When I dropped my buck off at the taxidermist, he showed me these two nice bucks that a hunter found dead locked together in a creek. They had been fighting and could not get separated from each other. They will make an awesome mount, but I sure hate to see them go that way.

This had me thinking about insurance agencies and issues that lead to unfortunate outcomes.

Are you locked in on the wrong focus and your agency is dying as a result?

Are your team members quoting with a sense of urgency or are they allowing others to battle for the prospects they have worked so hard to earn by not overcoming objections and asking for the close?

Is there fighting between team members that is counterproductive and is hurting your culture?

With the pressures of the industry itself and ever rising costs and expectations from consumers it is critical that we do all we can to survive and thrive. Interoffice turmoil, not dominating your leads, and wasting time on the wrong things are all internal reasons for failure that you can absolutely control.

How do you protect your agency from falling victim to any of these situations?

What are your agencies goals? What do you need to get there? Make a list and prioritize them from critical to optional and work in that order. Just because your agency has always done a process or activity does not mean you should continue doing them if your time and attention is needed elsewhere.

Are your team members going for the close on the original call? Are they leading with liability and properly expressing the sense of urgency that should exist when there is a gap in coverage? Are they overcoming objections? If not, you must train, role play, and improve every single day.

Do you have non negotiables for your agency and an expectation for your team culture? Do you honor those guidelines or are you tolerating behavior you should not be? Communication, or lack thereof, is one of the key areas that leads to personnel issues. Pay attention to body language and interactions and if something is off you need to take action, starting with a conversation. Not addressing issues typically results in progressively getting worse rather than going away. Face the concerns head on while remembering what your agency culture is supposed to be and what you are willing to accept from your team members.

There are many reasons agencies and team members fail. It is completely unnecessary for any of these scenarios to be a threat to your survival.