Prudential 2002 Annual Report Download - page 15

Prudential Financial 2002 Annual Report 13
Meeting those needs requires a field force that is
better educated, highly trained and extremely focused
on providing the best possible products, services and
advice to help their clients secure their financial
futures. We have responded by
overhauling the way we hire and
train our sales professionals in
order to develop a force of entre-
preneurs who have all of the tools
they need to build and maintain a
quality book of business for the
long term.
Building a more sophisticated
agency distribution system
The insurance industry has long
been characterized by high turnover
among its financial professionals.
We’ve set out to change that. We
have implemented a highly targeted
hiring and training program that
starts with a stringent nine-step
selection process. One result is that
in 2002, more than 80 percent of
our new hires had college degrees—
a significantly higher percentage
than in the recent past.
New agents receive structured
training on a variety of subjects,
including an array of financial prod-
ucts, conducting comprehensive
needs analyses, strengthening sales
skills and managing their business. In addition, at the
end of their first year, the agents undergo Series 7 and
Series 66 training and tests. We track the effectiveness
of these training programs through continuous feed-
back and analysis of performance data.
We’re paying our new agents salaries and bonuses
during their first 24 months so they can establish a
strong foothold early in the business. That enables
them to focus on building deeper relationships with
clients and generating sustainable momentum for
their career.
The program is paying off in better retention and
higher productivity. Since the end
of 2000, annual productivity
among first-year agents has
improved 70 percent, and first-
year retention rates have grown by
26 percent. We have built a much
more sophisticated and productive
agency distribution system.
Benefiting from a
proven model abroad
Our international insurance organi-
zation continued its successful
performance in 2002. At the heart
of that success is a simple, yet
highly disciplined and focused
strategy: college-educated, highly
trained professionals selling
protection life insurance products
via a needs-based approach.
The historically high rates of
retention, productivity and policy
persistency in our international
insurance operations is further
validation that the model is not
just working, it’s thriving.
Leading the way on these impor-
tant measures was our operation
in Korea, which continued to achieve double-digit
growth in the number of agents, or life planners.
Our life insurance business in Korea delivered
extraordinary results. It recorded a 91 percent
12-month life planner retention rate and 9.2 policies
per life planner, per month—far above the Korean life
insurance industry.
Prudential of Japan, which boasts our largest life
Strengthening our bottom line
“We have responded by
overhauling the way
we hire and train our sales
professionals in order
to develop a force of
entrepreneurs who have all
of the tools they need
to build and maintain
a quality book of business
for the long term.”
Today’s U.S. financial services consumer is more sophisticated and
demanding than ever. They expect broad product choices. They are
more aware of the importance of long-term financial planning and
the need for experienced financial advice. As a result, they look for
a different kind of relationship with their financial professional—one
that reflects a deeper understanding of their whole financial picture
and what it will take to help them reach their financial goals.