24 Oct When Hiring New Producers, How Much Baggage Can You Handle?
All new producers come with some baggage. And this baggage comes in all shapes and sizes. Some of them maybe too old and have lost their drive, others too young; they don’t have enough experience, are not technically strong and have never been trained to sell. Or perhaps they are really smart, but don’t have the personality or drive for a sales environment.
If you aren’t cautious, you may begin to accept baggage you are not capable of handling. It’s too heavy. The first step is to get clear on what you want and who you are willing to hire because you are capable of handling their baggage.
How much baggage can you handle?
Chances are good that, for most agencies, a raw, 21 year old college graduate with absolutely no sales experience, no insurance knowledge, no business experience will drive you nuts. To handle this candidate you’d need a great training program in place to take them step by step through how to build a database, make cold calls, set appointments, build relationships, develop submissions, market the account and close the business.
In most cases, these baby lambs will get eaten alive by the wolves; those incumbent agents with five to fifteen more years of experience.
On the other hand, a 28-year old proven sales person, in any industry, who has capped out in their current job, might be a great candidate. They come with a different set of baggage, that maybe you are capable of handling. They will cost you more in salary and benefits, but they are less of a risk than the recent college graduate, because they have a proven track record. You have to find a way to teach them insurance, but they’ve got proven sales ability.
My advice is to focus on new producer candidates who are in the 25-30 year old age group. There are ten million males and ten million females between the age of 25 and 30 in the United States.
Some are living right under your nose, maybe right in your neighborhood. They are friends of your friends, employees, clients and children.
For you to notice them, you have to change what you are looking for. Once you do that, you won’t shy away from approaching people and saying: “Hey, I’m looking for people who are in their late 20s, who are driven, smart, and desire a better lifestyle. Do you know anyone like that?”
Hiring new producers is one of the 3 Top Struggles for agency owners. Check out my new video series on the 5 Stages to Organic Growth which helps to overcome the hiring struggle.
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