Recruiting agents without the promises that come back to bite you

Every agency owner has seen the recruiting deck: six figures in year one, be your own boss, we provide the leads. Then the recruit writes four policies in three months and quits owing chargebacks. Here's what agency owners who keep agents say instead.

Say the real numbers. Average first-year production in your agency, average premium, average persistency, and what that means in income after leads. If the average is $48,000 net, say $48,000. The recruit who joins on that number stays; the one who joined on "six figures" leaves angry.

Say what leads cost and who pays. "We provide leads" means one of three things: the agency buys them and takes a higher override, the agent buys them at cost, or the agent buys them from the agency at a markup. Say which. A recruit who finds out in month two that "free leads" cost 20 points of commission is gone.

Say the contract level and the path up. What level they start at, what production moves them up, and what the override spread is. Hiding the spread is how you get the "you're making money off me" conversation.

Say the chargeback rules. Advance rate, chargeback period, what happens to the debt if they leave. Recruits who understand chargebacks write better business.

Say what you actually provide. Training schedule, ride-alongs, call reviews, carrier contracting help. If the answer is "a Discord and a Zoom on Tuesdays," say that.

The test. Would you be comfortable if the recruit recorded your pitch and played it back in a year? If not, change the pitch.

What promise did someone make you when you were recruited that turned out to be false?