Rainmaker Advisory Releases Annual Producer Survey Results

PORTLAND, OR, April 11, 2013 (Press-News.org) Rainmaker Advisory LLC, a leading consulting firm in the U.S. dedicated to providing services exclusively to the retail insurance broking sector, today announced the results from its annual nationwide survey of US Domestic insurance producers of all disciplines: The Ten Most Common Mistakes Producers Made in 2012.

David Estrada, Founder, Rainmaker Advisory, said, "This year's results revealed a lack of focus around the sales process, the need to develop coherent and organized sales initiatives, and an overall lack of clarity related to basic target client definition. This was a noteworthy change from previous surveys, which had consistently revealed fundamental issues such as prospecting time, pipeline management, and use of technology. We believe this trend is the result of a combination of factors including the maturing production force and an overwhelming barrage of sales methodologies which ultimately are nothing more than one-size-fits-all, general sales theory in shiny packages."

The survey was completed by over 1,400 producers in every geographic region, practice specialty, and tenure classifications ranging from less than three years to over 25 years, and with books of business from $300,000 to over $1 million of Net Commissions and Fees (NCF). Some of the findings revealed the following:

- 52.4% of producers do not develop and manage focused sales campaigns - which can result in significant misallocation of resources and the inability to compete effectively within key segments;

- 62.5% of producers revealed that their target client definition is unclear - which indicates a lack of producer specialization within key growth industries;

- 73.3% of producers suffer from a poorly defined sales process - which creates significant obstacles to new account generation and the ability to coordinate internal resources;

- 47.4% of respondents indicated that less than 20% of their business was obtained through 'Center of Influence' relationships - this prospecting method is widely used by top industry performers to secure profitable new business within the mid-market and large market segments. For these high performers it often accounts for more than half of their new business achieved year over year.

Estrada added, "It is inspiring to see the success that is possible when a team is given the tools to focus its existing collective knowledge and expertise towards the pursuit of their enterprise's key client definitions and executes with a sales system that is developed specifically for its producers. When a training program's content matches a production team's specific circumstances, resources, capabilities, and new business goals, the rate of engagement and adoption among producers is significantly higher than with generic programs. Rainmaker Advisory's programs include interviews, diagnostics, workshops, and virtual training curriculums enabling us to create and deliver content specific to each production team so they can achieve their desired results."

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 7800 insurance agencies and brokerages and maintains a subscriber list in excess of 17,000 insurance professionals nationwide. With offices in Oregon, California, New York, and New Hampshire, Rainmaker Advisory LLC is a leading provider of the tools, resources, training programs, and vendor partners necessary for successfully growing retail insurance broking organizations on a sustainable basis. For more information, visit www.rainmakeradvisory.com or contact them at: info@rainmakeradvisory.com.