[Blog] Create A Sales Team for Your Agency

In today’s world, agency owners can no longer afford to operate as lone wolves. The number and complexity of products available, along with higher expectations from clients for convenience and superior service, creates many challenges for solo practitioners. To address these challenges and ensure consistent, unrivaled service to clients, many carriers and agency owners are retooling their agencies to create sales teams.

Of course, this transition creates its own challenges. New team members must become profit centers quickly to offset additional employment expenses incurred. And many agency owners are not prepared to provide the training and development required for new team members to reach their full potential.

To support agency owners in developing high-performing teams, Troy Korsgaden and Michelle Hubert have distilled their combined six decades of experience building highly successful teams into the Team Productivity and Performance Program. This online program equips licensed team members with the essential skills required for a fast start with a focus on three critical areas for agency growth: appointment setting, client meetings and personal accountability. And, as with every Korsgaden learning and performance program, your team members will have access to resources from the extensive Korsgaden International library.

Mastering Appointment Setting

Appointments are the lifeblood of your business, and continuously “filling the seats” to ensure a consistent selling cycle is essential for success. Yet, many team members miss opportunities to schedule appointments with new and existing clients.

This first course in the Team Productivity and Performance Program focuses on a singular goal: getting more clients in the chair. Your team members will learn strategies for identifying ways to contact and reasons to call. They will gain proficiency in proven appointment-setting techniques, including pivoting and identifying next-focus topics for clients and prospects. During the course, they will also explore their attitudes toward contacting clients and address call-reluctance challenges.

Conducting Powerful Client Meetings

Every client interaction is an opportunity to deepen client relationships. You must earn your clients’ trust—and business—with every meeting. The second course in the program is devoted to conducting meetings that are meaningful to clients, ensuring they have the best coverage at the best value.

Your team members will learn to use a five-step meeting process that addresses clients' needs and uncovers new opportunities. They will gain specific skills in conducting client annual reviews and life insurance meetings—two of the meetings team members often find most challenging.

Demonstrating Personal Accountability

One of the challenges we frequently hear from agency leaders is developing a sense of ownership and personal accountability in their teams. While much of the responsibility for creating an accountability culture lies with the organization’s leaders, team members must be actively engaged in growing the agency to sustain high performance.

The third course in the Team Productivity and Performance Program explores the responsibilities and rewards of being part of a high-performance team. Your team members will develop personal leadership and accountability skills in three essential areas: engaging in agency growth, helping the team succeed and providing unrivaled service to clients.

Grow Your Business by Investing in Your Team

For long-term growth, agency owners can no longer rely solely on their own efforts. They must invest in the capabilities of their teams. The Korsgaden International Team Productivity and Performance Program provides a one-stop solution to the training and resources required to develop your team. The online format provides agency owners flexibility in training team members when and where they need it. And the resources, activities and proficiency assessments included in the program maximize results.

With this one-time investment, you can transform your business and develop a team capable of unparalleled performance. For more information about the Team Productivity and Performance Program, contact [email protected].