Choosing partners for your business is difficult. It's difficult because there are so many things that can make it either a good fit or a bad one. Some nuances you can live with, and some are deal breakers. Sorting through those details and knowing what works for you is critical to managing a successful branding effort. We announced a while back that we were renaming and rebranding Benefits Growth Network, and let everyone know that our new name would be Q4intelligence. Part of the project scope for a rebrand includes finding the right people to make it happen. We don't…

We recently received what may be the greatest compliment anyone could give us. The compliment came from Reid Rasmussen (www.FreshBenies.com) in response to a recent blog post where we introduced our new name and the reasons why we chose the name we did. Reid wasn't complimenting the blog, but rather the actions it described. @kevintrokey So you're not just telling brokers how to change business for the future? You're doing it yourself. That's credibility! — Reid Rasmussen (@ReidCRasmussen) March 9, 2013 There is nothing in which we take greater pride than leading by example. Hearing someone recognize and comment on…

We recently announced that we're changing our name, and we're keeping you up-to-date on the process as we go along. Plus, we're also sharing some of the lessons we've learned for you to use in your own agency evaluation. In the last post, we talked about realizing you've outgrown your name because your value proposition and/or purpose have changed or expanded. In this article we're going to explain a bit about how our model has changed and how that led us to choosing our new name: Q4intelligenceAn Agency Transformation Network As the business evolves The original focus of BGN was…

Do you get our newsletter? If you're not signed up to get it, you might want to think about it. See, we spend our days thinking about insurance agencies from sales to operations to results and the behaviors that get you where you are and can take you where you want to go. All that thinking and discussing gets turned into a lot of ideas and resources we like to share. One way we share our ideas is here, through our blog. Another is through a newsletter we send out about once a month. Mainly what we do with our…

So the story goes Back in the 1960's the wine industry in Napa Valley was still largely in its infancy and had a long way to go to be competitive with France. Robert Mondavi, now considered the patriarch of Napa Valley, noticed an especially large discrepancy between Napa Valley and France: the popularity of a varietal called Sauvignon Blanc. At the time, Sauvignon Blanc was quite popular in France, but in Napa it was dead last. Mondavi did some research on the name and the taste preferences of the US market. Sauvignon Blancs in the States at the time were…

We are making a big change at BGN and wanted to let you know:   We've decided to undergo a rebrand and change our company name.   This is no small decision. It's a huge project to take on and will require us to transition all of the awareness and recognition we've built thus far onto the new identity. But we see this as an important move for our company today and moving into the future. So while it's a lot of work, it's important and necessary work for us as a company and for our members as well. As…

Adding value in everything you do It is so hard to believe that our fourth BGNLive has come and gone. I made the comment at the end of the conference how it sort of feels like it passes as quickly as a Christmas morning. You spend months shopping, buying gifts, and wrapping the presents and then the packages are torn open in mere moments. It was much the same for us as we prepared for last week. Literally, months of planning, content creation, the building of supporting documents, and countless hours of practicing our presentations went into the preparation for…

Thanks for stopping by, but we’re gone for the week.  Every nine months we have the great pleasure to spend some fabulous face-to-face time with a group of our favorite people in the world - the members of Benefits Growth Network.  While there may not be much fishin’ going on, you can rest assured we are working hard, making new friends, getting re-acquainted with old ones, and having fun with old and new alike.  We are very fortunate to do what we do and to be able to do it with some truly amazing people! And since there will be…

Wow, another BGNLive (BGNL) has come and gone.  While I’m sure that everyone who attended has their own opinion, I felt that this was the most productive and enjoyable session to date.I started the conference by reminding everyone that BGNL is primarily about two things; learning and networking.  For those who haven’t attended a BGNL, this is not your typical “mini vacation” type of conference.  There is real work involved.  Homework assignments were sent out ahead of time with the expectation that everyone comes prepared to work - for their own benefit, the benefit of everyone back home, as well…

Hi everyone - This week we’re in San Diego spending a few days with our members at our BGNLive conference and networking session. We have been head down preparing for the conference and won’t have any new postings this week. However, we’d love it if you followed along with the happenings as we share them on Twitter – we’ll be using the hashtag #BGNLive. Even if you’re not a Twitter user, you can follow too! See the left side-bar of the blog – we’ll be replacing Kevin’s feed with the #BGNLive feed. Want to know what we’re talking about? Here’s…