Money, Ego, Feelings: How to Build and Grow High Performing Sales Teams

In 2020 McKinsey released their Agent Insights Survey, which reinforced what high producing Life Insurance Teams already know: Teaming works.

The data they collected revealed:

• Advisors who regularly work in teams generate about 30 percent higher average annual premiums than those who don’t
• This productivity gap is even larger for more sophisticated teaming models: agents in full-fledged specialized teams often generate double the net income of their solo peers
• Teams report about 10 percent faster asset growth and 15 to 20 percent faster revenue growth when compared with solo advisers

Russ VanderSteeg, President of Strategic Financial Partners (SFP), a full service Agency dedicated to helping individuals, families, business owners and professionals develop expertly-tailored financial strategies, is a believer. After seeing proof of concept over 20 years ago, Russ committed to the independent Teams model.

Why are Teams such an important part of the SFP culture? Mr. Vandersteeg, known as a strategic and innovative leader states “As our industry gets more complex, Teaming becomes a solution for the biggest challenges we face, like recruiting, retention, advisor productivity and succession.”

When asked how he’s been successful growing Teams where other Agency Leaders have struggled, Russ says, “Teaming is not an event. It’s not set-it-and-forget-it. It’s a huge commitment financially, plus personally from all involved parties and requires ongoing fine-tuning of the systems, processes and model.”

Teams work best when the advisors considering becoming a Team are already experiencing measurable successes, and want to take their solo practices to the next level.

And that’s the challenge. Assembling high performers to create a “Superteam” is not for the faint hearted. These are professionals with strong skills, areas of expertise and a solid record of success. It’s essentially a team made up of all star quarterbacks.

Getting high achievers to want to play together and stay together can be difficult. As Russ points out “Big problems start with big personalities. Making a Team work is part emotional intelligence, part negotiation, part mindset…and 100% commitment.”

The independent Teams model is appealing and results can be extraordinary, with 30-40% of increased productivity for Advisors that team well together. But orchestrating all of these star players is not easy and it can get messy.

The two most important factors in making the Teams model work are
dedication and having the ability to navigate friction. During our podcast, Russ speaks to the ups and downs of Teaming, the importance of Teaming now more than ever and the one thing he feels helps tremendously – outside guidance for coaching and leadership.

Are you ready to take your Firm to the next level?

Take our confidential, High Performing Teams Assessment HERE.