By Ken Fields, CIC, CPCU, assistant vice president, State Auto Insurance Cos.

New producers want to succeed quickly and do what is right. My business partner and I have provided weekly sales coaching to more than 1,600 new producers for at least 12 months each, and we maintained detailed records of their prospecting and selling activities.

Effective training and sales management can help increase their odds for success. Here are some suggestions based on what we've learned from our experiences over the past 18 years.

1. New producers need technical skills. Insurance great John Savage, founder of one of the 100 largest insurance and financial services agencies in the U.S., used to say his technical skills were worth only about 5% of his success, and that his people skills were the other 95%. But when questioned further he would say, "The catch is you have to have 100% of the 5%." John would go on to explain, "This is a business where we are paid for what we do, not for what we know." The point is we are in a business where the need for technical skills is a given, a basic requirement. Sources for technical training include live seminars, computer-based training, and self-study programs. There is no excuse for a new producer not being provided with the technical skills needed to be successful.
2. New producers need to know how to sell. Selling is not quoting, and e-mailing a quote to a prospect is not making a sales presentation. We know more than 90% of commercial accounts will renew with the incumbent agent. Allowing a new producer to become a quoting machine just creates more work for both the agency staff and carrier underwriters with little chance of closing the account. Knowing how to sell includes knowing how to identify prospects that are likely to buy, this year. The National Alliance's Dynamics of Selling program can help the new producer learn this and other critical sales skills. It should be required for every new producer.
3. New producers need a sales system. Have you ever noticed the signs behind the counter of a McDonald's restaurant meant for the employees?  Every activity required to run the restaurant is illustrated with easy-to-understand directions and illustrations. The combinations of burgers and fries that can be put into a bag, for example, are pictured on a poster so that even a brand-new employee knows exactly what to do. New producers need to understand just as clearly the specific prospecting activities that must be done every day to be successful. Nothing should be left to chance.
4. New producers need to know how to prospect. New producers who are fortunate enough to have a large network of friends and business associates may be disappointed to find they don't make many sales to those folks early in their career. It could be the attrition rate among new producers is no secret, even among those outside the business. Friends and associates may wait to see if the new producer is going to survive. Most new producers are going to need hundreds of prospects to drive sales during their first few years in the business. Some sales consultants seem to think cold calling is old-fashioned and ineffective, but what option does a brand-new producer have but to learn how to cold call? Large numbers of prospects can compensate for the lack of sales expertise and give the producer the confidence to walk away from undesirable accounts. Most new producers are going to have to "take it to the streets" during the early stages of their sales career.
5. New producers need to get out of the office—fast! It's been suggested that a habit, good or bad, can be established in as little as 21 days. Launching a new producer by allowing him or her to hang around the office all day, every day, for the first few weeks or months is a very bad idea. It establishes a bad work habit that may be hard to break. On the other hand, getting that new producer out of the office on the first day sets expectations that business hours are selling hours. Administrative work should be done before the agency opens, or after it closes, not during prime selling time.
6. New producers need close supervision. "Freedom" is the most cited reason new producers are attracted to the insurance business. Less than two years after starting their insurance sales career, about two-thirds of them fail because they can't handle the freedom that comes with the business. New producers have to be shown what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. This can't be done from a distance, so the sales trainer needs to get up close and personal. There is no substitute for making joint sales calls or sitting with the new producer during prospecting phone calls. Daily supervision is critical during the first several weeks. The reins should be loosened a little at a time until the new producer has established solid work habits and demonstrated success.
7. New producers need lots of encouragement. Breaking into the insurance business is tough. New producers get discouraged easily because the business is full of rejection—from prospects, agency staff, even the producer's family members. It can also feel like rejection if the sales trainer or manager doesn't take an active role in developing the new producer. The trainer should be the new producer's top cheerleader. At first, they should recognize small accomplishments: getting an ex-date, scheduling an appointment, meeting with a center of influence. Don't wait until a sale is made to give the new producer an "atta boy (or girl)." The sales will come if the new producer is following a proven sales system.