Training, it’s how athletes become extraordinary. I recently spent some time with Linda Rey at Rey Insurance. She had the greatest talk with her team about the difference between just showing up and being extraordinary. Somewhere inside I think we all want to be extraordinary but self doubt, fear and uncertainty take over. We have to face that battle head on.
I’m always surprised at how few agencies embrace training. Carriers provide more and more of it and companies like Agency Performance Partners are here, ready, willing and able! The team needs motivation, scripts and best practices delivered to them routinely to make a world class team. For many this may be the only agency they have ever worked for, so their point of reference is not great. In fact, for many agency owners, this too may be the only agency they have ever worked for.
When I conduct agency training days on service or sales I’m always enthralled. Some of the basic concepts like answering the phone with a smile, using peoples names or handling objections have almost never been discussed. This is like the Patriots going out on the field and not knowing the plays (yes, I’m well aware the Patriots are controversial but I’m a loyal fan). You don’t win Super Bowls without practice and you don’t grow without your team practicing the plays.
Now this also leads to completely uncomfortable role playing but we gotta do it. For an account manager to know how to handle a rate increase call with confidence is priceless. For a salesperson to know how to close a deal and ask for the money is instant awesomesauce. So why don’t we do it? Generally it’s the last thing on a very long to do list for managers and owners. But that’s not really a great excuse.
What you don’t have time for but is still completely valuable you outsource to people who have the scripts, have the objection killers, have the processes tested and are ready to rock. We may know a few people if you are interested 
But the point is, for a small investment you can start stepping up your game. Now in the beginning it’s awkward and no one wants to show up to practice but over time we get better and better and then the bad news bears turn into world class champions.
