Your new producer is 3 months – maybe even 6 months in — and hasn’t sold a new account.
You may be experiencing early stage hiring remorse.
(“Oh crap, why did I hire this producer who can’t sell business insurance?”)
Before you jump to a conclusion that they’ve failed as a new insurance producer, step back and ask your new producer these questions.
Q: How many prospecting calls did you make last week?
A: Should be at least 100. Could need to be much higher – 150 or 200 or 250. More is better at the beginning. A new producer has NO clients so lots of time to use the buttons on the phone to call people.
Q: How many decision-makers did you speak to last week?
A: Should be 20+. More is always better. Talking to an administrative assistant or similar gatekeeper doesn’t count.
Q: How many new discovery meetings did you set last week?
A: Should be 2-4. More is always better as long as they’re not unqualified junk.
Q: How many accounts are in your active pipeline (coming due in the next 90 days)?
A: Should maintain 8-12 accounts at all times in their active pipeline. More is better (yet again) as long as they’re not unqualified junk.
The point of these questions is to focus on new business prospecting activity.
For the first 3, 6, and even 12 months, it’s unfair to judge a new producer purely based on sales.
You should expect continuous outbound prospecting activity and keep score of the results from that effort: (1) # first discovery appointments with prospects and (2) an active pipeline of prospects to propose to within the next 90 days.
The right prospecting activity leads to a strong pipeline which will lead to sales.
If your new producer can prospect and open the right doors, you should have plenty of experienced people on your team ready to help them qualify and close new business.
