Agency Nation Radio

Sometimes you just need to have a little fun with an insurance video that's racking up crazy views. I thought it would be interesting to breakdown a worthy video I randomly came across in the depth of YouTube. The only requirement was that I didn't want it to be a video I had previous knowledge of and appeared to have some traction. Other than that, everything else was fair game and as a result, p...

Because things don't change nearly as fast as we would like and need them to. This is just one of a handful of topics discussed six months ago that are still as relevant as the day it happened. It doesn't matter if it's video marketing, technology integrations or perpetuation. The insurance industry doesn't have a shortage of issues that could use a little more urgency mixed in. That's what I talk...

Because insurance isn't always the first thing someone wants to come and talk to you about. That's why it's insanely beneficial if/when you can provide them countless conversation entry points. Not only will it be much easier to start those conversations, but it will also give you more stable (common) ground to stand on. Most of the time, the more you know about someone the more comfortable you en...

There are certainly different opinions on what works best, the trick is figuring it out for your agency. What might be more important than building that consistent relationship is properly setting communication expectations. That's what really has a good chance to destroy any relationship your agency has regardless of how long you've had it. The same is also true cross-selling other lines and prop...

It starts by building a culture that's excited to learn what you learn and take the ball and run with it. That type of behavior has traditionally been known as buy-in and it often hard to come by. You'll dramatically improve your chances if that buy-in earns an unfathomable level of operational freedom. It that type of environment your best people are able to dedicate most of their time to high im...

It's possible you've never pushed hard enough to find out that you just weren't reaching high enough. Because it's easy to reach down and pick up all the nickel and dimes that are getting thrown at your feet. No matter what, after a while, that bag is going to get heavy and not be worth nearly as much as you thought it would. That's a tough place to be because you can only hear the same thing so m...

Because if it doesn't, there's a good chance you just got lucky and haven't taken full advantage of its power. That luck generally leads to an endless stream of wasted opportunities that never received proper consideration. Of course, there are a couple of easy things you can do to prevent it from happening. However, they generally involve a few tough decisions most agencies don't want to make. Th...

There's a good chance it will be very obvious from the start because things will be more difficult than nessacary. At least that's ussually what happens when we run into clients we should run the other way from. Because somewhere along the way we'll talk ourselves into the idea of wanting to do business with them. In reality, we should have listened to our instinct by drawing a line in the sand. T...

You finally get a chance to show off your true expertise. Because there's a good chance you might be the first person to give it a try. The really exciting part is realizing that expertise can be leveraged to reach other lines of business. The most surprising part is how little technology you need to get started. That's what I talk to Aaron Farmer, of California Flood Insurance , about how he star...

Both topics sit at the center of uncomfortable conversations that aren't happening enough within agencies. They both also rely heavily on challenging the status quo and taking risks to effectively drive change. However, amazing things start to happen when new people are exposed to the opportunities the insurance industry provides. Also, consumers have the potential to build deeper relationships on...

You might have to lead by example at first for the rest of the agency to see how impactful they can be. That means providing a solid example of what a good one looks like and help encourage and coach the rest of the staff to give it a try. Of course, sometimes there aren't enough examples or encouraging words in the english language to compel some people to get in front of the camera. Then you mig...

This is a special podcast. Not just because the person I had the honor of interviewing is so awesome. Carey Wallace, CEO of IntellAgents, shares how she and her team are laying the groundwork to help independent agents lead The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Today, it looks like this… Through the aggregation of IA-specific data, they’re able to benchmark an agency’s performance and provide detailed...

That depends if you want to stick with your bread and butter or try to find something new. This is as good of a time as any to take a chance and try to sell insurance in a way you never have before. When you do that it's important to remember it's not a race to what generates more leads, but instead more revenue. That's really when you know if your promoting the right thing on your website, even i...

Starts by building a much stronger and wider InsurTech bridge to help everyone get where they're going faster. If not, the one thing at risk is leaving a possibly vital problem unsolved for an extended period of them. There's a good chance, under normal circumstances, that "new" solution could already be out of date again. No matter how much we want technology to solve our problem, it's still a hu...

The first thing you have to do is believe in yourself enough to finally take the leap. Once that happens it dramatically helps to shorten your fall from your previous agency. It's even more amazing if they're able to encourage and support that process as it becomes a reality. Then it simply becomes a balancing act of having enough work in the business to be able to work on it. That's what I talk t...

You introduce a level of frustration into the buying process that could and should be easily avoided. The only thing you have to do is take the time to explain the number of ways the answer depends. In reality, you now have the opportunity to describe what your perfect client looks like to maximize profitability. You just have to be dedicated to figuring out the way to provide the most impactful a...

Sometimes it's easy to get sucked into the hype and overlook the two areas your website needs to excel. Because if you refuse to focus on these people, you'll make it much harder on your digital marketing efforts. That's when you really need to decide if you know enough to be dangerous, or if your limited knowledge can become a hazard. What has the potential to cause the most harm is thinking your...

It's hard to decide what chances are worth taking and even hard to figure out which ones aren't. One thing is for sure, you're probably not grabbing as much possibility that's within reach. Because it's much easier to not do something than it is to look hard enough to see a unique opportunity. It's also possible to become obsessed with the next great thing that never happens. That's what I talk to...

Sometimes that's what it takes to get started on a new niche in your agency. Then it becomes a matter of defining that perfect world and figuring out how the relationship should go. It's all even easier if you have something powerful enough to automatically simplify communication. Then there's really nothing stopping you from controlling those conversations all the way to a sale. That's what I tal...

You'll dramatically increase your chance of making substantial progress to match your recent motivation. It might sound easier said than done, but sometimes things don't need to be overcomplicated. Coming home with pages of notes and lengthy lists from any conference or event is great. However, almost always you're going to try to bite off more than you can chew and end up not finishing anything....

It's vital to realize how strong you need to be to reach your desired destination. Maybe you never looked far enough ahead to give yourself adequate time at each stop. Either way, your dramatically increasing your chances of sidetracking your efforts or canceling the trip altogether. The easiest way to avoid all of it is to work your way backward from where you're trying to go. That's what I talk...

That depends on how well you've been able to combine it with your technology. The closer they get to each other, the further your leads can go without you getting involved. That reduces your chance communication will break down and start wasting a bunch of good business. Then you can finally figure out the perfect place you're needed in the process. That's what I talk to Bogus Handzel, of Handzel...

If you only have one, there's a good chance you're relying too much on that person and risking the sale. Instead, it's generally a good idea to make sure you know how to get a hold of a couple other human beings from the account. The more people you have rooting for you, the less likely it is for that account to be able to walk out the door. No matter what happens, your goal is to leave as many pe...

It all depends on how able and willing your agency is to do different things. Because if you can do something most people can't that will be easy for people to see. The biggest challenge is realizing that thing is likely not as difficult as you thought it would be. It just becomes a matter of if you enjoy it the most out of all your insurance options. That's what I talk to James Castle, of Castle...

The only thing you have to do is lower your expectations and take a chance on being somewhere important. It might sound easier said than done, but if you do you'll increase your chances for a successful introduction to inspiration. Which will allow you the opportunity to execute on ideas that have the potential for people you've never meet to feel like they know you. That makes your job a lot easi...