Most important , agency owners need to take matters into their own hands and develop the future sales force . The key is to hire a self-motivated person , one who has the attributes important to good salespersons . Being proactive will have direct benefits for the agency — and may improve the industry as a whole . •
new producer talent to sell ( or better yet cross sell ) employee benefits . For some people selling employee benefits seems to be easier to learn . Perhaps because the key knowledge is focused primarily on the products rather than both the products and the uniqueness of the client ’ s business ( as in commercial lines ). Often insurance companies will assist benefits producers with the sale .
NEW PRODUCER SUCCESS
Studies have shown that the success rate of new producers is not high . Proper screening and training should help improve the quality of producers hired and their success rate . Use testing services such as Caliper and Omni to evaluate the prospect before hiring them . Never let a new recruit learn only by trial and error .
Management must provide mentors and sales goals to guide the new producer to success . Also , having a producer focus on niches and programs will more likely result in more success for the producer . Buying leads in the niches and centers of influence the producer is connected to will also help .
OTHER SOLUTIONS
It is not a radical statement to say that the insurance distribution system in 10 or 15 years will look very different than today ’ s system . The previous market has squeezed agency owners and only productive agencies survived . Customer and carrier expectations are constantly increasing . Insurance is entering a new era ( kicking and screaming a little along the way ).
In the long term , the internet will change the way sales are done . Clearly , the internet will not completely replace an actual salesperson , especially for commercial lines . It will ( and is ) revising the way information flows from the client to the agency and then to the insurance company . Productivity should increase and thus producers should be able to handle more clients and larger books of business . Therefore , in the future the need for producers might diminish since each producer is taking on a bigger piece of the pie .
For many agencies their current internal systems can be ( or should be ) restructured to leverage the existing sales force before new producers are employed . It makes economic sense for the “ super producers ” to be selling and not servicing accounts . These agencies need to establish in-house procedures to make sure that the CSRs and account executives handle most or all of the servicing of accounts ( i . e ., mail , phone calls , endorsements , claims , etc .).
Therefore , the owners and producers are then free to seek out new clients and are not burdened with the day-to-day servicing , especially of the small accounts .
SUMMARY
There is no silver bullet to the issue of the producer dilemma , which is having a noticeable impact on the industry . Each solution has its own risk and will take time and money . The ideal solution will vary for each agency . Agencies need to learn how to leverage the existing sales force . This will mitigate shortterm problems and create long-term benefits for the agency .
Most important , agency owners need to take matters into their own hands and develop the future sales force . The key is to hire a self-motivated person , one who has the attributes important to good salespersons . Being proactive will have direct benefits for the agency — and may improve the industry as a whole . •
Catherine Oak is the founder of the consulting firm , Oak & Associates , based in Northern California and Central Oregon . Oak & Associates was founded in 1991 by Catherine Oak . She has been an industry consultant for 35 years and consulted with thousands of agencies She may be contacted by phone at 707-935-6565 or email : catoak @ gmail . com .
JULY / AUGUST 2024
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