Category: Uncategorized
Home Sales at Highest Level Since 2007
November 23, 2009
The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 10.1% in October to an annual rate of 6.1 million units. That is the highest rate of sales since February 2007, when it was at 6.55million.
The spike in sales coincides with the original expiration date that was set on the $8,000 federal tax credit that was available to first time home buyers. The deadline on that tax credit has been extended to April 30.
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Impact of Economic Stimulus felt in Finance and Professional Services
November 13, 2009
CareerBuilder has surveyed and reported on the impact of the Economic Stimulus Funding for the 3rd Quarter.
Finance and Professional Services Companies reported on receiving funds and the impact they had.
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Morgan Stanley Aggressively Hiring Mortgage Brokers
November 12, 2009
Morgan Stanley is increasing headcount in its brokerage unit.
There is still opportunity to attract top talent. The marketplace however is rapidly becoming more competitive to engage the best people.
Full story:
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Increasing Work Loads at Insurance Companies Amplifies the Need to Have the Best People on Board
November 3, 2009
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America released its “2009 Best Practices Study” in October. Notable in the report was that at larger agencies (revenue of over $5 million), the number of employees increased by four people on average. At agencies with revenue under $5 million, the total number of employees remained unchanged, according to the report.
“This year’s study indicates that the Best Practices Agencies, overall, continue to perform well despite facing some challenges in soft market conditions,” Madelyn Flannagan, IIABA’s vice president of agent development, education and research, said in a statement.
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Branding/Targeting/Attracting – Now is the best time to get the best Insurance Agents in the door
November 2, 2009
Daniel Amos, CEO of Aflac, reports that sales volume is increasing and hiring is starting to happen again.
There are Insurance Agents and Professionals on the market who are ready to come work for you. But, just as importantly, there are successful agents out there who are still employed.
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Address Criticism and Create New Fans
October 29, 2009
In a recent Las Vegas Sun article, casinos took the spotlight on how some of them are using social media to engage the “Long Tail” of customers instead of just focusing on the big spenders.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/oct/26/saving-face-online/
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Be Careful, Targeting = Disqualifying, not Qualifying
October 20, 2009
According to Labor Department statistics, there are currently about 6.3 unemployed workers for every job opening in the United States, on average. To put that in perspective, there were 1.7 unemployed workers for every job opening as of December, 2007.
This is certainly good news for employers. The opportunity to find great talent hasn’t been better in a long time – at least since the last time unemployment was this high in 1982.
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Local Online Advertising vs. Targeted Online Advertising – A Question of Relevancy
October 19, 2009
Although global Internet advertising revenue dropped 5% in the first half of 2009, in its new report “2010 Outlook: Local Interactive Advertising”, Borell Associates estimates that local interactive revenue will hit $14.2 billion in 2009 and $14.9 billion in 2010 – 12% and 5% growth, respectively.
The logic behind this trend seems, on its surface, to be straightforward and simple – companies are choosing to shift their online spend, whether for marketing, recruiting, or advertising, into local avenues to target potential business partners, employees, and customers who, one would assume, would be the most relevant since they are close by (geographically).
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The Power of Engaging Your Fans
August 26, 2009
The website Inside Facebook (www.insidefacebook.com) has reported the Kohl’s was able to gain over 350,000 Facebook fans in one weekend after running an engagement ad on Facebook’s News Feed.
If Kohl’s can do it, why can’t you? Providing a forum for your fans to gather and discuss your business (like creating an online community or a Facebook page) is a great start. But engaging those fans is the next step. There are probably a lot of people out there who love your company, your products, or your services.
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Fans are Fans
August 21, 2009
In a Wall Street Journal article titled “The Fans Know Best”, Utpal M. Dholakia and Silvia Vianello write in depth about the importance of taking advantage of the rise of social media, online communities and forums, and blogs to allow fans to discuss what they like and dislike about your company – and yes, if they are participating in the forum, they are “fans” – anything negative should be viewed as feedback to help make your company better for the customer.
Full article:
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