Producer Development Strategies for Your Agent Members

Panel Presentation
January 25 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

A panel of your network peers will provide a strategic roadmap leading to optimized producer development for members of your Network. The panel will discuss their solution for producer acquisition, retention, and funding. This is a repeatable model for networks looking to support agents seeking significant organic growth through the addition and training of producers.

This Producer Development Program has been initiated by members of the INA who built and are testing the program. They have collectively integrated aspects of building culture, strategic methods for hiring practices and methods for training and retaining talent. Various tools are included in the ‘toolkit’ of options available, which networks can elect to deploy individually or as a whole. In addition, local partnering is encouraged with carriers who can provide specific areas of support to network members. This approach recognizes and addresses the struggle many top agencies have with respect to developing commercial lines producers.

Attendees at this session will hear the following aspects of the LINC Producer Development Program to assist member agents to meet the demands of this extremely competitive environment:

Business Readiness: A survey to gauge agency readiness to participate in a producer development program.
Funding: Financial strategies to jump start producer hiring.
Sourcing: How to find talent and service providers who operate in this space.
Testing: Critical aspects to evaluate role-fit and ensure a successful hire.
Training: What and how your Network can access training for producer development and producer retention.
Measuring: The plan to monitor results and progress through peer advisory groups for new producers.

Jane Koppenheffer, CPCU, AAM, ARP, ARe, Insurance Alliance Network

Jane is President and CEO of Insurance Alliance Network. Jane’s insurance industry experience spans 24 years spent with a regional property-casualty insurance company. Her responsibilities have included a wide variety of Home Office and Field responsibilities in Underwriting, Marketing and Product Development, Training, Operations, and Information Technology.

Elizabeth Schenk, ANE – Agency Network Exchange

Elizabeth Schenk was appointed CEO of ANE in 2019. She previously spent several years as a producer and agency manager at an independent agency before moving to the insurer side as an underwriter, and so enjoyed working with agents that eventually she took a job as a production underwriter with Berkley, a territory manager for Liberty Mutual and a position with the national network ANE. She makes a point of paying forward the knowledge she’s acquired from industry associations and mentors by being an active participant in associations and mentoring young women entering the industry.

Rene Swan, United Valley Insurance Services

Rene Swan joined United Valley in 2011, was appointed as Vice President in 2013 and assumed the role of President in 2016. She has enjoyed over 30 years in insurance and financial services, for both retail agencies and property & casualty insurance carriers. She is active on several insurance carrier councils and is on the advisory committee for Insurance Networks Alliance, a national membership group serving insurance agency networks. She earned her Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 2011 and is a graduate and graduate assistant of Dale Carnegie Institute.

Diane Wagner, FirstChoice, a MarshBerry Company

Diane Wagner, who has more than 40 years of experience in insurance underwriting, marketing, and coaching, is VP of Strategic Planning and Education for FirstChoice a MarshBerry Company. Wagner started her career out of high school in central New York and spent the first 20 years working her way up through multiple mergers & acquisitions in the insurance industry. She eventually moved to the Carolinas in 1996 as an insurance company marketing representative. Since 2001, Wagner helped start two Insurance Networks from scratch, including FirstChoice. She was appointed to the Invest board in 2021.