If you follow along in our free group, Insurance Soup, you know that I like to poll the audience of 17,000 Agents, Brokers, and Team Members that hang out with us daily.  The broad range of industry experience and carrier representation in conjunction with our efforts to keep corporate suits and vendors out of the group generally gives us some good and honest feedback when we ask tough questions. 

We recently asked our group to rate the training they receive from their carrier partners in 3 different areas. 

Product Training... Sales.... Marketing

The results from this impromptu poll sadly did not phase me. It did however make me a little sad. 

One of the hardest decisions we are forced to make in this business is when to stay open and when to close during inclement weather and national disasters. 

One one hand our business is our baby. Closing our business means not feeding our baby and a hungry baby is not a happy baby.