Motivation: Module Iii-E

Motivation is tied closely to compensation, but the two are very different. Compensation is simply one form of motivation. There are many forms, all of which should accomplish one thing: encourage producers to sell and make them feel good about what they're doing and where they're doing it. A good motivational environment will help both Life and P/C producers. You should have a motivational atmosphere for your CSRs, as well. You should maintain a high recognition level in which all agency members can participate.

Every producer wants to succeed. Your job, then, is to make sure each does succeed, through motivation and recognition. By providing continuous recognition programs that inspire and motivate agency employees, you will create a more successful agency environment. Your own attitude is the most important part of motivating staff. You must promote enthusiasm and belief for others to be enthusiastic and believe.

To begin your motivational campaign, you need several basic elements:

In addition to the above, there are a number of events and activities that can motivate your people. The following suggestions will help you build and maintain team spirit in your agency.

• Annual Meeting-At the beginning of each year, hold an all-agency meeting.

Use this to review the agency's performance of the past year and recognize past top performers. Include other agency staff, as well as producers, in this recognition. For example, your receptionist may have helped other staff in addition to regular duties. Or a CSR may have been exceptionally motivational to other staff members.

You can use charts and graphs to show how the agency performed over the past year. Build agency pride and team spirit. You may invite an outside guest with experience in key agency areas who can reinforce your agency's results and plans. The objective of this meeting is to inform, instruct, and inspire.

Inform: Explain to staff the outlook for your agency in the new year, along with any new programs you may have in mind. Share your one-year and five-year plans here, as well as any upcoming seminars, meetings, or conventions you may wish staff to attend.

Instruct: Share with them a sales procedure that will benefit them, or invite an outside speaker. Share something with them that will make their job easier or more effective.

Inspire: Paint a picture of what the agency can become. Outline its potential and the benefits to producers and staff. Explain the ways you are going to recognize and reward top performers throughout the year. Then, recognize each staff member for a particular accomplishment.

Everyone must be positively recognized.

Consider concluding the meeting with a lunch or dinner, and have the top agent of the year and top agency staff member of the year speak. Make sure you end the meeting on a high note.

• Annual Black-Tie Dinner-Another motivational event is a formal dinner held every year, either at year-end or in January. You can invite all agency members and their spouses and present awards to all your production leaders for the year, including special recognition for your top associates. You may include the spouses by presenting them with special mementos of the evening. Make sure the memento is nongender-specific. This should be a big event, so plan it carefully to reflect the occasion. Also, you may invite area and industry leaders to provide added recognition to your agency members.
• Sports Outing-Why not organize a softball team and compete with other local businesses? Or, have a combination family picnic and games.
• Educational Conference-A yearly educational conference, held at a prestigious location, is another great motivating event. You can require producers and other agency members to meet certain qualifications in order to attend-remember to include spouses.
• Holiday Party-You can hold a holiday party for the entire staff and make it an "Open House." Again, make sure top producers are recognized. Have important clients, professionals with whom you work, centers of influence, and other community leaders attend and use this occasion to display your agency and staff.

 -Another motivational event is a formal dinner held every year, either at year-end or in January. You can invite all agency members and their spouses and present awards to all your production leaders for the year, including special recognition for your top associates. You may include the spouses by presenting them with special mementos of the evening. Make sure the memento is nongender-specific. This should be a big event, so plan it carefully to reflect the occasion. Also, you may invite area and industry leaders to provide added recognition to your agency members.

 -Why not organize a softball team and compete with other local businesses? Or, have a combination family picnic and games. -A yearly educational conference, held at a prestigious location, is another great motivating event. You can require producers and other agency members to meet certain qualifications in order to attend-remember to include spouses.

 -You can hold a holiday party for the entire staff and make it an "Open House." Again, make sure top producers are recognized. Have important clients, professionals with whom you work, centers of influence, and other community leaders attend and use this occasion to display your agency and staff.

In addition to events, membership in certain groups should be created as motivational tools. While some groups can have other purposes, membership should be primarily motivational. The following special groups can be established in your agency:

• Senior Sales Consultants-Select a few experienced producers from your agency and form a group of senior sales consultants. These producers should have specialties in certain markets, such as Group insurance, P/C Lines, pension plans, and so on. You can encourage their specialization by arranging for them to write articles for national publications. Help them organize a presentation that can be given to industry and community groups, as well as in your agency meetings. Also, have other agency members work with these consultants whenever they have prospects in one of their key areas. This group fulfills a two-fold purpose: It recognizes the individuals and it provides them an opportunity to continue their involvement in the area.
• Agency Advisory Board-An advisory board of producers who have been in your agency for a specific period can be created. You can hold lunches for all board members, and honor each new member upon joining this group on his or her specific qualifying anniversary. You may want to honor producers on each subsequent fifth year on the board, as well.
• Quarterly Round Table-Inspire and motivate agency members by forming a quarterly round table of leaders. You can set a standard of production that must be met in order to qualify for the round table. In addition to providing recognition, these special groups help upgrade your sales staff and improve the quality of business produced in your agency.

 -Select a few experienced producers from your agency and form a group of senior sales consultants. These producers should have specialties in certain markets, such as Group insurance, P/C Lines, pension plans, and so on. You can encourage their specialization by arranging for them to write articles for national publications. Help them organize a presentation that can be given to industry and community groups, as well as in your agency meetings. Also, have other agency members work with these consultants whenever they have prospects in one of their key areas. This group fulfills a two-fold purpose: It recognizes the individuals and it provides them an opportunity to continue their involvement in the area.

 -An advisory board of producers who have been in your agency for a specific period can be created. You can hold lunches for all board members, and honor each new member upon joining this group on his or her specific qualifying anniversary. You may want to honor producers on each subsequent fifth year on the board, as well.

 -Inspire and motivate agency members by forming a quarterly round table of leaders. You can set a standard of production that must be met in order to qualify for the round table. In addition to providing recognition, these special groups help upgrade your sales staff and improve the quality of business produced in your agency.

In addition to meetings and groups, there are a number of other ways to provide recognition to agency members:

• Wall of Fame-Those producers who have met and passed set production goals should have their framed portraits displayed on an agency wall. The producer could be presented with a plaque with his or her name and the agency insignia. Announcement letters can be mailed to 100 of the producer's select clients informing them of the selection and honor. To make it on the "Wall of Fame," a producer should have: met specific production goals, completed specific educational courses, met a specific percentage increase over previous year's production, and been recognized as a top performer an established period of times consecutively.
• Agent-of-the-Month Award-You can assign points based on production or base the award on the producer's premium volume as a qualification for the Agent-of-the-Month award. See the "Life Production" graph at the end of this section. In order to qualify, the producer must meet a minimum of, for example, $5,000 of annualized first-year commissions during the particular month. Send a press release and a photograph of the agent to local newspapers. Make copies of the newspaper article and send them to the producer's top 50 or 100 clients.
• Agency Dedicator Program-This program provides recognition each month to those producers who, during the month, produce $5,000 in annualized first-year commissions. You can present an engraved trophy to each agent who qualified as a "dedicator"eight times or more in one year.
• New Producer Club-Organize a special club for trainee producers. If the trainee pays for 12 cases or more in a month, the producer and spouse will be your guests for a gourmet dinner. This also helps the new producer's spouse get better acquainted and feel a part of the agency.
• Lead-Day Participants-You can choose to assign qualified producers a "lead day." This means you give the recognized agent all of the phone and paper leads received on that specific day. This provides both recognition and the opportunity to develop more business. To qualify, the producer should be a member of the National Association of Life Under-writers and a Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) performer or be on track for MDRT qualification, as well as be a top recognized agency producer.
• Monthly Publication-An in-house publication can be put together and distributed at the beginning of each month. In it, recognize the top agency performers from the past month. Depending on the size of your agency, you can include photographs of agency members. Also, you may include sales ideas, general information items, and other articles contributing to self-improvement and education.
• Bulletins-On an as-needed basis, you can distribute single-page bulletins that are colorcoded as to purpose. For example, white could mean general information; yellow, recognition; green, production; and blue, motivational. Give these to your sales force throughout each month.
• Personal Letters and Cards-Mail anniversary and birthday cards to all agency employees and their families. For the personal touch, include a hand written note.
• Special Announcements-When appropriate, send out "flash" notices announcing special personal or business happenings in your agency employees' lives. Births, marriages, promotions, educational achievements, and honors should all be recognized.
• Contest Winners-Hold sales contests throughout the year. In addition to other recognition, reward each winner with some unusual keepsake.

 -Those producers who have met and passed set production goals should have their framed portraits displayed on an agency wall. The producer could be presented with a plaque with his or her name and the agency insignia. Announcement letters can be mailed to 100 of the producer's select clients informing them of the selection and honor. To make it on the "Wall of Fame," a producer should have: met specific production goals, completed specific educational courses, met a specific percentage increase over previous year's production, and been recognized as a top performer an established period of times consecutively.

 -You can assign points based on production or base the award on the producer's premium volume as a qualification for the Agent-of-the-Month award. See the "Life Production" graph at the end of this section. In order to qualify, the producer must meet a minimum of, for example, $5,000 of annualized first-year commissions during the particular month. Send a press release and a photograph of the agent to local newspapers. Make copies of the newspaper article and send them to the producer's top 50 or 100 clients.

 -This program provides recognition each month to those producers who, during the month, produce $5,000 in annualized first-year commissions. You can present an engraved trophy to each agent who qualified as a "dedicator" eight times or more in one year. -Organize a special club for trainee producers. If the trainee pays for 12 cases or more in a month, the producer and spouse will be your guests for a gourmet dinner. This also helps the new producer's spouse get better acquainted and feel a part of the agency.

 -You can choose to assign qualified producers a "lead day." This means you give the recognized agent all of the phone and paper leads received on that specific day. This provides both recognition and the opportunity to develop more business. To qualify, the producer should be a member of the National Association of Life Under-writers and a Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) performer or be on track for MDRT qualification, as well as be a top recognized agency producer.

 -An in-house publication can be put together and distributed at the beginning of each month. In it, recognize the top agency performers from the past month. Depending on the size of your agency, you can include photographs of agency members. Also, you may include sales ideas, general information items, and other articles contributing to self-improvement and education.

 -On an as-needed basis, you can distribute single-page bulletins that are colorcoded as to purpose. For example, white could mean general information; yellow, recognition; green, production; and blue, motivational. Give these to your sales force throughout each month.

 -Mail anniversary and birthday cards to all agency employees and their families. For the personal touch, include a hand written note.

 -When appropriate, send out "flash" notices announcing special personal or business happenings in your agency employees' lives. Births, marriages, promotions, educational achievements, and honors should all be recognized. -Hold sales contests throughout the year. In addition to other recognition, reward each winner with some unusual keepsake.

Motivation is inspiration, recognition, pride, morale, team spirit-all the intangibles that help make people want to keep doing the best job they can. The presence of an established motivational program in your agency can make the difference between low production, high staff turnover, and failure and record volume, high agency loyalty, and success.