Hi from San Francisco

[arnguy]

You are probably right, but common usage would indicate otherwise. Following is from the dictionary built into the Mac.

Yeah, Al, I checked with Merriam-Webster and the rules of usage for affect and effect are pretty vague. It appears you can't go go wrong either way, but it alway good for a cocktail hour discussion. It's no wonder that foreigners complian about how difficult the English language is. Anyway, YMMV.

 

[norcalinsurance]

Saying hello from Sacramento, CA. I was born & raised in Castro Valley, then moved to Sac with my wife to get into the housing market & start our agency with Farmers. We focus on Home, Auto and life, and we are finding our niche in commercial, BAP's in particular. It's a tough road, but a great one! See you around.

 

[TopCat]

welcome, I'm a new member also and I'm in San Rafael. I'm currently looking to hookup with an MO/MGA to set up some good contracts and focus on term(mortgage/final expense etc.) and start for the first time selling health plans. Anyway, welcome aboard.

Tony

 

[davet]

this sounds like the california room, lol. greetings from san diego.

dailyinsurer.blogspot.com

 

[norcalinsurance]

Good old California. Gotta love this place. I'm up in Sacramento, the housing market is terrible, all of my mortgage leads have dried up months ago. Although, I have a feeling that soon out of town investors will notice what a bargain these homes are around here. It's amazing!

 

[Guest]

Good old California. Gotta love this place. I'm up in Sacramento, the housing market is terrible, all of my mortgage leads have dried up months ago. Although, I have a feeling that soon out of town investors will notice what a bargain these homes are around here. It's amazing!

I too am in Sacramento... for the past 25 years. The housing market will recover as it always has. There are many young families here and there is still lots of small biz growth... also fueled by the creativity and desire for a better life from the increasing Asian and Russian/Ukrainian and Hispanic immigrant population. (I wrote a Ukrainian couple a solid GUL plan earlier this week.)

There is lots of opportunity here... you just have to look a bit harder for it in this economy... but this economy is transitory. California is still where people come when they can't make it in Ohio or Indiana. And Sacramento is still affordable. (Personally, I'd rather live in Ohio (ie. Cambridge) or in Indiana (Indianapolis) but everyone there has left to come here! I'm sure it has increased the IQ of both states!)

Al
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency

 

[norcalinsurance]

Yes. There is a Romanian Agent near my office, she has told me that Sacramento is considered a hub for immigrants from the eastern block, if thats the right way to put it. Russians, Romanians (I love their accents!) and so many other Europeans think of Sacramento as the place to start off in America. Pretty interesting.

 

[JHL216]

Welcome! I am also a new member in the SF East Bay.

I grew up in Sacramento, so I know about the Russian, Romanian population there. They are nice people and many own small businesses. I would like to target them and write BOP's but I think it would be hard to get in the door if they have a Russian/Romanian agent they are working with.

Has anyone heard anything about/is a member of a BNI networking group here in N. CA? I have had people ask me to join, but I am wondering if anything will come out of it and if it's worth the money to join. Basically, they get a group together, each person from a different industry and refer clients back and forth. BNI International Web Site

 

[norcalinsurance]

A few years ago I was a member with LeTip, another networking group very similar to BNI. I have heard a lot about BNI, mostly while I was a part of LeTip, all we heard was how much better LeTip was than BNI.

Honestly, I don't know which one is better. I know they are both very large organizations, both are international with MANY chapters. Also, I don't know the fee schedule for BNI, but LeTip was very pricey. It was around $320 per year to join, then you had to pay quarterly fees of $50+ and other small fees as well, including luncheon charges.

I would bet that BNI has similar costs, but I'm not sure about that. My experience with LeTip was a good one. These networking groups are good because everybody attending is a business professional who is looking to get & give tips. Make sure when you show up to each chapter for the first time that you present yourself in such a way that you are looking to 'help' others, you are not trying to get leads for yourself. That will go a long way to get you into the group.

Go to a few different chapters before picking just one, and being in the insurance field, you'd better check ahead of time with each chapter president as to whether they already have an insurance agent in their chapter. They only allow one business professional in a given field per chapter, so that your not stepping on another member's toes. It makes sense. I know that with LeTip, every chapter I checked on had an Insurance Agent, but many of them were Life Agents, and I was able to slip into one, promising that I would only focus on P&C business, and give the life leads/prospects to the Life Agent in our group.

It's worth checking out, but you can also achieve the same networking results by going to free local events in your area, or calling up friends and putting together a monthly dinner somewhere, asking your friends to bring some new friends. In the end, BNI, LeTip and all the other networking groups are just about meeting other people, except with those networking groups, your going to spend a lot of money per year to meet people.

Good luck, and go check out a few chapters, try out LeTip too!