2.Find or create a database of no less than 500 “suspects” to work with each year. This creates an endless process of pre-qualifying based on the relationship between buyers and their current brokers and any issues they have with the service from their brokers. We don't quote everyone every year.

Our job is to ask the pre-qualifying questions to determine if any relationship, service, coverage or cost pains exist that would motivate the buyer to change agencies. Anything less and we're back to “quoting for dollars.” Of the 500 suspects we'll probably want to have an initial discussion (diagnostic appointment) with 250 of them in any given year based on their current situations, willingness to consider change and our opportunities to improve their relative conditions.

3. Create your sales activity pipeline. Of the 250 suspects that we converse with over the next year, there will be on average 125 who actually have issues we can alleviate. These 125, now called “prospects,” are ready to move into your sales activity pipeline. This pre-qualifying process differs from the old way of selling because we have the same high level of activity, but this time with people that we actually have the opportunity of selling. The question now becomes: Of these 125, how many can we work toward presenting an overwhelming reason for leaving their current brokers and hiring us? Because we are working fewer accounts, we have the time to build quality and lasting relationships with pre-qualified prospects. We never present until we have accomplished this goal. To do otherwise has proven overwhelmingly a failure.

4. Re-qualify the prospects based now on coverages, carrier service and cost issues. Think of it as the second half of the qualifying effort. One rule to live by: we never go to this step unless we have reason to be here. It may take 1, 3, 5 years or a decade to come to this step.

5. Create a complete and comprehensive list of issues to work on once we have reviewed the carrier's service, costs and coverage issues. There can be situations where we have a great carrier and a wrong broker relationship. The more pain and emotion involved, the better we can predict our outcome. Typically the relationship with the broker drives the sales decision. Now we have prepared to put our marketing folks and our carriers to work.

Unless you can look these parties in the eye and present specific lists of what the issues are and how we need to create specific solutions to address those, you probably are wasting at least 75 percent of your efforts on “quoting business” rather than creating specific solutions that fit situations and providing overwhelming reasons to join your agency or brokerage. About 80 percent of the producer sales force drops off here; but this is where we separate the average from super performers.

6. Proceed to your presentation of solutions. Do this if all of the rules are the same and nothing has changed.

Please note that of the 125 we started with, we'll see 60 or so that drop out along the way because they aren't willing to leave their current brokers, don't have the relationship with you they need or haven't been given an overwhelming reason that your solution is better than where they are today. Of the 60 accounts we present solutions to in the sales process, we'll actually close 60 percent or more of them. We'll also retain more than 90 percent of them at renewal.

Most producers fail because they don't have enough prospects and qualified activity. Busy work doesn't count. Ask yourself the tough question: Why is this prospect in my sales pipeline?

At every point in the process, evaluate on a scale of 0 to 100 what percentage chance you have of winning the deal. My experience suggests that once the odds fall below 80 percent, you probably won't win. It's your career, your life, your reputation and your financial success. Top performers use this type of system to make sure they are on track. Because they have such a high level of pre-qualified prospects with identifiable reasons for making the overwhelming presentation for change, they find themselves picking the “low hanging fruit” rather than spending time on those “hard sale closes.”

Just imagine a top performer who has a marketing plan, a business plan, a budget designated to new business acquisitions and knows:

o 500 prospects in his or her universe =

o 250 DAQs in the next 12 months =

o 65 presentations =

o 45 new accounts this year =

o $3,000 average commission per total account written =

o $135,000 new business commission this year

Now we have a plan we can work on that is specific yet flexible, and accountable and achievable. Good luck and good selling!