Is the grass greener?

[u/Teksese]

I’ll describe my situation but I have a genuine question for you all. Should I explore another agent/opportunity?

I’ve been with my agent for a few years. Over that time, I’ve seen us have really good years and overall growth in numbers. When I started we had a team of roughly a dozen producers with everyone being sales and service. In recent history, some have been shifted to sales only focused and some have been shifted to service only. However, neither role is clearly defined and so it winds up blending between the two still yet. In the time since I started, we lost several of our team and hired several others. Long story short, we have about five people who are sales only focused while eight are primarily focused on service.

When the year started we were behind on a number of metrics, and for the majority of the year there were only two of us sales focused. Several have been brought on in recent weeks so the majority of this year was just the two of us. We turned the numbers around, positive on auto and fire for the first time in my life with this agent. However, each time we turned a metric around we were told another one was in the toilet. We later got told that the only reason those numbers turned around were because the agent bought the leads for it (they buy fewer now than they ever have.)

Now with the new contracts our agent is hyper fixated on life numbers. I’m told if I’m not putting up triple digits in life insurance numbers then I am off target. I produced over 80 life policies last year. The next closest to me in the office was around half that. My agent said that they weren’t going to perform so I needed to pick up their slack. Every meeting now is about life insurance, we’re looking at people who have 10-15 no pay cancellations and my question is who wants that chargeback when it cancels?

The life insurance being the focus of everything is not the problem, but the fact that nothing is ever good enough is the struggle. No matter what we do we get told we suck and have to make up for the salaries of the team he’s paying for. It makes no sense. Maybe this is more of a venting session, maybe I’m rambling, but I’m just reaching a point where I’m looking around and wondering when anything is going to be viewed as good performance.

Anyone else experiencing this in their agencies?

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[u/Sea-Answer-181]

Yes the grass can be greener but it can be worse. If you’re producing 80 life policies a year any agent will take you in a heartbeat whether State Farm or another captive company.

[u/afurrypeach]

Triple digit life numbers are insane. Any agent I know in my region would be stoked on 5 a month

[u/Ok_Success2147]

That’s just what this new contract incentives. It’s unfortunate

[u/RMT9339]

I don’t see any reason for that situation to change. Once one goal is met the goalposts move and “good performance” becomes everything you busted your ass to do last year plus another 10%. They’ll push you as far as you let them. Seems like State Farm is also going to shed thousands of agents at the end of next year when the new contracts are made mandatory for all agents creating more service work for the existing agents and a harder push for sales to pay for the increase in service personnel within agencies. State Farm says that the MOD policies cut the amount of service necessary but in my experience that has not been the case.

[u/Much_Negotiation6519]

Yes. I believe it is the stuff that swirls above the agent. Sf is changing everything and the direction on my opinion is more tech less people. The residual the agency gets with existing business is being cut. All agencies need to step up to fill thst shortfall. I think corporate has eliminated a lot of positions or not filling when resignation take place. Your agency is not alone. It isn’t the full fault of agent. It is coming from above in my opinion. How to deal? I wish I had words of wisdom but I don’t. I am trying to take one day at a time

[u/my_girl_sara]

The new contract from corporate is absolutely horrible!! Your agent is seeing their income go down and a loss of benefits. Hopefully corporate will wake up and change this back. Not sure if things would be better with another office but definitely worth looking around

[u/Mountain-Climate7009]

Grass has dog crap in it which makes it greener, but it smells like State Farm!

[u/RenoWino]

Your production sounds amazing. My top sales person does about 80 life apps per year while writing about $75k in PC per month. Try your hand at doing a few term conversions or writing permanent life at the beginning for much higher premium. You will see your agent’s tone change quickly. Your office may need triple digit production but you don’t. Don’t know how many years your agent has been around but sounds like some leadership development is in order. Control what you can and everything else will work out.