Hire Producers with Confidence
July 10, 2024 – 4 min read
Randy Schwantz in Insurance Agencies
Randy Schwantz in Insurance Agencies
You’re likely sabotaging your new producers before they even start
-Randy Schwantz
Sales leaders and agency owners, it’s time for a hard truth: many of you are failing at one of the most critical aspects of your business.
You can set your new producers up for success from day one. But the onboarding process for new producers is often neglected or poorly executed, and it’s costing your agency more than you realize. Even the best talent can flounder without the right support and training. Here’s how you need to rethink your approach to onboarding.
A strong onboarding process goes beyond teaching the basics of insurance policies and carrier applications. It’s about preparing new producers to:
But it’s not just about them developing these skills. There’s 5 Essentials to Producer Onboarding that we need to get right, to make sure they’re set up to maximize their capabilities and earning potential.
#1 Goal Clarity
#2 Sales Call Process
#3 Prospect Bank
Without these elements, even the most talented new hires can struggle to find their footing – and can end up failing and quitting altogether.
Not onboarding producers properly can delay their results by up to 6 months if not more. And as you know, we need to stack our efforts and results to actually make a decent living in insurance. It’s like saving money: the big earnings are in the interest on the interest. Delay that $30,000 to $50,000 in new revenue they’re supposed to bring in by half a year and it can cost them – and your agency – hundreds of thousands of not millions of dollars in the long run.
The result of poor onboarding: high turnover rates and delayed productivity, which has a big impact on your bottom line.
Let’s be clear – not getting onboarded properly is not the producer’s fault. It’s your job as the Agency Owner, or more specifically as the Sales Leader, to set up your new Producers to win. And that starts with proper onboarding.
Hiring a new producer is like investing in a stock. Just as you wouldn’t invest in a company without researching its fundamentals, you shouldn’t bring on new sales talent without a robust onboarding plan. Yet, many agencies still enroll new hires in basic carrier training programs that fail to equip them with the practical skills they need to succeed.
The real problem is that most sales leaders don’t have a system in place to onboard their new producers.
This is largely because most sales leaders are promoted into their roles due to their success as top sales reps, but with their promoting do not get equipped with a system to train and lead others. It’s like they know how to play hockey, but they don’t have a hockey stick to play with.
Without a structured system, new producers often flounder, leading to high turnover rates and delayed productivity. Even the research indicates that ineffective onboarding can greatly increase voluntary turnover rates. This not only impacts the morale of the team but also the financial health of the agency. Because they’ve not only lost the money spent on the producer, but even more so the additional revenue they were supposed to bring in.
A great vision can be preached, but only a great system can be implemented.
- Randy Schwantz
When sales leaders recognize that their role is not just about achieving personal sales targets anymore, they set up their producers to win. It’s about developing a repeatable and scalable process that can be taught to new hires. This involves more than just sharing personal success stories or providing motivational speeches; it requires a concrete, step-by-step plan that includes regular performance evaluations, continuous training, and practical support.
"We are 5 for 5. Going into year 3 of our journey, our 5 new producers, with no insurance experience, are averaging $107,000 of new business per year."
- Cynthia Moench
Let’s make this simple: Onboarding producers is hard without a system. But you can do this too – all you need to do is create a curriculum to train them, set up your technology to support them and coach them all the way through. Now you can try and figure it out for yourself, it could possibly work with a lot of effort, trial and error.
Or you can choose to adopt our Triple Threat Suite. When you implement all three parts: Training, Sales CRM and Coaching you’re not just getting a rock solid onboarding system. Your producers will no longer be lost and confused in their first six months trying to grind their way through. They will have a clear step-by-step path and start generating new revenue in 120 days.
Get in touch to learn more about our Triple Threat Suite here.
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Do you want to work with me to grow your agency?
Take 90-seconds to complete this application
to see if you are eligible for a Growth Session.
How the Wedge Sales Culture Drove New Business Growth
The Wedge Sales Culture is credited as the engine of this growth, and this case study explores how the agency has implemented and benefited from this process.
“Hire Producers with Confidence” Use Our Evidence-Based Interview Process to Eliminate Candidates Who Don’t Have GRIT
With my evidence based interview process you can be sure that your next hire has the GRIT to fight through walls and achieve success selling commercial insurance.
Growing Your Agency Just Got Way Easier
Do you want to work with me to grow your agency?
Take 90-seconds to complete this application
to see if you are eligible for a Growth Session.