who is the redheaded stepchild of allstate's Distribution system?

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We, the Allstate Agency Owners,
Hold These Truths...
This document and survey are the result of a collaborative effort
by several members of the All Blue Blog
“We Hold These Truths to be Self-
Evident.” Words written by one of the
wisest, most compassionate and prescient
men our country has ever produced.
Thomas Jefferson was the heart
and soul of the founding of the American
experiment, and if it were to be necessary
for his philosophy to be encapsulated in
one sentence, we believe that it would be
something to the effect that people must
be protected from tyrants. In his own
words, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold
is for people of good conscience to
remain silent.”
While we are not prepared to label
what is or is not tyranny, but rather looking
at it from the opposite perspective,
we believe it would be a useful exercise
to make a list of things that those who
are not tyrants should be willing to do.
And although many of us may be vehemently
opposed to any change that
diminishes the certainty of our current
10/10 comp plan, and equally opposed to
terminating independent contractors for
failure to meet “Expected Results”—particularly
in areas where we may have less
than competitive products – it is outside
the scope of this document to attempt
change on those two points. So, this is not
a wish list of everything Allstate agency
owners would like to change. Instead it
is simply a request for basic information
that we believe most agents would agree
should be readily available. Our purpose
is to create a list so simple, so sensible
and respect-oriented that any reasonable
person looking at it would agree.
Therefore, as Allstate agency owners,
we believe it to be self-evident that
Allstate, or for that matter, ANY company
that truly values its agency force
and considers them to be true partners in
the success and growth of their company,
should be willing to:
A.) Put in writing what we have been
told about the “pie” remaining the same
size when variable comp is enacted.
Since we have already been assured
that this is true by Mark LaNeve in his
speech introducing variable comp at the
Leaders Forum, putting it in writing
would be an easy and prudent thing to
do. As business owners, we would not
agree to a business loan after simply being
told what the terms and interest rate
were going to be. By the same token, we
cannot be expected to make future business
plans or acquire books based on
promises made in a speech. Many agents
are putting off doing things that are good
for both Allstate and their agencies because
of a gnawing uncertainty about
future commissions. If in fact Allstate
agencies will continue in years to come
to average 10/10 – a reasonable assumption
if the pie is to remain the same – a
long-term, multi-year contractual commitment
from Allstate to that effect
would go a long way to restore agent
confidence and spur them into growing
their books again; a result that would
greatly benefit all concerned. In fact,
the only reason it would not make sense
for Allstate to put their commitment in
writing would be if it is a commitment
that they do not intend to honor.
B.) Have and disclose a coherent
policy regarding what triggers the termination
process for Expected Results.
Fully disclose in advance and in writing
such factors as the number of consecutive
years a particular category or
categories can be missed prior to the
process being triggered. This should be
easy to understand and applied consistently.
With the dramatic increase in the
number of improvement letters sent to
agents in 2011, it is obvious the criteria
triggering those letters have changed. As
agency owners who have each invested
considerable time and financial resources
to build our businesses, we believe that
we have the right to know the specifics
regarding how our businesses can be taken
away from us. Moreover, we believe it
is reasonable to ask that we be notified at
least one year in advance if the Expected
Results termination policy is to change.
C.) Release three and five-year agent
success rates for new agency owners.
Preferably, the data should be searchable
based on factors such as geographic
area, BOB Purchase or scratch agency
and the size of book purchased.
The success rate for a particular type
of business is the primary yardstick by
which the quality of a business opportunity
is measured. Companies that offer
acceptable opportunities to their potential
business owners/franchisees take great
pride in the success rate of these start-up
38 — Exclusivefocus Winter 2011/2012