The Care and Feeding of Producers
Everyone wants them , but no one knows what to do when they land them !
A gency owners care more about the agency than they do about themselves . They know that doing what ’ s best for the agency will serve them better in the long run than doing what ’ s best for them .
The BEST agency owners care more for the well being of their clients and carriers ( the two primary categories of their “ customers ”) than they do about the agency . They know that building a tradition and reputation for always putting the client first will allow them to build a solid foundation and make more profit and a greater agency value over time than any other way . Building your castle on “ growth ” or “ service ” alone is like building it on sand .
Producers , on the other hand , whether they are agency owners , employees , or brokers are correctly more interested in their own well-being than they are of the well-being of the agency . They are in the agency to make money for themselves and their families and the shortest distance between their goals and their pocketbooks is through selling policies and retaining them for their renewal commissions .
Can a producer adopt an attitude like that of an agency owner ? Yes , but not until the producer can see the benefit to himself from taking care of agency clients and carriers .
When you find someone who is in or who is interested in a career through sales , he is like an infant in the sense that the more you nurture the producer , the more likely he will be to succeed in his role and the more likely it is that he will grow into a larger role in the agency .
Most producers are not interested in the “ opportunity ” to sell insurance . They can get that anywhere . They are interested in the opportunity to earn a living income and more and he is looking to the agency and to the agency owner to provide him those opportunities .
Education Most of us who have been agency owners for a while understand that , while there are uncommonly strong insurance professionals among us , there are many successful producers who are only moderately educated in the insurance products and risk management .
I ’ ve proven many times over that you don ’ t have to be a superinsurance technician to become a successful producer , but you have to know the basics .
Before you even look for a producer , identify what lines of business would make a producer successful in your agency and identify the education needed to familiarize a new producer to the industry with the basic knowledge that will make him more knowledgeable about what the customer needs than the customer . Work with your association ; they are there to help you develop your agencies .
Why ? Why not hire only experienced producers ? Look around our agency industry . You will find 75 % of the “ producers ” are “ price-quoters ”. They seek prospects who will allow them to quote hoping that they will under price products that they already have . Price is all they have to sell .
Keep away from these folks . Agencies are now quoting 15-20 to gain a customer , and losing more customers to price quotes quickly ; because they don ’ t take the time to create valued relationships with their newly won first-year clients . A producer can ’ t succeed any longer based on price-quoting ; there are too many competitors doing similarly .
Other experienced producers travel from agency to agency every three to five years carrying the same book of business with them as they wear out their welcome in each agency . They are more concerned with their clients than they are with your agency and may harm your loss ratio and carrier relationships more than their volume helps you . by Al Diamond , CEO of Agency Consulting Group , Inc
Hire The Personality , Not The Experience However , sales personalities DO exist in our universe . Most may be in sales but are not selling insurance . Many should be selling but wandered into other professions and are bored after five to ten years . This is where your real prospects can be found . Believe it or not , I have found future producers working in restaurants and computer stores , in real estate , banks , and schools . They are the outstanding performers and bright personalities who don ’ t understand the opportunities that exist in our service industry protecting the assets of individuals and businesses .
Look to your own clients and your personal network when seeking new staff . They will refer you excellent candidates , if your own customers know you and like you . Once found , spend the time to teach them the lines of business that are prevalent in your agency . They look to you and your agency to be their mentors . They will likely not bring in new forms of business in which you are not already proficient .
Learning the Trade Education is the first step to the Care and Feeding of a Producer , not the only step . Don ’ t make the mistake of teaching them the Personal Lines of business and Commercial Lines of business and expect them to go out and write insurance .
Learning the trade is different than becoming proficient at insurance lines . You must teach new producers the concept of Asset Protection as opposed to selling price . Whether it involves
16 KANSAS INSURANCE AGENT & BROKER | March - April 2018 |