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Best Practices agencies are always on the lookout for prospective producers. To help, the “Top Producers: Discover, Train, Reward” guide offers tips and ideas for working through the selection, development and motivation process. Here are four quick tips to keep in mind:

Don’t be wooed by insurance experience. When networking in the insurance industry, it’s easy to get tunnel vision for hiring someone who has already passed their insurance exams and has an existing book of business. This approach is easy and takes less time, but does not guarantee success. Instead, look into the individual's motivation for changing agencies, their demonstrated ability to produce their own book of business and their willingness to fit into your agency structure. Ask yourself: “If this person had no experience, would I hire him or her?”

People who are good at selling tangible products are not necessarily good at selling intangible products—and vice versa. If you are looking outside the insurance industry for a producer, keep in mind that insurance is an intangible product. To sell intangible products, producers must visualize and communicate that visualization without having something actually in hand. Someone who is good at selling intangible products might possess qualities like conceptual thinking, a sense of urgency and good judgment about people.

Enlist the help of your employees in locating candidates. Your employees are part of a huge network in the industry—they all have their own resources.

Wait for the best potential producer. Searching for good job candidates is a waiting game that requires great patience. Don’t give up after several weeks or months and hire the lesser of a few evils. You know what you are looking for—don’t settle for less.

Take your agency from good to great with the full line of Best Practices resources—including the top producer guide and the newly released 2014 Best Practices Study Update.