the overall comp package, motivating reps to oversell one product while neglecting others. As expected (and intended), reps will devote their time where they can make the most money. Before rolling out any SPIFF or contest, be sure to understand how a rep will change their allocation of selling time and see if it will be in line with your strategy.

How to avoid misalignment To mitigate the risk of misalignment, many top sales organizations plan their total annual comp budget and associated allocation of target bonus across products knowing that later in the year they will run a SPIFF or contest, even if they don’t know the exact details.

This lets them get the benefits (excitement and focus) of the SPIFF while being careful to maintain a close alignment between the allocation of target bonus across products and their strategic objectives.

One of the biggest challenges organizations encounter when running contests and SPIFFs is the compensation plan changing in the middle of the contest. It can be tough to ensure the goals of the comp plan align with the goals of the contest when the

comp plans are in flux. The approach we had taken in the past is to leave the main yearly contest aligned with the old comp plan (for consistency) while launching smaller quarterly contests that are more in line with the new updated plan.

Besides the yearly contest, quarterly SPIFFs and contests motivate reps to sell specific products, services or extra features. Sometimes, reps lose motivation for the yearly contest if they have a bad quarter, so a fresh contest wins back their engagement.

Getting the best ROI It’s also important to define expected outcomes of your contest/SPIFF and to know how you will measure them for the best possible ROI. From my experience, contests are more effective with practical prizes. These allow sales reps to have a tangible representation of their reward. If in doubt when picking the right prize, you should know that 51% of people remember travel prizes longer than other rewards. An exciting trip or a city break for two is something they would fight for more than extra money or gadgets. As Charlie Warner notes in Media Selling, trips can be promoted well too, they can be glamorized, and people love to fantasize about them.

How are you introducing contests and SPIFFs in your sales incentive programs? What challenges do you encounter? I will be more than happy to answer your questions in the comment section below.

This article was originally published on the Sales Operations Insights blog.

Recipe Corner Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

1 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. extra light virgin olive oil 4 cups low sodium chicken broth Laura Senn

3 cups cooked white beans - or one 15 oz. can Great Northern or Cannellini beans, rinsed 1 lb. Italian sausage, cooked and rinsed 1 tsp. dried basil or 4 minced leaves fresh basil 2 cups diced tomatoes

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1 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach 1 tsp. Parmesan cheese  1. Sautee garlic in olive oil.

2. Add sauteed garlic to 4 cups of chicken broth.

3. Add white beans to chicken broth and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Option: for creamy soup use hand blender and puree beans into broth.

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Italian Wedding Soup con’t 4. Add remaining ingredients and simmer.

5. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Note: You can make the soup slimmer by using Italian OR chicken turkey sausage. You can decrease the sodium by using dried and cooked beans instead of canned and rinsed.

Number of Servings: 8

Have a recipe worth sharing?

Please submit it to Jeanne Abatelli at iiabscinjeanious1@gmail.com.

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