IT'S BEEN estimated that 10% to 15% of potential employees have the capacity to be good salespeople. The job of agency owners is to attract this prize pool of candidates. In this article, I'm going to present four concepts that can increase your chances of doing just that.

Step No. 1: Become a DSO. The agencies that are the most successful at attracting producers are what I call dynamic sales organizations. In such an organization, selling is not the function of a single department but a paradigm that permeates the whole company. A dynamic sales organization has a well-defined sales strategy. The employees not only can describe it but also know their roles in its implementation: “I bring in the sales.” “I service the clients.” “I pay the claims.” When asked to describe his or her job, the receptionist of an ordinary organization might say, “To answer the phone.” The receptionist of a dynamic sales organization, knowing how that position affects agency sales, would more likely respond, “To connect current and potential clients with the appropriate salespeople.”

Dynamic sales organizations are employers of choice among producers, because these organizations monitor their employees and respond to their needs. These employers view their staff as their greatest asset and consequently heavily fund this resource.