P R A D

Implications of the Number of Producers Hired

Commercial Lines

Employee Benefits

If over the past five years, one agency hired two producers and another firm hired twenty producers, which one would be expected to be better at recruiting and developing? The actual results answer this question and offer some perspectives.

Hires in Past 5 Years:

% Success

% Success

<10 hires

71%

68%

10-19 hires

58%

64%

20+ hires

57%

62%

This is not necessarily what was expected, but there is a message:

Source: Supplemental survey

• As was the case with size of firms, more (or bigger) is not necessarily better. What these results suggest is firms hiring smaller numbers of producers may give those they hire more attention and may be more selective in the hiring process. • As was stated for the “Size of Firms” data, larger firms that hire more producers tend to have higher expectations and terminate non-performers faster. • The message for larger firms is to find ways to positively scale the producer recruiting and development process to avoid compromising results when the numbers increase.

The Producers Within the Candidate Pools

Within all of the candidate pools we have discussed there will be a wide variety of “types” of people. Agents and brokers must prioritize the characteristics, qualities and capabilities of producer candidates based on what will offer the highest likelihood of success. Based on the feedback provided by firms that have achieved the greatest success in producer recruiting and development, we ranked the ten most important attributes of successful producers.

The Top Ten Attributes of Successful Producers

1) Drive – dedication, perseverance,

6) Communication Skills – ability to talk, to write, to listen 7) Work Ethic – willing to do what it takes, to do their part and then some, outwork others 8) Competitive – does not like getting beat, willing to scrap, does not give up 9) Intelligence – knowledge, common sense, street smarts 10) Patience – will take time to learn the business and the technical side of the industry

eagerness, high energy, aggressiveness

2) Confidence – handles rejection, thick skinned, limited call reluctance 3) Attitude – teachable, team player, willing to learn, willing to listen, positive 4) Personal Network – current contacts, credibility in the field 5) Personality – sociability, people skills, community involvement

24 Producer Recruiting & Development Study