Question: We have hired a marketing/salesman to call on insurance agents. We were wondering if you had suggestions on rate of pay, commission etc for this employee. Any feedback is welcome.
Answer from Jeff Bishop, SCRT Technical Director
The following is excerpted from our book, Fire’s Out! . . Now What?
According to the job descriptions we examined in Fire’s Out!, Part 1, Chapter 3 – Getting the Right People, the person who has primary responsibility for calling on agents and adjusters is the Disaster Coordinator. This person should be outgoing enough to have no problem initiating meetings with potential sources of business and engaging them in a concise discussion of the benefits of using your company.
Several restoration company owners have stepped out of the traditional marketing box by hiring retired agents or adjusters to accomplish direct marketing for them. This is usually a good idea when the Disaster Coordinators become so busy coordinating claims that they have little time left for marketing.
After a brief period of orientation to the restoration company’s mission, organization and service list, these mature, experienced professionals can use their in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry to contact the major sources of restoration business. They probably have many contacts from their former jobs, and they have first-hand knowledge of the needs of both agents and adjusters, and they can translate the company’s marketing message in terminology that those sources of business understand.
Allow me to offer an example of this concept.
Years ago, an innovative restorer hired a retired insurance adjuster as his marketing coordinator. This person also happened to be a past-president of the regional adjuster’s association. He was well liked, respected and highly experienced.
He began his part-time job working two days per week. The rest of his time was spent playing golf or traveling. However, he was so successful at drawing business to the restoration company that soon, he was asked to expand his work week to three days and to include calling on insureds whose claims were being processed by the company as a public relations measure.
Eventually, due to his marketing efforts, the company’s business expanded to the extent that he was asked to add another day to his work week to scope and price a few jobs. Within the first year, the “retired” adjuster was working full time.
At that point he quit!
What should have happened is that the restoration company should have hired another retired agent or adjuster to continue the marketing and PR program consistently.
Having said all that, compensation for a retiree who works at his or her leisure need not be that expensive. In fact, golfing green fees may be an attractive part of the hiring package.
In one company I am affiliated with, we have a Disaster Coordinator whose primary job description is to sell and coordinate restoration work. After a claim comes in, the DC also is required to provide a job scope and pricing, coordinate the claim with the insurance rep, and then coordinate and manage the job from start to finish. This person has a nominal weekly salary, and earns a commission on completed work.
If the person you hire does only direct sales and has no involvement in claims coordination and completion, then a compensation program can be somewhat difficult to define. Perhaps it can be based on the overall increase in business in the Disaster Division.
Hope this helps.
