Rainmaker Advisory Releases Producer Survey Results

PORTLAND, OR, February 14, 2011 (Press-News.org) Rainmaker Advisory LLC, the 4th largest consulting firm in the U.S. dedicated to providing services to the retail insurance broking industry, today announced the results from a nationwide survey of insurance producers of all disciplines conducted throughout the 2010 calendar year.

The survey was completed by producers in every geographic region and practice specialty, with experience ranging from less than three years to over 25 years, and with books of business from $300,000 to over $1 million. Some of the findings revealed the following:

- 64.3% of producers do not manage a pipeline at least once per week and nearly 16% do not employ any pipeline management system whatsoever, 34% reported using a pipeline system 'sometimes.'
- 39% of producers do not set aside specific time for prospecting; 71.6% of producers reported prospecting less than 10 hours per week. The top 5% of performing producers (those doing over $232,000 per year of new business) dedicated at least 12 hours per week on their calendars for new business development activities.
- 97% indicated they do not use technology to stay current on developments within their prospect base for changes in purchasing officer status, changes in business operations, or new product announcements made by those businesses in order to take advantage of 'agents of change' which could lead to converting those prospects into clients.
- 77% of respondents indicated that less than 5% of their new business came from other practice groups within their firm and over 93% reported that less than 20% of their new business came from other practice groups. Effective cross-selling cultures, those that achieve results in the top 5% of performing agencies nationwide, report that at least 22% of their new business comes from cross-selling between practice groups.

"The survey results reveal the problems that occur when producers stray from the basics. It's easy for producers and agency leaders to be seduced by 'quick fixes' and 'miracle cures' to remedy sluggish production or agency growth, but we know from experience that fundamentals, applied consistently over time, will always deliver the desired results. Since our founding in 2008, Rainmaker Advisory's focus has been to help our clients reach their goals by providing a roadmap for a return to the fundamentals," David Estrada, Rainmaker Advisory Founder, explained.

Each webinar in Rainmaker Advisory's 2011 series will provide insurance professionals at any career level access to the fundamental principles of new business production, demonstrate best practice tools and templates, and showcase specific vendor solutions that are essential for producers wanting to achieve success by winning more new business in the field.
For more information on upcoming webinars and to register, please visit the webinar section of http://www.rainmakeradvisory.com

Rainmaker Advisory LLC is a results oriented sales and operations consulting firm specializing in the retail insurance broking sector. Founded in 2008, Rainmaker has relationships with over 7,800 insurance agencies and brokerages nationwide in all practice specialties. Through offices in California, New York and Oregon, Rainmaker Advisory is a leading provider of the tools, resources and vendor partners necessary for successfully growing organizations on a sustainable basis. For more information, visit http://www.rainmakeradvisory.com.