© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Systems for Success:
Building the Right People
Guidebook
Sponsored by the GAMA Foundation
Conducted by The University Team
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Copyright © 2004 by the GAMA Foundation. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of
this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form by any means, or
stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the
publisher.
To order a copy of this publication or the Building the Right People Audio
Guidebook, Applications Booklet or online assessment tool, please contact the
GAMA Foundation:
GAMA Foundation
2901 Telestar Court, Suite 140
Falls Church, VA 22042
Toll free: 800-345-2687
Phone: 703-770-8169
Fax: 703-770-8447
Web site: www.gamaweb.com
Design: Dee Bogetti
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Table of Contents
Introduction
ix
Chapter 1: Assessing Fit
Worksheet #1
Action Plan #1
1
11
13
Chapter 2: Assimilating New Associates
Worksheet #2
Action Plan #2
15
19
21
Chapter 3: Training New Associates
Worksheet #3
Action Plan #3
23
27
29
Chapter 4: Using Expectations to Impact Activity and Performance
Worksheet #4
Action Plan #4
31
39
41
Chapter 5: Holding New Associates Accountable
Worksheet #5
Action Plan #5
43
47
49
Chapter 6: Building the Personal Support Network
Worksheet #6
Action Plan #6
51
65
67
Chapter 7: Characteristics of a High-Performance Culture
Worksheet #7
Action Plan #7
69
75
77
Chapter 8: Job-Related Support that Impacts Productivity
Worksheet #8
Action Plan #8
79
89
91
Chapter 9: Conclusion
93
Appendix
95
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Who We Are
The GAMA Foundation
The mission of the GAMA Foundation is to undertake research and educational
endeavors to enhance the art and science of field management in insurance and
related financial services. This study of practices associated with new-associate
productivity and performance was made possible through the dedicated support
of the GAMA Foundation's contributors. For information on becoming a
contributor to the GAMA Foundation, please contact our office at 800-345-2687,
extension 8169.
The University Team
The University Team specializes in creating academic–industry partnerships
designed to combine rigorous research with a focus on practical, actionable
results. The University Team provides market research, marketing planning,
strategic planning, staff training, and program and content development services
to clients. The University Team offers a unique ability to translate research into
action plans and to develop results that are of value to industry and academic
audiences.
Who We Are
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
v
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Acknowledgments
We extend special thanks to the GAMA Foundation Research and Special
Projects Committee members, GAMA Foundation Board of Trustees, GAMA
Foundation contributors, the researchers from The University Team and
the companies that collaborated on this study:
GAMA Foundation Research and Special Projects Committee
Richard R. McCloskey, CLU ChFC CFP, Chairman
John T. Baier, CLU ChFC MSFS
Luis G. Chiappy, CLU ChFC CFP
Robert J. Fashano, CLU ChFC MSFS
Harry P. Hoopis, CLU ChFC
Reginald N. Rabjohns, CLU ChFC
Paul Shevlin, CLU ChFC MSFS
Debora A. White, LUTCF CLU
Linda L. Witham, ChFC CFP
Kathryn L. Kellam, Senior V.P. – Professional Development,
GAMA International
Lisa L. Greene, Manager, GAMA Foundation
GAMA Foundation Board of Trustees
Robert Savage, CLU ChFC, Chairman
Wayne Swenson, Vice-Chairman
Paul Shevlin, CLU ChFC MSFS, Immediate Past Chairman
Daniel W. Anderson, CLU ChFC
John T. Baier, CLU ChFC MSFS
Conkling Buckley Jr., CLU ChFC FLMI
Luis G. Chiappy, CLU ChFC CFP
Robert J. Fashano, CLU ChFC MSFS
Ralph C. Freibert III, MBA CLU
Harry P. Hoopis, CLU ChFC
Anthony J. Martins, CLU LUTCF
Richard R. McCloskey, CLU ChFC CFP
Michael K. O'Malley
Reginald N. Rabjohns, CLU ChFC
Debora A. White, LUTCF CLU
Linda L. Witham, ChFC CFP
Charles S. Smith, CLU ChFC, Chairman, GAMA International
Leadership Team
Acknowledgements
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
vii
The University Team (www.universityteam.com)
Andrea Dixon, Ph.D., University of Cincinnati
Carol Walsh, Principal, WalshWorks Consulting
Lukas Forbes, Ph.D. Candidate, Western Kentucky University
Jule Gassenheimer, Ph.D., University of Kentucky
Diana Haibel, MBA, Transcriptionist, Cincinnati
Jeanne Johnson, Recruiter, Cincinnati
Participating Companies
American General Life and Accident Insurance Company
(A member of American International Group Inc.)
AXA Advisors, LLC
American Family Mutual Insurance Company
American National Insurance Company
The Baltimore Life Companies
Beneficial Life Insurance Company
Country Insurance & Financial Services
Farm Bureau Financial Services
Farmers Insurance Group
GenAmerica Financial Corp.
Guardian
Jefferson Pilot Financial
Lincoln Financial Advisors
MassMutual Financial Group
MetLife Financial Services
Monumental Life Insurance Company
The MONY Group
Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance Services
North Carolina Farm Bureau Insurance Group
The National Life Group
New England Financial
New York Life Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual
The Penn Mutual Insurance Company
The Principal Financial Group
Prudential Financial
Securian Financial Network
State Farm Insurance Companies
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Waddell & Reed Financial Services
Western & Southern Financial Group
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Introduction
"When talking about a fast start, what you are really talking
about is how you create consistency for the first few years so
associates will be financially rewarded, feel good about the
business, like what they do and start to grow."
LIFE FIELD LEADER
Today's field leader is facing a home office tightly focused on profitability and
a field force facing competition from sources unheard of 10 or 15 years ago.
Mergers and acquisitions continue to shape the industry, and the remaining
insurance and financial services organizations are facing increased competition
from banks and e-commerce firms. While these outside competitors are gaining
market share, sales from traditional advisors are dropping. In the face of these
challenges, improving profitability has emerged as a top issue facing industry
CEOs in the United States.1
It is too expensive to bring new associates into the business only to have them
fail. However, with the industry's four-year retention rate standing at 11 percent,
its lowest level in 30 years2, it is clear that, too often, failure is the result for new
recruits. Yet increasing both production and retention is possible. Individual
companies and agencies have retention rates several times higher than the
industry average, and in 2002, production averages for the industry (first-year
commissions, first-year annualized premiums and number of policies) showed
improvement over 2001 averages for every associate class.
Matthew O. Hughes, A View From the Top: CEO Perspectives on Company Challenges and Industry Issues
2003 (Windsor, CT: LIMRA, 2003)
2
Margaret Honan, Agent Production and Survival (Windsor, CT: LIMRA, 2002)
1
Introduction
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
ix
To find out how exceptional companies and agencies are succeeding in
increasing their new-agent productivity and retention, the GAMA Foundation
commissioned Systems for Success: Building the Right People. The purpose of this
research was to identify practical, applications-oriented practices, support and
structures that high-performing field leaders use to get their new associates off to
a fast start and to nurture new agents’ growth during their first three years in the
business.
Using the Guidebook
Welcome to the Systems for Success: Building the Right People Guidebook. In this
Guidebook, you will learn the practices that highly successful field leaders are
using to launch their new associates successfully in the career, including tactics
that are being used to do the following:
◆
◆
◆
◆
◆
◆
Assess, assimilate and train new associates.
Establish expectations that positively impact activity levels.
Hold new associates accountable for results.
Build the personal-support networks that impact high performance.
Create a high-performance culture.
Create the job-related support that is needed for a fast start.
This Guidebook is based on the results of a comprehensive study commissioned
by the GAMA Foundation and conducted by The University Team. Each chapter
focuses on a specific area of agency operations and provides actionable practices
to increase new-agent retention and productivity. Excerpts from our research
interviews are used to illustrate how the specific practices are being implemented
in the field. Worksheets at the end of each chapter help you evaluate the effectiveness of your agency's or firm's current practices and identify areas for
improvement. An action plan at the end of each chapter will allow you to detail
specific tactics to improve your new-associate development programs.
To make the most of this resource, we suggest that you read through the
Guidebook and work through the accompanying worksheets and action plans
with the members of your management team. While these pages are copyright
protected, additional copies of the worksheets and action plans are available in a
separate Applications Booklet, which can be purchased from GAMA International
for all members of your management team.
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
As you read, you'll see that creating a high-performance, high-productivity
environment is not the result of a single action, nor is it a single magic-bullet
system. Field leaders who have proven to be successful in developing highperforming new associates have done so because they tenaciously apply three
principles across all elements of their organization:
◆
They create consistency in all aspects of training and interactions with new
associates;
◆ They foster connections and informal learning networks across all levels of
their organizations; and
◆ They demonstrate compassion and a significant emotional investment in
their new associates' success.
An integrated approach to instilling these three "C's" in all elements of your
organization will pay large dividends in new-associate success.
Let us offer a word of caution: As you read through the tactics outlined in this
Guidebook, don't make the mistake of thinking that what's simple is also easy.
Few of the systems detailed in the coming pages will surprise you, and you may
have heard of many of them before. What you will find, however, is that the key
to making simple solutions effective is execution. A significant percentage of field
leaders say that they supervise closely, enforce high standards or foster collegiality
at every turn. But if that were true, the industry's retention rates would be much
higher than they are today. Careful, complete and thorough execution of the
systems and tactics outlined in the coming pages will make the difference in
your success.
To help you assess the effectiveness of your organization's current practices on
launching new associates, the GAMA Foundation provides a Building the Right
People Assessment Tool. This online survey allows your newer associates to provide
confidential feedback on your current practices regarding new-associate development. It will provide you with important additional insight into the effectiveness
of your existing programs. For more information, or to access this online assessment, please call 800-345-2687 or visit www.gamaweb.com.
Introduction
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
xi
What Makes These Practices Valid?
The GAMA Foundation believes that our contributors benefit most fully from
the sharing of best practices. Therefore, with the new Systems for Success series of
studies, the Foundation made a strategic decision to invest in in-depth, qualitative
research rather than quantitative, statistics-based studies.
To identify candidates for the research pool, the GAMA Foundation asked home
office and field leaders to identify field leaders whose average retention and
productivity of associates with less than three years in the business placed them in
the top 10 percent of their companies. In addition, the field leaders so identified
were asked to provide the names of associates who had been in their agencies
three years or less and whose production placed them in, or on track to be in, the
top 10 percent of the agency or firm.
The result was a sample of 385 high-performing field leaders and associates, 60 of
whom were selected for in-depth interviews to identify the specific practices that
lead to a fast start and how these practices are successfully implemented on the
agency or firm level. Our research partners, The University Team, built the data
pool to ensure representation from financial services, multiline and traditional life
agencies. We solicited associates from all backgrounds, including those joining an
organization directly from a college campus, those changing careers having previously held a non-sales position, those who had sales experience (but not in
insurance or financial services), and those who had joined the agency from a
related career (such as banking, accounting or brokerage). We included female
and minority candidates. Differences in approaches or values among these groups
are noted in this Guidebook. For more information on the research protocol for
this project, please refer to the Appendix.
A Word About Terminology
The results of this research study taught us that the essential elements to creating
a fast-start culture do not vary much across our industry. Yet different industry
segments (financial services, multiline, traditional life) often focus more on their
differences than on their similarities, inhibiting each from learning important
lessons from the others.
In fact, when we looked for differences among those very segments, we found
surprisingly few. The ones that we did find are identified within.
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© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Chapter 1: Assessing Fit
"I think a critical piece of success is knowing what you are
getting into. Just knowing is a huge factor in determining if
you will make it through the first year or not."
FINANCIAL SERVICES ASSOCIATE
Successful field leaders often like
to simplify the fast-start process by
implying that it's all about hiring
the "right" people. "Hire the right
people," they say, "And there's
nothing you can do to make them
fail. Hire the wrong people, and
nothing you can do will make them
succeed." In reality, it's a little more
complicated than that. Hiring the
"right" people means hiring people
who fit. Determining fit is the process
a field leader and a candidate use to
determine if there is a match
between the recruit's values and
beliefs and those associated with the
career, the field leader and the
agency.
Each agency, its leaders and its
associates have distinct norms and
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Implement strategies to
determine a candidate's fit
with the career.
; Create systems that allow
candidates to evaluate
their fit with others in your
agency.
; Develop techniques that
allow candidates to determine their fit with your
agency's culture, values,
systems and structure.
Chapter 1: Assessing Fit
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
1
characteristics that form its identity, just as each candidate has distinct values and
beliefs. Because new associates depend strongly on informal relationships and
mentoring for early success, it's important that their values and beliefs match with
the norms and characteristics of the firm and its associates. The absence of fit will
mean the absence of strong social and emotional support for that candidate. In
addition, a fast start requires new associates to understand and adhere to an
organization's specific systems, structures and norms. If these don't fit the
recruit's values and beliefs, the fast start will be compromised.
Fit with the Career
To help recruits determine their fit with the career, high-performing field
leaders provide a realistic view of the positives and negatives associated with
selling insurance and financial services. It is not enough for recruits to learn
about the entrepreneurial opportunities associated with a career in the industry;
they must also know about the uncertainty of commission work, the time and
emotional investment required for success and the realities of rejection. Highperforming field leaders move beyond mere descriptions of the activities relating
to the career by providing opportunities for recruits to experience these activities
firsthand.
High-performing field leaders use the following four tactics to assess a candidate's
fit with the career:
1. Require recruits to participate in activities related to the career. While sitting
in an interview situation, it's difficult for candidates to honestly assess how
comfortable they will feel prospecting, asking for referrals or participating in
peer-accountability sessions. Before candidates can know if these and other
activities required to be successful in the career fit with their value system and
comfort zone, they need to experience them.
What You Can Do
◆ Create opportunities for candidates to experience and participate in all
elements of the career during the selection process. Include candidates in
ride-alongs, field training and accountability sessions. If you require new
associates to participate in weekly phone clinics, make sure the candidate
attends such a session. If service work or collections are a large part of your
associates' jobs, then make sure the candidate experiences these activities. If
you are a multiline field leader who is working to increase life productivity,
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
One reason for the preponderance of the "we're different" mindset may be that,
in addition to different lead products, each segment uses somewhat different terminology to describe their businesses and their people.
In this Guidebook, we have intentionally blended those terminologies. For
consistency's sake, we most often use "agency" to describe the field organization,
but "firm" is also included, and likewise for "associate," "agent" and "advisor." Our
purpose was to try to ensure that the important lessons in this Guidebook, which
apply equally to all segments of our industry, will not be overlooked simply
because of semantics.
Introduction
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
xiii
make sure your candidates experience a life sales call, not just a property
and casualty one. Only after candidates have had a chance to experience
the realities of the career will they honestly be able to evaluate whether the
rigors of the career fit their values.
2. Emphasize the negative elements of the career. As one field leader said,
"Don't sell the roses, talk about the fertilizer." A career in insurance and
financial services can be an extremely rewarding one, but only if a candidate is
willing to put in time and effort early in the career to become established.
What You Can Do
◆ Rather than sell a candidate on the positives, actively describe the negatives
of the career. It is these negatives—rejection, uncertain commissions, long
hours, referral generation and prospecting—that will most likely form the
initial reality for your candidates in their first few years. The positives—
freedom, entrepreneurial environment and unlimited income potential—
will be more apparent later in their careers. It can't just be a desire for the
positive side of the career that fits with your candidate's values and beliefs.
The candidate must also have a fit with the determination and work ethic
required to make it through the challenging, earlier years of the career. If,
after a strong dose of the "fertilizer," you aren't able to push a candidate
away, then you have a better idea of his or her fit with the career.
"To get a job here, you had to go through five interviews.
It's just insane. It's twice as much as any firm I
considered. By the time the fifth interview came
around and the board interviewed me, I knew what
I was talking about, I knew what I had to do, I had a
lot of background on the company. It sold me on the idea
of the agency." - Financial Services Associate
Chapter 1: Assessing Fit
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
3
Pages 4–14 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 2: Assimilating New Associates
"I feel like a proud father when I see this new advisor going
out with five guys he didn't know a week before and they are
laughing and joking. I know that at lunch they are saying,
'This is a good place to be,' and 'What did you do on this?'
and 'Are you going on the leader's trip'?"
FINANCIAL SERVICES FIELD LEADER
Rejection, the stress of prospecting
and the uncertainty of success can
mark the early days of an associate's
career with anxiety and isolation. The
sooner a field leader can assimilate a
new associate into the organization,
the sooner the associate will be able
to access the agency's network of
camaraderie and support.
An associate's ability to access this
informal support network is critical
to his or her success. Tapping into
this network provides the associate
with the sounding board, advice
center and cheerleading squad he or
she needs to get through those early
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Create rituals to welcome
new associates into the
organization.
; Jump-start new associates'
network of support.
; Strengthen the effectiveness of team contests.
; Use storytelling to help new
associates manage stress.
Chapter 2: Assimilating New Associates
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
15
months. Assimilation is the first step to creating a strong social and emotional support network for new associates.
High-performing field leaders use the following four methods to assimilate new
associates into the agency:
1. Establish rituals to welcome new associates into the organization during their
first week. One firm makes a habit of introducing new associates at their firm
meeting in a comical fashion, deliberately downplaying the new associate's
qualifications to break the ice with established reps and create a common
bond. Another agency hosts a potluck lunch the first day an associate is hired,
so that agents and spouses can welcome the new associate. A third field leader
invites the new associate out to lunch with two or three other agents who seem
like potential mentors during the associate's first few days on the job.
What You Can Do
◆ Use informal and formal welcome events to quickly establish a connection
between new associates and others in the agency.
2. Encourage ongoing informal networking and relationship building. Once the
initial orientation period is complete, new associates still need help connecting
deeply into the fabric of the organization. Activities such as informal lunches
and impromptu happy hours may appear random but are the conscious
elements of a networking culture. One field leader deliberately arranges
carpools to training sessions so that associates will share ideas and systems as
they drive together. Another arranges happy hours each month. Successful
new associates rate very highly the advice and counsel they receive from
experienced advisors. But without informal opportunities to meet with existing
reps, new associates are unsure of how to approach veterans for advice.
What You Can Do
◆ Consciously create opportunities to bring your new associates together with
existing reps so that associates can begin to build connections.
3. Create contests so new associates are teamed with more experienced
associates. Many field leaders spoke of their team contests, in which agency
members are divided into two or more teams to compete for prizes, as the
contests that generated the most enthusiasm and esprit de corps for the
organization. It's usually not the prize that is important. In many cases, the
16
GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Pages 17–22 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 3: Training New Associates
"Our associates are constantly in front of the room, standing
with a legal pad or at a white board with a marker in their
hand, in front of their peers, doing the same exercises they
would have to do in the real world."
LIFE FIELD LEADER
The volume of knowledge that a
new associate is expected to absorb
can be daunting for even the most
proficient student. As one associate
said, "It's like trying to drink from a
fire hydrant." If your training system
provides too much information at
once, new associates will decide for
themselves, often erroneously, what's
important to retain and what to
ignore.
High-performing field leaders
break their training into digestible
segments and focus heavily on
applications, and they reinforce
concepts through role-play and case
studies. By presenting manageable
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Enhance training results for
new associates.
; Focus training on the areas
essential to new-associate
success.
; Use stories and
illustrations to increase
associates' knowledge and
retention.
Chapter 3: Training New Associates
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
23
chunks of information at one time, high-performing field leaders are able to
control what their new associates are retaining rather than leaving it to chance.
High-performing field leaders use the following five tactics to ensure their new
associate training is effective:
1. Break training into essential elements and deliver training through simplified
concepts. Associates need to be able to deliver a good introduction talk and
implement a strong system for generating referrals long before they need to
know how to sell split-dollar cases.
What You Can Do
◆ Focus your training programs first on the essential skills an agent must
master to begin working with clients. Training that is not rooted in
applications is destined to be forgotten. Associates will pay attention if they
understand how classroom concepts can be used in the field. Use role-play
and case studies to teach them how to integrate classroom knowledge into
field activity.
2. Establish credibility by integrating case studies and using experienced
associates as presenters. New associates want to know with certainty that the
techniques being taught will work.
What You Can Do
◆ Integrate case studies and ask experienced agents to share their results. Use
veteran associates as trainers to help new associates add to their knowledge
network and identify individuals to model their practices after.
3. Feature stories and vignettes heavily in your training systems. Successful
associates learn by imitation.
What You Can Do
◆ Teach new associates how to share stories and use simplified vignettes to
communicate product knowledge. Rather than relying on slick brochures or
elaborate presentations, teach stories that associates can easily learn,
communicate and begin applying to their own client situations.
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© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Pages 25–30 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 4: Using Expectations to Impact
Activity and Performance
"The company minimums are ridiculous. My minimums are
ten times what the company's are. If you set a goal for a new
agent, they will reach it. I think goal setting is crucial to
success. Once we establish those goals, we don't look back."
MULTILINE FIELD LEADER
Successful new associates point to
their strong work ethic as the major
factor in their success. Field leaders
claim that it is their agency's ability to
articulate and maintain high activity
standards that makes the critical
difference for their new associates.
Both are talking about the same
thing—building and maintaining
good habits. For new associates,
the number one driver of success is
activity. Creating high activity is about
creating good habits, and setting
detailed expectations is a critical
component of creating good habits.
Overview
Without detailed expectations,
new agents won't know the level of
activity required for success. They are
looking for direction—if the agency
; Design rewards to support
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Set high expectations and
develop high levels of
activity.
; Use time-management
systems to reinforce high
activity.
; Use stories to put
challenges in perspective.
high activity and build
camaraderie.
Chapter 4: Using Expectations to Impact Activity and Performance
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
31
establishes a minimum of eight appointments a week, most new associates will
stop when they have reached that level. But if the standard is set at twelve
appointments per week, associates will keep working until the higher level is
attained.
The process of creating good habits begins early and extends throughout an
associate's career. Strong activity standards and prospecting habits are the building blocks for a successful career. Time spent establishing activity patterns and
reinforcing the connection between sales, referrals and prospecting activities will
ensure continued success throughout an associate's career. Without these habits,
associates who have built their career on "friends and family" will run into trouble
when their initial list of people to contact has been exhausted and they have no
skills to add new names to the list.
High-performing field leaders use the following five tactics to nurture and
enforce effective habits:
1. Establish and enforce activity and production standards that are higher than
industry and company norms. Frequently, industry and company norms are
set as minimum standards. Achieving these goals might ensure associates'
survival in the business, but not their success. Higher standards ensure that
new associates establish the activity levels needed for success from their earliest
days in the career.
What You Can Do
◆ Establish high minimum standards for all members of your firm and remain
steadfast in your adherence to these standards.
2. Articulate performance expectations early and often. New associates should
know exactly what is expected of them.
What You Can Do
◆ During the selection process, share the organization's performance
requirements for training, prospecting, marketing and production activity,
and ask candidates to sign a document committing to those standards.
Illustrate typical work weeks at various stages through the first two years in
the business. Tell your candidates, "If you accept this position, you are
accepting that you can work this schedule." Once the candidate joins your
firm, consistently reinforce standards in training and accountability sessions.
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Pages 33–42 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 5: Holding
New Associates Accountable
"I look for trends in production. We have weekly production
reports and when something starts to dip, that's when
you grab them. If you are not constantly measuring and
monitoring activity and production, you don't know
when to help that person."
LIFE FIELD LEADER
New associates want to win, but
unless they understand how the
score is being kept, they'll focus on
the wrong activities. Holding new
associates accountable through daily
and weekly monitoring gives them
the tools they need to focus on the
total picture of their career, rather
than just concentrating on their
commission checks. While sales are
important, associates also need early
prospecting and referral activity.
Accountability systems that effectively
measure and monitor all of an associate's activities provide field leaders
with the resources needed to truly
monitor an associate's progress and
to diagnose and correct areas in need
of improvement.
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Build habits during an
associate's initiation into
the career.
; Use monitoring sessions to
reinforce expectations and
to spot problem areas.
; Engage team members in
holding new associates
accountable.
; Identify danger periods in
an associate's career.
Chapter 5: Holding New Associates Accountable
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
43
Done effectively, accountability monitoring highlights which activities are most
valuable in building a practice and evaluates how well the associate is executing
those activities. As an associate's career progresses, this evaluation system also
helps identify target markets and areas for specialization.
Successful activity monitoring begins first during one-on-one sessions with management, then transitions to peer-group accountability. Eventually associates learn
the skills needed to individually monitor and assess their activities. Because multiline or other associates who are housed independently can lack the face-to-face
supervision that an in-house associate might enjoy, it is critical that good habits
are established and maintained early in their career.
High-performing field leaders use the following five tactics to hold their new
associates accountable:
1. Require focused, intense activity periods, such as 30- or 90-day activity
sprints, to build effective habits. One field leader termed it "starting the
pipeline." Without an adequate number of referrals or prospects in the
pipeline, new associates can't see how these activities lead to sales. A focused
sprint period, in which new associates are required to report to the office early
and maintain high levels of prospecting, referral and sales activities, not only
instills strong habits, it also helps associates make the connection between
prospecting and sales.
What You Can Do
◆ To initiate new associates into the level of activity required to launch their
career, create focused, intense activity periods for the associate's first few
months.
2. Inspect what they expect. High-performing field leaders use daily and weekly
activity-reporting sessions to ensure that associates are meeting activity
expectations.
What You Can Do
◆ Hold activity-reporting sessions on a daily or weekly basis with new associates. Use a point system to teach associates the types of activities that are
most valuable in building their career. During these accountability sessions,
delve into detail on the results of the previous day's or week's activities, and
look for trends in activity and production that indicate areas in need of
development.
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Pages 45–50 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 6: Building the Personal
Support Network
"Our firm is like one big family. It is easy to get ahead
because everyone is looking out for you."
MULTILINE ASSOCIATE
In the early stages of a new
associate's career, success is as
much about building confidence
and connections as it is about
building skills. Are new associates
connected to their managers and
their peers? Do they feel cared for?
Do they have a support system to
help manage the unpredictable highs
and lows of the career? If the answers
are yes, then new associates can
develop the confidence they need to
effectively function in the career. If
not, associates are at risk of failure.
Networks, camaraderie and a
culture of compassion don't just
happen within an organization. They
are the result of systematic planning,
involving all elements of an agency
working together to provide the
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Build meaningful relationships between field leaders
and new associates.
; Deepen relationships
through ongoing
communication.
; Create an environment
conducive to informal
mentoring and identification of role models.
; Integrate spouses into the
organization's network of
support.
Chapter 6: Building the Personal Support Network
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
51
coaching, encouragement and guidance that new associates need. Strong
personal-support networks don't stop at the agency's doors. Because of the
demands that launching a career in insurance and financial services places on an
advisor's family, high-performing field leaders extend their support networks to
include an advisor's spouse and family.
The Manager–Associate Relationship
Frequently for new associates, their relationship with their direct supervisor is
the lifeline that pulls them through the first few months in the career. That
supervisor is with the new agent all the time in those early days. As one field
leader said, "The sales manager should know everything about that agent, from
the name of his dog to how many puppies that dog had. That's what it takes to
pull an agent through." High-performing field leaders value the importance of
this connection and nurture new associates through purposeful, high-touch
relationships. Multiline associates and others who are housed independently are
particularly reliant upon their manager to provide them with the confidence and
skills needed to build a practice.
High-performing field leaders use the following three methods to build
relationships with their new associates:
1. Ensure daily interaction between associates and their supervisor in the early
stages of the associates' careers. Daily interaction between associates and
their sales manager establishes trust and demonstrates that the sales manager
is dedicated to the associate's success. While the official reason for this time
together may be joint work, training, activity reporting or planning, highperforming sales managers use this time to establish personal connections
and bonds of trust.
What You Can Do
◆ Use daily meetings between associates and supervisors to establish trust.
The relationship between a new advisor and his or her sales manager is a
critical success factor. If the chemistry isn't right, don't be afraid to change
reporting relationships. New advisors require a lot of hands-on attention,
supervision and training. To ensure that they receive the level of care
needed for a fast start, don't allow sales managers to hire additional
associates until those under their current care have achieved reasonable
levels of success.
52
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Pages 53–68 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 7: Characteristics of a
High-Performance Culture
"Our standards are higher. We try to create an environment
where they understand that we only have so much time to
invest in people, and we want to invest in people who are
working hard."
LIFE FIELD LEADER
Culture is the personality of the
organization. It is the sum of the
assumptions, values, norms and
tangible characteristics of agency
members, as well as their behaviors.
You can tell the culture of an agency
by looking at the arrangement of
furniture, listening to what associates
brag about and noticing what they
wear.
New associates take their cues from
those around them. The existing
culture, expectations, accountabilities
and connections that exist between
associates, field leaders and others in
the organization will influence a new
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Identify the characteristics
of a high-performance
culture.
; Implement systems to
create a high-performance
culture.
Chapter 7: Characteristics of a High-Performance Culture
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
69
associate's behavior. High-performing field leaders create a high-performance
culture to reinforce the expectations that are outlined in the selection process
and established during the initial activity-building and monitoring sessions.
High-performance cultures include the following four characteristics:
1. Professionalism. Professionalism is signaled by the clothes your associates wear,
the location, layout and furnishings of the office, and the way your agency
members treat one another.
What You Can Do
◆ Articulate and enforce professional standards of dress and behavior in your
firm. Provide training as needed for new advisors on appropriate attire and
behavior. Ensure that your office location and furnishings are appropriate
for the market you serve. Insist that associates be on time for agency functions, and insist that all members of the firm be treated with respect.
Professionalism
| EXCERPTS FROM FIELD LEADER INTERVIEWS
◆ "Signaling professionalism is a trademark for me. In my very first meeting
with my reps, I tell them that the public perceives a person in a white shirt as
more competent than a person in a colored shirt. This might position the
associate in a favorable position with a few more people. By the way, that
white shirt has a tie on it. I don't like casual dress. You don't earn the right
to do that. You are going to go out and look like a professional. No facial
hair. Your hair is going to be short. You don't chew gum. All of these things
create negative feelings for some people. I don't want to give a prospect a
reason to throw an associate out before they see a sincere, honest, trustworthy
person that they might want to do business with."
◆ "Associates are only late once to a meeting in our office. We take
that very seriously. I just ask, 'Would you be late for a $10,000 commission?' Our offices are quiet during the day because everyone is in
conference rooms or out meeting with clients. If someone is in the
office, it gets pointed out. People will razz a new associate, 'Why are
you the only one here?' The message gets across."
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Pages 71–78 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 8: Job-Related Support that
Impacts Productivity
"Our guys can get to bigger business quicker because of
specialists. If we hire a career-changer with markets, we have
to bring that business in quickly, or they won't make it."
FINANCIAL SERVICES FIELD LEADER
Job-related support is the structural
support that the agency provides to
associates to help them perform their
jobs: sales, service, technology, marketing and business planning. Most
new associates lack the expertise to
assess their own needs in these
areas, and they rely on the agency's
leadership team to define the
organizational requirements and to
provide services and support at a
level consistent with high performance. For technology, new associates
rely on their field leaders to provide
the technology support needed to
process their business, manage their
client base and track activity.
In the area of sales support, new
associates require assistance in
Overview
This chapter illustrates how to
do the following:
; Identify the job-related support that is most important
to new-associate success.
; Create a joint-work culture
in your agency.
; Develop marketing-support
programs that impact a
fast start.
; Initiate business-planning
systems that teach
associates to think like
entrepreneurs.
Chapter 8: Job-Related Support that Impacts Productivity
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
79
closing cases early in their career and as they are transitioning to new markets.
High-performing field leaders provide this assistance personally, through sales
managers or through a network of specialists, at a level consistent with the
progression of the associate's career.
New associates in financial services require higher levels of marketing and technical
support than their counterparts in the traditional life and multiline arenas, who
require higher levels of sales and service support. Associates who join an agency
from a related industry such as banking, accounting or law have higher
expectations of technical and marketing support than other associates do.
Service Support
New associates need additional support, training and assistance when placing new
business. An agency's service staff plays a critical role in providing this support
and training to new associates. Service staff, because of their frequent interactions
with associates, also strongly influence agency morale.
High-performing field leaders employ the following three tactics to provide the
highest levels of service support to their new associates:
1. Assign new associates to work with specific staff members. New associates
require extra handholding, and not everyone on your service staff will be
prepared to offer this support.
What You Can Do
◆ Find out which members of your service staff have the interest and the temperament for working with new associates. Assign your new agents to work
exclusively with these individuals. The sense of ownership and collaboration
these staff members will bring to their relationship with your new agents will
pay large dividends.
2. Include service staff in agency training and social activities. Your service staff
may be one of the most overlooked elements of morale in the organization. If
your office team doesn't understand your mission and goals, and if they are
not supporting you, you're sunk. Your service staff talks to your new associates
all the time. If your service staff is telling them that your systems don't work,
your associates will believe them. If you want your service staff to function as
team players, they need to be treated as such.
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© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
What You Can Do
◆ Include your service staff in agency training and social activities so that they
are more capable of and interested in assisting new associates. Create monetary incentives for staff members based on unit or office production to support a sense of common purpose.
3. Encourage associates to build strong relationships with their underwriting
team. A strong relationship with the team that underwrites their business is
important. Encourage your associates to get to know their underwriters and to
keep channels of communication open.
What You Can Do
◆ When associates are at the home office for training, encourage them to
meet with their underwriters on an informal basis to further build their
relationship.
Service Support
◆
| EXCERPTS FROM FIELD LEADER INTERVIEWS
"Our new associates are specifically assigned to a member of the service staff.
Only two or three of our staff are used to work with new associates. The ones
who do are the ones with more patience, who seem to have a better ability to
handle the obligation of it. These people are willing to do more handholding
and take the time to develop a relationship with the new associate. If you look
at where our staff sits, it's a wide-open area, and our producers are up there
all the time. Our staff is a very positive group of people. They are at all of
our agency meetings, so they know exactly what my goals and what the
agency's goals are. We make sure we communicate to our staff that they are
part of our agency. If we are doing team contests, we divide our staff up and
attach them to teams, so that they help that team. If their team wins, they win
the reward, too."
◆ "I take our service staff out to lunch and explain why it's important
that they do certain things. If we have a certain amount of increase,
I'll give service staff a bonus. That motivates the staff to get the
details down right. They'll work with the advisors in a good way, saying, 'Hey, you've only got a $1,000 increase. What are you doing?
You should have $3,000.' It creates a good culture."
Chapter 8: Job-Related Support that Impacts Productivity
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
81
Pages 82–92 are not available for viewing.
Chapter 9: Conclusion
Increasing new-associate productivity and profitability is within the grasp of
all field leaders. LIMRA studies show that, despite an industry-wide four-year
retention rate of 11 percent, individual company retention rates are as high
as 52 percent. Some agencies report even higher retention rates. Companies
and agencies with high retention rates don't have a magic formula for success.
What they do have is the will to systematically implement the three C's in all
aspects of their new-associate development:
◆
They create consistency in all aspects of training and interaction with new
associates.
◆ They foster connections and informal learning networks across all levels of
the organization.
◆ They demonstrate compassion and emotional investment in new associates'
success.
With your completed assessment worksheets and action plans, you have the tools
you need to make significant improvements in your new-associate development
practices. It is critical, however, that these plans make it off of the paper and into
action. To ensure that your plans become reality for your agency, take the
following steps:
◆
Create a strategy for motivating your management team and staff to support
the plan.
◆ Determine a system for tracking implementation, and decide how often you
will monitor your progress.
◆ Think about how you will evaluate your plan's effectiveness. Then compare
your planned results with your actual results.
Chapter 9: Conclusion
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
93
◆
◆
Make appropriate adjustments as needed.
Decide how you will communicate the agency's performance to your team.
We wish you great success as you implement your plan. The future is in your
hands.
Links to Existing Research
The GAMA Foundation is committed to providing a body of knowledge to
advance the art and science of field management. In addition to the Systems for
Success: Building the Right People project, the following studies provide
additional insight on getting new associates off to a fast start.
A Study of Recruiting and Selection Practices outlines the specific steps noted as
most useful in providing recruits with a realistic picture of the career. In
addition, the study shows that more-productive agencies were more focused
on assessing fit during the selection process than their less-productive
counterparts were.
A Study of Leadership Competencies and its accompanying Applications Guide
provides information linking the competency of achievement—the ability to
maintain high standards of excellence—with higher levels of productivity. This
study also provides an overview of various management styles and outlines the
key drivers of organizational climate and their impact on associates' satisfaction with the career.
To assess yourself, your management team or your agency culture on the
competencies associated with excellence, please access our online 360°
assessment tools at www.skillsurvey.com/GAMA.
To order these or other GAMA Foundation or GAMA International resources,
please see the GAMA International Web site at www.gamaweb.com, or call
800-345-2687.
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
Appendix
The GAMA Foundation's mission is to undertake education and research
endeavors to enhance the art and science of field management in insurance and
related financial services. The overriding objective of this GAMA Foundation
research study was to identify methods used by successful organizations to give
sales associates new to the business a solid route to productivity and success. The
specific information objectives that guided the research efforts were as follows:
1. Identify the methods and techniques used for assimilating, socializing,
training and developing new sales associates.
2. Explore the role of expectations of activity levels and productivity/
performance, examining the methods used for holding new sales
associates accountable for results.
3. Ascertain the role of the field organization's culture, ethical standards
and social norms as translated to the sales associates through formal and
informal communications and through formal and informal reinforcement programs.
4. Identify the impact of formalization and controls on getting new sales
associates off to a fast start.
5. Ascertain the instrumental dimensions (e.g., structural elements, services,
specialists and support) that aid in launching new sales associates.
6. Discover the psychosocial dimensions (e.g., culture, social norms and
corporate behaviors) that facilitate sales associate success in the first year.
7. Identify possible areas where distribution style serves as a boundary
condition on these findings.
Appendix
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
95
Research Process
The information objectives for this research were primarily qualitative in nature,
and as such demanded an in-depth research methodology. The process began
with a thorough review of the academic literature. The marketing, social psychology, personnel and human resources, organizational behavior and relevant
practitioner literature served as a foundation to understanding the sales associate's first year in the business. Based on the existing research, an initial set of
models was developed which served as tools for the data-collection process. In
addition, the researchers identified the "connection points" between the GAMA
Foundation's existing research and those models for additional insight.
The next step in the research process involved a series of in-depth interviews. The
purposes of the in-depth interviews were to (1) identify any additional factors not
presently captured in existing research, and (2) develop examples, in industry
vernacular, of how the relevant factors "play out" in financial services.
The Sample
To develop a sample of potential participants for the in-depth interviews,
Richard McCloskey, the chairman of the GAMA Foundation's Research and
Special Projects Committee, sent letters to the following groups requesting their
cooperation with the study:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Forty-three Partners in Management Growth (PMG) company contacts,
The GAMA International Board of Directors,
The GAMA Foundation Board of Trustees, and
The GAMA International Executive Management Cabinet.
Each person contacted was asked to nominate field leaders whose average
productivity and retention for associates with three years or less in the business
ranks in the top 10 percent of their companies.
A senior researcher then contacted every nominated field leader (via telephone,
fax and/or e-mail) to ask them to identify sales associates matching the desired
interview categories:
1. Those sales associates who joined their organization directly from a
college campus within the past three years.
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© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
2. Those sales associates who changed careers to join their organization,
having left a non-sales position within the past three years.
3. Those sales associates who left another sales position in a different
industry to join their current organization within the past three years.
4. Those sales associates who came from a related career (such as banking,
accounting or brokerage) to join their current organization within the
past three years.
5. Field leaders who successfully launch new sales associates.
This process resulted in the identification of 385 sales associates and field
leaders. Using the list of 385, a professional recruiter contacted a random sample
of 60 participants who fit into the categories below:
1. Matched one of the desired interview categories,
2. Represented a cross-section of companies, and
3. Worked in a cross-section of geographical locations.
Though originally budgeted to complete 30 in-person interviews and 30 telephone interviews, researchers succeeded in completing 49 of the 60 interviews
face-to-face (the remaining 11 were conducted via telephone). Interviews were
conducted with 36 sales associates and 24 field leaders. In addition, the final
sample included six females and seven persons of an ethnic minority among the
60 participants.
To investigate potential boundary conditions across industry sectors, 25 interviews
were conducted with life insurance professionals, 17 with multiline professionals
and 18 with fee-based financial services professionals.
The Interview Process
A professional recruiter used a structured telephone script when contacting
potential participants to schedule the face-to-face and telephone interviews. To
gain increased cooperation in the interview process, each participant was offered
a $100 honorarium and completed a limited-services agreement to document
their participation. At the opening of each interview, the researcher gave the participant a brief description of the research and asked permission to tape-record
the interview. All 60 participants granted permission for audiotaping.
Appendix
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
97
Researchers led the respondents through a two-stage discussion. During the first
portion of the interview, researchers asked participants to identify specific actions
or behaviors taken prior to joining the agency through the first week on the job by the
field leader, others inside the agency, others outside the agency and the sales associate who
helped the sales associate get off to a fast start in his or her career. After exploring these four areas in-depth, the researchers used a parallel process to examine
success factors driven by the field leader, others in the agency, others outside the
agency and the sales associate since joining the agency. This first portion of the
interview process was totally unaided, which means that the researchers did not
lead respondents into any particular area. Content derived from this portion of
the interviews, which represents the major portion of the interview (45 of 60
minutes, typically), was more heavily weighted in the analysis than the second
portion was.
In the second portion of the interview process, researchers introduced the
actions or behaviors identified from the published research. Each action/
behavior and its definition were represented on a single card. Then the set of
cards was sorted to minimize order bias. During this portion of the interview,
researchers asked each participant to discuss any of the factors on the cards that
occurred prior to joining the agency through the first week on the job as a result of
actions taken by the field leader, others inside the agency, others outside the agency and
the sales associate who helped the sales associate get off to a fast start in his or her
career. A parallel process allowed for the examination of success factors driven by
the field leader, others in the agency, others outside the agency and the sales
associate since joining the agency. This second portion of the interview was aided,
meaning that respondents reviewed the cards before providing an answer.
Content derived from this portion of the interviews, which represents the
minority portion of the interview (typically 15 out of 60 minutes), was less heavily
weighted in the analysis.
The researchers focused on sales associate interviews during the first couple of
months of the data-collection period, before conducting the field leader interviews. Completing the majority of the sales associate interviews allowed the
researchers to determine the factors and processes that sales associates perceive
to be related to their early success in an organization. Once the practices that
lead to a fast start were detailed through the sales associate interviews, researchers
turned their attention to the field leader interviews to explore the transferable
application of those practices.
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GAMA Foundation
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
All interviews (in-person and via telephone) were audiotaped with permission
of the respondents; all audiotapes were transcribed, yielding 834 pages of transcriptions. All transcriptions were codified into fine-grained "issues," which were
then content-analyzed to identify themes, additional factors not represented in
the initial model and applications and examples of how these factors "play out"
in the insurance and financial services arena.
To create a consistent voice across the two data sets (sales associates and field
leaders), the findings were organized and positioned toward the field leader
audience. Consequently, all recommendations from the high-performing new
sales associates were translated into field leader actions.
Appendix
© GAMA Foundation for Education and Research
99
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