Every agency struggling with growth has asked us to define what a producer should do and how much production should be considered “strong” vs. mediocre.
Of course, that question is much more complex than the mere search for a definition because there are so many variables that exist to make the same producer “good” under some circumstances and close to termination in other circumstances.
We have clients that will put producers on probation if they don’t generate $50,000 of growth (that’s new net of lost) business each year. We have other clients that are happy as larks for their producers to generate $10,000 to $25,000 of new business a year. We have clients that count growth in terms of customer count with commissions only important to the budget and to compensation arrangements. We have other clients who can’t even define how many customers their producers sell or service from one year to the next.
Yet, in each case, the agencies define their producers as strong, weak and mediocre based on totally different criteria. Here are some normal differences:
Geography – Do you expect the same level of activity, sales, account size and overall revenue from a strong producer in the rural Midwest as you would from a producer in a major metropolitan area?
Mix of Business – If an agency’s mix of business is personal lines and small commercial lines and has the carriers to support that mix would you expect a producer to be as productive as if the agency’s mix was primarily medium and large commercial accounts?
Producer’s stage in life – Would you expect a producer in his sixties with a large book of business (however you define large) to service to be measured against a 30-year-old with little existing business, a growing family and debts to support?
These are just three examples in which geography, the make-up of the agency and the producer’s situation makes the term “good Producer” apply differently in different situations.
BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN TRAITS THAT CAN BE ESTABLISHED TO LABEL A PRODUCER AS STRONG OR WEAK REGARDLESS OF THE AGENCY, TERRITORY OR OTHER DIFFERENCES IN CONDITION:
- Activity – a good producer is out of the office visiting clients and/or prospects more than he is in the office.
- Growth – a good producer will grow the agency’s customer base every year. We know that commissions grow and shrink with the insurance economy and rates. But customer count separates the average producer from the good producer. Good producers count their progress by their NET CUSTOMER COUNT.
- Referrals – a good producer gets referrals. Customers who like and trust the producer will refer their friends naturally. But even if the customers don’t refer customers naturally, the good producer will ask for referrals – and get them. A good producer is not embarrassed to ask for referrals.
So the next time someone asks you if you are a (or if your agency has) good producers, look at yourself and at your other producers by these three standards.