How to Find New Producers

Most of our agency clients tell us they have a hard time finding producers. They want to know where to look and how to bring them into the agency. It is not an easy task to find someone who is experienced from another agency, especially someone who can come in free-and-clear with a book of business and easily fit into the agency’s culture. Every agency is different, has different levels of support staff, different markets, training, computers, perks, and contracts.

The following are some of the ways an agency can find good people and be successful in this endeavor from our experience in working with thousands of agencies over the past 35-plus years.

Promote from Within

We have interviewed so many agency staff from countless agencies who feel resentful that owners and managers often look outside the agency to bring in managers and new producers. They may be account managers who have worked in the agency for a long time and know the customers, underwriters, and the agency’s processes and procedures well.

Often, we are told they do not have an avenue to move up in the organization, nor are they ever asked at performance review time. It is just “assumed” that they are not interested or willing to move up.

They also have a big fear that if they did move into sales, they would have to go on straight commission. With this concern, even if they have a sales personality and could handle most commercial lines or benefits call-ins, they won’t accept the job.

The answer can be a different role, a role that some agencies call an account executive (AE). AEs can handle existing books as producers do but are not expected to bring in new clients. They are usually expected to cross sell the existing account with other coverage lines, such as umbrellas, EPLI, fiduciary responsibility coverages, business interruption, cyber, and more. Most can do this if they have taken some CSR and CIC courses and have a good manager to learn from.

The key is to properly compensate them for this work. Most AEs that have this type of position are compensated on a percentage of the book they handle as a salary, usually in the 20% to 25% range. AEs still have CSRs to delegate to for clerical tasks and operate more as a producer on their accounts. If they cross sell or bring in new accounts, they should receive commission for this outside of their salary.

In most agencies, personal lines sales are handled by the CSRs/account managers and not specific producers.

Hire Professionals in the Community

This idea worked great for one firm we knew. This agency would hire people in their community that were coaches and teachers. These professionals knew everyone in town and had a desire and drive to win. They are usually also unable to make more money in their current profession, so they are somewhat limited in earning potential with their careers.

The agency we knew that did this hired about 40 people from the community, and they rarely left the firm. They were extremely hardworking and grateful for the opportunity and were quick studies when it came to learning about insurance.

Salespeople Connected

to Niches

Another source is to look at people that sell in the niches the agency likes to write. This type of professional already knows that specialty well. An example might be a lumber salesperson or equipment dealer salesperson for an agency with a specialty in contractors or dealers. The salesperson already knows contractors and their subcontractors to connect with and can talk to them about what programs the agency has to offer that would be perfect for their needs. Another example would be a car salesman when the agency writes dealerships, or an attorney who can easily write law firms they know.

‘We have interviewed so many agency staff from countless agencies who feel resentful that owners and managers often look outside the agency to bring in managers and new producers.’

College Internships

One of our clients has found two great long-term employees–a producer and a marketing manager–through this idea. They started as college business students needing to do a marketing project for a business. By working on their project, they got to know what the agency does, what its marketing efforts were, and worked with the agency on its website, mailings, ads, social media, etc.

After making recommendations for their project to the agency, both students ended up interning at the firm. Then once they graduated from college, both students were offered jobs and are still there today.

Many people do not really understand the various job roles in an insurance agency, or how challenging and exciting it can be to work with a wide variety of clients, especially in commercial lines and employee benefits.

When I was in college, we had an insurance degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, called Risk Management & Insurance. After graduation, the college had recruiters from insurance firms come to school to interview graduates. It helped students get a big-picture view of all the roles available in the insurance industry.

I took a job with St. Paul Fire & Marine as a marketing trainee. I also had a summer internship with Employers of Wausau, which was recommended by a risk management professor.

My sister and I did not have anyone in our family that had been in the insurance business, which is unusual. The internship at Employers really opened our eyes to all the job possibilities in insurance.

Visit local colleges and community colleges to pitch what your insurance agency has to offer. An agency can also post openings on the college website, which can help students find great jobs in insurance.

There are many colleges nationwide that offer risk management and insurance programs, including colleges in California, Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Alaska, Mississippi, Colorado, and Wisconsin, to name a few.

Non-Owner Producer Competitors

Consider other agency non-owner producers as possible job candidates as well. Perhaps a sale was lost to a competing firm’s non-owner producer, and the client shared the winning producer’s name. Your agency might reach out to see if they would ever consider taking a job at your firm. Deferred compensation in their book might be an interesting offer for a great producer like this, which might one day lead to agency stock ownership.

Lastly, recruit people you come across that impress you. For example, a waitress in a restaurant could be impressive, or a clerk in a store. Are they worth exploring for your own firm?

Always remember that it is much easier to teach a person about insurance than it is to teach a person the skill of closing a deal. The key is to make sure they get the right insurance training.

Oak is the founder and president of Oak and Associates, an international consulting firm to the insurance industry and specializes in mergers, acquisitions, perpetuation planning, valuations, planning meetings, and streamlining operations for insurance agencies. Contact her at catoak@gmail.com, call 707-935-6565, or visit www.oakandassociates.com. Offices are located in Sonoma, California and Bend, Oregon.