In the Insurance Industry and most Small Business the key to sustainable, long-term growth is the ability to develop a Team around the business. Here are the Top 5 Keys To Build Your Team.
- Always Be Recruiting-successful businesses are always searching for talent. Your strength in your Agency/Business is in the ability to have a pool of candidates to call on when it is time to expand your operations.
- Recruit for Personality Not Skill-skills can be trained, developed, and learned. Personality is very difficult to change. Surround your environment with personality you like for your clients will probably feel the same and TRAIN FOR SKILL
- Compensate for Performance-the success of your Agency/Business is measured by your performance. You perform well your Agency grows, you perform poorly you Agency declines. Build your Team with compensation that mirrors this process.
- Slow To Hire, Quick To Fire-take your time finding the right people (see #1 above) yet if you don’t currently have someone who is the right fit….let them go! When you take your time to hire it gives you the ability to move quickly when they are not the right fit. It is the right thing for them and definitely the RIGHT THING for your Agency.
- The Follow-Up Email-after every interview with potential Team member have them send you an email after meeting. Ask for them to explain the position in detail and what they believe the requirements to be of that position. This will make sure they were engaged and give you a sense of how they communicate. More candidates have been dismissed from this tool alone then anything else utilized.
THOUGHTS TO PONDER: Do you have a Team member currently that needs to be let go? Is he/she still there because you have not honored #1 above to “Always Be Recruiting?” Do your current Team members make the same amount of money regardless of how the Agency performs? WHY? How many people have you worked with that had amazing skills, experience BUT their personality was dark, black and inexcusable? How could your Team be different if you built it with personalities you admire and YOU took the time to develop their skills?
John Lucero, is a successful business owner with over 20 years of experience in multi-line insurance agency operations for several major National Brands. With an expertise in Recruiting, Educating, Coaching, Developing and Product Knowledge, his passion and drive to ELEVATE Insurance Agencies to higher levels of success is what keeps him inspired about the future and motivated about making a difference.
