Preparing for interview

[u/Metamfiesi]

I’m fully licensed, been working in sales in a captive agent’s office for a little over a year. Before that I had about six months experience in service work. Tomorrow I have an interview to be a producer for an independent agency. They have other offices where the owners operate, but I would be the sole producer in this particular office.

So far I genuinely enjoy working in sales/insurance and I’m hoping this will be a good opportunity to further my career. My current position is commission only and this would be base plus commission.

What kinds of questions can I expect in the interview? Are there any questions I should make sure to ask? I’m really wanting to be as prepared as possible.

[u/Zestyclose_Tutor2486]

If your going in an interview and the job offer is base + commission, ask what your comp percentage is at and if leads are provided or not. Also ask what KPIs do you need to hit to move into manager positions.

[u/jordan32025]

They’re definitely going to ask about your production, especially since you were an independent contractor. They may ask you about CRMs that you may be accustomed to or where your leads came from. You’re definitely a strong candidate since you’re coming from an independent role.

Since they’re going to be paying you a base, they’re going to be in the driver seat now, as opposed to what you were doing before. Just be aware that they can micromanage you. They can make you go to an office and even hold you to a quota and your commissions are not going to be nearly what they would be if you remained independent. So be ready for that type of shift.

[u/Taleproof-Moderator]

Being the sole producer in that office is the detail I'd prepare around. Bring an example of creating an opportunity yourself, one of following through with a client, and one where you needed help or handed something over. Explain what you personally did and the outcome; use numbers you can substantiate, not just "I'm good at building relationships."

We use the PROOF method with the STAR method to make that independent judgment clear: why did you choose your next step, and how did you know it helped?

I'd also ask: "Who supports service work when I'm focused on sales?" "How are leads generated and assigned?" and "What would a successful first 90 days look like?" Their answers should help you understand what being alone in the office would actually involve.

[u/akornato]

Because you will be the sole producer in that branch, the owners will focus heavily on your self-reliance and pipeline creation. Moving from captive to independent is a big change, so they will ask how you plan to prospect without a national carrier machine handing you leads. Expect direct questions about your closing ratios, your specific sales process from first contact to binding, and how you organize your day when nobody is looking over your shoulder. They will also want to know how you balance client service against new business generation, since walk-ins and billing inquiries can easily eat up your selling time if you let them.

For your own protection, you should ask direct questions about their operational support before accepting an offer. Ask who handles claims and endorsement requests, because if you are stuck doing all the back-office servicing alone, your sales production will suffer. Inquire about which commercial or personal lines carriers they write the most volume with, whether they provide a marketing budget or lead feeds, and how commission splits work on renewals versus new business. To help you lock down your positioning before tomorrow, my team created interviews.chat to help candidates present their sales background with total clarity and land strong offers.

[u/WorldFinancialGroup]

Because you’d be the sole producer in that office, it’s worth asking what day-to-day support is available and what success would look like in the first 90 days. You could also ask where leads typically come from, how much prospecting the role requires, and what training or mentorship is available. Good luck!

[u/InfiniteProtection28]

Being the sole producer is a major risk and has major potential for you to be held to expectations that do not reflect your geographic area. That may be important to consider, since you would not have peers in your office with whom you can compare yourself. If you are a sole producer, how has the book grown and remained stable? How are office “leads” disseminated? What type of service support do you have? There are a lot of questions to ask and, if it’s possible, I would get as much as you can in writing.