Long ago, as a fledgling sales manager with a direct writer, my objective was to hire and train one new producer every 90 days. On the morning of day one, my first new hire and I were sitting in the conference room completing paperwork. The district manager stuck his head in the room, looked at us and said, "Are you going to hang around the office all day?" I was incensed. I responded, "This is his first day on the job!" My boss rolled his eyes and walked away.

That was more than 30 years ago. Now, after working with more than a thousand new producers, I've come to understand the wisdom of that district manager and the value of immediately communicating the importance of getting out of the office and meeting face to face with prospects, clients and centers of influence.Part of the reason I'm in the insurance business today is because of my parents' insurance agent of more than 25 years. As a child growing up in the 1950s and '60s, I recognized him as one of three professionals who were routinely welcome at our house. The other two were our minister and family physician (yes, doctors made house calls then). I never knew the agent as an adult because he had retired by the time I finished school. His influence on me was not from any personal interaction, but the respect my parents showed him. Once I entered the business, I asked my parents if they could ever recall not accepting his recommendations. "Never," they answered. I also asked if they ever price-shopped him. Again the answer was, "Never, not in more than 25 years."Two years after the agent passed away, my parents moved their insurance to another agency. Why? Because no one followed up. There was no personal contact with the prior agency; they just got a bill. Today, my parents are in their 80s and have had their insurance with the "new" agent for decades.The personal touchFifty years ago, business was transacted with the store owner who knew customers by name. Today, most of our purchases are from large chain stores where employees often have little interest in their jobs, or in us. My wife and I were recently checking out of a large grocery store very early on a Sunday morning. There were five or six customers in the entire store, and none of them were in line. The only words spoken by the clerk after she rang up our order were, "You had more than 12 items."More than 90 percent of commercial accounts renew with the incumbent agent. Usually, the incumbent doesn't have to beat the competitor's price. He or she doesn't even have to meet the competitor's price–he only has to come close to keep the account. How close? Anywhere from a few dollars to a few thousand dollars. Is it possible that 90 percent of commercial accounts are receiving such outstanding service they opt to stay with their incumbent agents? Or could it be that some of those accounts aren't so much happy with their current agent as they are fearful to move to an unknown, who may provide even worse service?Does this sound familiar?o New producer calls business to obtain the x-date.o New producer calls the business owner several months later to request an appointment.o New producer meets with the business owner to gather facts.o New producer meets with the business owner weeks later to deliver the quote.o New producer follows up by phone after not hearing back from the owner for several days or weeks, only to discover the account has been renewed with the incumbent agent.Is it realistic to think a business owner would (or should) move the account based on an hour or so of personal contact with a new agent? Would you?Making contact–face to faceSo how can a new producer establish relationships with prospects, clients and referral sources? In a word–contact. Not drip marketing, where the prospect is bombarded with letters, postcards and "interesting" articles, but old-fashioned, face-to-face, up-close-and-personal contact.Contact can move the new producer from just another agent trying to get the business to friend and advisor. Producers should get out of the office and meet with prospects for breakfast or lunch, or at their place of business to begin building relationships that set them apart from the competition.If a producer contacts a telemarketed commercial x-date by phone for an appointment without additional contact since the date was acquired, this is what will happen: 30 percent of the x-dates will be incorrect, 30 percent will decline the appointment, 30 percent will say yes, and the producer will pass on the remaining 10 percent.Instead, if the producer makes a face-to-face contact, nearly 100 percent of the x-dates will be accurate, and more than 50 percent will agree to an appointment.Here's how new producers can spend more time establishing relationships with prospects and centers of influence:1. Recognize the importance of getting out of the office and make it a priority.2. Designate frequent "blitz" days to make face-to-face calls. Don't go into the office at all on those days.3. New producers working in the office should ask themselves: Is this something that has to be done in the office? Does it have to be done during business hours?4. Purely administrative work should be done before and after normal business hours whenever possible.5. Producers should make internal appointments with support staff to discuss accounts. This way, producers don't waste valuable time waiting for staff to finish servicing a customer or complete a phone call, and they're more likely to be prepared. The same approach works with company underwriters.6. New producers should be "road warriors." Cell phones, PDAs and GPSs are their weapons. Microsoft Trips and Streets can help them become even more efficient out in the field.What would my parents' old insurance agent think of the way things are done today? I haven't forgotten him, but I sure hope the competition has.Ken Fields, CIC, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, MSM, is an assistant vice president with The State Auto Insurance Cos. Co-developer of the nationally recognized PaceSetter new producer sales development program, Ken has been personal coach to more than 1,000 new property-casualty producers. He is also on the national faculty for the National Alliance Marketing and Sales James K. Ruble Seminar. For information on The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research and the Dynamics of Selling program, call 800-633-2165 or visit www.thenationalalliance.com.