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EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVES
Keys to Their Success
When asked to comment on the keys to their success, participants in this group focused first and
foremost on the quality of their employees. Beyond simply hiring the right people, these Best
Practices agencies invest significantly in the profes-
sional development of their employees and creating an
environment that will allow them to retain these most
important assets. Digging deeper, success in finding,
developing and retaining talented producers and the
development of an agency-wide sales culture were
both frequently-cited keys to success for this group.
This is evidenced by their Best Practices results - the
average commercial lines producer in these agencies
manages a book of business totaling $817,503 in com-
mission income and generated $109,871 in new com-
missions last year. The average Life & Health produc-
er generated $102,744 in new commission and over-
sees a book totaling $614,027 in commissions.
Challenges They Face
Not surprisingly, one of the primary challenges faced by this group is also personnel-related: find-
ing, developing and retaining talented employees, especially producers. Although 87.1% of group
members plan to hire an average of 2.3 new producers in the coming year, many still struggle with
where to find them and what to do with
them once they're hired. Over 47% of
agencies in this group hire producers away
from other agents & brokers. Carrier rela-
tionships were also cited frequently as an
ongoing challenge. In light of the recent
waves of insurer consolidation, agencies
are finding the need to build new relation-
ships, a process that takes time and impacts
these agencies' ability to get business writ-
ten today. The perceived ever-changing
appetite of insurance carriers also proves to
be an ongoing challenge for this Best
Practices group.
REVENUE SIZE CATEGORY HERE
EXECUTIVE
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILE
REVENUES/
EXPENSES
FINANCIAL
STABILITY
EMPLOYEE
OVERVIEW
PRODUCER
INFO
SERVICE
STAFF
INFO
TECHNOLOGY
INSURANCE
CARRIERS
APPENDIX
103
AGENCIES WITH REVENUES BETW EN $5,000,000 ND $10,000,000
Factors Most Critical to
Agency's Success
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Having high quality employees
2. Acquiring new, young producers
3. Focusing on growth /
new business development
4. Having strong agency leadership/
management accountability
5. Keeping multiple stable markets
Top Challenges
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Lack of young people coming into industry,
especially new sales talent.
2. Carrier relationships in light of market changes,
consolidations, volume commitments, etc.
3. Perpetuation of agency
4. Balancing growth and profitability
5. Increased competition