Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida Marketing Strategist : Duane Michael Wagner II

Showing posts with label Duane Michael Wagner II. Show all posts

Friday, May 18, 2018

Michael Wagner Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | Producer | Global Insurance Driver | Agent | 20,000+ Connections

Michael Wagner

Monday, July 10, 2017

Despite last year's hurricane damage, insurance companies sticking with Florida clients

Publication Date	07/09/2017
Source:	St. Augustine Record, The (FL)

About a decade ago, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne caused an estimated $45 billion in property damage in Florida and enough uneasiness in the insurance industry that some of the nation's biggest companies pulled out of the market entirely.

Following Hurricane Matthew's punishing trip up the Florida coast last fall, the reaction from insurance companies is much different in 2017.

Despite estimated property damage of $1.182 billion, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, getting insurance for most customers in the state is not that difficult, industry leaders say.

According to Lynne McChristian of the Insurance Information Institute, Matthew's impact was not significant enough to rattle most companies.

"Hurricane Matthew was not a major disruption to the insurance market," McChristian said in an email to The Record. "Florida insurers were in a solid financial position to handle the losses from that storm.

"Due to the lucky break of zero major hurricanes for more than a decade, insurers had the claims-paying resources needed to handle Matthew."

Doug Wiles, president of Herbie Wiles Insurance in St. Augustine, said there's one major difference between the market today compared to 10 or so years ago. He said most homeowners policies are sold by Florida-based insurance companies.

Those companies were established to serve the state and aren't going to pull out because this is their market. Wiles said even with the damage caused by Matthew and Hermine last year, there is no panic or instability in the insurance market.

"The issues that affected us after 2004, '05, '06 hurricanes are different from what we face today," Wiles said. "Hurricane Matthew was a non-event from an insurance company perspective.

"We're not seeing some dramatic things like we saw in 2005, '06, '07, and that's good news for the consumer."

That doesn't mean there aren't difficulties here. Florida residents still face the highest homeowners insurance rates in the country. According to the website ValuePenguin, the average policy in Florida is $1,471. The national average is $964.

Laura Smith, senior insurance analyst at InsuranceQuotes.com, said that's the result of several factors.

First, the state is obviously in the path of severe weather quite often. In addition to hurricanes, Florida's frequent thunderstorms bring lightning strikes, flooding, wind damage and more.

"Wind and rain damage are some of the (top) claims in terms of frequency and in terms in value as well," Smith said. "They're very expensive claims. No matter where you live in the state, you're susceptible to lots of claims."

And although there are a lot of Florida-based insurance companies out there, the fact that some of the national players have pulled out hurts competition.

"When you have fewer and fewer companies doing business in the state, there's not so much competition," Smith said. "The fewer number of insurers, just the less competition, the higher rates they can get away with charging.

"It's been really tough for Florida residents to get affordable coverage. The reality is the only thing consumers can do to protect themselves is shop. If you are not shopping, not looking at what's happening with rates, you could easily be overpaying for your coverage."

But at least insurance is available on the open market.

One positive sign insurance professionals have pointed to is the decline in the number of policies sold by Citizens Property Insurance, which is the state-backed agency often referred to as the insurer of last resort.

A 2014 USA Today article said the number of policies sold by Citizens dropped from 1.4 million in 2012 to 933,807 two years later. By the end of 2016, that number dropped to fewer than 500,000 policies. That means more customers are buying policies in the open market, hopefully spurring competition.

Higher numbers of Citizens policies would suggest that the private market is shrinking, offering fewer choices for buyers.

"I haven't really seen that mass exodus from Florida like we did a decade ago," Smith said. "I think it's kind of the norm now. This is why the prices in Florida are so high. The companies that are doing business there are factoring in the potential for these storms in the future."

Copyright, 2017, The St. Augustine Record, All Rights Reserved.

About Michael Wagner

Highly accomplished, visionary executive with proven ability to impact financial, social, and political goals through commitment to global issues, innovation, and diversity. Results-oriented, decisive leader offering 15+ years of success in sales, operations, and marketing. Deliver excellence in execution and developing people, utilizing international / multicultural experience to provide unique perspective and creative solutions, achieving high performance within diverse organizational cultures. Demonstrate rapid advancement based on high performance, with the ability to quickly transfer skills across industries. Self-starter with strong entrepreneurial spirit, high integrity, and solid work ethic; creative, highly analytical, and able to successfully manage multiple concurrent projects with keen attention to detail, excellent organization, and outstanding persuasive skills. Able to skillfully inspire, motivate, and lead teams for consistently winning outcomes.

Specialties: Commercial Property Insurance, Multi-State Schedules of Insurance, Revenue Growth, Executive Management, C-Suite Sales, AC Nielsen data analysis, IRI data analysis, Sales Strategy Formulation, Execution, Process Standardization, Consumer Goods, Profit/Loss Management, Sales Skills Training, Sales Performance Management, Business Development,Leadership Development,Team Building,Talent/Organizational Development, Recruiting,Marketing Campaigns,Google Ad Words, Social Media Technology,Google Places, Google+ Local, WordPress, Video Marketing,& Webinars

Thursday, June 29, 2017

Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | Expert Brand Builder | Global Business Driver

About Michael Wagner

Highly accomplished, visionary executive with proven ability to impact financial, social, and political goals through commitment to global issues, innovation, and diversity. Results-oriented, decisive leader offering 15+ years of success in sales, operations, and marketing. Deliver excellence in execution and developing people, utilizing international / multicultural experience to provide unique perspective and creative solutions, achieving high performance within diverse organizational cultures. Demonstrate rapid advancement based on high performance, with the ability to quickly transfer skills across industries. Self-starter with strong entrepreneurial spirit, high integrity, and solid work ethic; creative, highly analytical, and able to successfully manage multiple concurrent projects with keen attention to detail, excellent organization, and outstanding persuasive skills. Able to skillfully inspire, motivate, and lead teams for consistently winning outcomes.

Specialties: Commercial Property Insurance, Multi-State Schedules of Insurance, Revenue Growth, Executive Management, C-Suite Sales, AC Nielsen data analysis, IRI data analysis, Sales Strategy Formulation, Execution, Process Standardization, Consumer Goods, Profit/Loss Management, Sales Skills Training, Sales Performance Management, Business Development,Leadership Development,Team Building,Talent/Organizational Development, Recruiting,Marketing Campaigns,Google Ad Words, Social Media Technology,Google Places, Google+ Local, WordPress, Video Marketing,& Webinars

Michael Wagner Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | Expert Brand Builder | Global Business Driver

A Man's Success Has a Lot To Do With the Kind of Woman He Chooses To Have In His Life!

Friday, January 13, 2017

Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | Expert Brand Builder | Global Business Driver

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

How to Build a Sales Team From the Ground Up

How to Build a Sales Team From the Ground Up

Forbes Leadership Forum
CONTRIBUTOR
News, Commentary, and Advice About Leadership
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Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
This article is by Bob Gaudreau, the global sales director of Regus, a provider of workplace solutions.

As any chief executive or business owner knows, good salespeople are a rare commodity, effective sales managers are harder to find, and an outstanding sales director is the proverbial needle in haystack. So what can you do to ensure that your sales organization performs? As Thomas Edison famously said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” In my 20 years running a global sales team I have found that the 99% perspiration, when properly applied, will achieve the success your business needs.

In fact, the effectiveness of sales organizations could be radically improved across the world by putting in place a few straightforward principles. I know that these principles work, because they have become the bedrock of my own career, and have helped propel the company I work for, Regus, from one city in Europe to 550 cities in 90 countries. These guiding disciplines are not easy to achieve and they don’t substitute for Edison’s 1% inspiration, but if a sales leader can use them consistently, success will certainly follow.

Hire right: Often neglected, the more thought-out and detailed the job description, the clearer the recruitment will be, and in turn the much more likely that the right person will be identified and brought on board. Insist upon a structured interview process with two key components: a formalized interviewer questionnaire and dual interviews with at least two separate managers. This leads to consistent questioning, tests candidates’ competency against the job description, and ensures that an objective decision is made. If you hire only people you like you are failing your organization many times over.

Induct and train: It is important to remember that training and induction are not same thing. A good induction helps individuals understand the company, the culture, and the expectations for the person and the role. Training, on the other hand, prepares you to do the job at hand for the respective company. All too often I have seen only one of these done properly. The key takeaway: Be willing to invest in sales training, expect your new trainees to take it seriously, and insist that they deliver.

Activity over results: Remember the 99% rule. Once you put your new people on the ground, expect all new sales to concentrate on prospecting to build a solid pipeline. Take a quasi-scientific approach with solid metrics such as the number of new appointments, prospect cold calls, or structured customer call-back targets. All the while, evaluate and score their activity during the initial employment phase so that it can be analyzed, corrected and/or refined. Use this to continuously improve your team.

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Show me the money: No matter how well you hire and train up your sales team, they still have a tough day-to-day job where they will receive countless rejections from prospects. It is vital to support your team by fostering a positive attitude and providing motivational moments throughout the weeks and months. I expect all of my sales leaders to foster a proactive spirit in their teams and lead by example. Poor managers say, “Don’t do what I do; do what I say.” This is nonsense. The greatest motivator is a leader who can walk the walk. Last, but certainly not least, remember the importance of monetary and other incentives. Aside from the basic commission schemes, introduce special incentives on seasonal, topical, and ad hoc bases. This should not be predictable, but instead focused on driving sales in slow periods.

Align with business targets: All too often sales teams stay in a mindset of functioning in a vacuum. Make sure you have a formal structure to give your sales teams a forward view and an in-depth explanation of what the business targets are and how they are to be achieved, not just in sales terms but also across the whole business. When you explain what your business is going for and how you are getting there, your sales team can see how the whole company is working with them, and can understand their role in meeting those challenges.

Live the product: Good salespeople are able to get close to customers and make them feel they are really experiencing the product or service being provided. We are lucky that at Regus we actually use the products we sell: flexible, impressive, professional locations and facilities. Our sales people can work from where they want, when they want, by using Regus offices by the day or our lounges by the hour. This means they can be close to home one day and close to a customer the next day, with access to convenient meeting venues with plug-and-play technology to make presentations or to print and bind proposals on the go. Making sure that your teams can similarly “live” your products, and get them as close to the client as possible, is vital.

Any sales team, whether pitching to existing customers or looking for new ones, needs to spend more of its time selling and less on distractions. A great sales team needs to plan, prepare, ask for the business, differentiate, and—while working hard—have fun. Some have indeed been lucky and found Edison’s elusive 1% inspiration, but for the rest of us it’s hard work and dedication that will ensure global sales management success.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Duane Michael Wagner II, Vero Beach Florida, Executive Leader | Chief Marketing Officer | Expert Brand Builder | Global Business Driver

Highly accomplished, visionary executive manager with proven ability to impact financial, social, and political goals through commitment to global issues, innovation, and diversity. Results-oriented, decisive leader offering 15+ years of success in sales, operations, and marketing. Deliver excellence in training and service, utilizing international / multicultural experience to provide unique perspective and creative solutions, achieving high performance within diverse organizational cultures. Demonstrate rapid advancement based on high performance, with the ability to quickly transfer skills across industries. Self-starter with strong entrepreneurial spirit, high integrity, and solid work ethic; creative, highly analytical, and able to successfully manage multiple concurrent projects with keen attention to detail, excellent organization, and outstanding persuasive skills. Able to skillfully inspire, motivate, and lead teams for consistently winning outcomes.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Planning
• Operations Acumen
• Analysis & Problem Solving
• Market Research & Trend Spotting
• High-level Negotiations
• Coaching & Development
• Project Management
• P&L / Budgeting / Forecasting
• Ability to Influence & Lead

Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Michael Wagner Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | Expert Brand Builder | Global Business Driver | 14,000 + Connections

Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida Chief Marketing Officer

Core Competencies

• Strategic Planning
• Operations Acumen
• Analysis & Problem Solving
• Market Research & Trend Spotting
• High-level Negotiations
• Coaching & Development
• Project Management
• P&L / Budgeting / Forecasting
• Ability to Influence & Lead

Sunday, June 29, 2014

Duane Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida

Miami Heat's Chris Bosh to opt out of contract - http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/29/4209172/miami-heats-chris-bosh-to-opt.html

Michael Wagner Vero Beach Florida Sales Strategist