Every year we sign several new agencies on to our agency assessment. Each assessment I personally review because I am obsessed with a handful of questions we ask. Each time I see these responses in the assessment I get reasonably agitated. For those of you who don’t know, we generally start off each new client engagement with an assessment that is an anonymous survey of the agency, review of numbers and staff interviews. Think of it like a physical for your agency.
One of the questions that always gets me is this: Does your agency have a continuous training program for the team?
Looking upon the answers this morning 93% of the 550 agents who have taken it have said “NO”.
Really, no continued training? The insurance marketplace is changing more than ever today. Carriers cutting commissions, rate increases, the need for new leaders to emerge, social media and we don’t have a formal training plan in place? You cannot be frustrated with your team if you are not investing in continuous training. Especially for your account managers. They need to be exposed to more knowledge and information than just your agency. The best practice and train, so why don’t most agencies do it?
Many agency owners do not see themselves as great trainers. But that is not a good enough reason. Here are just a few complimentary/low cost resources we have:
- Our blog. Each week we post 2-3 blogs on topics you can talk about
- Our New 3 Minute training videos. The 1st business day of the month we will launch a 3 Minute training video that you can watch with your team
- Webinars for a Cause. Each quarter for a small donation you can sit in on or receive a recording of our webinars for a cause topic. It’s $50 for the recording
- Our downloadable items. Each month we promote one new downloaded for agencies to use. This month is 10 sales tips.
Now if you are thinking there is no way this is enough, we are here to help! We train agencies across the country. You can’t expect your agency to be the best if you aren’t using the resources or investing in training. Contact us today for more details! Training packages start at $995!
