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Winning Strategies The producer treadmill Changing behaviors and business methods can restart a stalled career By Roger Sitkins
While working out at the health club recently, I had to laugh as I watched fellow fitness devotees on the treadmills. What struck me was that even though these people were running, they weren’t going anywhere! They looked as if they had run for miles; I’m sure they felt as if they had run for miles; and the treadmill’s odometer even verified that they had run for miles; but in reality, they hadn’t moved at all. Some people call that “the rocking chair effect” because there’s a lot of action but no forward movement, no actual progress. That’s when it hit me that all too often, producers do the same thing. Recognizing a treadmill When you look at the average plateaued producer, he or she appears to be on the treadmill of life. At best, these producers are experiencing flat growth, meaning they’re working really, really hard to stay the same. (They’re not even challenged by an incline and they weigh the same at the end of the month!) Business is simply coming in the front door and going out the back. They definitely suffer from the “2-2 Syndrome” of Too Many Accounts paying them Too Little Each. As a result, they’re stuck on a plateau, going nowhere fast. At the same time, they’re really busy. They consistently run out of time because they have so much going on, when in fact they’ve gained nothing when their 30 minutes on the treadmill is up. And as we’ve discussed before, time is a producer’s only diminishing asset. Therefore, how that time is used is critical. If you have 168 hours in a week, at best you’ll work about 40 of those, which is about 23%-24% of your time. Of that percentage, you might spend 20%, at most, in front of clients—and that’s if you’re doing a great job. On the other hand, if you’re stuck on the producer treadmill, you’re probably spending far less time in any sort of sales capacity because you’re too consumed with doing “stuff.” To those on the producer treadmill, every renewal is a big event. Whenever there’s a renewal cycle on the horizon, you’ll find them running in place—chasing information, frantically attempting to contact clients, racing to the marketplace, trying to work with their account manager to place the business—and going nowhere. Rather than nurturing and continuing a relationship with clients, they make renewals the focus of their career, prompting them to spend way too much time on the renewal treadmill. Because they’re running in place, people on the producer treadmill are true HAWGs (Hysterical Activity on the Way to the Grave) living on “Someday I’ll.” They tell themselves, “Someday I’ll do this,” or “Someday I’ll do that. Someday I’ll do all the right stuff—just as soon as I get off the treadmill.” Sadly, that day never comes because they don’t have time to get off the treadmill. They’re too busy, remember? Another problem with producers on a treadmill is that all relationships are vendor relationships, at best. It’s always about price and never about anything else. Have you ever noticed that with your best relationships, insurance is always the last thing you talk about, but with your worst relationships it’s the first and only thing you talk about? On the producer treadmill, there is no personal rapport between producer and client. Rather than being something you discuss after you finish talking about other aspects of their business (where it’s going, how it’s doing, etc.), insurance is all you have between you. Successful producers are trusted advisors. Producers on a treadmill are vendors. Which one are you? If you’re not sure, here’s the litmus test: If your clients call you before they make a business-altering decision to ask how it might affect their insurance and risk management program, that’s a trusted advisor relationship. For example, let’s say they’re pondering whether to enter into a contractual agreement, buy a building, expand their business, etc. If they call you ahead of time, prior to making a move, you have a trusted advisor relationship. However, if they call you after the fact to tell you what they did and then ask you to review their insurance requirements, you’re just a vendor. A vendor on a treadmill. Invariably, producers on a treadmill will over-promise and under-deliver. They automatically—and reactively—will say, “Yes, we can do that,” especially if they’re getting competition on an account. Typically, this happens with accounts that the producer thinks he or she could never lose—and then one day, the customer casually mentions that a competitor has promised more services for less money. The savings to the client would be considerable. Feeling threatened, the producer on a treadmill is likely to react by jumping on the “me too” treadmill. They fail to see that because they’re running on a treadmill, all they’re doing is reacting. By contrast, successful producers proactively explore new tracks and trails—and make things happen. They have a follow-up schedule for clients, as well as a calendar of events to sustain the relationship: January 1: A loss control seminar at XYZ Agency February 12: Disaster recovery planning session (at client’s place of business) March 3: Quarterly strategy meeting If you’re not planning ahead, there’s a good chance you’re on the producer treadmill. Another characteristic of treadmill producers is that they hang out with the same crowd. They golf with the same foursome and they go to lunch with the same people, week after week, month after month. They never expand their network or vary their routine. They’re on a “friendship treadmill” with the same two or three centers of influence. Getting off the treadmill When you’re on a treadmill, the scenery never changes! Therefore, if you’re an RIP Producer—Running In Place—I suggest you Get Off that treadmill. Be a GO-getter and make some great things happen! 1. GO visit with your account manager and discuss handing off day-to-day service. 2. GO visit with every one of your top 20 accounts and ask them for help. Ask them for advice on building your business, ask them for introductions, and ask them for referrals. 3. GO visit every one of your centers of influence and start doing things with them. Start having “valid reason” discussions with them—reasons why they should refer their best customers to you. 4. GO visit every one of your key insurance company contacts and learn something from them. Find out what’s going on in the marketplace. Ask them what kinds of business they want to write. Expose yourself to new ideas. 5. GO visit your local Chamber of Commerce and get involved. Don’t wait for the roast duck to fly into your mouth! Get out there and make something happen with your local business community. When you get actively involved in an organization like the Chamber, you’ll make contacts with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. Just joining isn’t enough; volunteer for a committee. Be a visible and active member. Position yourself as a leader. Also, if there’s a certain crevice or class of business you’re pursuing, get involved with a trade association for that industry. Get to know people. Network, network, network! If you stay on the treadmill, the only other people you can network with are also on treadmills. 6. GO visit local service clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions Club, etc.), introduce yourself to the officers, and ask them how you can get involved. Again, just sitting there and being a member won’t do much for you. You must become an integral part of the organization to make a difference—to them and to your business. Only by becoming active can you start to build your network and your centers of influence. You can also join a social club, country club or sports league, provided you don’t hang out with the same people all the time. Personally, I think it’s great when producers play golf every week, just as long as their foursome always features some new faces (namely top clients and prospects). All of the above will help prevent the number-one problem we still see with producers: empty pipelines. You can’t fill your pipeline if the scenery never changes. So if you’ve run out of new people to see, recognize that you’re probably on a treadmill and then GO—Get Off the treadmill, Get Out there … Just GO, GO, GO! * The author |
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