Excuses Stink

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As a producer, you are afforded incredible opportunities—opportunities that many professionals in other fields can only dream of. You make a positive impact on the businesses and lives of your clients, drive the growth and success of your agency, have an amazing work/life balance (with the exception of 4th quarter 😑), and have the potential to earn a very nice income.  

However, with such great opportunities comes an equally great responsibility. 

Your role is critical: You bring a steady and reliable stream of new business to the agency. This isn’t a side task or a “when I feel like it” duty—it is the core function of your position. The success of the agency and its ability to grow, provide superior service, and invest in resources all stem from your ability to consistently generate new clients.

It’s not me, it’s you 

Yet, despite this, many producers spend more time making excuses for why they can’t generate new business than they do in actually pursuing it. One of the most common excuses is that they cannot sell more new business due to service team issues.  

Producers argue that if they bring in new clients, the service team is either understaffed or lacks the skills to properly service them. Either way, the producers claim the service team issues will lead to poor client experiences and, ultimately, retention issues.  

If that is true, the agency leadership must address the issue by investing in additional training, expanding the service team, or improving internal processes. Agencies must ensure their service teams are equipped to handle growth, but that is a separate discussion. 

Well, maybe it is me 

This reasoning is often nothing more than a fabricated excuse. In many cases, producers use this argument to mask the real issue and deflect blame: they are not consistently selling new business.  

Selling is a difficult and scary job—it requires persistence, strategic thinking, and a willingness to push through rejection. Building a strong pipeline of opportunities, nurturing leads, and converting them into clients takes effort and resilience. No, selling isn’t easy, but this is the very job you signed up for, and it is the key to both your success and the success of the agency as a whole. 

If every producer performed at the level of excellence they expect from the service team, agencies would see organic growth rates soar. The agency would flourish, creating more opportunities for investment in additional team members, better technology, and enhanced client services.  

On the other hand, if the service team were to perform at the level of many producers, the agency would likely be forced to replace them immediately. The same standards of accountability should apply across the board. 

Make it easy to help you 

The truth is that new business is the solution to many of the challenges agencies face. When producers perform at a high level, they create momentum that benefits everyone in the organization. More business leads to more resources, better support systems, and greater overall job satisfaction. Success in sales fuels opportunities not just for producers but also for service teams, leadership, and the agency as a whole. 

As a producer, you have a choice: be an excuse-maker or a leader. Those who lead by example and set the standard for performance within the agency will find that their requests for improved support and resources are taken far more seriously. When you demonstrate that you are fully committed to your role and consistently deliver results, leadership will be far more inclined to provide additional investments in training, personnel, and tools to help you scale even further. 

Predictable, steady growth makes it easier for agency leadership to make strategic decisions about investments in staff, technology, and training. However, when producers fail to take full ownership of their responsibilities and instead make excuses, they hinder not just their own success but the success of the entire organization. Don’t fall into the trap of shifting blame—rise above it. 

Be the producer who drives change, sets the standard, and leads by example. The rewards—both professionally and financially—will follow.