How to Hold Producers Accountable for Activity & Results

Let’s talk about producer accountability. The number one thing producers need to be held accountable for is their activity. But naturally, accountability is a tough situation. It’s those sweaty palms, lump in your throat, and difficult conversations no one ever wants to experience — from either party.

But the problem becomes more complex when you don’t deal with it because the failure to hold your people accountable is the biggest reason producers don’t meet (or exceed) goals.

Most agency owners struggle with producer accountability, but here’s a simple framework and analogy to help you think about it differently.

One day, I was driving to the airport in Dallas, Texas. At the time, the fastest way to get there was to take the tollway roads. It’s pretty much 20 miles straight of “put the pedal to the metal and just go.” As you get on the tollway, there’s a speed limit of 70 mph even though everybody’s usually driving at 80-85 mph.

Well, given that it was a beautiful spring day, I rolled the top down on my Porsche 911 and hit the road with my suitcase in the back. I vividly remember driving in a pack of about five or six cars when we all came around this big curve with a highway patrol holding a radar gun. Immediately, he turned on his sirens, pointed at me, and told me to pull over, so I did.

Then, he walked out of his car and came up to my window to ask, “Where are you going?” I pointed to my bag and replied, “Headed to the airport, sir.” He asked, “What’s your hurry?” and I told him, “Nothing, I’m just driving.”

Casually, he asked me for my driver’s license and my insurance. I reached over to the glove box, grabbed everything, and handed it to him. The state trooper went back to his car and did his thing.

About three or four minutes later, he came back with my driver’s license and insurance certificate. Then he handed me the ticket and said to me, “Drive safe.”

I was fuming but I knew it was my fault. And here’s why.

When I was 16, I took driver’s education and they taught me about the law in the state of Texas. They explained to me that when you come up to an intersection, there’s a light. Green means “go,” yellow means “caution,” and red means “stop.” When there’s a sign stop sign, that means “stop.” There’s a speed limit and you aren’t allowed to exceed that limit. And then, as part of my driver’s education, we spent several months practicing it. So when I finally took my driver’s test and written test I passed both with flying colors.

Lastly, they made me sign my new driver’s license, which then became my contract with the state of Texas that I understood the law. And I didn’t realize it back then, but I had three steps of accountability.

Number one is that you now have a “Contract.”

Secondly, as I’m driving down the freeway, the police officer had a radar gun. As a result, he could “Count” how fast I was going – precisely 82 mph. With that, he pulled me over so he could write me a ticket.

Lastly, after the citation, there were three potential “Consequences” in this scenario. First, I could just pay money out of pocket and let it go on my record.

Next, I could pay a lawyer to get it off my record. That means paying more money out of my pocket, but it’s not on my record. Or number three, I spend five to seven hours in front of a computer doing driver’s education. And those were my “Consequences.”

So, here’s the major takeaway: There are three C’s of accountability to hold producers accountable for their activity.

Number one, you’ve got to have a “Contract.” This means there is something in writing that both parties sign off on.

Number two, you’ve got to be able to “Count” some type of metric.

And number three, you’ve got to have “Consequences.”

I you’re missing any of the three –

contract, count and consequence – you’re going to keep spinning your wheels trying to hold your producers accountable.

My only goal is to help you apply these concepts, frameworks, and ideas to build a team of producers that will build the agency of your dreams. The real question is, how far will you take it?