Three models for building an agent network. The activities of an insurance company in the development of an agent network on the example of Ingosstrakh. Advantages of building an agent network

"Organization of sales of insurance products", 2006, N 5

A new article by business coach Yuri Kushelev is a continuation of the article "How to conduct an "audit" of your own agency network", published in N 4 of the magazine "Organization of sales of insurance products" this year. In this material, we will talk about the methodology for planning the development of agent networks, which seems to be vital for any retail insurance company.

DOME method

When planning, you can use a simple and convenient model known as the DOME method<1>adapted by us for the purposes of planning the recruitment, training and development of agents. This abbreviation stands for the first letters:

diagnosis - diagnostics and analysis of the current situation in your company regarding recruitment, training, motivation of agents, organization of agent sales and development of an agent network;
objectives - your goals, as well as tasks that contribute to the achievement of your goals;
methods - ways to achieve goals and objectives. These are your specific steps (activities) that you need to take to achieve your goals;
evaluation - evaluation of the results of the work and the effectiveness of the activities planned and carried out by you.

<1>Penetration into your markets / Per. from English. 2nd edition. Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA), Hartford, Conn., 1988. p. 7.

The first stage of planning is the diagnosis and analysis of the situation. Diagnosis of the current situation will allow you to find a "zero" mark, to see what can be of real help in achieving your goals, to pay attention to the difficulties that you will encounter. This will help you the results of the analysis of the available and missing resources, as well as the earlier assessment of the quality of the agent network.

The second stage is the formulation of goals and objectives. Practice shows that, as a rule, the company's management formulates a common goal. For example: "Increase agency sales this year by 30%." Or: "By the end of the year, increase the volume of sales of policies for insurance of property of individuals (except for vehicle insurance) to 10 million rubles."

Having strategic guidelines for the current year in the form of goals set for you, you need to reformulate them into specific tasks. For example, you have analyzed the situation and decided that in order to "increase the volume of agency sales by the end of the year by 30%", you will need to:

"to increase by the end of the year the productivity (monthly output) of agents by an average of 10%";
"increase monthly the number of working agents by at least 15%";
"to reduce the "screening out" of agents from 80 to 60% based on the results of the current year." In practice, this means that if last year out of every 10 recruited, trained and trained agents at the end of the year, two people remained in the company, now you undertake to plan work so that four people will stay and work during the year etc.

In order to bring the volume of sales of individual property insurance policies (except for vehicle insurance) to RUB 10 million by the end of the year, you will need to:

"to increase the volume of sales by agents of insurance policies for dachas and buildings of individuals by the end of the year to at least 6 million rubles.";
"to bring the volume of sales of insurance policies for apartments and apartment property to 4 million rubles by the end of the year."

Such simple and understandable formulations allow, firstly, to see how you can achieve your goal. Secondly, the criteria for evaluating the expected results (in the form of specific quantitative indicators) become clear. Finally, the goals you reformulate in this way will require the creation of conditions under which it will be possible to achieve the goals you have set. These conditions will be the specific events you have planned.

The third stage is event planning. All stages of planning are important in their own way. However, in the first two stages, you are doing very important but preparatory work. The third stage can rightfully be called the main stage of your work when planning. And if at the second stage you determine the strategy of your movement to achieve the goal, then at the third stage - tactics.

These are your specific activities. And what is also very important - it is here, at the third stage of planning, that you use the results of the earlier analysis of the quality of the agent network, the available and missing resources. When planning events, you make the most of the resource that is available and try to reduce the significance, the impact of the missing resource on the final result of your work. In the same case, if a resource that did not exist before depends on your efforts, you need to plan this resource.

For example, if at the second stage you formulated for yourself the task of "increasing the productivity (monthly output) of agents by an average of 10% by the end of the year", then its implementation will certainly require:

conduct additional training on the product;
organize trainings with agents on sales technology;
develop the conditions for the "Best Agent" contest, etc.

Achieving the goal of "increasing the sales of insurance policies for dachas and buildings of individuals by the end of the year to at least 6 million rubles" will most likely require:

analyze the database of existing customers;
conduct classes with agents on the technology of repeat sales (to existing customers);
plan field trips (to summer cottages) points of sale for groups of agents on weekends, etc.

In addition to the activities at this stage, the resource necessary for their implementation (labor costs, technical support, finances, etc.) is also planned.

The fourth stage is an assessment of the results of your work and the effectiveness of the planned activities. Here, the criteria for evaluating the results of the work are important, as well as a detailed schedule for the implementation of all activities, including the resource required for this. If you have both, you have the opportunity to regularly (weekly, monthly, quarterly) monitor your work on recruiting and training agents, tracking the results against those objective indicators that you identified earlier in the second planning stage.

All of the above can be presented in the form of a table, which lists the main questions for analysis at each stage of planning using the DOME method.

DOME Scheduling

Stages planning	What is analyzed, what issues are considered
Diagnosis (diagnostics current situations)	Analysis of the quality of the agent network and agents (according to objective criteria). Analysis of existing and missing resource (according to 10 factors): image companies; target markets in which agents operate; range of services; Commission remuneration agent sales channels; service; organization of sales; agent network management; availability and quality marketing advertising; sales points. Analysis of the current situations regarding recruitment, training (including post-training and internship), psychological support, performance evaluation
Objectives (wording goals and tasks)	Goals and objectives that management sets for you companies. Redefining Strategic Objectives company in your division's goals: long-term (for a year) and intermediate (for a quarter, a month) for each of the stages of work: a set of agents; preparation (including post-training and internship), psychological support, evaluation of work results. Determining the criteria (indicators) by which you will evaluate the results
methods (planning events)	Planning activities for each formulated your goal (task). Determining the required resource (information, labor costs, technical support, finance, etc.) to carry out all activities. Which organizational (management decisions; attracting specialists from other departments) you will need a resource to solve the set tasks
Evaluation (grade results)	Drawing up a schedule of events, responsible, necessary resources and deadlines. Definition of a monitoring plan (evaluation of results), according to what indicators: weekly; monthly; quarterly. Forms of reporting and submission results

One of the important elements of planning the development of an agent network are calculations that will allow you to answer the following questions:

how many agents need to be selected and trained to achieve the planned results, and how much time is needed for this;
what should be the performance of agents;
when the investments made by the company in the development of the agency network will be able to "return" in the form of agency payments for concluded contracts, etc.

Example these and other calculations are proposed below.

At our seminars, a business game "Calculation of the number of agents required to achieve the planned results" is often played. The game always arouses great interest among specialists of insurance companies. Below are some fragments of the business game. This will help you in the future to independently make all the necessary calculations. I would like to immediately note that there are assumptions and conventions that are presented here. This is done solely to make it easier for the participants in their task in a game situation. It is important that the algorithm, the calculation method is clear. According to the feedback of those participants who, at the end of the seminar, did this work again, such a seemingly game situation allowed them, taking into account real data, to make real calculations and use them as guidelines in their practical work on the development of the agent network.

Business game "Calculation of the number of agents required to achieve the planned results"

The goal is to calculate the costs of organizing the recruitment and training of agents, the calculation of the number of working agents necessary to achieve the planned results.

Calculate the costs (investments) for the development of the agent network.
Estimate the volume of agency sales required to return the investment (in the form of agency fees for the policies sold).

Additional condition: the agency portfolio must be balanced (at least three insurance products must be present).

Justify the number of working agents required to achieve the planned results.
Search for "strategies" to improve the results obtained.

Data required for calculations (set at the beginning of the game):

Range of services (to simplify calculations, we limit ourselves to three insurance products):

accident insurance;
insurance of property of individuals (except for vehicle insurance);
vehicle insurance (only CASCO).

The portfolio must be balanced (all three insurance products must be present). The percentage ratio of the volume of insurance payments for "products" in the portfolio of the agency (branch) is also set by the leader. Motor transport - 60%, property insurance of citizens (except for transport insurance) - 25%, accident insurance - 15%.
Empirical coefficients for calculations by types of insurance:

accident insurance - Kns = 2.2;
property insurance of individuals (except for transport insurance) - Kifl = 4.0;
vehicle insurance (only CASCO) - Ktr = 10.0.

"Productivity" of one novice agent (on average) - 10 thousand rubles. per month.
"screening out" agents - 80%. This means that out of 10 trained agents - two agents work with a given performance ("screening out" is taken slightly higher than the market average).
The expenses incurred by the branch (agency) for the development of the agent network and mass types of insurance (for the year) for the main items of expenditure (see paragraph 7 below) - 220 thousand rubles. (for example).
The main items of expenditure (in terms of one year): salaries of specialists (payroll); rental of premises for full-time specialists and for classes with agents; technical support for the work of the agency; media advertising (advertising recruitment of agents) and office expenses (for training purposes); training of full-time specialists (seminars and trainings to increase professional growth)<2>.

<2>In order to simplify the game situation, only part of the costs is taken into account here.

The calculation of "empirical coefficients" is always of great interest to the participants. The calculations are based on two indicators:

unprofitability for a specific insurance product (group of products, on average);
business expenses.

Since both indicators depend on many circumstances and can vary greatly in different companies, the loss ratio (do not be too harsh on this) we took the following (average for the market):

vehicle insurance (CASCO) - 60%;
insurance of property of individuals (except for vehicles) - on average for the entire range (dachas, apartments, etc.) - 45%;
accident insurance - 25%.

The cost of doing business (RVD) was taken as 30%. The RIA includes, among other things, a commission to the agent.

Example calculation of "empirical coefficients" taking into account both indicators is given below.

Calculation of empirical coefficients:

auto insurance: K = 10.0.

Loss ratio \u003d 60%, RVD (including KV agent) \u003d 30%, thus, from 1 rub. agency fees for this type of insurance, minus payments, the company remains 10 kopecks:

100 kop. - (60 kopecks + 30 kopecks) = 10 kopecks

So, to get 1 rub. (as income)<3>, it is necessary that agents bring 10 rubles. insurance premium: 1 rub. : 10 kop. = 100 kop. : 10 kop. = 10.0. K = 10.0;

insurance of property of individuals (except for CASCO): K = 4.0.

<3>Of course, until the contract ends, it's too early to talk about income. This is another assumption in the game - the calculation is made, as they say, "at the checkout".

Loss ratio \u003d 45%, RVD (including CV) \u003d 30%, thus, from 1 rub. the insurance premium for this type of insurance, minus payments, the company remains 25 kopecks:

100 kop. - (45 kopecks + 30 kopecks) = 25 kopecks

So, to get 1 rub. (in the form of income), it is necessary that agents bring 4 rubles of insurance premium: 1 rub. : 25 kop. = 100 kop. : 25 kop. = 4.0. K = 4.0;

accident insurance of citizens: K = 2.2.

Loss ratio \u003d 25%, RVD (including CV) \u003d 30%, thus, from 1 rub. insurance premium for this type of insurance, minus payments, the company remains 45 kopecks:

100 kop. - (25 kopecks + 30 kopecks) = 45 kopecks

So, to get 1 rub. (in the form of income), it is necessary that agents bring 2.2 rubles. insurance premium: 1 rub. : 45 kop. = 100 kop. : 45 kop. = 2.2. K = 2.2.

Task 1

Situation: The company decided to open a new agency (new agency office). Work is planned to organize an agent network (from scratch). For these purposes, a group of two specialists was organized - "head of the agency" and "manager for working with agents" (positions are conditional).

Calculation of the costs (investments) required to organize the recruitment and training of agents for the main items of expenditure (in terms of one year).

Salaries of specialists (PHOT).
Rental of premises for full-time specialists and classes with agents.
Technical support of the agency.
Media advertising (advertising recruitment of agents) and office expenses (for training purposes).
Training of full-time specialists at the expense of the company (external seminars and trainings to increase professional growth).

Example calculation of costs in 220 thousand rubles.

FOT of two specialists:

"head of the agency" - salary of 2 thousand rubles. per month. Per year - 24 thousand rubles.
"Manager for work with agents" - 1 thousand rubles. per month (works additionally under an agency agreement, receives part of the commission). 12 thousand per year

Total - 36 thousand rubles, including taxes (+ 39%) - 50 thousand rubles. in a year.

Rent of premises. Based on the cost of 100 rubles. for 1 sq. m per month. Two rooms. One is permanent. Another - for the duration of classes with agents - 10 days a month.

First room (15 sqm): 15 sqm m x 100 rubles. x 12 months = 18 thousand rubles.

Second (30 sq.m.): 30 sq.m. m x 100 rubles. x 12 months : 3 = 12 thousand rubles.

Total - 30 thousand rubles. in year.

Technical support for employees and the educational process:
personal computer (system unit and screen) - 18 thousand rubles;
printer - 4 thousand rubles;
copier (large) - 20 thousand rubles;
projector with a screen - 8 thousand rubles;
TV and video camera - 20 thousand rubles;
educational board (flipchart) - 6 thousand rubles;
consumables - 10 thousand rubles.

Total - 86 thousand rubles.

Advertising and office expenses. Announcements in the media about the recruitment of agents. The first six months twice a week in two editions. The second six months - twice a week in one edition.

Total - 34 thousand rubles.

Training of full-time specialists in the current year - 20 thousand rubles.

Total - 220 thousand rubles.

Perform a task:

Calculate the costs (investments) required to organize the recruitment and training of agents, according to the main items of expenditure (in terms of one year).

Calculations are made based on the real cost of renting premises, the possibilities for paying employees, etc.

Note: costs should not be 220 thousand rubles. (as in the example).

As a rule, during the calculations, the participants of the seminar have a spread of costs from 250 thousand to 1 million rubles. (depending on the region and the capabilities of the company).

In order for you to better understand how the calculations are carried out, we will repeat them with new data (as participants in a business game).

So, suppose that, having calculated the real costs of developing agency sales (as participants in the game), you received a figure of 800 thousand rubles.

If you calculate, your costs will be approximately in the same range (perhaps, with the exception of the city of Moscow, where both wages and rent for rented premises are high).

Task 2

What should be the volume of agency sales in order to reach the "payback point" of the costs incurred by the agency (branch) for the recruitment and training of agents of 220 thousand rubles? At the same time, the portfolio by types of insurance must be balanced (at least three insurance products must be present).

Example calculation of the volume of agency sales required to return the investment at a cost of 220 thousand rubles. and for a given "portfolio balance".

Let's assume that we plan that in percentage terms the portfolio by types of insurance will look like this: motor vehicle insurance - 60%, accident insurance - 15%, property insurance of individuals - 25%.
Then, in order to cover 1 rub. costs (investment in the development of the agent network), it is necessary that the agents in the form of customer payments for concluded contracts bring:

0.6 x 10.0 + 0.15 x 2.2 + 0.25 x 4.0 \u003d 6.0 + 0.33 + 1.0 \u003d 7.33 rubles. Where:

To cover the costs of 220 thousand rubles. The amount of the collected premium should be:

220,000 x 7.33 \u003d 1,612,600 rubles.

Answer: to cover expenses of 220 thousand rubles. it is necessary that the volume of agency sales amount to 1,612,600 rubles.

Perform a task:

Calculate what should be the volume of agency sales in order to reach the "payback point" of expenses incurred by the branch (agency) for the recruitment and training of agents of 800 thousand rubles. (we got such a figure as a participant in the game when completing task 1). At the same time, the portfolio by types of insurance should be balanced in the same way as in the example: transport insurance - 60%, accident insurance - 15%, property insurance of individuals - 25%. The portfolio must contain at least three insurance products.

Let's do the calculations.

In order to cover 1 rub. costs (investment in the development of the agent network), it is necessary that the agents in the form of customer payments for concluded contracts bring:

(0.6 x 10.0 + 0.15 x 2.2 + 0.25 x 4.0) x 100 \u003d 6.0 + 0.33 + 1.0 \u003d 7.33 rubles. Where:

10.0, 2.2 and 4.0 are empirical coefficients;
0.6, 0.15 and 0.25 - planned balance (% of insurance products) in the portfolio.

To cover the cost of 800 thousand rubles. The amount of the collected premium should be:

800,000 x 7.33 \u003d 5,864,000 rubles.

Answer: to cover expenses of 800 thousand rubles. it is necessary that the volume of agency sales amount to 5864 thousand rubles.

Task 3

Situation: A company has decided to develop its agent network (that is, to recruit new agents and train them) without attracting (temporarily) experienced agents from the market. How many working agents are needed to reach the volume of agency sales of 1,612,600 rubles. How long will it take (months)?

Initial data for calculation (set by the moderator):

monthly you recruit a group for training - no more than 10 people;
out of 10 people, only two remain during the year ("screening out" - 80%);

Example calculation of the number of agents required to achieve a sales volume of 1,612,600 rubles. with monthly training of 10 people:

after 1 month - 2 x 10,000 = 20,000 bonuses;
after 2 months - 4 x 10,000 = 40,000 (60,000);
after 3 months - 6 x 10,000 = 60,000 (120,000);
after 4 months - 8 x 10,000 = 80,000 (200,000);
after 5 months - 10 x 10,000 = 100,000 (300,000);
after 6 months - 12 x 10,000 = 120,000 (420,000);
after 7 months - 14 x 10,000 = 140,000 (560,000);
after 8 months - 16 x 10,000 = 160,000 (720,000);
after 9 months - 18 x 10,000 = 180,000 (900,000);
after 10 months - 20 x 10,000 = 200,000 (1,100,000);
after 11 months - 22 x 10,000 = 220,000 (1,320,000);
after 12 months - 24 x 10,000 = 240,000 (1,560,000);
after 13 months - 26 x 10,000 = 260,000 (1,820,000).

Answer: Given the "parameters" of the calculation, in order to achieve agency sales in the amount of 1,612,600 rubles, it is necessary to prepare 26 working agents.

This will take 13 months.

Initial data for calculation (same):

monthly you recruit a group of no more than 10 people for training;
out of 10 people, only 2 people remain during the year ("screening out" - 80%);
the productivity of working agents is no more than 10 thousand rubles. per month (on average per year).

Since the parameters are the same as in the above example, we will continue our calculations from the 13th month (see Table 1).

Table 1

Month	Number of agents and volume, rub.	Accumulation, rub.	Month	Number of agents and volume, rub.	Accumulation, rub.
13th	26 x 10,000 = 260 000	1 820 000	19th	38 x 10,000 = 380 000	3 820 000
14th	28 x 10,000 = 280 000	2 100 000	20th	40 x 10,000 = 400 000	4 220 000
15th	30 x 10,000 = 300 000	2 400 000	21st	42 x 10,000 = 420 000	4 640 000
16th	32 x 10,000 = 320 000	2 740 000	22nd	44 x 10,000 = 440 000	5 080 000
17th	34 x 10,000 = 340 000	3 080 000	23rd	46 x 10,000 = 460 000	5 560 000
18th	36 x 10,000 = 360 000	3 440 000	24th	48 x 10,000 = 480 000	6 040 000

Answer: Given the "parameters" of the calculation, in order to achieve agency sales in the amount of 5,864,000 rubles, it is necessary to prepare 48 working agents.

This will take 24 months (or two years).

The fact is that two years is too much time for a return on investment by one agency in such a matter as the development of an agent network. I would like the money spent to be returned faster.

Task 4

What strategies can be used in the work, how to "change" the parameters (including in the calculations) in order to achieve an agency sales volume of 5,864,000 rubles. earlier than two years, for example, during the first year?

Of course, the first thing the participants talk about is to reduce costs (costs). But this is way too easy. We do not take it into account. Thus, the costs remain the same.

As a rule, participants in a business game offer the following strategies.

Increase productivity, monthly "production" of agents. So that it is not 10 thousand rubles. per month (on average per year), and more.
Reduce the "screening out" of agents in such a way that out of 10 trained agents, not two agents remain in the company (as per assignment), but more.
Increase the monthly number of trained agents. To recruit a group for training is not 10 people, but more.

As a rule, these three strategies are enough to improve the "result".

For example, change the initial data for the calculation as follows:

monthly we will recruit a group for training of 20 people (and not 10, as before);
suppose that out of 10 people there are four people (“screening out” of 60%, and not 80%, as last time);
let the average productivity of working agents per year be 20 thousand rubles. per month (and not 10, as in the previous calculations).

Run the task with the new calculation parameters:

Calculate how many working agents are needed in order to achieve an agency sales volume of 5,864,000 rubles. How long will it take (months)? What will be the results of sales by the entire agent network for the year (with such parameters), how many working agents will be in the agency at the end of the year.

Since the initial data are new, we carry out the calculation from the 1st month (see Table 2).

table 2

Month	Number of agents and volume, rub.	Accumulation, rub.	Month	Number of agents and volume, rub.	Accumulation, rub.
1st	8 x 20,000 = 160 000	160 000	7th	56 x 20,000 = 1 120 000	4 480 000
2nd	16 x 20,000 = 320 000	480 000	8th	64 x 20,000 = 1 280 000	5 760 000
3rd	24 x 20,000 = 480 000	960 000	9th	72 x 20,000 = 1 440 000	7 200 000
4th	32 x 20,000 = 640 000	1 600 000	10th	80 x 20,000 = 1 600 000	8 800 000
5th	40 x 20,000 = 800 000	2 400 000	11th	88 x 20,000 = 1 760 000	10 560 000
6th	48 x 20,000 = 960 000	3 360 000	12th	96 x 20,000 = 1 920 000	12 480 000

Answer: Given the "parameters" of the calculation:

To achieve agency sales in the amount of 5,864,000 rubles, it is necessary to train 64 working agents. This will take 8 months (next month, agents will bring 7,000,200 rubles of insurance premium).
Under these "parameters" of the work of the agency and the network for the year, the volume of agency sales will be 12,480,000 rubles, while the agent network at the end of the year will consist of 96 working agents.

There are two more interesting strategies that will allow you to significantly improve the result.

Otherwise, balance the agency portfolio. Make, for example, the share of vehicle insurance (the most unprofitable type of insurance) not 60%, but less. Accordingly, the share of less unprofitable insurance products should be increased. Then, at the same cost, the volume of agency sales for return on investment will be less. Try it, calculate it, and you will see for yourself.
Try to find at least one experienced agent per quarter online. Practice shows that an experienced agent brings an average of 100 thousand rubles per month. and more insurance premium (depends on the region and many other conditions). An experienced agent whom you invite, for example, in the first quarter, with a productivity of 100 thousand rubles. itself will bring about 1 million rubles by the end of the year. payments.

At this point, some participants in the business game immediately exclaim: "Why then fence the garden? We took 6-7 experienced agents, and they will bring the same 5-6 million rubles during the year." True, but there are a few problems here.

Problem one

Despite the rather large number of agents working in the insurance market (according to various estimates, from 110 to 150 thousand people), there are actually not so many good insurance representatives, unfortunately.

"Rossiyskaya Gazeta" N 240, 26.10.2005, p. 14 (author - O. Sidorov):

“Together with a motor vehicle citizen, a huge number of “osagists” appeared on the insurance market. These are random people who were unkindly called “clerks” because they, apart from writing out an OSAGO policy, do not know how, although they have the status of an insurance agent. Such an agent is a threat to the market, because it undermines the reputation of not only the insurer for which it works, but also insurance in general. Insurance companies see a solution to the problem in new approaches to training and educating agents."

We can agree with the author of this article regarding the need for new approaches. However, it is known that retraining is always more difficult than teaching immediately. It is for this reason that the agency portfolio of large universal insurance companies that have been working in the insurance market with individuals for a long time is today more balanced than that of those insurers who created their agency network on the wave of OSAGO. It is known that the share of motor vehicle insurance (including OSAGO) in the portfolio of some companies reaches 95%.

Problem two

Unfortunately, there is a large part of insurance representatives who are used to the attention and inflated commissions that companies often offer to attract agents from the market. Such agents move from company to company in search of the best conditions, first of all, for themselves, their relatives, and not for their clients. Needless to say, as soon as such an agent does not like something in the company, he will immediately leave it, of course, along with the clients. These agents are the hardest to keep. And is there a need for this?

We do not want the reader to get the impression that we have a biased and negative attitude towards the agent. We are talking only about negative facts, which, unfortunately, take place.

As for the agent, we are deeply convinced that it is the insurance representative who will be able to help the market become civilized, and insurers to be more attentive to the needs of their clients.

Problem three

Perhaps some of the readers, executives, managers working as agents will not agree with this, but we can say with full confidence: if a company decides to work with a mass consumer of insurance services and use insurance agents as the main sales channel for this purpose - You need to develop your agency network. Otherwise, an extremely difficult situation may arise, when at one moment the company will lose both the majority of good agents and, accordingly, customers. For example when a group of full-time employees leave the company. Or when changing the company's strategy, when it is necessary to reduce the commission fee for an agent for one or more insurance products.

But back to our strategies and business game. Further choice of strategies for your work will depend on the capabilities of your company and regional conditions.

Objectively will help you in choosing one strategy or another:

brand, company's reputation in the local market - will allow you to more easily ensure the filling of a group of novice agents for their training;
the availability of administrative resources and the ability to enter new market segments where agents can be sent will help you provide an "insurance field", which is very important for beginners;
the presence of large enterprises-clients. You can try to negotiate (through management) to create on their territory either additional offices or a network of subagents from among the company's employees to sell your policies. You will have a new agency sales channel - subagents;
an attractive range of insurance "boxed" products for individuals that sell well. Then, most likely, it will not be difficult for you to organize additional training for agents and ensure not only their high monthly output, but also otherwise balance the agency's portfolio (reduce the share of vehicle insurance and OSAGO);
management decision to establish a training center and recruit appropriate specialists. You will be able to work more actively in the market and achieve the planned indicators faster;
the opportunity to organize high-quality internships and post-training support for novice agents, which will definitely affect the “fixation” of agents and reduce their “dropout”, etc.

Undoubtedly, one of the important conditions for the implementation of the strategy you have chosen and the achievement of the planned results will be the system of your work on the recruitment, training and support of the professional activities of novice agents.

The presented fragment of the business game will help you not only justify your proposals for the further development of the network of agents, but also decorate them with your own calculations.

Summary

Work on the development of an agent network is a painstaking and time-consuming process that requires not only extensive experience, special knowledge and time costs from specialists in working with agents, but also a system in operation. From the standpoint of a systematic approach, such work can be presented in the form of successive steps: planning; professional selection; preparation (including internship and post-training); psychological support for the professional activities of agents; evaluation of the result; assessment of the effectiveness of ongoing activities.

The head of the structural unit, who is tasked with the development of agency sales, the manager who was invited to the company for these purposes, begins their work with an analysis of the situation and an assessment of the resource. The assessment of the available and missing resources in terms of the development of the agent network and retail agent sales is an element of the strategic planning of the insurance company, which has set as its goal the promotion of services to the mass consumer using agents as the main sales channel for insurance products.

To carry out such an assessment from the position of a systematic approach, a simple and accessible method, a practical and effective tool, is needed. Such a method is the "marketing approach to assessing the situation and planning the development of the agent network", and the "10-factor resource assessment model" is just such a universal tool (see the article "How to conduct an "audit" of your own agent network" published in the previous issue of the journal ).

Analysis of the situation from the standpoint of ten factors: the image of the company; target market segments; the range of services offered; pricing strategies; service provided to customers; distribution channels; management; control systems: advertising; offers (points of sale) - allows not only to objectively assess the opportunities and threats (from the market), the strengths and weaknesses of the company, but also to justify the need for changes that would contribute to the creation of favorable conditions for the further development of the agent network.

One of the important elements of assessing the situation and available resources is the analysis of the quality of the agent network. When it comes to the quality of the agent network, in addition to the features (parameters) that determine its dignity, we also mean the quality of the agent "portfolio".

When planning work on the development of an agent network, you can use a simple and convenient model known as the DOME method.

An important element of planning your work are calculations that would allow you to answer the following questions:

what investments are needed to develop the agent network?
When will the money invested in development return in the form of agency fees?
What should be the performance indicators of the structural units responsible for the recruitment, training and support of agents?
what strategies are optimal to achieve the planned results? Etc.

One of, perhaps, the most important conditions for the implementation of the strategy you have chosen and the achievement of the planned results will be the system of your work on the recruitment, training and support of the professional activities of novice agents. What else does a systematic approach and the use of a marketing model give us in assessing the situation and planning the development of an agent network?

First, it gives us a very important element - the element of meaningfulness in our work.

"I must understand what I am doing in the market and what, what factors may affect the effectiveness of my work; what can I do, how to influence the final result, what resource do I have, what is not enough, what needs to be done to make it appeared."

Secondly, since there is responsibility for the assigned area of work, it is necessary to control the situation. Control means the ability to "start - change - finish". Is there always such a possibility? But in order to control the situation, you need to have information (knowledge). Lack of information makes it impossible to exercise control, which means that our behavior is irresponsible.

Finally, the proposed model, in fact, is a very simple and accessible tool, a way to plan, organize, manage and monitor not only the agent network, but the entire retail business as a whole.

In conclusion, I must express my gratitude to the specialists and managers of insurance companies, the participants of my seminars and trainings, my colleagues in the shop, with whose help I was able not only to adapt, but also to introduce the proposed solutions into the practice of the agency network development specialists.

Yu.F.Kushelev

business coach, consultant

The development of agency sales is a painstaking and time-consuming process that requires specialists working with agents not only to have experience, special knowledge and a lot of time, but also to a certain extent a systematic approach. The main principle of effective organizational construction of an insurance company is its maximum focus on the final result, customer satisfaction with the price and quality of insurance services.

A systematic approach to the development of retail agent sales and the agent network involves solving at least five management tasks: analysis of the current situation, planning, organizing sales, managing the agent network, monitoring the results. As you know, "a system is a kind of integrity, consisting of interdependent parts, each of which contributes to the characteristics of the whole"

There are two main types of systems: closed and open. A closed system has rigid fixed boundaries, its actions are relatively independent of the environment surrounding the system. An open system is characterized by interaction with the external environment. Its well-being and quality of work depend on energy, information, materials coming from outside. Such a system is not self-sufficient, it must be adaptive and adapt to changes in the external environment in order to continue its functioning. Any business organization is an open system and its survival depends on the outside world. The personnel training system, the motivation system are open systems and must be adapted to the conditions of the organization and external conditions, for example, to the market. The agent network development system is also an open system. From the standpoint of a systematic approach, it can be represented as successive steps or actions (Figure 4):

Figure 4 - Agent network development system

The scheme presented in Figure 4 fits all the work of the company's managers responsible for the development of the agent network and the achievement of planned results. Each of the individual elements of this work, from planning to performance evaluation, in turn, is a system and can also be considered from the standpoint of a systematic approach.

Planning is a system that requires an analysis of the situation, the formulation of goals and objectives, the justification of specific activities and budgets for each of the elements of work. And all this is aimed at one goal - to achieve the planned result.

Professional selection system, which includes activities for the qualitative recruitment of agents (first stage), initial training and passing the test (second stage), internship (third stage).

Agent training (training) is a system that includes several stages in succession: basic (primary) training, internship (post-training), specialization, advanced training of agents.

Psychological support of professional activity is a system that includes post-training and internship support activities for novice agents, crisis prevention at work ("professional burnout") for experienced agents, activities that contribute to the formation (maintenance) of agents' motivation, personal and professional development.

Evaluation of the result is a system that allows you to formulate evaluation criteria (quantitative and qualitative indicators), see an objective (actual) assessment of the result obtained, compare it with the planned result (standard).

Necessary and obligatory conditions for the development of agency sales are:

Target market. Target market segments of potential consumers for which the company's agents work. Promising markets for the company. What markets does the company plan to enter this year? In what target markets does the company have real competitive advantages, due to what.

Product. What do agents mostly sell? The range of services offered for the mass consumer. demand for the services offered. Competitiveness of the offered assortment. To what extent can sales department specialists (including agents) influence the development of new insurance products (modification of old ones)? How satisfied are the staff of the selling division (including agents) with the range of retail services offered for legal entities and individuals?

Agents commission for various insurance products. The value of the commission of agents in comparison with the main competitors. The degree of influence of the heads of the selling divisions on the pricing policy, changes in the commission to the agent.

Service. How do staff and agents evaluate the service provided by the company to its customers (by different types)? Provision by the company of additional services to the client (accident commissioner, tow truck, lawyer, temporary housing, etc.). Convenient location of the office, the availability of the necessary premises to work with the client. The quality of after-sales customer service by the head office staff (justified customer complaints). Possibility for the agent to use (if necessary) office equipment and telephones, e-mail and the Internet. Justified customer complaints about the work of agents.

Control system. How is the management of the agent network organized in the company's retail sales system? The place of recruitment and training of agents, current work with the agent network in the structure of the company's business processes. Availability of regulations on selling divisions, job descriptions of personnel responsible for working with agents, other regulatory documents (regulations on the recruitment, training, internship of agents). The presence of a system of material incentives and career growth of agents.

Evaluation of the activity of the agency network. One of the important elements in the evaluation of the agent network is the analysis of the quality of the agent network. When talking about the quality of the agent network, we mean the following properties, features that determine its dignity:

age and education of agents;

the ratio of the number of employees to the total number of agents;

performance of working agents;

screening agents;

dynamics of insurance premium collections.

An indicator of the quality of the agent network is also the quality of the agent "portfolio". Portfolio analysis is also carried out for a certain period of time, most often for a year. The indicators can be analyzed both for the agency portfolio as a whole and for each agent separately, especially when it comes to competition among agents:

portfolio balance (types of insurance products as a percentage);

the percentage of prolongation of old contracts;

number of contracts per client, sale of additional policies to existing clients;

the number of new customers to the total number of customers;

unprofitability (taken into account either for each insurance product, or for the portfolio as a whole).

You can analyze the insurance portfolio using such an indicator as portfolio balance as follows:

Figure 5 The level of insurance premiums and payments for direct insurance, presented in the annual statements of Rosgosstrakh LLC (in %)

Figure 6 Dynamics of insurance payments and premiums by types of insurance (2011)

Voluntary insurance prevails in the insurance portfolio of Rosgosstrakh LLC, both in 2010 and 2011. The share of insurance premiums in 2011 compared to 2010 for voluntary insurance decreased by 0.96% due to a decrease in life insurance premiums by 0.02% and property insurance by 4.20%. The share of insurance premiums for compulsory insurance in 2011 compared to 2010 increased by 0.96% due to a decrease in insurance premiums for voluntary insurance.

The share of insurance payments in 2011 compared to 2010 for voluntary insurance decreased by 3.49% due to a decrease in insurance payments for life insurance and property insurance by 4.32%. The share of insurance payments in 2011 compared to 2010 for compulsory insurance decreased by 9.01%.

You can evaluate the activity of the agent network as follows by solving the problem "Calculation of the number of agents to achieve the required financial result"

Situation: A company has decided to develop its agent network (that is, to recruit new agents and train them), without attracting (temporarily) experienced agents from the market. How many active agents do you need to reach the volume of agency sales of 4 million rubles? How long will it take (months)?

Initial data for calculation:

Every month you recruit a group of no more than 10 people for training;

Out of 10 people, only two people remain during the year ("screening out" 80%);

The productivity of working agents is no more than 30 thousand rubles. per month (on average per year).

An example of calculating the number of agents required to achieve a sales volume of 1 million 612 thousand 600 rubles:

1. With monthly training of 10 people:

After 1 month - 2 x 30,000 = 60,000 bonuses;

After 2 months - 4 x 30,000 = 120,000 (180,000);

After 3 months - 6 x 30,000 = 180,000 (360,000);

After 4 months - 8 x 30,000 = 240,000 (600,000);

After 5 months - 10 x 30,000 = 300,000 (900,000);

After 6 months - 12 x 30,000 = 360,000 (1,260,000);

After 7 months - 14 x 30,000 = 420,000 (1,680,000);

After 8 months - 16 x 30,000 = 480,000 (2,160,000);

After 9 months - 18 x 30,000 = 540,000 (2,700,000);

After 10 months - 20 x 30,000 = 600,000 (3,300,000);

After 11 months - 22 x 30,000 = 660,000 (3,960,000);

After 12 months - 24 x 30,000 = 720,000 (4,020,000).

Conclusion: Given the "parameters" of the calculation, in order to achieve agent sales in the amount of 4 million rubles, it is necessary to prepare 24 working agents. This will take 12 months.

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