CAL Advisor
November 24, 2008	E- Newsletter Volume 2, Number 3
In This Issue · New Website · Member Benefits Flash · Greetings NAIFA-California Members · Message for Local IFAPAC Chairs · Creative Marketing NAIFA-California 1451 River Park Drive Suite 175 Sacramento, CA 95815 (800) 298-1025 (916) 646-8600 (916) 646-8130 FAX office@naifacalifornia.org www.naifacalifornia.org Mark Your Calendars! Annual Meeting and Day On The Hill May 19-20, 2009	NAIFA-California has a NEW Easy to Navigate Website Please take a tour to see what is happening in Advocacy and Member Benefits! Member Benefits Flash By John O. Todd III. NAIFA-California Member Benefits Chair john.toddiii@nmfn.com Great news as we now have a tremendous new Member Benefit that can help improve your bottom line.  The NAIFA Professional Development System and Marketing Kit is here!! The new NAIFA Professional Development System has been created to provide NAIFA members, at every stage of their career, with the resources they need to succeed! NAIFA’s rich array of professional programs and products are designed to enhance member’s knowledge and skills, provide value-added business services, and create critical networking and mentoring opportunities—when, where and how you want them! To all NAIFA-California members . . . what a tremendous value added resource! Best wishes in integrating these tools into your practices. The NAIFA Professional Development System Overview is a multimedia presentation with audio. View the NAIFA Professional Development System Overview NAIFA Professional Development System Marketing Kit The NAIFA Professional Development System (PDS) Marketing Kit includes detailed information regarding each of the components of the PDS including Professional Programs, Professional Practice Tools and Tips, Preferred Providers, Networks, and Speaker Center. The kit is available in its entirety or as individual pieces. Complete Kits Download the complete NAIFA Professional Development System (PDS) Marketing Kit Flyers Download the complete NAIFA Professional Development System (PDS) Marketing Kit 5-Track Information Pieces (top) Greetings. . . NAIFA-California Members By Michael S. McCaffrey, LUTCF NAIFA-California President 2008 – 2009 MCCAFFREY1@aol.com "With the election season slowly fading from our memories, we are all looking to our Nation’s Capitol for new ideas and energy to help stabilize our economy. Here in California, the aftermath is less conclusive, and less hopeful. One key Senate race is still too close to call, with all ballots not expected to be counted until after Thanksgiving. Our Governor has called a rare second special session to deal with the new (or is it the old) growing budget crisis, with several tax proposals already being debated. Can new proposals aimed squarely at our products be far behind? With this as a backdrop, our Government Relations Team has just held our first ever “Advocacy Forums” to provide the tools and training to help make our locals as effective as they can be. Such training is vital if we hope to continue our success in fighting legislation that will negatively impact us all. Our 2009 LILI class is set to begin in January. Congratulations to this year’s outstanding group of candidates. We applaud your strong desire to further your knowledge, and to in part use that knowledge to further our Association. Our Membership Team is holding an exciting referral program that will conclude on December 19, 2009. Please forward any names of potential members to our Team, and they will do the rest! President Elect Sandy Henderson and Secretary Darrell Shideler have done a masterful job in preparing for our 75^th Annual Meeting. The program is completely set, with outstanding speakers such as future MDRT President Guy Baker and Walter Bond, America’s Accountability Leader. The sponsorships and exhibitor spots are filling up fast. Well done team! Finally, please join me in congratulating National Committeeperson Steve Rice, who on November 4^th was elected to serve on the Los Gatos Town Council. Way to go Steve . . . we are all proud of you. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Message to Local IFAPAC Chairs By Dennis P. Sunderman State IFAPAC Chair dennis@lblgroup.com Thank you for attending our Fall Advocacy Forums last week in Sacramento and/or Seal Beach, California. I am certain the information and training provided will help all of us toward meeting our fundraising goals for the balance of 2008 and will jump start our efforts for 2009. To quickly recap last week’s events: 1. Fund raising has never been more critical in view of the largest federal deficit in history, and the inevitable attack we face as an industry. 2. The Advocacy Forum was created and intentionally scheduled to take place prior to the beginning of the Legislative and PAC year Calendar. This accomplishes three basics: a. Provides timely training. b. Helps to identify and accomplish end of year goals. c. Prepares for a strong start of the New Year. 3. The new NAIFA-California website was introduced, including a new advocacy tab that provides immediate access to local PAC contribution reports. Here’s what you need to do. Please go to www.naifacalifornia.org On the home page find the Advocacy Tab on the left menu. Open the tab and go to Local PAC Reports (find your local) Scroll through to identify the following: a. Those members who are not in the PAC. b. Those that have dropped off the PAC. c. Those that would increase their contribution if asked. Call each member and ask then to start, re-start, or increase contributions now. Thank you again for your commitment to NAIFA. You are appreciated! Please report your progress via e-mail to Carol Nicolaysen at caroln@naifacalifornia.org by Friday, December 12, 2008. Creative Marketing: How Picasso Sells Insurance By Jill M. Judd, LUTCF, FSS NAIFA-California Vice President jill.judd.jyt0@statefarm.com Most would say insurance and creativity are examples of extreme polar opposites. But, as the saying goes, they really blend together like coffee and cream. We’re all looking for ways to find more clients and earn more business. By capitalizing on creative avenues you can build your business by opening the doors to clients who might not have found you by any other means. It was common practice in 17^th century Europe, that art benefactors would support artists by displaying and financially underwriting their work. It was a benefit to both as the supporter gained recognition and the artist gained an audience. Here we are in the 21^st century and the need hasn’t changed. As a supporter of the arts you build a great community reputation for yourself and gain access to your artist’s mailing list of folks who typically appreciate and value culture and philanthropy. Are you seeing the possibilities for your own office? As a new agent in 2001, I wanted to set my insurance office apart from others in my community by focusing on something I knew well. As a painter and an art historian, an idea was born. We created an in-office gallery. The first step was to line up 4 artists for the year. Here’s an example of some of our shows: “Healing paintings” from the Children’s Hospice Therapy Center, Group show by the advanced printmaking class from the community college, Local Attorney retires after 35 years in private practice to pursue painting – first time exhibitor, Kite Aerial Photography complete with front page exposure in the newspaper, and The Art of African Dance – advertised at every dance studio in town. Artist: John McKinley, www.mckinleyink.com Once an artist agrees to show their work, we meet and schedule the much anticipated “Artists’ Reception” usually held a few weeks after the installation of the show. The artist is responsible for creating the invitation or postcard, producing a mailing list of their supporters, and being present at the reception to greet the guests. Our responsibility includes sending out press releases, mailing invitations to our clients, and picking up the tab for the reception. We provide appetizers (ordered from the local deli), wine, and music. Local wineries like to pour at the receptions as they get their own exposure and you can find musicians everywhere. When the local Jazz Choir sang at one of our receptions every parent of each student came which resulted in more contacts within that particular market. By changing the artist periodically you keep a dynamic space for you and your clients. They will often ask when the next artist will be coming in and who it will be. During a reception I always introduce my clients to the artist and the artist always introduces their guest to me. What a deal! The opportunity to meet prospects is boundless. If you show the work of a nature photographer – include Sierra Club members on your invite list. When displaying the high school art class final, send an invitation to the teachers. If paintings by an older artist are shown be sure to announce it at the local senior center. Why would you want to participate in this type of marketing effort? It is unexpected. It brings about good will and it is “win-win-win” for everyone involved - the artist, the insurance office, and the community. So, use your passion to fuel your creative juices and market yourself in new and surprising way. top