Page 19 of 43 · 850 total episodes
02/28/2022 · 5 min read
Trying to serve everyone is a strategy for serving no one particularly well. Go narrow and deep: pick one client type, build genuine expertise in their risks, and become the agent that community sends to each other. Specialization beats generalism in every measurable outcome.
02/23/2022 · 5 min read
Tom Birks broke through the owner-as-bottleneck ceiling by documenting decision trees for difficult situations, building a quality review process for client communications, and investing in commercial lines capability before personal lines revenue justified it. He also hired ahead of demand. Each move unlocked the next growth tier.
02/21/2022 · 5 min read
Tom Birks built his New Jersey agency on three commitments: same-day response when competitors go to voicemail, proactive communication before renewals rather than after, and genuine coverage advocacy instead of selling the cheapest option. He added referral networks with real estate attorneys, mortgage brokers, and financial planners.
02/16/2022 · 5 min read
Agent scorecards track five buckets: activity, contact rate, conversion, revenue, and first-term retention by agent. Review weekly with the team, debrief on one or two specific improvements, and use the data to coach rather than catch people. That is the difference between a scorecard culture and a surveillance culture.
02/14/2022 · 5 min read
Better insurance agency hiring comes from building a pipeline before you are desperate, screening for activity tolerance and coachability, running behavioral interviews and role play, then moving fast on the offer once you have decided. Slow in screening, fast in close.
02/09/2022 · 5 min read
Drive Florida production by mixing referral partners (realtors, mortgage brokers, closing attorneys) with fast-contact internet leads and direct outreach to new homeowners. Track contact rate by source, quote-to-close by agent, and voluntary retention separate from carrier non-renewals.
02/07/2022 · 4 min read
Build a Florida production machine by writing across multiple carriers and lines, investing two years in deep market intelligence, systematizing the referral ask on every service touch, and treating carrier reps as professional partners with clean submissions and known appetite.
02/02/2022 · 5 min read
Before a prospect buys a policy, they buy you. The first sale is yourself, built through curious questions, slowing down on coverage complexity, and conversational qualification. Make that sale first and the close becomes a confirmation of terms, not a fight.
01/31/2022 · 6 min read
The phone is still the most powerful sales tool in insurance because trust builds faster in a real conversation than in any other medium. Open with a collaborative frame, ask more than you pitch, match the prospect's pace, and treat objections as information rather than rejection.
01/26/2022 · 5 min read
Mike Monaghan protects morning hours for outreach, batches admin work in the afternoon, logs every contact and follow-up task in real time, runs sequenced follow-ups that build on prior calls, and systematizes referral asks plus early cross-sell triggers tied to client life events.
01/24/2022 · 5 min read
Mike Monaghan's production is built on sustained high-volume contact, disciplined follow-up past four contacts, deep product knowledge that creates speed and confidence in close conversations, and a functional relationship with rejection that treats every no as data, not a verdict on the agent.
01/19/2022 · 5 min read
Customer lifetime value for insurance agents: $2,200 average premium at 12 percent commission over 8.3 years of 88 percent retention is roughly $2,191. At a 3:1 target return, you can spend up to $730 per acquired client, or $219 per lead at a 30 percent close rate.
01/18/2022 · 5 min read
Cheap leads cost more once you do the math. A $22 exclusive at 35 percent close is $63 per issued policy. An $8 shared lead at 9 percent close is $89. Measure cost per issued policy by source and agent, not cost per lead, and let data drive spend.
01/12/2022 · 6 min read
Justin Brock runs multiple lead channels, tracks close rate and persistency by agent, and uses a simple test for keeping or releasing people: would you hire this person today? The agencies that scale fix personnel and lead concentration before they become emergencies.
01/10/2022 · 5 min read
Justin Brock built a serious Medicare and final expense agency by picking a market with recurring revenue and an aging population, baking compliance in from day one, and engineering the back end before he ever pushed front-end growth.
01/05/2022 · 5 min read
Insurance agency goal setting works when you layer one annual anchor, quarterly milestones, and monthly process commitments, then review them on a fixed rhythm. Goals that include controllable inputs survive April. Goals built only on revenue targets rarely do.
01/03/2022 · 5 min read
Run four meetings on purpose: a 15-minute weekly standup, a weekly performance review, a monthly training session, and a quarterly planning review. Add ad hoc issue meetings as needed. Use agendas, hard end times, and documented decisions and owners.
12/31/2021 · 5 min read
Craig's 2021 year-end accounting: the podcast and cross-industry referral relationships outperformed, hiring under pressure and premature strategy pivots cost months. The 2022 fixes are structured onboarding, more protected slow-build time, and a clearer framework for when to stay in a strategy.
12/29/2021 · 5 min read
Three honest lessons from 2021: conversations outperformed content, slow-build marketing got squeezed by urgency, and hiring under time pressure cost months of cleanup. The 2022 fixes are protected schedule blocks, earlier hiring, and tighter rules for when to pivot.
12/27/2021 · 5 min read
Step one of agency success is mindset and vision built on an honest year-end assessment, a concrete picture of next year's premium, team, and market position, and behavioral commitments specific enough to track weekly. New tactics run on old thinking produce old results.
