"Strictly Sales" is written by the faculty of the Dynamics of Selling program. This month's coumn is from Jeff Wodicka, CIC.

MANY books and seminars are available to help agency managers hire fresh, untrained producers. The real management challenge begins after the hire. What do you plan to do with your new recruit on the first day, in the first week and during the first month? Well over 30% of new producers fail to last 12 months in the job. This is partly because of poor hiring practices, but the problem is compounded by having insufficient or poor training.

As a sales manager for the last 20 years and, more recently, in directing the National Alliance Producer Schools, I have studied the post-hire best practices of both independent agencies and direct writers. Working with a cross-section of new producers has led me to a number of conclusions regarding producer success and retention. Consider the following five ideas for developing profitable producers.

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