In today’s world, it might appear difficult to find quality candidates to recruit into your growing business. But rust me, they are out there, but it’s all about looking in the right places.
In this blog, I cover the basics of what you should be looking for in a candidate and how to set their expectations; this not only for their success but for your relationship with them as their employer.
Finding GREAT Recruits
First, what qualities should you be seeking in a potential candidate? Or to put it more plainly, who should you be looking for and what kind of experience should they have? I recommend recruiting an individual with sales experience. It’s beneficial to recruit salespeople for a number of reasons. They already have experience in sales and know how to talk to people. Secondly, they are already familiar with the aspects of a commission-only based job. On top of that, as an insurance agent, you can draw salespeople into the world of insurance because of the benefit of residual base pay. This is an alluring benefit of an insurance agent because they are very few industries where residual pay is an available option.
In regards to finding where to look for people, I recommend two platforms, Indeed and Facebook. Indeed because it is a hub for people looking to change careers and has many people who are experienced in sales. Facebook is a great place to find recruits that can join your team. So if you’re looking to build a team using Facebook, go to branningbundles.com and grab my ad kit for recruiting.
ANSWERING THEIR QUESTIONS BEFORE THEY EVEN ASK
Let’s say you found a great candidate to join your team. Step into their shoes for a moment: this is potentially a HUGE life change. When people buy an insurance policy from you, that is something that carries very little risk beyond writing a check. When an employee joins your team, there’s a lot more to the decision. And so you, as the insurance agent doing the recruiting, it’s important to discuss this life change. You need to be able to answer these questions that they’re asking, whether subconsciously or directly.
1. HOW WILL THIS IMPACT MY “RIGHT NOW”?
Your recruit is going to want to know how is this going to change their situation in the immediate term. And they are going to be asking themselves “What should I expect?” Now, your job is to tell them the honest truth without embellishing, sugarcoating, or fast-tracking any timelines. Any expectations you set that are missed right now, in this first conversation, or these first few weeks, erodes trust and makes it a lot harder for them to believe any promises you make to them in the future. So it’s very important that you are clear about what it’s going to take for them to become a licensed insurance agent.
Assume that they came from a position where leads are brought to them, whether they’re in car sales, furniture, etc. In those industries, leads are provided, they close it and they get a portion. This is very different than the insurance agent industry. Most likely they’re gonna have to go out and get their own leads which is something they’ve probably never had to do before.
And the sale process is different with insurance. The sales cycle for an insurance policy usually has multiple steps. In other sales careers, it’s usually a one-stop-shop. They come into the car a lot, boom, they buy the car, drive off. Or they walk into the furniture store, boom, they buy it, and figure out the delivery. It’s just a one-call close. For insurance, it’s a little bit different and it’s important to be upfront about the reality of this. Explain the process from start to finish so they are aware of the involvement of a sale. They could talk to a prospect tomorrow, find their needs, flush out a quote. That follows another appointment where they meet with them again, the customer agrees to it, and the contract is presented and then signed.
2. HOW WILL THIS IMPACT MY FUTURE?
Now, this is where it gets really exciting, especially in the insurance business, because the future is so bright for insurance agents. There is so much room for growth, an insurance agent owns a piece of business, and they get residual revenue.
So this is where you get to shine. This is where the opportunity in the insurance business is like nothing else that they have worked on in the past. And it’s your job to sell that to them, to make sure that they know exactly what the limits are, to their business and their opportunity.
You also want to communicate what your journey into becoming an insurance agent was like and what your life looks like now. And explain how long it took you to get there. And then after you go through that, tell them how you’re going to shortcut it for them so that they can experience the success levels that you have and that you’re going to make it easier on them than it was for you.
3. WHAT IS THE COST?
There’s a cost. There’s a cost in money. There’s a cost in time, there’s an opportunity cost. So ask yourself, what will this cost them? Remember, anything you tell them, they’re going to be grading you on this, your honesty, your deliverability, and your trustworthiness. You are being assessed in this first conversation, as far as your character, and what it’s like to work with you. So be honest, be real with them about what this is going to take.
4. WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY?
How will this impact their future? The “what’s the opportunity” is where you get to really speak to those dreamers, about how big this could get.
You reveal to them the amazing opportunity to not only sell insurance and get residual payments but also building a team. Just like what you’re talking to them about right now. They too will have an opportunity to build a team. And so continue to paint a big picture. The key is to let them know the expectations and the realities of everything. But you for those people that come into your world that are dreamers, doers, action takers, ready for a change, this is when you lay the groundwork for the future and you say “this is everything you can build with me.”
5. WHAT IF I FAIL?
This is similar to the cost question was is the cost? So what if they fail? You want to let them know the risk that they’re taking now. What if they can’t get licensed? What if they have a hard time closing a deal? These are all addressing concerns that they might have.
Simply put, explain that they can just go back to what they did before. At the very least they will have more tools in their tool belt and will be better at sales for it.
6. HOW MUCH CAN I SUCCEED?
This is similar to “what’s the opportunity,” but “how much can I succeed” a lot of times comes down to money. How much can I actually make doing this? With the time that I’m able to put into this, how much can I make?
So your job is to get ahead of those internal conversations, self-talk, and really answer the questions, this is what it costs and this is what would happen if you fail. But it’s all about setting the groundwork and letting them know the truth about the insurance industry, the opportunity that they have, and the struggles that they’re going to run into.
Setting them and You Up for SUCCESS
Because if you don’t outright answer those questions, then those fears that they may not even know that they have, creep up in conversations and in their thought process. Questions like what if it doesn’t work? So your job is to get ahead of those internal conversations and self-talk and answer the questions. But it’s all about setting the groundwork and letting them know the truth about the insurance industry, the opportunity that they have, and the struggles that they’re going to run into.
I would love to help you with this. Hop on a call with me at www.branningcall.com. Or grab my Facebook ads. They fill your calendar with recruits at www.branningbundles.com And if you’re listening to this, you’re like “Oof, I don’t know if I want to bring people on my team. I kind of want to just hire hourly workers,” then go to callcenterlaunchkit.com where I teach you how to attract, train and scale your appointment setting team.