All:
I am posting up an article written by Steve that can really help you in recruiting, expecially recruiting those who aspire to become insurance agents.
TUTORIAL:
Welcome to this tutorial on how to use LinkedIn to find better candidates for the sales and service positions on your team. If you are like most individuals who are using online job boards to find qualified candidates, you are very frustrated with the small number of quality candidates. The job board search approach to recruiting is a reactive search method. To increase the likelihood of finding better qualified candidates, it has become necessary in today’s environment to create a proactive approach to finding candidates.
There are many people who desire a better career opportunity, and they don’t have a resume online. However, they’re dissatisfied with their current career path, and would entertain a conversation with you about the right kind of opportunity.
The goal of using LinkedIn is to primarily find individuals interested in owning their own agency. You are looking for the entrepreneur who is frustrated with the corporate environment and who wants to be in control of their destiny.
Many individuals you contact are very content in their secure corporate job. A few, however, will get very excited about quickly becoming a business owner who can control their destiny.
This tutorial has three sections. The first section is the message you want to communicate to these individuals. The second section deals with how to find and get in touch with them. The third section deals with posting a job on LinkedIn.
Section 1 – The Message.
After you have found a person who fits your entrepreneurial profile, communicate this message:
Many agents within our company are retiring. We are hiring individuals to take over these existing offices or start new offices. I am hiring individuals into my management training program who are interested in this entrepreneurial opportunity to be their own boss. I will train you on all you need to know to take advantage of this opportunity. As an agency owner, you have the opportunity to earn $150-500,000 depending on how hard and smart you work. If you are interested in this opportunity, call me at ___________, or send your resume to _____________. I look forward to hearing from you.
Section 2 – Finding Individuals:
Let’s first talk about what level of LinkedIn account you will need. When you follow the search instructions in this video, and you are getting low results, you may need to upgrade your account from a “free” account to the “Premium” subscription. The current rate for this subscription is $47 monthly. To upgrade your account, click on the “Me” tab in the upper right corner of the page. Go to “Account” settings to upgrade. The “Premium” account may give you better search options. I have had conversations with agents who have a free account, and they get the same search results as the Premium account. Other agents had to upgrade to the Premium account. I am unsure as to why. This is one of the many mysteries on LinkedIn.
Follow these instructions to find individuals:
You are looking for salespeople who live and work in your area for the larger companies who have a strong recruiting and training program. Many of these companies hire great people and give them great training; however, some of the more entrepreneurial types get very frustrated with the slow climb and corporate structure. These types are always on the hunt and are very receptive to the “own your own business” message.
Start the search using these companies. After you have exhausted the search inside these companies, follow the instructions below to find more companies in your area who have salespeople.
Search for salespeople who work in your area at these companies: Enterprise Rent-a-Car, ADP (Automated Data Processing – Human Resources), Paychex (Human Resources), Verizon Wireless (Retail Stores), Sprint (Retails Stores), US Cellular (Retail Stores).
Follow these instructions to find more companies in your area who have salespeople:
1. Click on the “Jobs” tab in the top blue header bar.
2. At the top left of the page in the “Search jobs” box, type “sales”.
3. In the “Search location” box, type your city. If you are in a small city, type the name of the nearest, largest metropolitan city.
You will see a list of all the companies near your location who are hiring salespeople. These are the same companies who have salespeople who may be looking for a new opportunity. Look for companies in your area who are larger companies who sell products business to business. These types of companies typically hire better salespeople. Add these companies to the list of companies to search for salespeople.
I would steer clear of looking for individuals who work at other insurance companies. Even though they may be licensed, this has not been a productive source for strong candidates.
Follow these instructions to find individuals who work at your target list of companies.
1. Click on the “Home” tab.
2. Click in the “Search” box in the upper left corner of the page and a drop down will appear. Click on the “People” option. You will see a list of people with a header that says, “Showing (a large number) of results. My account shows “Showing 3,942,199 results”. Your results will depend upon the number of connections you have and possibly the type of account you have.
3. Narrow this search number down by using the filters at the top of the page. Click on the “Locations” tab and type in the name of your city. If the number of “Showing (a large number) results” does not change, type in the name of the nearest metropolitan city.
4. Click on the “Current Companies” tab and enter the name of one of the companies on your list. You should now be looking at a list of individuals who have profiles on LinkedIn, who live in your area, and who work at your target company.
5. Look through this list of individuals and target those who have been with the company for a few months to 3 years. Do not contact the managers or assistant managers until you have worked through all the salespeople and individuals in the management training positions.
The next step is communicating with these individuals. There are several ways to communicate with them.
1. Invite them to connect. Click on the person’s name and view their profile. Click on the “Connect” button at the top of the page. If they accept your invitation, you can send them a direct message. Use the message in Section 1 above.
2. If you have a Premium subscription, you can send 13 direct messages to people who are not in your 1st line of connections. Send the message in Section 1 above.
3. Look up the phone number for their business, call and ask for them. If you get their voice mail, or if you get them on the phone, leave or say the message in Section 1.
Just like selling, this type of proactive recruiting is a numbers game. The more people to whom you reach out and communicate the entrepreneurial opportunity, the more likely you are to find the interested person. There are many people who like the security of their corporate sales job. These are not the people you want on your team. However, there are a few people who will get very excited about the opportunity to be their own boss and control their destiny. These are the people you want on your team.
Section 3 – Posting a Job on LinkedIn
Follow these instructions for posting a job on LinkedIn:
1. Click on the “Jobs” tab in the blue header bar at the top of the page.
2. Click on “Post a Job” in the upper right of the page.
3. Follow the instructions for posting the job information. Title the job “Sales Manager Training Position”. Use the following information to describe the job:
Many agents within our company are retiring. We are hiring individuals to take over these existing offices or start new offices. I am hiring individuals into my management training program who are interested in this entrepreneurial opportunity to be their own boss. I will train you on all you need to know to take advantage of this opportunity. As an agency owner, you have the opportunity to earn $150-500,000 depending on how hard and smart you work.
Can you see yourself in this story?
Several years ago, Maria was very frustrated with her career. Having worked hard every day to serve her customers, the limitations of advancement and negative culture inside her company caused her to yearn for an opportunity where she was in more control over destiny. She had an entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to be her own boss and get paid in proportion to her efforts. She was looking for a company that had a positive sales culture, multiple products that would allow her to meet the growing needs of the marketplace, and was a leader in the industry.
She knew that she had what it takes. She was honest, hard working, had a high concern for others, and was willing to accept responsibility for her destiny. She knew that this new career would require her to network in the community to find new prospects, set and pursue goals, handle herself with confidence, master product knowledge and sales skills, and build and manage a team of selling professionals. Although this sounded like a challenge, it was the exact challenge she was looking for, because she knew that she would be working for herself and could use her skills to gain her financial independence.
It’s now 4 years later. Maria has invested the time and energy to build a strong selling and servicing team. She took advantage of the strong leadership and coaching from her sales leader. She executed the tried-and-true model that proved successful for many other State Farm agents. Her income is above and beyond what she could’ve ever imagined. She has more free time, travels every year on company award trips, helps her clients build solid financial futures, provides employment for a team of successful individuals, and is excited about the retirement income she is building for herself and her family.
If you can see yourself in this picture, we can help you achieve the career of your dreams. This career is not for everyone. You must be driven and willing to invest the time and energy early on in order to reap the rewards and future gains.
If you have what it takes, please send your resume to ____________________________ at ______________________________________. We are eager to meet you and help you begin the career journey of your dreams.
4. Try the free posting for 1 week. If you do not get satisfactory candidates, spend $200-300 monthly to boost the post.
After having attempted these steps, and if you have questions, email me at stevesuggs@mac.com or schedule a call with me at https://salesmanage.com/contact/steve.