Keith Mann

COO/CFO

Scott Insurance

Lynchburg, Virginia

Scott Insurance has been a Best Practices agency for the entire 30 years that the Best Practices Study has existed. Founded in 1864, the agency, which is 100% employee owned with over 350 employee owners located in four states, uses the Best Practices Study results to chart progress over time and help guide operations and sales decisions as they continue to grow.

Mann, with extensive operations experience in manufacturing, retail, construction and financial services, experienced Scott Insurance's service as a client prior to joining the agency in 2017. During his tenure, he has worked to further advance the agency's tradition of continuous improvement.

“Every year we take a look at ourselves and how we've done," he says. “The opportunity for us and other businesses is to take a look at whether you are performing at the highest level possible for your organization."

Key metrics for your agency?

Ultimately, we all depend on the sales talent and expertise that we have within our organization. We look at the sales metrics, like organic growth and sales velocity. From there we can compare our producer hiring strategies to those of other similarly-sized organizations in our industry.

Why should other agencies enter the study?

The study can give you additional exposure to opportunities that may not be as evident on the surface. With the data provided, you can better understand how profitable you are compared to your peers and identify strategies to impact your profit margin in the future.

What action have you taken due to the study?

The study has helped us set and adjust goals and incentives for our sales team. 

Benefit of being a Best Practices agency for so long?

As a longtime Best Practices agency and study participant, we are able to go back year over year and look at the incremental changes. While being able track our progress is helpful, the real value is that we are able to compare our velocity to other organizations in the same space so we can identify our relative strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Has Best Practices impacted your perpetuation plans?

We look at the weighted average producer age of our current production staff to evaluate opportunities for perpetuation planning and to consider how our positioning and performance compares to that of other Best Practices firms.

Biggest takeaways from the study?

The real strong value is discerning if you have the right people on your team. We are a sales organization. We're driven by sales and that value really comes down to our people.

Impact on the agency's brand?

Our clients consistently tell us they view us as a trusted partner and that our team of subject matter experts provides strategic solutions that are invaluable to their operations. The Best Practices designation provides credibility and validation of our brand positioning in the market.

Will Jones is IA editor-in-chief.