The Questions That Separate Exceptional Producers From Average Ones 

Hey, benefits agency leaders. 

Let me tell you a story. 

I spend a lot of time with your industry counterparts who share the same frustration: “We can’t hire and develop young producers successfully.” 

Believe me, I understand. Hiring the right people is always hard, especially young salespeople. And developing them into confident, consistent revenue producers is even harder. In fact, I’d argue that the ability to successfully hire, train, and develop young producers is the single most limiting factor in growing an agency. 

But it shouldn’t be as difficult as most make it.  

Imagine this for a moment:  

What would your agency look like if you had a bench (or even one or two) of young sales professionals who show up prepared and follow through on their work, with results that speak for themselves?  

That’s not a hypothetical scenario. I see it happening every week in the agencies with whom we work. 

One of the most valuable benefits of being part of the Goose community is the opportunity for team members to participate in our Peer Accountability and Roundtable (PAR) groups. These are intentionally small cohorts of professionals who share similar experience levels and day-to-day responsibilities. They meet every other week with accountability as the anchor. The conversation centers on real work and real progress.

I recently met with one of our PAR groups made up of rookie producers (individuals who have been selling in the benefits industry for less than two years). The focus of the call was accountability reporting, and the results were beyond impressive. 

However, before I share those results, it’s important to understand why these sessions are effective. 

With accountability, ask the right questions 

Every PAR accountability session is structured around a consistent set of questions: 

• Did you accomplish your ONE THING from our last call? 

• Since our last call, how many opportunities have you added to your pipeline? 

• Of the opportunities that were already in your pipeline, how many did you move forward? 

• What has been your biggest success since our last call? 

• What has been your biggest challenge since our last call? 

• If you could only accomplish ONE THING before our next call, what would it need to be? 

These questions may be simple, but get to the core of what makes producers successful. Producers have to put real numbers on their activity. That forces reflection. From there, the next action becomes obvious. 

There’s no hiding behind “being busy,” vague updates, or blaming the market, prospects, or timing. 

These questions ensure clarity; producers know what they own and what comes next. 

This is important for young producers. They need instruction, tools, structure, and repetition, and to learn, as early in their career as possible, that success in this business comes from doing the right things consistently, not waiting until they “feel ready.” 

The answers speak for themselves 

Here are a few highlights from that session’s call: 

• M - Added nine new opportunities to their pipeline. Moved four forward. Closed three of them.

• T - Closed three new clients, generating total annualized revenue that is at least twice what most veteran producers generate in an entire year. 

• C - Doubled their Medicare book of business in the fourth quarter. 

• D - Added two new opportunities and retained 100% of a sizable, assigned book of business last year. 

• G - Added three new opportunities and moved one all the way to close. 

Like I promised, impressive, right? 

And none of this happened by accident. 

Training, coaching, and accountability are not optional 

One of those truths we know but too many choose to ignore: Most producers, especially young ones, will not survive, much less reach their potential, without intentional training, ongoing coaching, and honest accountability. 

This isn’t a once-a-year or “when there’s time” commitment from agency leadership. It must be provided frequently and consistently. 

Peer accountability takes the game to a whole new level. When producers know they’re going to report their numbers, wins, challenges, and ONE THING to a group of peers who are doing the same hard work, behavior changes and healthy habits are formed. I watch as standards rise and momentum builds across these cohorts. 

The producers stop seeing themselves as “new” and begin to see themselves as the professionals they are becoming. 

For agency owners, this is the shift that unlocks scalable growth. When producer development doesn’t rely solely on you but is reinforced through systems, coaching, and peer groups, you build depth, confidence, and consistency across your team. 

The question isn’t whether young producers can succeed. The real question is whether agency leadership is willing to give them the structure and accountability required to make that success inevitable. 

If you are willing to make that commitment to your producers, their results might surprise you.