I’ve Never Had a 100+ Policy Producer

Something I see with a lot of agency owners and managers is that they are always searching for that elusive 100+ policy producer. They have it in their mind that they want to build their agency with only staff who are able to produce at this extreme level, and anything less is subpar in their mind.  We write over 800 items/month in my agency and I do not have a single producer writing over 100, and I personally like it that way.

I wanted to come out and share my personal beliefs around this, but before I do, I want to make it clear that this is just my opinion and a philosophy that has worked for me in building my agency from $0 to $40 million. There are many incredible agency owners who subscribe to this philosophy and who have great operations. In fact, I know a few agency staff members who write at this level and do an awesome job at it, so I am by no means saying it is impossible. There is not only one way to do things and I think a lot of people I talk to forget that and strive to be something perhaps they are not.

For me, I have never wanted to build my agency around 100+ policy producers but rather have multiple producers writing much higher than average numbers. There are a few reasons why, which I will outline below.  Before I share the reasons why though, I will tell you I did also fall into this trap a few years ago while attending a conference where there were a lot of staff members who spoke who were producing at this level.  I remember coming back from that event and comparing my team to these other producers.  “They can do it, so you should be able to” was the message I shared with my staff and it caused a lot of stress and anxiety, and I regret it to this day.

First, in my experience, somebody writing this type of volume more than likely is not taking the time to have the full conversation that I want my team to have with our customers. In my agency, we lead with taking care of our clients, not sales numbers. I know sales numbers will come as a result of taking care of clients, but I will never put sales above what I took an oath to do when I became an agent nearly 25 years ago, and that is to offer sound advice that will lead to my clients having proper protection in the event of a claim. That will always be number one for me in my agency and my team knows that.

Next, the compliance issue... If someone is writing this volume and does not have the backend support, a lot of times that can limit the amount of time they have to make sure they are doing everything properly, including knowing underwriting guidelines, follow-up, legal docs, etc.

In addition, I like to look at the quality of life for my producers, which is something that I also lead with when it comes to my team. Personally, I have never seen a producer not become overwhelmed and burned out overtime when their expectation is to produce such high numbers.

Lastly, turnover. Agencies that I have seen focus on these 100+ policy producers tend to have a lot of turnover, for all of the reasons above. Burnout, compliance, or whatever the reason is, I can't name too many 100 policy producers who have been in the same position for more than a year or 2. It can be devastating to lose such a top performer and can cost the agency a lot of momentum.

For my agency, the sweet spot is that 60-80 range, and that's where we believe we can get every one of our producers to. To me, that is great production that leads to them making an amazing living, which is always my goal. This is also a sustainable level of production that will lead to people sticking around for years because they are happy, they make good money, and they feel successful and appreciated.

So, again for me, if I am given the choice of having two 100 policy producers or 4 at 60, I'll take the latter all day long!

Build your agency how you want to build it and have fun doing it – that’s my message.  Don’t follow what others say you should be doing.  Be YOU!!

Just my thoughts!