7 Skills to Look for When Recruiting Insurance Agents

Qualified, dedicated, and growth-focused agents are vital to any insurance company. To hire an agent that’ll help your company succeed, look for someone who can successfully promote your insurance products and provide personable customer service to clients who require assistance with their policies. Here are seven must-have skills to look for when recruiting insurance agents.

1. Client-Focused Interpersonal Skills

When you’re wondering how to hire an agent who will add value to your business, look for someone who is able to build a strong rapport with potential clients. Insurance agents will need to make the extra effort to understand clients and win their business — so they should mix their natural people-person tendencies with a desire to help people find the policies that best fit their needs.

2. Analytical Skills

You’ll want to hire an insurance agent with above-average analytical skills, since he or she will be reviewing extensive financial data, analyzing insurance applications, and calculating the cost of an insurance policy. Doing so will require a keen eye for details and an appreciation of voluminous quantities of data. When recruiting insurance agents, you may want to narrow your search to candidates who understand the tax and legal aspects of the insurance products or those with a financial background. One way to gauge these skills is with a pre-employment test.

3. Tenacity

An insurance agent needs to be able to work through rejection, often on a daily basis, and continue to strive to meet sales goals. They should be able to accomplish this with a pleasant and easygoing demeanor since most insurance agents need to convey an eagerness to assist customers at all times. Strive to hire an insurance agent who demonstrates persistence through challenges. The right hire will have several examples of this skill on their resume.

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4. Listening Skills

Listening skills should be one of the top qualities you seek when recruiting insurance agents. You’ll want to hire an insurance agent who can commit themselves to the job, connecting with clients to learn how they can help. When hiring insurance agents, make sure you zero in on candidates with a history of building relationships through sales and who boast above-and-beyond customer service.

5. Ability to Learn Quickly

Your insurance agent recruit will need to absorb very large amounts of information quickly during the onboarding process. Make sure when hiring insurance agents that candidates are eager to learn with a palpable sense of excitement about the many insurance products available from your company. They should be interested in learning about the many different facets of each of the products, as well as deciding which product suits which particular type of customer. They’ll also need to be flexible with constantly changing trends.

6. Organizational Skills

Wondering how to hire an agent who will be able to keep up with the fast pace of insurance sales? Seek out applicants with proven organizational skills who are able to simplify the logistics of insurance to potential and current clients, follow up on pressing customer questions, communicate clearly, and show up on time to appointments.

7. Education and Licensing

Look for candidates who have a strong educational background in either business or economics when hiring insurance agents. If they didn’t attend college, extensive experience in sales could serve as a substitute. All states require insurance agents to carry a license, which involves pre-licensing courses and state examinations. When you’re contemplating how to recruit insurance agents, start your search first with those candidates who meet your licensing standards.