New ideas regarding how producers should market themselves andtheir agencies emerge daily, especially with the innovations inautomation. It's similar to the nuances that arise with footballoffensive schemes. We've witnessed the “T” formation, the “I”formation, the wishbone, the pro set, the pistol, and so on, whichwere all predicted to revolutionize football. But being asuccessful team still comes down to the football fundamentals ofblocking and tackling.

Here are the fundamentals for commercial producers working in ageneralist insurance agency:

Multi-Tasking Sales Activities

Successful producers make calls. Even in the most profitableagencies, producers who wait for the phone to ring or for areferral to emerge don't reach their maximum sales potential.Whether you are a new producer or the most seasoned one, you needto make your calls.

A concept that every successful producer deals with is theability and willingness to conduct multi-task sales activities. Sooften, undisciplined producers concentrate on one or two prospectsat a time and forget about trolling for as many opportunities aspossible. Assuming that you're trolling in the right location andusing the correct equipment, the more lines that are in the waterat one time, the more fish you'll catch.

A successful producer is constantly on the hunt for newprospects. Successful producers understand that every engagement,every situation, is a possible new business opportunity, regardlessof how many prospects they currently have in some part of the salesprocess.

Economics of the Sale

No matter how the agency's production is directed, look tosolicit larger accounts, as you'll soon realize the revenue perhour is well worth it. How can you develop these opportunities?

At our agency, we have a weekly sales form that lets producersassess their own production. We identify the following areas:

• Number of sales calls made.

• Number of certificates gathered from existing accounts.

• Number of businesses in the Circle of Success—a programreferring to prospects that are within a quarter-mile of a recentlywritten account.

• Number of names of businesses given to our in-house telemarketerto call.

• Number of accounts prospected through “Hello Neighbor.” HelloNeighbor is a program to solicit accounts that are located withinour office area of Clifton, N.J.

• Number of accounts marketed through “Second Time Around,” whichtracks prospects that were quoted last year, but unsuccessfullywritten.

• Number of referrals and leads gathered from networkingactivities and those connected to currently insured accounts.

• Number of accounts rounded in the other production areas,including commercial lines, personal lines, bonds and financialservices.

• Number of introductory letters sent.

A rating of exceptional, average or inadequate is given to eachsales activity for the week.