There are countless metrics you can be tracking in regards to your book of business and your efforts to build that book.  Tracking the information and creating reports could become a full-time job in itself.  Unfortunately, most of that information and the subsequent reports never result in anything meaningful.  However, I do feel that you should track anything that allows you to make consequential adjustments to how you work, as long as the tracking and reporting remains manageable.

At a minimum, every producer should know the following statistics.

Current book – Total annualized revenue in your book and how it compares to where you were last year.  I will guess that this is the only critical indicator that every producer reading this will already know.

Why? – Well, as a producer, this is the ultimate scorecard.  It determines how much you get paid, how many resources you deserve, and documents (over time) how consistent and effective you are as a producer.

Retention – Don’t fool yourself with the increase in your book that came from additional revenue resulting from increased premiums.  Measure your retention two ways: first, on the percentage of groups you were able to keep and secondly, as the percentage of revenue retained.

Why? – Just comparing revenue numbers won’t tell the whole story.  Additional revenue from increased premiums may mask issues that need to be addressed.  In other words, you may not focus on the 10 small accounts you lost for reasons that may lead to the loss of larger accounts this coming year.

Once you identify the lost business, be brutally honest with yourself as to why they were lost and learn what you can do to keep it from happening again.

Closing ratio – Measure your close ratio at the point you specifically give the prospect a chance to say yes or no.  If you’re still competing with spreadsheets, measure your close ratio as the percentage of spreadsheets delivered that produce new clients.  If you are competing by bringing an improvement plan, measure your close ratio as the percentage of plans presented that result in new clients.

Why? – New opportunities are too difficult to come by.  Poor close ratios exponentially increase the work you have to do to refill your pipeline.  Have the courage to go back to those lost opportunities and ask for honest feedback as to why you lost.

Conversion ratio – This refers to the percentage of prospects that move from one step of your sales process to the next.  For example, in our process, producers use a 3 step process (Step 1 – Executive Briefing, Step 2 – Organizational Assessment, Step 3 – Improvement Plan delivery).  The conversation ratios are the percentage of prospects that move from Executive briefing to Organizational Assessment and then again the percentage of prospects who move from Organizational Assessment to Improvement Plan delivery.

Why? – Tracking your conversion ratio is the only opportunity you have to learn where the weak spots are in your sales process.  Just like I recommend in the close ratio, have the courage to go back and ask for honest feedback on those opportunities you don’t convert.

Revenue per relationship – This is the total amount of revenue in your book of business divided by the total number of clients in your book.

Why? – This is the single biggest predictor of your ability to continue to grow your book of business.  If your revenue per relationship doesn’t grow year over year, your total book growth will be slowed or even stopped.  You can only effectively service a set number of accounts.  The higher the revenue per relationship, the more money you make.

It is up to each of you as individual producers to self-manage your way to personal success.  And, as the old saying goes, you can’t manage what you don’t measure.  Unfortunately, all the measuring and all the managing in the world won’t mean anything if you aren’t willing to make the behavioral changes necessary to move the numbers.

Photo by Aunt Owwee.

Independent insurance and benefits agencies discuss the future of selling benefits in a changing environment.

August 31, 2010 – St. Louis, MO – Kevin Trokey, president of Benefits Growth Network, was invited to speak at the GBT conference in Chicago, August 18 – 19. Trokey presented on the factors which are driving a need to change both the producer and agency models.

“Not only will health care reform push us in that direction, but challenges being faced by clients will pull us in that direction,” notes Trokey. “Agencies who will thrive under the new system are writing a new definition of what is means to be an independent benefits agency. They are building business models and systems that move beyond benefits, and even HR, to include driving greater returns on the investment their clients make into their employees.”

Trokey took the group through an in-depth look at one potential benefits agency/producer value proposition, followed by group discussion which included the following topics:
* What are the talents and skills needed by the future producer?
* What will the future agency look like, and how will that transformation take place?
* What services and products will be sold?

GBT is an affiliated group of independent multi-line agencies located throughout the Midwest who come together on a semi-annual basis to discuss the most pressing issues agencies are facing. Topics for this meeting included: 
* value added services
* hiring producers
* social networking among the member agencies
* health care reform
* the changing role of the benefits producer/agency

About Benefits Growth Network
Benefits Growth Network, based out of St. Louis, MO, is an international membership-based consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for independently owned employee benefits agencies and brokerages. Through the exclusive Benefits Growth System™, members get individualized planning, coaching, training, use of proprietary systems and access to a network of thriving benefits agencies. For more information about Benefits Growth Network, visitwww.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com.

Benefits Growth Network provides agencies with an online collection of tools and resources to help them grow profitably in the changing landscape of employee benefits.

St. Louis, MO – February 26, 2010 - Employee benefits insurance agencies often look for ways to differentiate themselves and compete in their local marketplace. It’s common for agencies to reach growth plateaus while at the same time seeing a squeeze on their profit margins. As a result, agency owners begin looking for help to resume their previous levels of growth and profitability.

Benefits Growth Network has collection of tools and resources that evolve with the needs of members and their clients. These are designed specifically to help independently-owned agencies and their producers increase revenues and get on the track to profitable growth. A key component BGN offers is a sales system which agencies can teach to their sales team, resulting in a consistent process and client experience.

“Having a sales process is just one necessary piece to staying current and competitive in today’s information-driven business environment. Sales consultants must become lifelong learners and understand how to translate that into strategy for helping their own clients improve operations and profitability.”

Agencies are able to use and customize the materials to fit with their own agency brand and style. The sales system includes materials for stepping through the process from introducing the agency, to conducting a needs analysis, and finally to developing and delivering a plan.

President and agency coach, Kevin Trokey, says “Having a sales process is just one necessary piece to staying current and competitive in today’s information-driven business environment. Sales consultants must become lifelong learners and understand how to translate that into strategy for helping their own clients improve operations and profitability.”

BGN leads this example by staying on top of the business needs that agencies are facing. They make sure there are materials and resources available to help advise and guide the members through these needs. Some items include:

• tools to help management teams develop their strategic plans and keep the agency on track with their vision
• a collection of ready-to-deliver value-added solutions through third party service providers
• an idea exchange where members are able to share advice and best practices to help one another
• tools for turning generic business information into practical, client-specific strategies
• advice and articles about creating a culture of accountability and productivity

Some of BGN’s ideas and articles are also available to the public on their web site at www.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com.

About Benefits Growth Network
Benefits Growth Network, based out of St. Louis, MO, is an international membership-based consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for independently owned employee benefits agencies and brokerages. Through the exclusive Benefits Growth System™, members get individualized planning, coaching, training, use of proprietary systems and access to a network of thriving benefits agencies. For more information about Benefits Growth Network, visit www.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com.

For information:
Ph: 314.436.7171
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www.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com