Five Keys To Retention

Five Keys to Retention¾and Living Proof! By Manny S. Um

I think good retention starts with recruiting and selecting good people who have a successful track record. We prefer someone with two to three years of professional sales or business experience in any industry, someone with a steady job history¾no jumping around to many different jobs. I also look for people who are trainable and who can get along with other people well. If they are stubborn, they are not suitable for our agency. We use written personality tests that help us with this.
A second key to a high retention rate is training agents up to their maximum potential. I try also to help them develop a target market that is suited to their talents and experiences.
A third thing that I have learned to be crucial for retention is evaluating and understanding each member of the sales team. Currently I manage 33 Korean-Americans, and I previously managed a few Chinese agents. Each ethnic group has different traditions and a different mentality, so understanding the different cultures and mentality of each team member is very important.
A fourth strategy that has made a very big difference in our retention is the mentoring system that we established three years ago. Within our company, I saw other agencies being very successful with a mentoring system, especially one in Philadelphia, and I modeled theirs. Previously, we had some joint work and junior-senior relationships, but mentoring was new. Mentoring has made our people more productive. New people learn faster by working with senior members and having them explain what they do and how they do it. And then they are much more likely to stay with us because they are doing very well. It is not mandatory for our agents to work in teams, but we encourage them to do so. Two years ago, one of our new agents started going out on calls with a senior member. He followed him, copied him in his field activity, and learned very fast. He became the Rookie of the Year for North Jersey in 2002. Then last year another young man also was following the senior members, and he was named Rookie of the Year for 2003. The recognition means very much to them. They make a speech and receive a plaque of appreciation at our annual agents’ lunch, and everybody is there.
A fifth key to retention is motivation. I believe it is very important to keep new agents motivated all of the time. If they get into a slump, it is very difficult to get them out of it. I motivate them by continuously reminding them about our leaders’ conference, their income potential, the company’s contract benefits and bonuses, and the possibility of moving into management someday. Sometimes they forget easily about these benefits and income potential. We also have sales promotions and contests once a year at the company level and agency level. The competition promotes teamwork and higher levels of activity. Motivation is very important in helping new advisors maintain a high level of activity. Many people, when we train them, they listen and understand. But after training, many people don’t follow it. I think the key to success in this business is consistent activity and commission income. I always check the weekly activity reports. They are mandatory for rookies and juniors, and they measure weekly appointments, activity, goals, and sales. If the new person does not have good activity, we discuss it. I may advise the person to do more advertising, mailing, or telephoning. I work with them on a one-on-one basis and suggest ideas and examples, show them how to improve sales activity. I was about to terminate one young man because he often didn’t have his activity report. He would say, “I am doing okay,” but he had no report to give me. I told him, “I need a full-time, 100 percent commitment. The reason you are failing is that your activity level is getting low, and I believe that is why you are reluctant to submit the report.” I think that a person who is not willing to follow the guidelines, the one who makes excuses, is failing. Successful agents submit their reports voluntarily¾no excuses! After I talked with this young man about the importance of consistent activity and realistic goals, he renewed his commitment and began submitting his weekly activity reports. I worked with him, and his activity and production improved.
I know that New England Financial has good retention¾they have retained me as a district manager for 21 years!
Manny S. Um, CLU ChFC
Associate Managing Partner
New England Financial
Englewood Cliffs, NJ