8 reasons that average and below-average agents and agencies are so far behind above-average agents and agencies

 

As an investor and mentor in many agencies, I get to see the distinct differences in above average agents/agencies and average and below average agent/agencies

 

Here are8 reasons that average, and below average agency leaders are so far behind above average agents and agencies

1.      They don’t make the time to spot-check or hold people accountable;

My Thoughts: Most of their busyness comes from trying to clean up mistakes and problems that happened because they didn’t take the time to implement consistent processes, workflows, and spot-checks. The lack of a dedicated time to perform implementation, spot-checks, and retraining is a consistent weakness I see in average and below average agencies and agency leaders.

 

2.      The agency does not have clearly defined processes and workflows;

My Thoughts: “If you don’t make the time to create wealth all of your time will be spent fighting off poverty!” They never planned on being successful. Success is usually a clearly defined repeatable set of activities that turn into habits. A person can create failure habits just as they can create success habits. In a struggling or low performing agency everybody does things their own way, not a well thought out and established agency way.

 

3.      The agency leadership doesn’t know how to pull the correct reports in the agency management system that will allow them to spot-check processes;

My Thoughts: This goes back to not having established agency processes and workflows. You don’t need every bell and whistle in your agency management system, but you do need to know how to implement and track the agency processes that are important. Consistently spot-checking the team will force you to learn what reports you need and how to pull those reports.

 

4.      Everyone in the agency uses a different tool to perform standard tasks such as email, notes, and text messaging.

My Thoughts: You can’t spot-check a herd of cats! A herd of cats is what an agency looks and feels like when everyone is doing things the way they want to do them versus following a well-established agency process.

 

5.       No consistent processes for labeling and categorizing tasks and notes in the agency management system.

My Thoughts: Pulling proper reports is only part of the equation. If the tasks and notes are not uniformly categorized and/or labeled by every staff member, the reports will be pretty much useless or at least very difficult to identify, sort, and filter. Usually, the more complicated a task is to complete, the more likely an average and below average agent is to blow off the task.

 

6.      No dedicated time to retrain staff once a problem has been identified

My Thoughts: Average and below average agents are not making the time to initially train staff, spot-check staff, or retrain staff when it becomes necessary, so the agent and the staff members start to feel like they are running in quicksand which is the more they struggle to get the agency back on track, the more it feels like they are failing.

 

7.      Staff has no repercussion for not following the agency processes

My Thoughts: Average and below average agents will go to a conference or meeting and come back to the agency with a bunch of new tasks, tools, and technology they want the staff to start doing and using, but because there isn’t consistent training, spot-checking, retraining, and accountability, the agents wishes will die on-the-vine and staff

 

8.      Weak marketing and prospecting processes

My thoughts: Did you know the insurance industry has an average Cold Lead Attempts to Confirmed Prospect Ratio of 3%? This means for every 100 cold calls you make, letters you mail, or people that interact with your social networking ad (such as clicking a link), you will have roughly three people that are interested in your products and services.

Of course, a direct referral closes at about 30%

(An agency’s quote-to-close ratio is dependent on the quality of the lead, the skill of the salesperson, the carrier rates, etc., so I will save that for another post.)

Sticking with the 3% number, most average and below average agencies don’t consistently market or prospect, and they don’t consistently ask for referrals and testimonials.

Is there any wonder why their sales numbers are in the toilet!

 

So, what are the solutions to the problems listed above?

 

1.      They don’t make the time to spot-check or hold people accountable

Solution: Select ONE process you want to implement in the agency and dedicate one hour per day to creating a workflow for the process (If you are an Inspire a Nation member, simply look up the process in the video library and use the workflow and checklist we provide to you.)

After you have the workflow created implement one task of the workflow at a time with your team until all of the tasks, automation, and tools that are part of the workflow are in place.

After the process has been trained twice, use the hour that you set aside to create the workflow, to not spot-check the process and the team members that are assigned the process.

 

2.      The agency does not have clearly defined processes and workflows;

Solution: Same as solution 1

 

3.      The agency leadership doesn’t know how to pull the correct reports in the agency management system that will allow them to spot-check processes;

Solution: Same as solution 1, plus contact the Agency Management System and let them know what you are trying to do in the system and ask for their assistance.

 

4.      Everyone in the agency uses a different tool to perform standard tasks such as email, notes, and text messaging.

Solution: Same as solution 1. As you learn and train the process you can migrate everyone to using the tools the agency leader decides is best.

 

5.      No consistent processes for labeling and categorizing tasks and notes in the agency management system.

Solution: Same as solution 1.

 

6.      No dedicated time to retrain staff once a problem has been identified

Solution: Same as solution 1.

 

7.      Staff has no repercussion for not following the agency processes

Solution: Choose repercussions for not following the process such as:

Force the non-compliant team member to teach the process at one of the office meetings

Hold back a percentage of a bonus or commission until the team member is making a valiant effort to implement the process

Give the non-compliant team member a written counseling

 

8.      Weak marketing and prospecting processes

Solution: Select one easy to implement marketing campaign such as asking for a referral when a customer makes a payment or asking new customer to write a testimonial. Have each team member keep a tracking log that has the name of the customer they asked.

 

These are some simple solutions and suggestions for what is really a simple and easy to fix time management problem.

 

Check out the Fix My Insurance Agency 2-Day Process Implementation Workshop. We are conducting the workshop several times in 2020.https://www.inspireanation.org/Fix-My-Insurance-Agency-Info