IA Forward

What if winning in the insurance business isn't about getting ahead, but staying in the game? This week on IA Forward, Shane Tatum, Tonya Lied, and Mike Boesl unpack the idea of playing the infinite game and what it means for insurance agency owners. From surviving your first 24 months to building the right book of business, the conversation explores why chasing every dollar isn't always...

57% of insurance agencies say their teams need more training to sell on value instead of price. Shane's reaction? He's surprised it's ONLY 57%. But that's just one of the eye-opening numbers from the latest Big "I" Agency Universe Study. Shane and Tonya dig into the numbers, challenge a few assumptions, and discuss what agency owners should be paying attention to. Bec...

What if one of the biggest opportunities to grow your agency is already sitting in your existing book of business? Tonya is joined by Robby Jabbour and special guest Jeff Havard of National Farm Life to talk about why independent insurance agents should take another look at life insurance. From creating another revenue stream and improving client retention, to knowing when and how to start the con...

The insurance market is softening. That sounds like good news, right? Maybe. But for agency owners, a soft market brings a completely different set of challenges. Clients have more options. Carriers want to write business again. Prices are becoming more competitive. And the book of business that felt relatively protected during the hard market may suddenly be getting a lot more attention from your...

“Let me get you a quote.” Insurance agents say it every day. Shane, Tonya, and Mike talk about how the insurance industry became so focused on quoting, why agents should change the conversation. Because your value isn’t in producing a number. It’s in the expertise, advice, and relationship behind it. Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

Four out of five policyholders say they’ve never received proactive communication from their insurance agent. 4 out of 5. That’s not a communication problem. It’s a customer experience problem. Shane and Tonya discuss why real client communication is one of the most overlooked retention strategies in the insurance industry. They share practical ways insurance agents can build stronger relationship...

Employee compensation matters. It has to be competitive. But a bigger paycheck will not fix inconsistent leadership, an unreasonable workload, constant chaos, poor communication, or an employee who feels like there is nowhere left to grow. Tonya and Mike talk about finding the right people, easily building an onboarding process that actually works, recognizing when your best employees are reaching...

The quarterback is not effective if he is playing every position. So why are you spending so much time doing exactly that in your agency? We discuss hiring for weakness, where AI and your tech stack fit into the equation, why delegation isn’t giving up control, and separating out $500-an-hour work from $25-an-hour work,  Figure out where you create the most value and then go make it rain!  Learn m...

The market is opening back up, and carriers are throwing bonus money at agents. But before you start chasing bonuses, there’s a bigger question: What could that short-term money cost you later? In this short update, Shane and Tonya discuss how chasing a $3,000 bonus today could potentially cost you much more at profit-sharing time. Incentives aren’t bad. But before you chase the money, take off yo...

There’s a fine line between persistence and wasting your time. In this episode , we talk about knowing when to keep pursuing a prospect and how chasing one client too much can mean missing five other opportunities right in front of you.  And somewhere along the way, they discuss unique sales techniques, tiny airports, and why hanging up a cell phone will never be as satisfying as slamming down a l...

Sometimes the biggest problems in an insurance agency don’t start with a giant red flag. They start with the little yellow ones we notice, question for a second, and then choose to ignore. We discuss the warning signs agents shouldn’t overlook: from clients who want you to bend the rules,  stories that don’t quite add up, last-minute emergencies, and those moments when your gut is simply telling y...

Everyone wants marketing to work immediately: post on social media, send the email, sponsor the event, drop off the donuts, and "Where are my leads?” Shane and Tonya are joined by Campbell Bagshaw to discuss why effective marketing rarely delivers instant results. From social media and networking to referral partnerships and community sponsorships, they break down why consistency, familiarity...

You may have no plans to sell your agency. But if someone wanted to buy it tomorrow, what would they find? We look at what makes an insurance agency valuable: from clean financials and organized customer data to documented processes, carrier concentration, policies per customer, and an agency that can operate without everything living in the owner’s head. When you break down the things a potential...

What can an insurance agency learn from Chick-fil-A? From the owner-operator mindset to servant leadership, we'll discuss how agency owners can build a business that earns loyalty, empowers employees, and creates clients who never want to leave. If you're looking to grow an agency that stands out in a crowded marketplace, this conversation will challenge you to think beyond insurance pro...

What does Hall of Fame football coach Marv Levy have to teach insurance agents? As it turns out, quite a bit. Inspired by the timeless wisdom of the Buffalo Bills legend, the IA Forward team explores how some of the greatest leadership lessons from the football field apply directly to building a successful agency. From embracing difficult challenges and staying persistent through setbacks to leadi...

Everyone has an opinion. Your mentor. Your competitors. Social media. Industry Facebook groups. Even well-meaning friends and family. The challenge isn't finding advice. It's knowing which voices deserve your attention.  We discuss why asking too many people for advice can actually make decision-making harder, which causes agency owner to get stuck searching for "perfect." Lear...

Every week, agency owners are faced with another opportunity. A new product. A new carrier. A new technology. A new revenue stream. The question isn't whether you can pursue it, it's whether you should. In this episode of IA Forward, the team explores why some opportunities build stronger agencies while others quietly steal your time, create unnecessary risk, and keep you from reaching t...

If Monday feels more like survival than opportunity, this conversation will help you identify what's really causing the frustration and give you practical ways to build an agency you're excited to lead every single week.  Shane and Tonya discuss the habits that create unnecessary stress, how procrastination fuels overwhelm, why systems matter more than working harder, and simple mindset...

As rates begin to stabilize, competition heats back up, and carriers return to growth mode, agency owners face a new challenge: balancing retention and new business, without losing momentum.  If you're ready to finish 2026 stronger than you started it, this episode is your halftime strategy session.  Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

For decades, State Farm represented stability. Then one of the industry's largest carriers announced sweeping changes to contracts, benefits, compensation, and retirement programs. We explore the State Farm shakeup and  what it means for the independent insurance channel. We discuss ownership, choice, customer loyalty, talent shifts, and why the ability to adapt may be the most valuable asset...

One of the most overlooked parts of building an insurance agency brand is the giveaways, promotional items, and marketing materials that represent your business long after you've left the room. We discuss why cheap giveaways can damage your brand, why most promotional items end up in the trash while a few stay on desks for years, and why "everyone is doing it" is a terrible marketin...

Everyone knows how to find Flo, the Geico Gecko, or Jake from State Farm. But how do customers actually find an independent insurance agent? One of the biggest challenges (and greatest opportunities) for independent agencies is visibility. We discuss online reviews, referrals, community involvement, referrals, social media, authentic relationship-building, and the real ways customers discover and...

The hard market forced a lot of agencies into survival mode. We became insurance hostage negotiators for frustrated clients. But as the market begins to stabilize, this is our opportunity to remember who we really are. We're not order takers, quote machines, or in the business of finding the cheapest policy every six months. We're advisors, educators, and advocates. And the agencies that...

IA Forward tackles one of the biggest questions facing independent insurance agencies right now: Is AI going to replace traditional agency roles? From CSRs and account managers to producers and agency owners, the conversation explores what AI is actually changing, what it definitely isn’t, and where agencies can gain efficiency without losing the human relationships that make independent insurance...

Thinking about making the leap from being an exclusive agent to independent agency ownership? The right questions matter.  Tonya, Mike, and Robby Jabour discuss what exclusive agents need to know before making the move. From book ownership and contracts to carrier access, quoting models, profit sharing, onboarding support, and hidden costs, this conversation is a practical guide to evaluating agen...