Develop Entrepreneurs Not Agents

Generation Y doesn’t identify with the idea of being insurance agents but are wired to be entrepreneurs.

Young Lions
The young lions want to be heard and to be understood. They want to get there (to running their own businesses) faster than did today’s older producers. They want to grow their business and achieve success, which for them includes balance.

Not Novices
Young Lions are not novices. The mean age of the young lions in the MDRT study was 39. Forty percent were women, and 48 percent have children in the home. Sixty-three percent qualify for MDRT.

Less of the young lions’ income comes from life insurance compared to other producer segments, and more is coming from investments. 32 percent are certified financial planners.

Generation Y knows What They Want
It’s social first and media second. They are addicted to networking, personal development and spending a lot of time on prospecting. They read more of what consumers read about finance versus the insurance industry publications, and they are far more likely than other segments to use social media—primarily Facebook.

Young lions want to hear from people who know more than they do, because they believe this will help them grow their businesses. They are not interested with had-been agency leaders who continue to recyle past success that is outdated in today's business practices.

Young lions have a laundry list of business topics they want to know about. Sales ideas (79 percent), filling the prospect pipeline (77 percent), and branding and marketing of the business (71 percent).

They are also interested in profitability and return on investment analysis and strategy (71 percent), business expansion via other products and services (71 percent), creating a blueprint for growth or business plan (68 percent), and business valuation/succession planning (65 percent).

Balanced Life
58 % expressed interest in achieving work-life balance.

Older baby boomer producers did not start out with business ownership in mind. Many entered the business as young career or captive agents. Malaysian Insurers and their agency leaders told them, ‘here is the path; get on it.’ And that’s what they did.” It was "Sales Focussed" - a basic feet-on-the-street approach to sales.

Business development often came later in the boomers’ careers. The work often centered on face-to-face meetings with customers, though some did take advantage of the internet and other emerging technologies. Few boomers have adopted social media approaches, however.

Provide entrepreneurship education
One way to help close the gap is to provide the entrepreneurship information and education that many Generation Y producers are seeking.

“You would think it’s already there, in the industry’s existing education and certification programs or other educational resources. But the majority of what is taught is around making the sale and not around developing the business.”