2010 Best Practices Study

Analysis of Agencies with Revenues Over $25,000,000

Mgmt. Perspectives

Recruiting & Developing Talent The ability to attract talented employees is the biggest challenge that these firms are facing. Their ability to do it successfully is going to be a critical success factor and a competitive advantage for those that do it well.

always report that they clearly define expectations (activities and results) and establish a high level of accountability to meet those expectations. Achieving Organic Growth The average organic growth for these firms was +1.5% which was better than industry results for the same period. It is interesting to note that the top 25% of these firms had organic growth of +8.5% which is outstanding in light of industry conditions. We learned from conversations with these high performing firms that there are a number of things that they are doing, the most material of which was gaining competitive advantages by focusing on niches and practice groups. By doing so, they increase their hit ratios and they can broaden their marketing territory building on their expertise in that niche. Keys to Organic Growth (Top 10 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned) 1. Focus on Practice Groups and Niches 2. More Aggressively Cross Selling 3. Use Technology to Manage Pipeline/Sales 4. Raise Expectations and Accountability 5. Be More Intentional in Getting Referrals 6. Hire and Develop New Producers These firms are also getting more serious about creating a sales culture. They are more aggressive, they are more intentional and they are holding everyone to a higher level of accountability. They are using technology to better manage producers and their activity and prospects. Efforts and investments are also being made to surface more new opportunities through seminars, advertising, marketing and active referral generation. The best are not sitting back and letting the market dictate their results. Strong growth can occur in spite of current market conditions. 7. Train Producers to Sell on Consultative Basis 8. Use Seminars to Generate Opportunities 9. Step up Advertising and Marketing Efforts 10.Achieve High Account Retention Results

Profile

Revenues

Expenses

Profitability

Keys to Recruiting Talent (Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)

Employee Overview

Producer Info

1. Incent employee referrals

Staff Service Info

2. Have an active, ongoing recruiting program

Technology

3. Use professional recruiters (outside)

Insurance Carriers

4. Hire a full time recruiter (inside)

Appendix

5. Create college internship program

As can be seen in their responses, there are a number of ways that these firms are recruiting, the most successful of which is through an active employee referral program. This is generally the case when the target employees are experienced producers and support staff. For those that are focusing on college graduates, the most effective recruiting tool is through internships where agents get to look at talented candidates and have the opportunity to sell them on our industry. Most of these agents are using a combination of resources to develop their new and experienced employees. The most successful have developed structured programs that pre-establish a curriculum and pull together the internal and external resources needed. As for the development of producers, in addition to formalized training, most have developed some type of mentoring program that matches younger producers with experienced ones. Those that are most successful at developing producers almost

Keys to Developing Talent (Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)

2010 Best Practices Study

1. Create internal educational program

2. Draw on carrier educational resources

Agencies with Revenues Over $25,000,000

3. Utilize professional sales training firms

4. Create formalized mentoring program

5. Have educational plan for every employee

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