Next is Book 7 — How to Insure Retail Stores. 🛍️
This one has a very marketable premise:
The Sign Says “Retail.” The Inventory Tells the Real Story.A clothing boutique, convenience store, gift shop, hardware store, furniture store, and specialty retailer may all be called retail stores—but that's about where the similarity ends.
Here is the complete subpage copy in our locked format.
HOW TO INSURE RETAIL STORESThe Sign Says “Retail.” The Inventory Tells the Real Story.A Producer's Practical Guide to Understanding, Insuring & Winning Retail AccountsA prospect calls and says:
“I own a retail store and need an insurance quote.”
Before you reach for an application, what do you really know?
Almost nothing.
What do they sell?
How much inventory do they carry?
How much is it worth?
Does inventory increase dramatically before Christmas or another selling season?
Do they sell online?
Ship merchandise?
Deliver purchases?
Import products?
Sell used merchandise?
Install what they sell?
What happens if a fire destroys the store just before its busiest month?
What happens if a customer slips and falls?
What happens if someone steals $20,000 of merchandise overnight?
What happens if the store cannot reopen for three months?
Retail isn't one risk.
It's thousands of different businesses that happen to sell something to somebody.

THE PROBLEM WITH “IT'S JUST A RETAIL STORE”Consider these businesses:
A clothing boutique.
A jewelry store.
A hardware store.
A furniture store.
A convenience store.
A sporting-goods store.
A gift shop.
An electronics retailer.
A specialty food store.
They may all occupy similar storefronts.
But their inventory, theft potential, customer traffic, equipment, delivery exposures and loss potential may be completely different.
Even two stores selling the same type of merchandise can present different risks.
One carries $50,000 of inventory.
Another carries $500,000.
One sells only from its physical location.
Another generates half its revenue online.
One leases 1,500 square feet.
Another owns a 20,000-square-foot building.
One has three employees.
Another has thirty.
The producer's job is to discover the business behind the storefront.

WHAT THIS MANUAL WILL HELP YOU DOAfter working through this guide, a producer should be better prepared to:
✓ Conduct a professional retail discovery conversation
✓ Understand what the retailer actually sells
✓ Identify building and business-personal-property exposures
✓ Investigate inventory values
✓ Recognize seasonal inventory fluctuations
✓ Ask better questions about theft and crime exposures
✓ Identify customer and premises liability concerns
✓ Explore product liability exposures
✓ Recognize delivery and automobile exposures
✓ Investigate online and e-commerce operations
✓ Identify employee and Workers' Compensation exposures
✓ Discuss business-income needs
✓ Explore equipment breakdown where appropriate
✓ Recognize cyber and payment-card exposures
✓ Identify umbrella and excess liability considerations
✓ Prepare stronger underwriting submissions
✓ Compare proposals beyond premium alone
✓ Conduct stronger renewal conversations
✓ Prospect for retail accounts more intelligently

WHO SHOULD HAVE THIS MANUAL?How to Insure Retail Stores was created for:
• New commercial-lines producers
• Personal-lines producers moving into commercial insurance
• Producers who encounter Main Street businesses
• Experienced producers looking to expand their small-commercial book
• Agency owners training commercial-lines staff
• CSRs and account managers servicing retail accounts
• Independent agents looking for readily identifiable local prospects
Retail can be an excellent place to develop commercial-lines skills because the businesses are everywhere.
But don't confuse easy to find with easy to insure.
You still need to understand the operation.

WHAT'S INSIDE?Learn What's Behind the Front Door Before You Quote the StoreRetail DiscoveryStart with the simplest question:
“Tell me what you sell.”
Then keep going.
Where does the merchandise come from?
Who buys it?
How is it stored?
How is it sold?
Is anything delivered?
Installed?
Shipped?
Imported?
The answers begin defining the account.
Buildings & ImprovementsDoes the retailer own the building or lease the space?
What improvements have been made?
Who is responsible for glass, signs, fixtures and improvements under the lease?
A storefront is more than four walls and a roof.
Business Personal PropertyCounters.
Shelving.
Displays.
Furniture.
Computers.
Point-of-sale systems.
Equipment.
Fixtures.
Merchandise.
Retail businesses may have substantial property packed into relatively small spaces.
InventoryInventory is often the heart of the retail account.
What is it worth?
How is the value determined?
How quickly does it turn over?
Where is it stored?
Is some inventory located elsewhere?
The producer should understand the merchandise—not simply accept an estimated contents limit.
Seasonal InventoryThis is one of the conversations I especially want producers to learn.
A retailer may carry $100,000 of inventory during most of the year and $200,000 immediately before Christmas.
Or Valentine's Day.
Or back-to-school season.
Or another peak selling period.
Yesterday's inventory value may not be tomorrow's inventory value.
Theft & CrimeSome merchandise is more attractive to thieves than others.
Cash exposure may also vary substantially between businesses.
Ask about:
Security systems.
Cameras.
Safes.
Alarms.
Employee access.
Cash-handling procedures.
High-value merchandise.
General LiabilityCustomers walk through the store.
They encounter displays.
Merchandise.
Floor surfaces.
Entrances.
Parking areas.
Other customers.
Premises liability is an important part of the retail exposure.
Products LiabilityWhat does the retailer sell?
Could the product injure someone?
Does the retailer import merchandise?
Private-label products?
Modify products?
Install products?
The producer needs to recognize when the retailer's role goes beyond simply taking an item off a wholesaler's shelf and selling it.
Delivery & Installation“We deliver.”
Ask another question.
Who delivers?
In what vehicle?
How frequently?
Does the business merely drop off merchandise—or install it?
Delivery and installation can change the account considerably.
E-CommerceMany retailers now operate two stores:
The one customers walk into.
And the one customers visit online.
Does the business accept online orders?
Store customer information?
Ship merchandise?
Sell nationally?
Sell internationally?
E-commerce can extend the retailer's exposure far beyond its physical location.
Cyber & Payment SystemsRetailers may process large numbers of electronic transactions and maintain customer or employee information.
A cyber incident can create financial and operational consequences even for a relatively small store.
Workers' CompensationRetail employees may:
Stock shelves.
Unload merchandise.
Climb ladders.
Lift boxes.
Operate equipment.
Make deliveries.
Work in storage areas.
The job may involve much more than standing behind a cash register.
Business IncomeThis is one of the most important retail conversations.
Imagine a fire closes the store on November 15.
The building can be repaired.
The merchandise can eventually be replaced.
But the retailer may lose the most profitable weeks of the entire year.
The calendar can matter almost as much as the property damage.
Equipment BreakdownSome retailers depend heavily on refrigeration, specialized electrical equipment, computer systems or other machinery.
A breakdown may create both property loss and lost revenue.
Umbrella & Excess LiabilityCustomer traffic, products, automobiles and other operations may create reasons to consider additional liability limits.
The Underwriter SubmissionDon't submit:
“Retail store — $750,000 sales.”
Tell the underwriter:
What the business sells.
Where the merchandise comes from.
Inventory values.
Seasonal fluctuations.
Security.
Delivery.
Installation.
Online sales.
Employee count.
Loss-control features.
Help the underwriter understand the store.
Proposal ComparisonTwo BOP proposals aren't necessarily interchangeable.
Help the retailer understand differences involving:
Property values.
Inventory.
Valuation.
Business income.
Deductibles.
Liability limits.
Endorsements.
Exclusions.
Crime.
Cyber.
And other important provisions.
RenewalsRetail businesses change constantly.
New merchandise.
Higher inventory.
Online sales.
A second location.
Delivery.
Installation.
New employees.
Different suppliers.
Longer hours.
A good renewal conversation rediscovers the business rather than simply changing last year's sales figures.

REAL-WORLD PRODUCER THINKINGThe retailer says:
“We double our inventory before Christmas.”
Ask another question.
“We started selling online.”
Ask another question.
“Sometimes employees deliver purchases.”
Ask another question.
“We import a few products ourselves.”
Ask another question.
“We're opening another location next month.”
Definitely ask another question.
Throughout the manual, practical situations help producers develop the habit of:
HEAR IT
What did the retailer actually tell you?
ASK ABOUT IT
What additional information does that create?
VERIFY IT
What facts need to be confirmed?
DOCUMENT IT
What belongs in the agency file?
TAKE THE NEXT SAFE ACTION
What should the producer do next without exceeding his or her authority?
The best producers learn to recognize the casual sentence that deserves another question.

DON'T WAIT FOR RETAILERS TO FIND YOURetail may be one of the easiest commercial niches to prospect.
Drive through your community.
Walk through a shopping center.
Look at downtown businesses.
Search local business directories.
You'll find prospects everywhere.
Boutiques.
Furniture stores.
Hardware stores.
Gift shops.
Specialty retailers.
Sporting-goods stores.
Electronics stores.
Convenience stores.
And dozens of other businesses.
Their signs tell you where they are.
Their websites tell you what they sell.
Their social-media pages often tell you what's new.
The prospects are already telling you how to find them.
YOUR 30-DAY RETAIL PROSPECTING PLANChoose one retail category.
Don't start with every store in town.
Maybe:
Furniture stores.
Boutiques.
Hardware stores.
Gift shops.
Specialty retailers.
Build a list of 20 prospects.
Study their websites.
Visit their stores.
Learn the terminology.
Find out which carriers and markets like the class.
Then start conversations.
Don't begin with:
“Can I quote your insurance?”
Begin with:
“Tell me a little about the business.”
Learn something.
Follow up.
Become familiar.
Ask for the opportunity when you've earned it.
Then choose another retail category.
Twenty prospects become forty.Forty become sixty.And suddenly you aren't waiting for commercial business anymore.You're building it.

WHAT COULD ONE RETAIL CLIENT BE WORTH?A retail relationship could potentially involve:
• Commercial Property
• Business Personal Property
• Inventory
• General Liability
• Products Liability
• Business Income & Extra Expense
• Crime
• Cyber Liability
• Equipment Breakdown
• Commercial Auto
• Workers' Compensation
• Inland Marine
• Umbrella or Excess Liability
• Other specialized protection
And then there may be:
Another location.
A warehouse.
Delivery vehicles.
More employees.
Higher sales.
More inventory.
The owner's personal insurance.
Other businesses owned by the same client.
One storefront can be the beginning of a much larger insurance relationship.
THE ENTIRE MANUAL IS ONLY $25Buy It Once. Use It From Now On.No monthly subscription.
No expensive seminar.
No travel.
Just practical producer development you can return to whenever a retailer asks your agency for help.
HOW TO INSURE RETAIL STORESDigital Producer Guide
$25 — One-Time Purchase
Immediate Access
GET HOW TO INSURE RETAIL STORES → 

THINKIFIC PURCHASE LINK:
[INSERT RETAIL STORES THINKIFIC LINK HERE]
COULD ONE ACCOUNT PAY FOR THE MANUAL?You're investing $25 to become better prepared for the next retailer that asks your agency for help.
One account could pay for the manual.
One Workers' Compensation policy could pay for it.
One commercial auto could pay for it.
One seasonal inventory exposure you remember to investigate could justify the investment.
One retailer who introduces you to the neighboring business owner could pay for it many times over.
$25.One-Time Purchase.A Resource You Can Keep Using.GET THE RETAIL STORES GUIDE → 
BUILD YOUR COMMERCIAL LINES LIBRARYRetail Stores are only one opportunity.
The FYI Express How to Insure Commercial Lines Library gives independent agents and producers practical guidance for understanding and pursuing real-world commercial accounts.
Continue building your expertise with:
How to Insure Contractors
How to Insure Restaurants
How to Insure Trucking & Transportation
How to Insure Churches & Religious Organizations
How to Insure Small Manufacturers
How to Insure Auto Repair Shops
How to Insure Habitational Properties
How to Insure Professional Offices
How to Insure Wholesalers & Distributors
Don't Try to Know Everything.Learn Where to Look — and What to Ask.FYI EXPRESS
Practical Training. Better Producers. Stronger Agencies.