Anyone else sick of this Michael Jans clown?

[volstrike3]

I get annoyed by his constant emails, faxes, voice messages, etc but he does what he needs to do to stay in front of his prospects... we could all learn something from that. I joined the quantum club for 6 months and went to his marketing bootcamp in Chicago. I don't really care for his personality, constant upsells/cross sells and self promotion but I did learn some marketing tactics (not spam) that have made my agency a lot of money. I also got some great tools to manage my agency. John Mason is for real... as are several other Quantum Club members who have done very well following Michael Jans. As much as I don't like Jan's delivery... his program does provide a roadmap to success for many agencies across the country.

[Rainmaker]

I've visited his website, spoke with him, and even attended an event at his home. Having gone into the consultancy space myself about 1.5 years ago I can say that it's challenging to provide services and coaching to the industry - because there are so many charlatans and snake oil salesman out there that have never sold insurance much less run agencies, there is a lot of resistance for those of us that have actually sold insurance and run agencies!

While Michael has a very basic approach, and, one focused towards very small property casualty agencies, I genuinely think he's helped a lot of people. Additionally, and this is not meant to be a controversial statement, but given the fact that his average client is basically around $600k of revenues (an owner/producer and 2 or 3 support staff) it doesn't take a lot of sophistication on the consultant's part to provide value or be 'looked up to' by this layer of the industry.

From my perspective, he teaches good fundamentals, and that has value. Was he the 'greatest property casualty agent' in the industry as he purports himself to be? I can introduce him to 100's that would consider that statement a complete joke (as do I, by the way) - but that's marketing!

Let's face it, people buy more tickets to the movies than they buy tickets to go see Shakespeare! He's got is business model nailed.....and I am sure it took a lot of hard work on his part to get it there. If he has helped people move forward in there careers that's a great thing.

Do I think he's 'the end all' of course not. Having spoken to him, and having the personal experience of having sold over $600k of commissions/yr and having run offices and Regions generating over $20M of annual commission revenue, I can tell you this guy has A LOT to learn. But I don't think he wants to....he's got his model, he's generating cash for himself, so he's at where he's at!

[goredsox]

Okay, so we are a small PC agency that has been affected negatively by this economy. In fact, I'm not taking a pay check every so often just to keep the cash reserves intact. I'm not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Is Michael Jans someone to contact? Or maybe just selling the agency may be the answer. Don't know.

[volstrike3]

goredsox,

if what you are doing isn't working then you need to try something. I am not saying Jans is the answer to all of your problems but if you need some marketing ideas and some training for your CSR's to become more sales oriented... he is a solid option.

[d's insurance store]

Go Red Sox...you'll have to take a long, hard look at your business model and let go of the thought that subscribing to a marketing guru will turn your business around in a guaranteed manner.

Michael Jans and his operation can offer a wealth of tips and ideas that work...in some areas of the country, but not all. And, one of the risks of starting from a distressed point, is that you're hoping that one single source will solve your problems and set you on the path to prosperity.

You're not giving us a lot of insight into what you're doing and why there may be viability problems. Are you new in business? Long term business that has watched external factors impact your business? Were you niche oriented and your categories have gone down the drain? Do you have competitve markets? Is your staff too large or small, doing the proper sales and service things to hold onto existing clients and establish new accounts? Have you stuck with the 'old' methods of customer acquisition...yellow pages, newspaper stuffers, direct mail-all touting 'low rates/great service/safe/strong/secure?

If you've got some cash flow and insurance markets to present and a large enough marketplace that can and will be receptive to your products, then Michael Jans and one of his programs may help. But you'll have to be committed to working very hard to take those attributes and exploit them to the max. But if you're lacking in any of those three structural elements, your business may be beyond saving.

No business has the 'right' to last forever, and just going into business with good intentions isn't a license to succeed. Things are constantly changing and very often, life is unfair. I wish you luck.

[wlunday]

Hey Go Red Sox, d's makes a lot of good points. I've been a member of QC for a year now, and my little agency has done just fine implementing bits and pieces of the Quantum Club's advice. No where close to all of it... just the parts that work for me and that I can afford ant that fit my personal business plans. I don't want to have multiple agencies and locations like Mr. Mason, but the referral, retention, cross-selling ideas are easy to implement, and the staff training is great, too.

One great part of the club membership is the mentorship you can utilize... guys like Mr. Mason, that have been there and experienced just what you are going through. It truly helps.

I'd like to submit this... for those that are interested in finding out about Michael Jans... call him. It's that simple.

For those that don't like to receive his e-mails... call him. It's that simple. He, and his crew, are extremely available and willing to help in either of these situations. Best of luck.

Swymmer

[michga11]

bump. good read.