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Insurance Sales Manager Duties and Responsibilities

Whether leading a team of five or 50, an insurance sales manager’s duties are rooted in strategy, education, and mentorship. Based on an analysis of real-world job listings and resumes, these duties are:

Set and Monitor Team Sales Goals The primary responsibility of an insurance sales manager is to decide how many policies or upgrades should be sold in a given period, then oversee the team’s progress to ensure they meet those goals. Managers support this progress by providing strategies, feedback, and marketing campaigns.

Meet Personal Sales Goals Insurance sales managers contribute to their team’s success by setting and meeting their own sales goals. They make sales through warm leads but also leverage connections with real estate agents, loan officers, and other professionals within their personal network.

Facilitate Professional Development of Team Managers research ways to improve sales skills by attending meetings, reading books, or taking courses, then impart that knowledge to their team by leading regular training sessions. They also hold performance review meetings with individuals and the whole group, offer individualized coaching, and generally foster a positive company culture.

Provide Customer Service Support Should a sales agent on the team be unable to answer a customer’s question or provide satisfactory service, the insurance sales manager steps in to help. Managers also mediate disputes with customers and provide satisfactory solutions for all involved.

Grow Sales Team As business increases, the insurance sales manager is responsible for hiring sales agents. They search for and interview potential candidates, then onboard new recruits with industry and company policy training. It’s also the responsibility of the manager to evaluate existing team members’ performances and terminate them when necessary.

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Insurance Sales Manager Skills and Qualifications

It’s not enough to possess an in-depth knowledge of sales strategies and the insurance industry; the most successful insurance sales managers are excellent coaches and mediators who uplift team members and are committed to their professional development. Employers typically look for candidates with more than three years of sales experience, a license to sell insurance in the state, and the following skills:

  • Sales acumen – increasing business for the agency is perhaps the most important goal of the insurance sales manager. Therefore, they must have a talent for sales and a commitment to learning new strategies
  • Industry knowledge – understanding an agency’s policies and products inside and out is vital for a successful insurance sales manager, as they are responsible for increasing the knowledge of the agents on their team
  • Coaching – it’s not enough to simply tell team members new strategies or industry knowledge. Insurance sales manager are proficient at educating others in a way that ensures the information makes a lasting impression and can be easily applied to the job
  • Leadership skills – a balance of assertiveness and empathy allows insurance sales managers to effectively motivate their team members, foster a positive company culture, and meet or exceed sales goals
  • Interpersonal skills – communicating effectively with others is not only useful for leading a team of sales agents, but for providing excellent customer service. Whether it’s from team members or customers, insurance sales managers are adept at listening to concerns and offering reasonable solutions
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Insurance Sales Manager Education and Training

Employers usually seek candidates with a high school diploma and at least three years of sales experience. Like sales agents, insurance sales managers must be licensed to sell insurance in the state where they work. This requires several hours of coursework and a passing grade on state exams. In addition, most states require that licensees take continuing education courses on various aspects of insurance law, ethics, and consumer protection. In order to effectively lead and increase the sales acumen of their team, insurances sales managers often take local college and university courses in finance, business administration, and related topics. They also attend conventions and seminars to broaden their knowledge of sales strategies. Whether or not the agency pays for this extra training varies from employer to employer.

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Insurance Sales Manager Salary and Outlook

Insurance sales managers can expect to earn the same or more than insurance sales agents, who according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earn a median annual salary of $50,000. The lowest 10 percent of sales agents earn less than $27,000, while the highest 10 percent earn more than $125,000. An analysis of job listings corroborates this data, with advertised salaries for insurance sales managers ranging from $50,000 to $120,000 a year. Continued population growth ensures a steady increase of new customers, therefore the BLS projects that employment of insurance sales agents will grow 10 percent through 2026, which is faster than the 7 percent average of all occupations. Although it is unclear what the exact rate of growth is for insurance sales managers, the overall outlook of the insurance industry is promising.

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Helpful Resources

Ready to move up the ladder from sales agent to insurance sales manager? These resources will help turn you into the ideal candidate:

National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – one of the largest trade organizations in the insurance field, NAIFA provides members with access to sales and marketing education, as well as national conferences

Advisor Today – as NAIFA’s online magazine, Advisor Today covers sales strategies and business advice for those in the field

The Institutes – this source of continuing education for property and casualty insurance professionals is recommended by the Bureau of Labor Statistics

How I Raised Mysef from Failure to Success in Selling – author Frank Bettger shares the Dale Carnegie-endorsed principles and practices that took him from failed insurance salesman to wealth and success in just over 10 years

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable – this book takes the top best-seller spot in Amazon’s human resources section and is perfect for anyone looking to improve their leadership skills