WHY do new producers fail?
We dug into our autopsy archives (2 decades of new commercial producer recruiting).
We found the distinct attributes of the new producers that quit or got fired are:
We identified these 10 common failure personas.
The weak prospector. Could not create 2-4 qualified new business discovery appointments per week. Weak prospecting effort creates a doom loop.
Failure formula = light prospecting > thin pipeline > desperately chasing bad opportunities > not enough clients.
Weak prospecting is the leading cause of new producer death.
Note to the wise: test a new producer candidate for prospecting sales call reluctance.
Make sure that your new producer will use the buttons on the phone to dial out.
The slacker. Approached the producer career like it’s a 9-5 office job at the beginning. A lack of commitment to do the work required.
The weak closer. Tried to compress the long sales cycle. Or make commercial insurance a technical product push instead of a trusted advisor sale.
The big company brander. Only thrives selling a well-known corporate brand. Unable to sell themselves and a strong local firm.
The low $$ flyer. Lacked the big-money motivation to grind through the early career struggles.
The uncoachable. Didn’t know what they didn’t know, wouldn’t ask for help when they needed it, and/or didn’t learn from their mistakes.
The bonehead. Didn’t have the basic smarts or intellectual curiosity to become an insurance professional and a trusted advisor for clients.
The con artist. Sometimes the person who shows up after you hire them is NOT the same person you interviewed.
The software/medical sales snob. Beware sales people with a work history or a strong desire for software or medical sales. They are inclined to bail out and return to their comfort zone when the going gets tough at the beginning of the commercial insurance broker career.
The technician. Hire a company underwriter or claim adjuster? Know that converting an insurance technician into a producer is a high risk gambit.
Good news from this bad news?
Most of these are avoidable — a few are even fixable.
Hiring managers: don’t hire producers that fit these failure personas.
New producers: don’t be a weak prospector, a slacker, a weak closer, a big company brander, etc. (you get the idea).
Need help finding new producers — or becoming one?
Please let me know – we can help.
