No matter the size of your independent insurance agency, your future success depends on finding the best producers and professionals. Yet owners of small- to mid-size agencies shy away from talent development, believing they cannot compete with larger agencies and carriers on budget.
However, financial resources are just one part of the equation. Agencies that know where to find qualified producers hire the ones more likely to thrive. Mentoring them thoughtfully offers the potential to win the talent race and set their agencies up for the next chapter of growth.
Step 1: Look in the places others ignore
Many carriers and larger agencies build their talent pipelines with graduates from nationally recognized four-year risk management programs. Smaller agencies can differentiate their strategies by seeking top talent from within their communities.
Career fairs at local four-year colleges, community colleges and high schools offer an ideal forum for agencies to engage students and showcase the wealth of opportunities available in our industry. Students who discover they can apply their marketing, IT and other skills to insurance often find a career path they would never have otherwise considered absent a deliberate introduction to the industry.
Smaller agencies that seek producers also should tap veteran talent from inside and outside of the insurance industry. A cell phone salesperson who crushes quotas every month might be a better long-term fit than a producer who has worked at several different agencies and switches companies every two years to maximize commissions.
Read the full article by Sequel Insurance Agencies’ President, Tim DeRosa, posted on PIA New England in the September 1, 2026.