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21.

Great Producers know their product, their competition, and their market, inside and out.

22.

Great Producers selectively quote. They analyze and pick every shot.

23.

Great Producers are calculated and figure angles. They find and work from positions of strength.

24.

Great Producers look to be unique and search for unique opportunities.

25.

Great Producers show up when everyone else has given up.

26.

Great Producers speak of a selling process rather than transactional selling events.

27.

Great Producers thrive on new activity, not old.

28.

Great Producers enjoy the challenge of complexity, flourish on creativity, and are bored by normalcy.

29.

Great Producers know what others don’t, or they will take the time to find out.

30.

Great Producers move quickly away from lost causes and focus on developing opportunity.

Who They Work With

The most dynamic, unpredictable, and fascinating components of any sales process are the relationships – relationships between people who sell things for a living and people who buy from them. Ordinary people, perhaps, at first glance. But if you dig below the surface a bit you’ll find an extraordinary glossary of experiences, motives, values, behaviors, habits, beliefs, ambitions, fears, emotions, expectations, likes, and dislikes that combine to form the core of our existence and define who we really are. It is at this level that decisions are evaluated and made, and, though this may appear quite obvious, it is also the “human element” most ignored by those of us whose livelihood depends on our ability to influence the decision making process.

Great Producers seem to do a better job than most at attracting, creating, and maintaining long-term client, industry, organizational, and personal relationships. While many producers focus on product, policy, price, and transactions; Great Producers focus their attention on the people and their needs and expectations. Further, Great Producers demand the same from those that work with them and for them. As a result, they tend to work with fewer, more carefully selected clients. Great Producers build networks with like-minded professionals and usually attract new clients through referrals and reputation.

31.

Great Producers don’t discover clients, they create them.

32.

Great Producers fish in stocked ponds, not open oceans.

33.

Great Producers work exclusively with clients who will work with them.

34.

Great Producers know that some relationships come and go. They focus on the comers.

35.

Great Producers conduct a formal client needs assessment prior to making product recommendations.

36.

Great Producers educate rather than “sell” - they provide their clients with enough information to make informed decisions.

37.

Great Producers view each relationship uniquely.

38.

Great Producers are heavily networked within the industry and their community.

39.

Great Producers go beyond product to provide their clients with value, integrity, and trust.

40.

Great Producers are magnets for new and creative opportunities.

How They Think

Some of the most positive, well-balanced people that I have ever had the opportunity to meet are at the top of their game. Knowing that they didn’t start there, I ask them how they, above most others, overcame the challenges, frustrations, turmoil, and anxiety inherent in building a career and a stable book of business. The answer to this question is always the same – they simply never believed they couldn’t. The power of positive thinking and its associated benefits are well documented and impact everything that we do. Great Producers are very positive people.

41.

Great Producers never believe that they “can’t” or they “won’t”, so they don’t . . . fail.

42.

Great Producers aren’t consumed by what’s on their desk; they are consumed by what isn’t.

43.

Great Producers are competitive, internally and externally.

44.

Great Producers have a decent boldness; they often say no but rarely hear no.

45.

Great Producers view their profession as challenging but not difficult.

46.

Great Producers play hurt.

47.

Great Producers are proud, determined, and appropriately entitled.

48.

Great Producers depend on faith and work, not luck and circumstance.

49.

Great Producers find success, they do not wait for it to find them.

50.

Great Producers have bad moments, not bad days.

So, there you have it my friends. The top 50 traits of Great Producers. Their methods are simple, the ideas logical, and the potential for personal and professional growth phenomenal. In my fifteen years of coaching, supporting, and training this program and our process, I have had the wonderful experience of watching good producers become great producers, the luxury of watching the impossible become probable, the theoretical become practical, and the gap between performance and potential become forever bridged with countless participants. If you or someone you know needs help to become a Great Producer, I encourage you to join us in Lansing this March to begin your own personal journey.

The author
Scott Primiano is the founding partner of Polestar Performance Programs, Inc., an industry leader in agency and carrier management training and consulting programs (www.gopolestar.com). He is nationally recognized for his inspiring and effective approach to producer and underwriter professional development.