by Bobby Reagan, December 2007

National Underwriter

It is fair to say that the most successful agents and brokers are successful most frequently because they are outstanding sales organizations. We can also suggest that most, if not all of the most successful sales organizations are also those firms that are best at attracting and retaining sales talent. Beginning with this understanding, it is an interesting question to consider which agents and brokers are attracting and retaining the best sales talent and what is it about them that is allowing them to do so.

The answer to this question should be of great interest to any agent or broker who is wanting to create the most fertile environment within their organization to not only attract the best producers but to also create an environment within which their producers can maximize their success.

Coming back from a business trip with one of my partners recently, we got into a discussion on this topic and decided to list the top sales organizations in the country and to consider what it was about them that allowed them to achieve that success. It was a fascinating discussion. For the sake of confidentiality (and not offending those that would not be on the list), I won't identify the top sales organizations, but I will share what we see as the most common traits and characteristics of these organizations that allows them to excel in this area.

First and foremost, these organizations consistently have outstanding leadership and management. These leaders are not only effective at attracting talent, but more importantly, they are effective at creating and communicating a clear vision for their organization, which leads to strategic focus and competitive advantage. Their leadership also results in their elimination or reduction of distractions and the ability to create an environment within which producers can succeed. The CEOs of many of these firms are actively engaged in recruiting or they have positioned one or more of their senior partners to be actively engaged in recruiting.

The second distinguishing characteristic relates to the environment that exists in most of these organizations. They have a culture that fosters success. The majority of these organizations not only have a sales culture, but also a high performance environment in which people expect to win. Producers in these agencies simply hate to lose. Although there are exceptions, the majority of these firms also have an environment in which the producers recognize that they can accomplish a lot more through the collective efforts of the teams they are working with, than they can accomplish individually.

This points toward the third defining characteristic which is the support staff provided to the producers and the tools and resources available to them. The most successful sales organizations invest heavily in the support teams working with the producers. These investments not only improve the quality of service provided to the customers, but also improve the productivity and effectiveness of the producers working with these teams. In addition to the direct support staff, these organizations also provide a variety of value-added services, which frequently includes sophisticated claims services, loss control and safety services and a variety of other capabilities including captives, legal services, actuarial services, enrollment services, etc.

Without question, the best talent (sales and service) is attracted to an environment within which they can be handsomely rewarded. What is interesting to see, though, it is that the most successful sales organizations are the ones that frequently pay commission percentages that are performance-based, but that are not at the high end of the industry. These organizations look to maximize the producers compensation by creating an environment within which they can be much more successful in their sales efforts, and by doing so, generate significant income, even when their percentages of the revenues generated are lowered so that significant investments can be made in their support structure, value-added services, etc. In addition to base compensation, many of these organizations also provide either equity opportunities (if they are privately-held) or some type of other incentive that recognizes their superior performance. The incentives that are provided above the base compensation frequently provide the means to attract and retain the best and brightest talent.

Finally, we find that these successful sales organizations are also frequently fun places to work. The best organizations have quality people that share common values. The best organizations have more givers than takers and provide a collegial environment within which there is a lot of hard work, but also a lot of good fun. The best people have choices and, all things being equal, will choose to work with people that they enjoy ? in a environment that they look forward to.

It would be my hope that this assessment of the characteristics of the best sales organizations will serve as a stimulus for self evaluation. What can you do to create the most fertile soil in your organization to attract the best and the brightest producers and to allow them to achieve their maximum success? Hopefully this look at these top performers will give you some ideas as to how that can be accomplished.