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12/11/2023 · 7 min read
ADHD-friendly producer systems are stripped down, dopamine-rich, and front-loaded with energy. Build minimum-viable workflows (one task, one action, one decision per session), track leading indicators daily, time-block in short bursts that start with calls and end with admin, and use body-doubling to make hard tasks possible.
12/06/2023 · 6 min read
ADHD-wired insurance producers lose to admin and follow-through, not to selling. Antonia Bowring's fix is structure as freedom: external schedules, pre-ordered task lists, and routines that remove decision fatigue, paired with self-designed accountability built around when and how the producer actually focuses best.
11/29/2023 · 6 min read
Agency owners think their retention problem is pay, but Kathleen Quinn Votaw says it is culture and onboarding. Real turnover costs run 150 to 200 percent of annual comp, and the first 90 days are where most new hires quietly decide to leave.
11/27/2023 · 6 min read
Implement AI in your agency by starting with one specific workflow problem (lead management, renewal outreach, or service triage), running a 90-day pilot with measurable outcomes, treating change management as the real work, and matching tool sophistication to current team capability.
11/22/2023 · 6 min read
AI is reshaping insurance through lead qualification, renewal outreach, policy comparison, and service triage. Start by cleaning your client data, picking one workflow to improve, running a small experiment, and treating AI as a force multiplier for human judgment. The 12 to 18 month window matters.
11/20/2023 · 6 min read
Gary Cooper's transformation framework for insurance producers runs on three commitments: honest inventory of self-limiting beliefs, written values clarification, and accountability mirrors who tell you the truth without judgment. Tactics get taught in a weekend. Character built over years is what sustains top performance.
11/15/2023 · 6 min read
Fake it till you make it in insurance sales means acting from the identity of the advisor you're becoming, not performing false credentials. Gary Cooper's path teaches that self-concept drives production: agents who see themselves as advisors deliver advice, agents who see themselves as salespeople deliver pitches.
11/13/2023 · 6 min read
Build a coaching culture by training managers to ask questions instead of giving answers, deliver behavioral feedback weekly, structure peer learning sessions, and measure coaching behaviors (not just production) in manager evaluations. Psychological safety is the floor that holds it all up.
11/08/2023 · 6 min read
Insurance training fails because telling producers things doesn't change behavior. Phil Geldart's experiential approach builds skill through designed simulations, full-commitment role-play, and structured debriefs that anchor the lesson in the body, not just the head.
11/06/2023 · 6 min read
In an insurance agency M&A deal, headline price is rarely what the seller receives. Bill Snow says: negotiate earnouts only when you control the metrics, run parallel due diligence on the acquirer (talk to the last three sellers), demand auditable earnout definitions, and lock down every representation before close.
11/01/2023 · 6 min read
Bill Snow's first M&A question for agency owners isn't valuation, it's personality: do you actually want to work inside someone else's system for the 3-5 year earnout period? Builder or operator? Autonomy or structure? Answer that honestly before you read a multiple. The financial terms are negotiable. Your personality isn't.
10/30/2023 · 5 min read
Build leaders inside your agency with a structured pre-promotion track: escalating responsibilities before the title (run a meeting, mentor a new hire, lead a project), goal-oriented mentorship pairings, codified owner instincts, and measure leadership development the way you measure production. Stop being the bottleneck.
10/25/2023 · 6 min read
Merchant Fleet CEO Brendan Keegan keeps the agents who ask business questions, not policy questions: what's changing in operations the next 24 months, where's driver turnover hurting, what does loss history reveal? Most agencies plateau because the owner is still the top producer. Stop fixing problems; build people who can.
04/10/2023 · 5 min read
The zero-cost marketing strategy that out-performs ad campaigns is gratitude: handwritten notes after binding, anniversary calls, and post-claim check-ins with no pitch attached. It produces unincentivized referrals, sticky retention, and word-of-mouth growth that no paid channel can replicate.
04/05/2023 · 5 min read
Thrive in an AI-driven insurance market by building expertise clients can't get from a bot, automating routine work to free up relationship capacity, hitting internet leads with speed plus quality, and treating the grind as the floor, not the ceiling. Lead with relationship, not policy.
04/03/2023 · 5 min read
AI will not replace skilled insurance agents, but it will replace the parts of the job nobody should be doing manually. Matt Sutika says the survivors automate lead processing, qualification, and renewal admin, then redeploy human hours to trust-building on complex coverage and claim moments.
03/29/2023 · 5 min read
Keep P&C clients through rate increases by running maintenance marketing on your book: scheduled, non-commercial touches that make clients feel valued between renewals. Map a touchpoint calendar, segment by life stage, train courtesy into staff scripts, and measure retention and referrals, not just new business.
03/27/2023 · 5 min read
Your best insurance agents leave for five fixable reasons: no clear career path, lead supply that doesn't match hiring promises, no skill development, missing recognition, and a culture that doesn't match what was sold. Turnover isn't random. It's a culture problem dressed up as a hiring problem.
03/22/2023 · 5 min read
Victor Figueroa's decade-tested playbook: pick a niche and go deep, follow up until they buy on touch four or five, treat claims as the relationship-defining moment, hire people who don't need you, and align personal brand with agency brand. Fewer activities, higher intentionality.
03/20/2023 · 5 min read
Victor Figueroa is a 10-year insurance agency owner who grew up in working-class Anaheim, made hard early choices, and turned discipline forged from necessity into a thriving book. His edge is empathy, community roots, and showing up every day for a decade without negotiating with himself.
