As I'm getting ready for our Million Dollar Sales Day in June, I wanted to get the pulse of the state of agent's satisfaction with their SALES process. So we did an industry-wide survey. Results are eye-opening, to say the least... it seems most agents are not satisfied with what's happening in their agencies AFTER they've gotten the phones to ring.

So, is selling "dirty"? My observation is that even though many CSRs are uncomfortable selling or seeing themselves as "salespeople," the real problem is a systemic one. That is, the sales CULTURE is weak in many agencies because the sales SYSTEMS are weak. And the results of our survey bear this out:

On a scale of 1-5 (1 = NOT satisfied; 5 = VERY satisfied):

How satisfied are you with the SALES part of your overall process in your agency? Average rating: 2.45. 52.1% scoring only a 1 or a 2. 1.5% VERY satisfied(!).

How satisfied are you with your process for closing INBOUND calls? Average rating: 2.37. A whopping 62.7% scoring only a 1 or a 2. Ouch. 3% VERY satisfied.

If applicable, how satisfied are you with your OUTBOUND sales process? Average rating: 2.12 (with 10.4% saying "does not apply" which, I assume means they do NOTHING with outbound sales opportunities.) ZERO % VERY satisfied(!).

If applicable, how satisfied are you with your PRODUCERS' production? Average rating 2.43.  1.5% VERY satisfied.

Additionally, when asked "which of these would you LIKE to have that you currently DON'T have," 63.6% said a SYSTEM for closing INBOUND calls, 40.9% said outside-the-office field reps (i.e., PRODUCERS) - and a whopping 81.8% said an OUTBOUND sales system for closing unconverted leads!

Looks like few agencies have what even they deem to be a SYSTEM for making inbound OR outbound sales. And, as expected, most agencies seem to be tossing unconverted leads in the trash...

What about YOUR agency?