When is Enough, Enough?

07 Apr When is Enough, Enough?

Randy Schwantz discusses how far an agency manager should push his producers. Every manager wants to get the most out of his producers, but is there a point when enough is enough? Randy sets up guidelines in this video.

Transcription of video:

When is Enough, Enough? Should I keep pushing producers who are content with their books? This question has two perspectives you need to consider.

First really should be a business question…. If you have an asset, be it a copier, a CSR or a Producer and it has additional capacity or capability, from a business perspective should you work to get more out of that investment? Think of it this way, if you have $1,000,000 dollars in the stock market and it's producing a 5% return, and yet there is an opportunity to get 7% without any more risk, what would you do? I know your producers are not non-descript assets like money, but they are assets of your firm.And, shouldn't you as a benefit to all the shareholders get as much financial impact as you can from your assets? Yes.

So, when is enough, enough in that case? Andrew Carnegie, the great steel baron was known to have untenable working conditions . He'd push his men 12 hours a day, with few breaks. He'd work them to the bone. This is from the American Experience website:

Indeed, flames, noise, and danger ruled the Carnegie mills. “Protective gear” consisted only of two layers of wool long-johns; horrible injuries were common. Wives and children came to dread the sound of factory whistles that meant an accident had occurred.

“They wipe a man out here every little while,” a worker said in 1893. “Sometimes a chain breaks, and a ladle tips over, and the iron explodes…. Sometimes the slag falls on the workmen…. Of course, if everything is working all smooth and a man watches out, why, all right! But you take it after they've been on duty twelve hours without sleep, and running like hell, everybody is tired and groggy, and it's a different story.”

Carnegie went overboard with how he worked his men. Are you?  Don't think so.

The other perspective on that question is from that of a producer. How big of a book of business should they have before they can say, enough is enough. Part of your responsibility as an agency owner is to drive your people to help them make the most of themselves. One aspect of that is Financial Independence. Until a producer has saved a couple of million dollars for retirement, and has paid his or her house off, and funded the college educations and weddings, you should drive them to do so. It's in everyone's best interest…. Everyone's.

Many times a producer picks a point of reference in a person that is less fortunate than they are. Maybe the parents or a sibling or high school friend and compared to them, they are doing really well. Considering that the average family income in North America is $50,500, if your producer is making $100,000 they feel like a stud.The top 5% of households, three quarters of whom have two income earners, have family incomes of $166,200. If they pay 1/3 of their income in taxes, about $54,000, they are living on $109,000. How many people can save $50,000 a year on that income? And, if you can't save $50,000 a year for 20 + years, they'll never build the nest egg they are capable of, nor need to for retirement without making a lot of sacrifices then.

When is enough, enough? When they have their finances buttoned up so tight, they'll never have to worry about money. Until then, as an Agency Owner, shouldn't you keep pushing.

To learn more about the iWin Agency Growth System go to the Wedge Group.