To advance its sales capabilities, classic car and boat insurance provider Hagerty established a sales model that captures the company’s best practices and aligns them with its unique value proposition and clients’ needs. The Client Centered Solutions (CCS) model establishes expectations, common language, skills, and behaviors across all sales roles and segments.
Program Details
To support the development of the skills and behaviors represented in the model, Hagerty Service Center managers and Agency Sales Team members participated in multiple sessions that included an instructor-led overview, call observation, role-play, group call reviews, and calibration sessions. The role-play scenarios allowed participants to practice newly learned skills and to observe others completing the exercises. After a manager or sales member practiced the role-plays in a classroom setting, he or she completed live calls while a trainer observed. This allowed for real-time feedback and coaching during participants’ daily roles. After the call, there was also a chance to talk about strengths and opportunities within the call around the CCS model. Managers from the call center also were encouraged to bring real scenarios they were experiecing in their roles to practice in class.
An introduction to the model also is incorporated into Hagerty’s six-week new hire Sales Agent training program, so employees learn and practice the skills as they learn the other requirements of the role. New hire training incorporates formal classroom training to learn the basics of the model, role-play scenarios to be completed with a mentor, and practice taking live calls with a mentor. Mentors encourage behaviors that support the selling model during and after calls that help new agents successfully meet their goals and metrics.
The CCS model behaviors also are supported through call listening sessions for licensed agents. Weekly, agents are provided 30 minutes off the phone to listen to their own calls and complete a scoring sheet where they rank their behaviors under each part of the model from “Oops, I missed it” to “World class.” After agents score their calls, their manager can see which calls they reviewed, score them themselves, and then compare the scores to see if there was alignment in the grading of the calls. This provides a valuable agenda for weekly coachings between the agent and manager, pinpointing mastered skills or areas of opportunity.
Results
Agent Business:
- Overall written premium up 15.8 percent over 2016
- New business counts up 24.4 percent over 2016
- New business premium up 32.4 percent over 2016
Direct Business:
- New business premimum up 5 percent over 2016
- Overall written premium up 18.7 percent over 2016
- New business counts up 11.5 percent over 2016
