Agency Nation Radio

When you run a lean, mean scratch digital agency like Erin Nutting, you have no choice. It's by embracing the advanced systems (and automation) at every turn that will make your life easier. It's everything from managements systems to the process behind video proposals. If these tools are deployed at the right time in your agency insurance gets a lot cooler. Connect with Erin here: Integrity Insur...

If it's not great there's a really good chance your new customers will never want to do business with you again. Joey Coleman took the stage at Elevate 2018 to show everyone just how powerful that short amount of time can be for your business. Your only chance is to be obsessed with your agencies on-boarding process to constantly reaffirm their decision. The less you do the more fear and anxiety y...

You might have no clue just how easy it is to make sure that never happens. All you have to be willing to do is say something (anything) about them before they do about you. That shouldn't be that hard because it's certainly an idea that 99 percent of businesses are uncomfortable with. However, once you realize just how powerful it is and how little you have to say, there's a good chance you accep...

There comes a point in every agency where the things you have to do prevent you from doing what needs to be done. It's this disproportionate balance of activities that usually leads to burnout and despair. Let's be honest, there's a reason you made it this far in this industry and rarely does it have anything to do with those nagging tasks. Now you're faced with the challenge of making sure they g...

Anthony Iannarino lit the stage on fire during his Elevate 18 keynote presentation. This is just a tiny clip of the sales inferno that engulfed each person in attendance that afternoon. If you want your agency to catch fire, first you need to ask yourself two questions. What's your business model and how much value do you need to start the sale on the right? They sound simple enough and that you m...

Our superpower is that we give a sh*t. It's cool to care about making this industry and the people that operate in it better. If we don't, then we're not giving ourselves the best chance to survive the constant attacks on how we help people protect what matters. It's this caring and protection that makes the industry special and the one thing that will always be extremely difficult to replace. It'...

It's hard to bring value that rarely has a chance to return. Even if you believe in "giving without the expectation of reciprocation" at some point someone has to give if back. Sometimes, if you're stretched too thin, you won't be able to put them in the right place. That's what a talk to Jared Bellmund, of Carolina Living Insurance , about as he tries to see what fits. P.S. Did you know the Agenc...

It's easy to get caught up with what you think an agency your size should be doing. When in reality, there's very few limits you can/should put on it from a marketing position. You'll never be able to identify the growth opportunities you currently have. That's what I talk to Landon Bentham, of Callaghan and Rice Insurance got things moving just enough. P.S. There's plenty of growth happening on t...

This is why a handful of agents showed up to Elevate 18 and what they hope will happen because they did. I corned nine agents from across the country (and Canada) to figure out what needs to happen to grow. It doesn't matter if it's video marketing or finding accountability, if you're in the right room it shouldn't matter. I talked with so new and old insurance friends to find out who they are and...

Some insurance products are harder to sell than others.  Is it your job to convince someone they want and need this coverage, or is that a realization they have to come to on their own? It's hard to say because being in the convincing business isn't a whole lot of fun. Instead, insurance magic happens when someone has an understanding and appreciation for the thing you're selling and needs expert...

You have a much better chance for a consistent message to get delivered. It's in this message that helps your agency figure who their talking to and where their going to do it. However it becomes a more challenging task if your brand has to take a back seat to something else. Giving it the power and freedom to will automatically set you apart. That's what I talk about with Peter van Aartrijk as he...

At some point you're going to need to figure out what someone needs to hear from you to get their attention. It doesn't matter if you're new to content creation or have been doing it for years, everyone runs out of ideas. But that can't slow you down, momentum is the only thing that will bring them back. It's even better anytime the idea making is built into the content creation process. That make...

Joseph D'Souza is making sure Artificial Intelligence understands the things you shouldn't be doing. We've been fending off the InsurTech hype for years, sifting through pretty comparative raters and unwanted interfaces. The hope in tolerating this hype is that something will finally find a way to change the game for good. Out of all the InsurTech hopefuls out there trying, ProNavigator is one of...

Cost of client acquisition is a big time stat that when you track it, separates your agency from the pack. It's also just one of many advanced business and marketing metrics you should consider discovering. Because too often agencies get stuck accepting the things that have always been done at face value. Those things are rarely restructured and even less frequently reevaluated. That's what I talk...

It might be overused and hard to imagine if you've never experienced it at a high level, but it all come down to leadership. That's the only thing capable of driving any lasting evolution inside a company. Especially one as ridge and by the book as an insurance company. Until that's solved, it's hard for anything else to consistently move in the right direction. That's exactly what Pat Macellaro,...

For so long traditional insurance agencies were made up of the same type of people that did the same type of things. Everything is up for grabs now, not just the way you interact and attract your customers, but the people that will help you do it. Who are where these people are can become complete game changers for the way an agency operates. Gone are the days of everyone having to file into one b...

Most of the time, it's going to be much longer than we think. However, that shouldn't stop us from identifying the vulnerabilities a niche or segment of the industry faces. That forces you to drill down into a type of business and understand what might make it standout over others. If you can figure out what that thing is you'll be able to exploit it's rarity to find more like it and hold off the...

Believe it or not, the average American spends two hours a day looking at social media on their smart phone. The number one job of your marketing is to get attention when it matters most? Winning those moments that matter will constantly give your agency the push to get over that hill. Luckily you don't have to do it alone because trying to understand the world of mobile advertising isn't somethin...

If you're not, the good news is it's never too late to do something about it. Not only is it about how you're getting it, but who's showing up as a result. You dramatically increase the enjoyment of your insurance life if those people genuinely want to buy what you're selling. Because, let's be honest, we've all had more than a few clients who never valued their insurance policy. That's what I tal...

The industry faces a lot of challenges, how we treat each other shouldn't be one of them. We both really want the same thing to happen, which makes it amazing we've been at odds as much as we have. Honestly, it's not that bad, but there's certainly plenty of work to be done across the board to turn down those stereotypes. If we can we might be able to hear what the generation who needs to embrace...

It's really hard to stop everything and make sure the things you thought were important still are. That's exactly what we're doing today as we approach the half way point of 2018. Right before the start of the year I asked two super awesome (maybe even rock star) agents what sat atop their goal this for 2018. Now it's time to cash that check and see if there's enough left to justify the rest of th...

If it's not getting done fast enough, there's nothing wrong with going out there and taking it. Your agency will ultimately depend on the speed of adoption and ease of integration the industry may or may not provide. If that's an uncomfortable feeling and a position your agency doesn't want to be in, then it might be time to force the issue. That's what Ryan sat down to talk with Jeff Roy, of Exca...

If you don't it's going to be a lot hard to figure out where they're hiding. When you know exactly who they are and what they do you'll know what comes next. It becomes so much easier to keep track of everyone that might mean something to your agency. You can spend more time focusing on them and what they need. That's what I talk with Woody Brown, or The Rhoads Groups , about as he figures out his...

All you have to do is help someone get from point A to point B as easy and enjoyable as possible. Once you do that it's just a matter of making sure they know, without a doubt, you're that person and how to do it. Because it doesn't matter how much forward moment you help someone create to completing their insurance journey. If they ultimately don't make it to that final destination, all of your h...

It's certainly not an easy thing to do, especially if you're running your own one person scratch agency. Your path to insurance success is going to look completely different from everyone else you know. But the one thing that will be the same no matter what you do is your ability to consistently do the work. If that doesn't happen, you'll never find the success your looking for within the industry...