Now here's a novel idea: Have a plan for success! With the current economy, not all agencies and producers are awash in cash these days. In fact, most agencies tell us they are in a 12 percent to 20 percent revenue slump.

It was the perfect storm, wasn't it? Sales and payroll projections were significantly reduced, employees were laid off and vehicles were parked, leaving hundreds on gated lots with only comprehensive coverage. Our insureds began to take on more risk to lower costs even further, and if that wasn't enough, the carrier had to “give up” a portion of last year's unearned commissions when the return premiums from the audits were processed. Not only did we lose the coming year's revenue, but we had to give up a portion of the money most had already spent long ago.

How does this relate to sales? The first thing to go in a declining and soft market is sales activities, sales budgets, training and reinforcement. We've seen 24 months of gutted budgets for sales training by carriers, agencies and producers. The results are clear: How can they forget how this should work in such a short time? Recently I sat before a team of two dozen producers discussing how to get their activities and production revenues back on track. As we looked around the room, we saw this blank stare of horror. In all of the cost cutting and belt tightening, they had forgotten how to plan for success!