Getting Past the Premium

Insurance sales for years was based on carrier availability and exclusivity. Today, it's much more nuanced – and providing value is the path to winning new business. Which brings us to the BOR – or Broker of Record. Nick Aube, Founder at Producer Systems, joins the show to discuss developing a BOR sales strategy – or a sales strategy based on educating clients, providing value to those client...

How do you set a new producer or insurance advisor up for success? From selecting a training program, developing internal processes to align the team, and understanding your target market, bringing on new agents or advisors can be difficult. It's a competitive market – and every independent agency is different. Colby Allen, a financial consultant and analyst, helps independent insurance agenc...

What's the difference between running a law firm and an insurance agency? No, that's not the start of a joke – it's a mindset that you should be using as a risk advisor. When someone is hiring an attorney, they aren't quoting out 10 different ones, they are finding one that they trust. Brandon Schuh, head of specialty insurance practice at Christensen Group, joins the show to d...

His LinkedIn profile reads "I keep peoples fingers on their hands." When it comes to niching down, Cole Williams has carved his out expertly. As a Risk Advisor with Insurance Associates, Inc., Cole focuses his agency on meat and food processors in Nebraska. He understands how to build a target market, how to become an expert in that niche, and how to grow while operating in that niche. L...

“It takes the same amount of energy to sign a small client as it does to sign a large one." Rob Jacomen, Co-Founder at Basecamp Insurance Growth Mastermind, joins us this week and drops some knowledge on what it takes to build a $1 million book of business. The first step: Get focused on your audience. This isn't a new idea by any means, but Rob dives deep. How do you pick your audience?...

Cyber liability coverage is a policy that every insurance agency needs to sell. But how are you handling it at your company? Is it a tack-on policy, or a true consultation? Daniel Metcalf, Co-founder and President at CyberFin, partners with agencies across the company to help small-to-medium-sized businesses find better coverage for their clients, while also taking a more holistic risk management...

Ryan Brott, Chief Growth Officer at Ellerbrock-Norris, joins Elliot this week to pull back the curtain on how Ellerbrock-Norris is growing and thriving. From client referrals to COIs to cold calling, learn how to develop proven processes and build strong relationships through their four primary lead-generation channels. Enjoy the episode! Episode Links: Ellerbrock-Norris: https://www.ellerbrock-no...

Brett Young, CEO of Erb and Young, joins us to discuss building relationships. A relationship becomes valuable to a client for two primary reasons: trust and access. So how do you build relationships, build your value prop and ultimately build your book of business? Start by building trust and providing access. But then you run into a problem: scale. How do you deliver on trust and access while st...

Cyrus Jaffery, Founder and CEO of Jaffery Insurance, grew up in the captive agency model before breaking out to start his own agency. Cyrus joins Elliot this week to talk about what he learned in that captive environment that's created his approach to growth today. They cover "daily non-negotiables" and how they should directly tie to the growth of your agency – and how to ensure yo...

Are you an advisor or a salesperson? Ellerbrock-Norris' Ryan Brott, Chief Growth Officer, joins Elliot Basset to discuss the difference between the two, the problem that plagues the insurance industry, how to transition to an advisory model, roadblocks along the way and more. Learn how you can step out of a "producer" role and focus on running a business rather than a book of busine...

Scaling a business is all about understanding your ideal client. "It's called a book of business, not a book of sales," says Guffy Wright, National Sales Leader at The Mahoney Group. Guffy joined us to discuss how he's using a focus on people and treating his book of business as just that – a business. Learn how he's providing value to clients, defining his ideal client, s...

In an insurance industry that is so set on selling products, how do you focus on selling your advice and expertise? Mike Brown, founder of Unbreakable Wealth, joins us to discuss the value of being an expert and selling that expertise. He takes a wealth coach's viewpoint to advice, understanding how to ask the right questions and unlocking a client's inner wisdom to finding solutions. Fr...

There are hurdles that new producers in the insurance industry must overcome. Ryan Garzon, Partner at Keyes Coverage Insurance, joins us to discuss those hurdles – and how to get past a short-sighted mindset that holds back so many firms. Learn the benefits of splitting commissions, saying no to certain clients, focusing your time and energy in the right place and more. Enjoy the episode! Episode...

Where are we at in the AI journey in the insurance industry? Aaron Ammar, Co-Founder & CEO at Brightside AI, joins the show to discuss AI's adoption, the right vs. wrong debate, the rapid pace that AI is evolving, efficiencies in your agency, and more. Enjoy the episode! Episode Links: Ellerbrock-Norris: https://www.ellerbrock-norris.com Ellerbrock-Norris Wealth Strategies: https://www.el...

How are agencies setting themselves apart from a growth perspective? Andy Mathisen, Regional Sales Director at FirstChoice, a MarshBerry Company, joins the show to discuss how insurance agencies are finding lead sources, investing back in their firms, tapping outside resources and more to beat their growth goals. Andy and Elliot dive into sales training and not only finding good talent, but traini...

Talent acquisition is a game-changer for your company. But adding solid team members can be useless without proper training on your process, your ideology, or your sales model. Brett Young, CEO of Erb and Young, joins the show to talk through talent acquisition via networking, establishing culture within your team, and training new producers to adapt to your firm's target market. Enjoy the ep...

There has been a shift in business owners. Generationally, today's owners are different: expectations, buying habits, communication preferences, pace of production, and plenty more. Mick Hunt, CEO at Premier Strategy Box, joins the show today and challenges you as an insurance agency to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. How do you need to shift your firm today to better fit with the...

Let's talk all things COIs. What kind of relationships are building with your centers of influence? Do have three or four COIs giving you multiple leads each month? Or are you spreading yourself too thin, trying to work with dozens of industry-adjacent professionals to little or no avail? Ryan and Elliot talk through what makes for an effective COI, and how to build your relationship to the p...

Throughout his career, Kody Houk, Senior Advisor at Premier Strategy Box, has grown as an agent in a captive environment, launched and grown is own independent agency, and now spends his time consulting insurance agents and risk advisors around the country. Kody covers how to improve your overall sales effectiveness by being disciplined, having a servant heart, and getting truly focused on your ni...

From coaching Fortune 500 CEOs, Ryder Cup teams, four-star generals, more than 400 CEOs and even a President of the United States, Randall Stutman, PhD, has learned some of the commonalities and differences among some of the greatest leaders in the world.  Randall joins us today to talk about how he's grown his company, Admired Leadership, while staying "kind of a ghost" and thrivin...

How do you evaluate the health of your agency? Carey Wallace, Founder of AgencyFocus and noted speaker, joins us to talk about how to maximize your business – from selecting your carriers to honing in your book of business, evaluating your producers, diversifying your revenue and more. Learn what makes a healthy insurance agency from important metrics to stable growth. Enjoy the episode! Episode L...

Where do you begin when marketing your insurance agency? With limited time, budgets and expertise, it can be hard to stand out among the competition. This week, Cameron Carlow, Chief Marketing Officer at Ellerbrock-Norris, joins the show to talk through the essentials for a growing agency, from brand awareness to lead generation and closing the sale. Enjoy the episode! Episode Links: Ellerbrock-No...

Brett Young, CEO of Erb and Young, joins us for another crossover episode. This time, we're covering the baseline skills you need to develop ask you're growing your book of business. Where do you start? What is your focus – or, more importantly, what are you NOT going to do. From overcoming capacity issues to marketing yourself, we cover how we've taught risk advisors to grow and th...

Nate Sannes, a Partner and Advisor at InCite Performance Group, joins the show to talk about successfully leading a sales team. When you're bringing on new risk advisors or insurance agents, how long does it take to train them? How are you measuring success? How are you setting them up for that success? Nate and Elliot dive into all this and more – all surrounding driving the outcomes you wan...

What intentionality are you bringing to your firm from a cultural perspective? Often culture is tied to office fun, hiring practices, and benefits offerings. But Chris Cline, Executive Director of Agents Council for Technology with Big I, walks through how technology plays a huge role in the experience you create – and the culture that develops at your company. Enjoy the episode! Episode Links: El...