Travelers
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project update
I. Insights, Quotes & Anecdotes:
“Energy is the essence of life. Everyday you decide how you’re going to use it by knowing what you want, what it takes to reach that goal and by maintaining focus.”
- Oprah Winfrey
We’ve accomplished a tremendous amount of work since the Sales Redesign initiative began this past summer. Our sales organization has laid a solid foundation to build upon in order to achieve the goals of Personal Insurance next year and beyond. It’s important that we recognize how far we’ve come and continue to drive to make the Personal Insurance Field Sales organization the one all others strive to be like.
In this issue of Sales In-Synch you will learn about:
• Enterprise Sales Training;
• A New Sales Tool;
• A Process for Managing Performance; and
• A Website for Sales Tips
II. Sales Redesign Project Update:
As a follow up to the assessments all staff participated in, we have scheduled “Leading Your Career” regional workshops for all Sales Executives (SEs), including the Domestics. During these workshops the SEs will receive their personal assessment feedback from assigned HR representatives. They will also draft personal developmental action plans that should be discussed with their managers. All workshops will be concluded by December 15. Bigby, Havis and Associates (BHA) is also conducting one-on-one feedback sessions with the RSDs, RADDs and RFOs through mid-January. The purpose of these sessions is to enhance and develop skills through individual coaching. As a reminder, all one-on-one feedback sessions will be delivered via telephone.
training update
During December, Field Sales Training will be working with the Sales Redesign team to prioritize training initiatives and build the 2007 training plan. The focus for 2007 will be to provide training that addresses developmental opportunities identified in the assessments completed by the RSDs and Sales Executives.
Professional Selling Skills training will begin across all Travelers business units in the first quarter in collaboration with AchieveGlobal, our business partner for this Enterprise-wide initiative. AchieveGlobal - an international company headquartered in Tampa FL - specializes in Leadership, Sales and Customer Service Training. Delivery of this training will continue throughout 2007. Field Sales Training will coordinate the scheduling of all training activities to ensure the most efficient and effective roll-out, while remaining sensitive to business priorities.
We’re also working on programs to help you expand your skills in response to requests for more applications training on Agency Diagnostics and for training on available marketing tools to support your agency SAM plans. Currently under development—and set for release next year—is an interactive Technology Based Training (TBT) program to enhance your knowledge of:
• One-to-One Program features
• Tips on how to sell the benefits of One-to-One to help your agents grow
• How to assist your agents in the enrollment process.
We’re also considering another module on Agency Diagnostics that goes beyond the conceptual understanding of the tools used in Sales Executive Essentials School (formerly AME). Using actual agency data, you will learn the process and create the strategy for validating such items as source to sale and account rounding data; identify lost business trends or create customized mechanisms for your agency to track lost business; assist your agent in establishing a Systematic Marketing Approach (including Account Rounding mailings) and other items that surface from your data analysis. At the end of the session, you’ll be ready to begin a true partnership with your agency to help them grow!
Next year should be an exciting and busy one and Field Sales Training looks forward to participating in the development of skills that will be “in-synch” with improved sales performance.
in the spotlight
Somers-Pardue Astonishes
In 1994, the Somers-Pardue Agency, Inc. was smokin’! Motivated Customer Service Agents (CSAs) had sold 865 pieces of new business. By 2005, however, the fire had dwindled.
The Personal Lines staff wrote only 316 pieces that year. Clearly this $7 million Personal Lines agency had lost focus and was merely servicing a draining book of business.
Superficially, all appearances promoted a successful Personal Lines Department,” says Lisa Massey, Sales Executive for the Mid-South Region, who sat down with Pam Stutts, Somers-Pardue Agency Assistant Vice President to help the once energized agency get back on a growth track. “It was sobering,” says Massey. “There were no growth plans in place to meet expectations of their agency or those of carriers they were aligned with, no business plans, no written procedures, no job descriptions, no performance standards, no individual accountability, no tracking of new and lost business, no source to sell information, inaccurate Applied reports and no idea how to revert back to a production house which they had experienced in 1994.”
In a nutshell: Somers-Pardue, one of the most experienced Independent Agencies in North Carolina, had become wonderful at servicing business and only average at selling it.
Massey and Stutts began peeling back the layers in September 2005 to find out what was—or wasn’t—happening. And after using the SAM Plan and Agency Diagnostics, they were able to pinpoint trouble spots and determine whether the agency could grow profitably long term. The results were as expected: the seasoned staff did have the capacity to grow. However, there were no standardized procedures to match their new growth ambitions.
Immediately Somers-Pardue, with Travelers assistance, swung into action and developed by that January several key initiatives aimed at reinvigorating 2006 sales. The results were astonishing.
|What we asked |
|The first step Somers-Pardue had to take to get back on track to |
|improve production in 2006 was to answer the tough—and not always |
|comfortable—questions posed by Travelers Lisa Massey, Sales |
|Executive, and Jeff Graham, Regional Agency Development Director. |
|Below are some of the questions and diagnostics which laid the |
|foundation for Travelers to assist: |
|Is the agency growing? |
|Can the agency grow? |
|Does the staff have capacity to write new business? |
|Is the agency willing to invest dollars in Personal Lines? |
|What is the local market situation? |
|What’s the account round percentage? |
|Where does the agency want their revenue to be in 2006? |
|What is the retention? |
|What are the agency strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and |
|threats? |
As a result of planning, goal setting and compatible philosophies with Travelers, Somers-Pardue is slated to complete 2006 with more than $3 million in Personal Lines written premium with excess of 3,800 policies in force. Among the steps it took, with Travelers assistance, were to change the role of CSAs to create an attitude of sales in order to boost commission revenue $75,000, improve retention, profitability and long term growth.
|What we did |
|Teamwork involving the efforts of many contributed to the positive|
|results at Somers-Pardue, including: |
|Assistant VP Pam Stutts attended a workshop led by Jeff Graham and|
|Dan King |
|Jeff Graham provided on site sales training for the eight CSAs |
|Set growth goals for Personal Lines, then individual CSAs |
|Wrote job descriptions |
|Developed SMART goals with accountability measures for both the |
|team and individuals |
|Provided monoline reports |
|Provided new business and lost business logs |
|Helped identify source to sell |
|Tied performance to salary increases |
|Established incentives to assist in motivation and transition to |
|sales |
|Designed a reward system individualized to suit all |
|Enhanced workflows to consistently improve efficiency and align |
|with long term profitable growth |
|Outlined how we would meet the growth goal of $75,000 in |
|commission, i.e. a formal account round program and CL’s cross |
|sell program |
|Focused on selling protection vs price |
|Reiterated the benefit of alignment with a national carrier who |
|will help them grow the pie |
|And: Helped the agent to grow—the Travelers Sales Executive way! |
“What is phenomenal, spectacular and extremely rewarding is to visually experience what transpired as the agency shifted to high gear,” says Massey, citing the momentum that was created with the introduction of new sales programs, spirited sales contests, individual and team awards and prizes. “The energy and excitement has fostered sales and a new culture at Somers-Pardue. And because of it, Travelers slice of the pie is becoming proportionally larger.”
Because of its success, Somers-Pardue was recently featured in Independent Agent. The national publication published an article entitled “A Cure for CSR Chaos” that chronicled the remarkable transformation and new business growth in this agency. Also, Travelers awarded Pam Stutts the Regional High Achiever Award, and individual awards to eight agency CSAs who exceeded their goals.
Faqs
NEW FAQs
Q: When will the title of Agency Manager change to Sales Executive?
A: Effective immediately, Agency Managers can begin using their new title of Sales Executive. You should no longer use the title of Agency Manager (in writing or in conversation) with your agencies.
Q: The new title of Sales Executive has been distributed throughout our organization and is now being referenced. Should Sales Executive staff order new business cards?
A: Current Sales Executives should use their remaining supply of business cards before ordering new cards. New hires should use the new title on their cards.
Q: Should we use Personal Lines or Personal Insurance as our name?
A: With the business realignment announced last August, Personal Insurance became the name of our business segment. When you order new materials or replenish depleted inventory, use Personal Insurance.
SKILLS ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Q: When will the Selection Tool be available for hiring new sales staff?
A: Michael Goldman of BHA is currently working with Human Resources and the senior management team to evaluate the Selection Tool and how we can make it an accessible and effective instrument for our recruiting demands. In the meantime, hiring for open positions should continue, as needed.
Q: What is a 360?
A: The term 360 is used to describe surveys that collect feedback from multiple sources “around” you such as your boss, your peers, and others you interact with (agents, home office staff, other business units, such as CL). Compiling the opinions from those in your circle of influence gives you a better view of how you are perceived. Let’s face it -- perception is reality in many ways. Therefore, by knowing how others see you respond and behave, you are better able to make adjustments, if necessary, to give an appropriate and professional impression.
Q: What is the difference between a 360 and the Assessment?
A: The Assessment measures your natural (innate) and learned abilities, plus strengths/weaknesses (your personality). The 360 reports how others see you behave. One represents your “true” self. The other represents how people perceive you to be.
Q: Will Sales Executives participate in a 360?
A: Yes, at a later date. We want to give everyone an opportunity to learn about the revised role and begin performing with the new expectations before asking others to give you feedback.
Q: Who will complete the assessment and when?
A: RVPs will complete the online assessment first during mid July. Coaching, mentoring and workshops will follow. RFOs, RSDs, RADDs and AMs will complete the assessment in August. Workshops and one-on-one meetings will follow.
Q: How long does it take to complete the assessment?
A: 30 – 45 minutes. It may be taken at your leisure (at home or work). You will receive an e-mail from our vendor Bigby Havis & Associates, which will contain a link to the assessment.
Q: What is the purpose of the assessment?
A: The results of the assessments will identify individual strengths and skill gaps. It will measure skills, motivation and cultural association with the company. The results will allow us to know skill levels and to validate tools for use with future employees (recruiting).
Q: When will the assessment results be available?
A: Results will be available approximately three weeks after the assessment. Workshops will be held regionally to discuss next steps and help individuals create development plans.
Q: Will there be a National Sales Summit in 2006?
A: No. Due to the amount of change that we are implementing this year, the next gathering will likely be held in spring of 2007. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
Q: Is Commercial Lines doing this as well?
A: Commercial Lines is using a “mini version” of this activity. They selected a tool / vendor called “Caliper”.
Q: Will Agency Specialists be completing the Skills Assessment, too?
A: There is not an Assessment at the present time for Agency Specialists. Individuals interested in moving into a Sales Executive role, however, will take an Assessment when applying for open positions.
Q: Will Sales Directors in National Distribution / National Programs also complete the assessment?
A: No. The Assessment is part of shifting our Field culture from a service to sales focus. Domestics’ AMs and RSDs are included because those businesses operate very similarly to the regional PL Sales organization. The Sales
Directors in National Distribution and National Progams have a different focus to their jobs (already heavy sales focus without the staff management concentration) and will therefore not be involved in the Assessments at this time.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Q: When will the title of Agency Manager change to Sales Executive?
A: Effective immediately, Agency Managers can begin using their new title of Sales Executive. You should no longer use the title of Agency Manager (in writing or in conversation) with your agencies.
Q: The new title of Sales Executive has been distributed throughout our organization and is now being referenced. Should Sales Executive staff order new business cards?
A: Current Sales Executives should use their remaining supply of business cards before ordering new cards. New hires should use the new title on their cards.
Q: When will revised job descriptions be released?
A: Revised job descriptions for RSDs and AMs will be released once all assessments have been completed. The Agency Manager title will change to Sales Executive. No other titles will change.
Q: I've heard the Agency Manager title changing. Why?
A: As a Company, we want to align the Sales Executive title (PL) with titles used in other lines of business. This title is more reflective of the sales focus of this role.
TRAINING
Q: How will skill gaps be addressed?
A: Training will be provided to address identified gaps. The results from the assessment will be analyzed in order to identify training opportunities. The location and delivery method will vary based on the topic and size of the audience.
Q: Who is Achieve Global? How does it differ from Bigby Havis & Associates?
A: Achieve Global is a vendor that was selected by Enterprise Marketing to administer a consistent sales culture and training curriculum throughout the entire CL / PL Enterprise. Pilots occured in July 2006. A curriculum and launch plans, by business unit, are being finalized.
Bigby Havis does not provide training. They are a company staffed with organizational psychologists and management consultants to evaluate skills and to provide data to synch up with a training curriculum.
NON-SALES ACTIVITIES
Q: What is being done to help AMs devote more time to selling?
A: We have made progress in this area. Focusing in on Sales activities and moving the non-sales activities to the appropriate resources.
Business Center and Claim contacts will take ownership for resolving issues agencies have been unsuccessful in resolving. AMs will have a primary and backup Business Center contact and a separate Claim contact to refer agency issues to for research and resolution. Ratio of contacts to AMs is still being considered. Interface audits are now the responsibility of the Agency Portfolio Manager and automation training is done by Interface Field Coordinators (IFCs). New tools and processes are being developed to streamline book transfers and new agency appointments.
SALES DEVELOPMENT CENTER
Q: What is the status of the SDC?
A: Sales Development Center discussions will resume this fall. We are considering a “brick and mortar” strategy in a single location. The location of this potential structure is still to be determined. It will be utilized for not only new hires, but also for training current employees. This would allow us to hire in groups.
COMMUNICATION PLAN
Q: What is the vision of the "Sales Redesign" project?
A: To build a world class sales organization! In order to meet our corporate goal of doubling our business every 10 years, we must re-examine the field sales roles to better align its procedures with our philosophy. This project will identify strengths, weaknesses, develop coaching and training, address gaps, recruit talent and institute career development strategies for succession planning.
Q: How will Sales Redesign activities and updates be communicated?
A: Ongoing progress updates and status reports will be delivered by Mike Garbeck. There will be an informative and ongoing communication approach that will provide you with accurate and timely information. Look for e-mails from Mike.
MISCELLANEOUS
Q: Should we use Personal Lines or Personal Insurance as our name?
A: With the business realignment announced last August, Personal Insurance became the name of our business segment. When you order new materials or replenish depleted inventory, use Personal Insurance.
resources
I. Online Source for Sales Tips
Managers and Sales Executives (SEs) looking to be successful in Travelers new sales culture can get a boost from an online source that offers timely tips to improve sales skills and results.
“Thinking About Sales,” an electronic newsletter written by Dave Kahle, sales consultant and trainer with DaCo Corporation, is free to those who sign up through Kahle’s website . Kahle sends subscribers a weekly article that addresses topics that deal with action steps and behaviors necessary for success in a sales environment, as well as topics of a more general nature such as managing information overload.
According to Paul Borup, Western Regional Financial Officer, the five minute investment in reading the weekly e-mail is well worth the time. “I feel that Dave really puts some meaning behind what ‘selling’ is,” says Borup, adding, “This newsletter could be helpful to our SEs by giving them practical tips to improve their sales skills, and it could also be enlightening to our internal partners. For instance, a product manager would get a better idea of what it means to sell and understand in more detail the challenges our SEs face. The articles can jumpstart conversations across departmental lines.”
To register for Dave’s “Thinking About Sales” Ezine (think maga “ezine”), log on to and register in the left hand column. You can choose either a manager or sales person version.
II. Structuring Performance Management Process
What could be more challenging for any manager (and potentially uncomfortable) than to evaluate the performance of employees? “It’s often one of a manager’s most challenging tasks,” says Greg Bacon, Regional Sales Director, Western Region, who offers a method of evaluating and assessing individuals based on three focus areas that take into account both quantitative results and qualitative observations.
“Evaluating the performance of another person is not always clear cut or simple,” says Bacon. “If it’s done well, you take into account many attributes of a person, and, in the assessment, create specific coaching, mentoring and developmental plans to help them improve specific areas of performance.”
Bacon says management of the SE job can be split into three sections: Planning (Quantitative), Competency Assessment (Qualitative) and Results (Quantitative). Each can be weighted the same (33 percent), differently, or, according to each Region.
When doing evaluations, Bacon suggests the following:
Section 1: Planning (Quantitative)
Consider:
• The actual SAM planning in terms of goals and results for each agency that are measured in Agency Connect
• Business plan metrics for Account Round, Benefits Plus, Commercial Lines Cross Sell programs in terms of goals, and, New Business lift by agency and measured in Agency Connect
• New Appointment plan for prospects and expected New Business lift measured in Agency Connect
Section 2: Competency Assessment (Qualitative)
Bacon recommends using the standard competencies that HR has selected for assessment. Each of the 10 competencies is individually rated based on observed behaviors in the SE role. Each competency can be observed in the agency sales call, or through other interactions within the workplace. The important assessment criterion for this section is to have specific observable behaviors to communicate when assessing the performance of competency.
“This section is tougher to quantify,” says Bacon, who suggests rating each competency (based on specific observed behaviors) on a scale of one to five and then totaling all competencies for a “Section 2” score. “That becomes meaningful,” he says, adding, “Further, by breaking out each competency for assessment, specific coaching and development plans can be created with the employee.”
Section 3: Results (Quantitative)
According to Bacon, the results section can be the most easily measured element of performance management, and can be the most important in a sales culture. He suggests using the same format used in Section 1 on Planning to measure results. For example measure:
• SAM plan results to goal (Agency Connect)
• Tactical results to goal (Benefits Plus NB, year end Account Round percent, Cross Sell New Business, etc., in Agency Connect or other databases.)
• Number of new appointments and actual new business written
• PIF growth, retention percentage, loss ratio
“All three sections have their own merit and contribute to the performance assessment of an employee,” says Bacon, who warns of applying measurement or assessment to an element of performance that the employee has little or no control over. “This can deteriorate credibility in the communication and performance evaluation of an employee” he stresses. “Therefore, breaking performance into these three measurable and observable sections can more easily align employee performance with clear and measurable employee assessment and compensation.”
For more information, contact Greg Bacon at (303) 841-1305.
III. New Sales Tool Promotes Direct Loss Reporting
Always on the lookout to improve processes, profitability and customer service, Travelers Claim has made significant investments in the business, including investing in initiatives such as Direct Loss Reporting (DLR).
As of April, wallet cards customized with individual policy numbers and the 800 claim reporting number are now included in all auto new business and renewal policy DEC packages. With this, we will no longer include the cards in the welcome kits. (PL-11880) We realize that some agents may be disappointed with this change, but it is more cost effective and efficient to include the new DLR cards in DEC packages as they are customized with individual policy numbers. Furthermore, by automating the process, agents no longer have to spend time placing orders for the customer welcome kit.
All field representatives are encouraged to promote the new DLR cards by ordering the new DLR sell sheet (sample attached). For questions, please contact Kelly Pugliares at 860-277-0659 or email kpugliar@.
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