A nationwide survey of insurance producers of all disciplines, with books of business from $300,000 to more than $1 million, produced some disappointing results. According to the survey from
Even more grim, the survey results indicated that 97% do not use technology to stay current on prospect base changes in purchasing officer status, changes in business operations or new product announcements made by those businesses in order to take advantage of “agents of change,” which could lead to converting those prospects into clients.
"The survey results reveal the problems that occur when producers stray from the basics,” says David Estrada, Rainmaker Advisory Founder. “It's easy for producers and agency leaders to be seduced by 'quick fixes' and 'miracle cures' to remedy sluggish production or agency growth, but we know from experience that fundamentals, applied consistently over time, will always deliver the desired results."
One of the “fundamentals” is setting aside time for prospecting. Thirty-nine percent of producers do not set aside specific time for prospecting, and 71.6% of producers reported prospecting less than 10 hours per week. The top 5% of performing producers surveyed (those doing more than $232,000 per year of new business) dedicated at least 12 hours per week on their calendars for new business development activities.
There are many opportunities for carriers to help agents with prospecting, Estrada says. "The first is participating in the brokers drip campaign and ongoing communications with prospects and clients by providing industry data, content, new product release information and trends. The next is co-hosting webinars and sponsoring 'lunch & learn' workshops that brokers can use to keep their current clients informed and educate prospective clients on new subject matter." He also says that carriers can sponsor those brokers willing to assemble their clients into peer groups or focus groups, so feedback can be obtained about products/services/
administrative issues, etc. "This is an extremely effective process that can lead to product innovation or adjustments to existing products and services which ultimately increase value," he says.
Seventy-seven percent of respondents indicated that less than 5% of their new business came from other practice groups within their firm, and more than 93% reported that less than 20% of their new business came from other practice groups. Effective cross-selling cultures, those that achieve results in the top 5% of performing agencies nationwide, report that at least 22% of their new business comes from cross-selling between practice groups.
