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... and focused on how to be the best. As a result, he's built such a reputation that even his competitors now refer business to him. The patience to stick with a good plan and the ability to focus on a single goal enabled the Torpedo to succeed. As Robert Schiller states in Irrational Exuberance, The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence. Because LUs rarely recognize themselves, if you feel you might be a LU (or be managing one), give yourself or your producers this test: My book of business has grown less than 20% in five years. I've been selling for 10 years or more and still don't have a book of $150,000 or more in commissions. I receive fewer than two unsolicited, qualified referrals a ... but like all of us, I sell myself. Because I spend a lot of time with agency owners and producers, I've learned quite a bit about sales. Based on these observations, I believe producers generally fall into four categories: Charisma Maniacs Stalwarts Lazy and Undisciplined (LU) Torpedoes Charisma Maniacs have gifts that others lack. Although I believe that anyone can develop charisma (see Roger Dawson's book, Secrets of Persuasion'), I'm not the one to tell you how. Stalwarts are the people who follow all the sales tapes, read the books, and do their best to do what the tapes and books suggest. They're good people who with some luck might do well enough, but lack the characteristics to become great producers. That leaves two categories. It might seem strange ...

... individual as head of marketing. Rarely a full-time separate position, this ...r branch office's ratio, rollovers of books of business, etc., the agency mus...

...stic of intelligence.' Because LUs rarely recognize themselves, if you feel yo...

...or business through cold calls are rare birds. My guess is that you're not one...e product before they open their checkbooks. For this reason, meeting you thro...

... are all aspects of good producer management, which improves morale for all but the less successful producers because employees see a fair free enterprise system. Eliminating an entitlement environment also improves morale. Managing the agency becomes easier because when producers gripe, the best answer is, "produce more," which creates a more competitive environment that pushes each producer to greater success. In visiting dozens agencies, I've rarely seen these practices. Those few that do practice good producer management achieve far greater success than those that do not. Many agencies forget that a fair system must eventually be based on results. The effort to be fair to all based on good faith effort is simply misguided. It's not easy to make hard decisions. However, it's far easier than having a problem and knowing that you're not ... only fair, but it is also smart producer management. That's it. Agencies don't owe their producers anything else. They don't owe them an expense account, a car or even a lead list. These items can arguably make producers more successful, but that does not mean the agency owes them these perks. These items are truly perks. What would happen if these perks increased as a producer's book increased? When an agency increases producers' perks as their books increase, it's focusing significant resources on its most important assets, which makes of sense. Agency expenses will decline if managed well because the value of the perks need not increase at the same rate as sales. Limiting these perks to reasonably sized books, minimizes these expenses. These are all aspects of good producer management, which ...

... great, agencies don't always have enough extra fat to cover the extra time and energy required. Just make the right decision, document it properly, and get on with it. MANAGERS WITH AGENCY EXPERIENCE Another alternative is a dedicated manager with years of agency experience, usually as a producer/partner. These people tend to have strong leadership skills and personality traits that fit an agency environment. They rarely get bogged down in paperwork (since many refuse to do anything but the minimum) . On the other hand, former producer/partners tend to have distinctive management issues that must be addressed: Desire to Manage. Managers with agency experience are usually adept at developing relationships and selling. In fact, they usually prefer those activities to managing — which can be a key weakness for a manager ... that they might not have the right personality for running an agency. Understanding and handling these differences from the beginning can help diminish problems down the road. Here are a few issues that I've seen when bringing a manager with company experience into an agency. Sales Ability. A significant issue with former company people as agency managers is that most are not salespeople. At best, some can take over books (and even keep those books intact), but maintaining renewals and making sales are two very different things. The problem with having an agency president who can't sell is that they're disconnected from the lifeblood of what makes a successful agency. Simply increasing profits by cutting expenses is not a sustainable business strategy. In my experience, producers don't respond well to managers who can't sell. People like ...

...accounts are lost, new business is rare, or carriers do bad things to the agen...unselor. An insurance agency owner is rarely qualified to provide personal cou...

... academics and bureaucracies! They rarely develop significant innovations ...

... a Section 338 election, which is rarely wise). Because R...

... enjoys most has diminished and he rarely has time to sell or even visit clie...lings and collections. Balancing checkbooks, justifying accounts, and paying ...