Elite Agents and Financial Professionals Gather for Industry-Leading Networking Conference Hosted By Creative Marketing - PRWeb

Leawood, Kan. (PRWEB) April 07, 2012

More than 50 of the country’s most successful agents and advisors joined host Creative Marketing for the sixth annual Tailor Made Networking Conference held in Miami, Fla. Attendees were able to enjoy the outdoors and maximize their opportunity for sharing ideas, information and success strategies with other high-caliber producers throughout the three-day event. Additionally, Creative Marketing’s home office personnel presented timely industry news and sales tips for helping these professionals continue to build their businesses and differentiate themselves from their competition.

Creative’s Tailor Made group welcomes elite-level life and annuity producers who meet a $5 million minimum of premium submitted annually. The Tailor Made services include one-on-one business consulting, strategic marketing and communications support, and a multitude of training opportunities and resources customized specifically for agents with an exceptional business track record. Each year, Creative brings these agents and advisors together to network and hear from their peers regarding strategies for generating referrals, developing more qualified leads and closing business more effectively.

“At each Tailor Made Networking Conference, we want to recognize our outstanding producers and provide extraordinary ways to thank them for their continued partnership with us,” said Creative Marketing’s Senior Vice President of Tailor Made Chip Anderson. “This year’s event in Miami was no exception. During two days of sharing innovative solutions for growing their practices, our guests were able to build relationships with colleagues who understand the challenges elite-level agents face in their day-to-day business.”

Event highlights included a keynote speech by innovative leader and corporate consultant Steve Harvill. He shared insights into the benefits of getting back to basics and keeping the sales process simple for agents and clients alike. Producers picked up tips from top agents, and then shared “one great idea” with one another that they could put to use immediately after the conference. Attendees also learned about specifics of newly offered agent programs available and how to prepare themselves and their business owner clients for business succession.

“All of the events were great, and the farewell party was incredible. I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with some of the most successful agents and advisors in the business and learn how they do what they do. On my first day back in the office, I am already starting to implement suggestions and improve my own success. I can’t wait until the next Networking Conference,” said one Tailor Made attendee on the post-event survey.

Creative Marketing is known throughout the industry for its best-in-class agent incentive trips, in addition to providing unparalleled service and support. The Tailor Made Networking Conference is just one example of how Creative combines these qualities to afford producers with opportunities throughout the year to spend time learning from their peers.

“This year’s Networking Conference was packed full of information our agents can modify and implement for great results. We heard from many attendees that the Miami event was the best yet, and we intend to continue exceeding expectations in the years to come,” said Anderson.

ABOUT CREATIVE MARKETING INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
Creative Marketing, a leading national marketing organization for annuities and life insurance, has been assisting insurance and financial professionals with building a successful practice since 1984. Providing affiliated agents and advisors with hundreds of product options from a variety of carriers, the company delivers superior agent education, advanced marketing training, substantial back-office support, and considerable industry expertise by more than 150 talented and knowledgeable employees. Creative Marketing sets an industry standard for its commitment to excellence, ethics and integrity in business, and agent-client satisfaction. Located in Leawood, Kan., Creative Marketing is making a difference in the lives of its affiliated insurance agents and financial professionals, as well as the clients they serve. To learn more about Creative Marketing, visit us on the web at http://www.creativemarketing.net

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Creative opportunity for development aid - Calgary Herald

CDMScriptManager.load("http://s9.addthis.com/js/widget.php?v=10");By Marc And Craig Kielburger, Edmonton Journal January 23, 2012

Can a savings bond save the world?

In 1988, Naser Kaid left his home in the Ethiopian city of Jimma to seek opportunity here in Canada. His widowed mother stayed behind and today Kaid is her only lifeline.

What Kaid can afford from his wages as a Toronto taxi driver, he sends home to his mother. It's usually $50 to $100 each month and it's the only income she has. In November she needed surgery. Kaid scraped together the money to cover the operation. He considers it his responsibility.

"Life is hard here," Kaid says. "But at the same time you have to remember those elsewhere."

In 2010, immigrants to Canada sent more than $12 billion to support the families they left behind. To put it in perspective, that's four billion more than all the money Canadians gave to charity and over six billion more than Canada spent on international aid that same year.

When the world population passed seven billion in October 2011, the UN Population Fund dedicated an entire chapter of its State of the World Population report to issues around migration. One fact that caught its attention was the absolutely staggering amount of money immigrants around the world are sending back home.

The World Bank estimates that by 2013 more than $404 billion will be travelling around the world every year from immigrants back to their families. That's almost three times more than all the developed countries in the world put together spent on international aid in 2010.

The Hudson Institute, an American think-tank, has studied global remittances - the money that immigrants send back to their countries of origin. According to the institute, these remittances play an important role in fighting poverty in developing countries. Families that receive money from family members abroad tend to have a better quality of life, and are better able to survive shocks like natural disasters.

With tough economic times forcing many donor countries to scale back on international aid, is there a way to turn the hundreds of billions flowing from immigrant communities into an even more effective tool against poverty? There's one very interesting possibility: diaspora bonds.

Canadians should be familiar with Canada Savings Bonds. You buy them from the Government of Canada in amounts as small as $100. When you redeem them months or years later, you get your money back with interest. It's a great way to save money and it creates revenue our government can use to provide the services we rely on, like health care.

Diaspora bonds work much the same way except, as per their name, they are sold by countries like Ethiopia to immigrant communities abroad.

Diaspora bonds can make developing countries more economically stable and could be used to support development projects to fight poverty.

Diaspora bonds are not new. Israel was the first to issue them in 1951. In 1991, India used diaspora bonds to help recover from a major economic crisis.

Some African countries like Kenya, Ethiopia and Nigeria have begun to issue bonds in the past two years. Greek immigrants in Canada and other countries are now looking at diaspora bonds as a way to save their homeland from its massive debt crisis.

The World Bank offers one example of how diaspora bonds could be employed to aid development. There are over 1.5 million Haitian immigrants living in Canada, the U.S. and France. If 200,000 of them each bought $1,000 in bonds, they would raise $200 million to support post-earthquake reconstruction in Haiti.

It seems to us that Canada could be supporting diaspora bonds as a cost-effective way to increase resources for fighting poverty.

Here are a few ideas that might be explored: Canada could act as an international guarantor for development-dedicated bonds. Our government could help promote these bonds to immigrant communities, or give tax credits to immigrants who purchase them.

There are risks in diaspora bonds. Because the money from bonds goes to governments, in some developing countries there is the potential for mismanagement or corruption. The Canadian chapter of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, for example, prefers that the European Central Bank or the International Monetary Fund control any funds from diaspora bonds. They believe the government of Greece is in disarray and cannot responsibly manage the money.

Here again Canada can play a role, helping reduce the risks. Through partnership Canada can support bonds designated for specific approved projects. We can provide technical assistance to recipient countries, building their capacity to manage the bonds with account-ability and transparency.

We see a creative opportunity with diaspora bonds to not only increase resources for development, but also empower our immigrant communities to help their families back home. More than that, by investing in these savings bonds new Canadians will be investing in their own financial security.

Kaid thinks diaspora bonds are brilliant. He's seriously considering investing in the new bonds available from Ethiopia.

"It's one of the best ideas," he says. "Countries can use the money, it doesn't cost you much and you get it back!"

Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger co-founded Free the Children and Me to We . For more information on the Free the Children program, visit freethechildren.com

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In Johannesburg, creative businesses see golden opportunity - Oregonian

AP Photo/Denis FarrellThis photo taken Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011 shows New York-born musician Joao Orecchia as he stands by a restored old building in downtown Johannesburg. Orecchia, who organizes musical events around downtown Johannesburg says "As an artist, you almost have an obligation to contribute to that picture of what Johannesburg is." BY: DONNA BRYSON  

Johannesburg dates its beginnings to the discovery of gold in 1886. Its downtown, where skyscrapers tower over deep mines, was abandoned by business in recent decades, and squatters turned the office towers into high-rise slums.

But now, as the city celebrates its 125th birthday, creative South Africans are seeing gold in warehouses and cheap office space, and they're revitalizing neighborhoods with galleries, museums, shops, studios, clubs and restaurants.

When Fiona Rankin-Smith was making plans to renovate an office building to house a major new museum, she thought she'd be building a lonely outpost for art in gritty central Johannesburg. But nine years and 38 million rand (about $4.7 million) later, as she prepared to move nearly 10,000 African paintings, sculpture and other pieces out of storage and into the sleek new Wits Art Museum, she finds South Africa's economic hub is returning to its roots.

"There's this whole groundswell," said Rankin-Smith, the Wits' curator, as she surveyed the lively street scene on downtown's west side from her building's glass walls.

When the museum opens early next year in the Braamfontein neighborhood, its neighbors will include private galleries drawn to the area in part by plans for the Wits, which is owned by Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand.

One side of the glass and concrete museum features brickwork that resembles basketweave. Brass knobs dot another facade covered in blue tiles from the 1970s-era building's original exterior, a pattern inspired by Zulu beadwork from the museum that incorporated British brass buttons.

Johannesburg's nickname is Egoli or "city of gold," and antiquarian book dealer Jonathan Klass says downtown draws its resilience from the energy that made it a mining capital and from "its ability to change."

"People are accepting the change and trying to create the change and go with it," he said, "rather than trying to live in the past."

Collectors Treasury, the shop started by Klass, his brother Geoff and their late mother, has had homes in several buildings in and around central Johannesburg since 1974. The brothers have seen other attempts to revive downtown, and praise the latest because it is bringing back residents as well as business. An area that was a business district for whites under apartheid now is home to a vibrant multinational, multiracial community, including Africans from elsewhere on the continent.

Collectors Treasury's home since 1991 is a hoarder's paradise, eight stories of books and other antiques in the former headquarters of a company that imported printing presses. It's located at the gateway of an eastern downtown neighborhood developers call Maboneng Precinct. Maboneng means "place of light" in Sotho, one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

Renowned South African artist William Kentridge, whose grandfather once had law offices in downtown Johannesburg, has moved into a studio in a complex of Maboneng warehouses that now houses hip shops and apartments. The neighborhood has an art house cinema.

New York-born musician Joao Orecchia organized a series of concerts in Maboneng over the past year in not-quite-renovated buildings. Audiences climbing six stories to a rooftop for one concert could see the rubble of what had been the elevator from the staircase wrapped around the shaft. Once on the roof, they were captivated by the view, Orecchia said. And though the site was forbidding then, the building will soon be renovated into homes and studios for musicians and artists, he said.

Trendy clubs and restaurants are popping up to serve gallery hoppers. At Randlords, safari chic decor of antelope skin rugs and beads is livened by flashes of humor, like framed lacy panties at the ladies' room door and framed briefs at the men's.

The club on the roof of a 22-story office tower was named to evoke the mining magnates who made their fortunes on the rand -- or ridge -- of rock underpinning Johannesburg. It opened as a bar when the World Cup soccer games came to South Africa in 2010. Now it hosts private parties and the occasional cocktail evening open to the public.

Randlords' walls are glass, so visitors feel they can almost step into the sweeping view. To the south, almost blending into the man-made mountains of mining waste, is the 90,000-seat stadium the shape and color of a traditional African clay pot built for the World Cup. Just beyond the stadium is Soweto, the township that was a dormitory for blacks under apartheid, with its iconic sites tracing the history of the struggle against racist rule, including a former home of Nelson Mandela. 

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In Johannesburg, creative businesses see golden opportunity - Oregonian

AP Photo/Denis FarrellThis photo taken Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011 shows New York-born musician Joao Orecchia as he stands by a restored old building in downtown Johannesburg. Orecchia, who organizes musical events around downtown Johannesburg says "As an artist, you almost have an obligation to contribute to that picture of what Johannesburg is." BY: DONNA BRYSON  

Johannesburg dates its beginnings to the discovery of gold in 1886. Its downtown, where skyscrapers tower over deep mines, was abandoned by business in recent decades, and squatters turned the office towers into high-rise slums.

But now, as the city celebrates its 125th birthday, creative South Africans are seeing gold in warehouses and cheap office space, and they're revitalizing neighborhoods with galleries, museums, shops, studios, clubs and restaurants.

When Fiona Rankin-Smith was making plans to renovate an office building to house a major new museum, she thought she'd be building a lonely outpost for art in gritty central Johannesburg. But nine years and 38 million rand (about $4.7 million) later, as she prepared to move nearly 10,000 African paintings, sculpture and other pieces out of storage and into the sleek new Wits Art Museum, she finds South Africa's economic hub is returning to its roots.

"There's this whole groundswell," said Rankin-Smith, the Wits' curator, as she surveyed the lively street scene on downtown's west side from her building's glass walls.

When the museum opens early next year in the Braamfontein neighborhood, its neighbors will include private galleries drawn to the area in part by plans for the Wits, which is owned by Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand.

One side of the glass and concrete museum features brickwork that resembles basketweave. Brass knobs dot another facade covered in blue tiles from the 1970s-era building's original exterior, a pattern inspired by Zulu beadwork from the museum that incorporated British brass buttons.

Johannesburg's nickname is Egoli or "city of gold," and antiquarian book dealer Jonathan Klass says downtown draws its resilience from the energy that made it a mining capital and from "its ability to change."

"People are accepting the change and trying to create the change and go with it," he said, "rather than trying to live in the past."

Collectors Treasury, the shop started by Klass, his brother Geoff and their late mother, has had homes in several buildings in and around central Johannesburg since 1974. The brothers have seen other attempts to revive downtown, and praise the latest because it is bringing back residents as well as business. An area that was a business district for whites under apartheid now is home to a vibrant multinational, multiracial community, including Africans from elsewhere on the continent.

Collectors Treasury's home since 1991 is a hoarder's paradise, eight stories of books and other antiques in the former headquarters of a company that imported printing presses. It's located at the gateway of an eastern downtown neighborhood developers call Maboneng Precinct. Maboneng means "place of light" in Sotho, one of South Africa's 11 official languages.

Renowned South African artist William Kentridge, whose grandfather once had law offices in downtown Johannesburg, has moved into a studio in a complex of Maboneng warehouses that now houses hip shops and apartments. The neighborhood has an art house cinema.

New York-born musician Joao Orecchia organized a series of concerts in Maboneng over the past year in not-quite-renovated buildings. Audiences climbing six stories to a rooftop for one concert could see the rubble of what had been the elevator from the staircase wrapped around the shaft. Once on the roof, they were captivated by the view, Orecchia said. And though the site was forbidding then, the building will soon be renovated into homes and studios for musicians and artists, he said.

Trendy clubs and restaurants are popping up to serve gallery hoppers. At Randlords, safari chic decor of antelope skin rugs and beads is livened by flashes of humor, like framed lacy panties at the ladies' room door and framed briefs at the men's.

The club on the roof of a 22-story office tower was named to evoke the mining magnates who made their fortunes on the rand -- or ridge -- of rock underpinning Johannesburg. It opened as a bar when the World Cup soccer games came to South Africa in 2010. Now it hosts private parties and the occasional cocktail evening open to the public.

Randlords' walls are glass, so visitors feel they can almost step into the sweeping view. To the south, almost blending into the man-made mountains of mining waste, is the 90,000-seat stadium the shape and color of a traditional African clay pot built for the World Cup. Just beyond the stadium is Soweto, the township that was a dormitory for blacks under apartheid, with its iconic sites tracing the history of the struggle against racist rule, including a former home of Nelson Mandela. 

View the original article here