Digital marketing, social media, content strategy, and lead generation tactics that actually work for insurance agents.
99 episodes from Craig Pretzinger & Jason Feltman, hosts of The Insurance Dudes Podcast
06/16/2026 · 8 min read
Organic growth for independent agencies has fallen from 11.2% to 7.1% as rate tailwinds recede. The agencies that sustain growth in 2026 are leaning into tech-enabled production, cross-selling their existing book, specializing in commercial niches, and treating retention as a valuation multiplier, not an afterthought.
01/19/2026 · 6 min read
Insurance agents should bring marketing in-house because lead aggregator economics broke after iOS 14. Owning your own Facebook and YouTube ad accounts means every improvement in copy, targeting, and landing pages drops your cost per acquisition instead of paying a flat price for shared leads.
12/26/2025 · 5 min read
Culture beats strategy because tactics never survive bad leadership. Kelly Donahue's framework starts with the owner stepping out of every transaction, then layers in intentional culture, documented sales and rounding processes, and accountability built into weekly rhythms instead of crisis moments.
12/05/2025 · 6 min read
Andy Neary's blueprint: define your audience before your content, commit to one primary channel (LinkedIn, YouTube, podcast, or email), publish valuable content on a fixed weekly cadence for 90 days without judging results, and accept that inbound shows up at month 6 to 18. The wall is structural.
08/15/2025 · 6 min read
Don Wilson's insurance branding playbook makes the agency impossible to forget: target one specific demographic, run physically memorable prospecting (oversized novelty checks, hand-delivered pastries), and put employees first so client experience follows. Authentic and unconventional beats generic and digital.
06/25/2025 · 5 min read
Dan Kitajima built a $17M captive agency, then his carrier non-renewed $6M in policies right after he signed a $20K monthly lease. The forced jump to independent gave him market access across twelve carriers, higher close rates, broker-fee transparency, and a more profitable book per premium dollar.
06/05/2025 · 5 min read
Insurance agents lose paid leads because they quit after two contacts. Fix it by calling within five minutes, running a coordinated multi-channel cadence (text, email, phone), and installing a 90-day email nurture sequence. Most policies bound from internet leads close on contact five or later.
01/30/2025 · 6 min read
Direct mail still beats digital in tough markets because competition has collapsed and physical mail forces active engagement instead of passive scrolling. Target life events (home purchase, business filing, vehicle registration), time the drop to the trigger, and keep client communication warm so retention holds when carriers exit.
01/22/2025 · 6 min read
Going captive to independent rebuilds three systems carriers used to handle: lead management (insurance-specific CRM), client communication (automated routine touchpoints), and multi-carrier quoting. Travis Gensler picked each tool by what it eliminated from the workflow, not what it added.
08/23/2024 · 5 min read
Decide between outsourced and in-house insurance telemarketing by calculating the full economics of each (including your owner-management hours), tracking cost-per-appointment instead of cost-per-dial, and writing a detailed script and qualification spec. In-house fails on management capacity. Outsourced fails on under-specification.
06/25/2024 · 5 min read
Justin Brock's $70 million agency runs on three layers: an AI content engine that earns attention, an automation layer that handles every non-judgment task, and a human team focused only on discovery, needs analysis, and the close. Each layer feeds the others.
06/20/2024 · 5 min read
Justin Brock scaled to a $70 million insurance agency by treating AI and automation as core infrastructure, not add-ons. Automate high-volume, low-judgment work first, preserve humans for the close, and design every system for ten times your current size.
05/21/2024 · 5 min read
Build an insurance referral system by asking immediately after a win, using a specific named-profile ask, planting the referral seed in onboarding, partnering with three to five adjacent professionals, and tracking every referral source in your CRM. Referred leads close at 50% or higher.
05/14/2024 · 5 min read
Craft an insurance agency UVP by naming the specific client you serve, the specific problem you solve, and the specific outcome you deliver. Pull the language from real client reviews, run three versions on outbound calls, and replace every generic claim with a verifiable differentiator.
04/03/2024 · 6 min read
Real-time internet leads are the foundation for P&C agencies at most growth stages: the prospect raised their hand and the window is narrow. Live transfers convert higher but cost more and lack control. Direct mail earns a role only in client retention, lapsed reactivation, and specialty lines with long timelines.
04/02/2024 · 5 min read
Cold calling generic lists, blasting generic email, and running paid social ads without an audience all fail new P&C agents because they are outbound and interruption-based. Real-time internet leads from verified sources and relationship-based referrals are the only two channels that consistently produce ROI in year one.
10/18/2023 · 6 min read
Andy Neary's pre-sold pipeline runs on four pieces: pointed authority content that filters in your psychographic ideal client, strategic visibility where they gather, a systematic referral conversation with every top client, and one long-form piece per week repurposed into three to five shorter posts. Owned email is the asset.
10/16/2023 · 6 min read
Demographics tell you the prospect's zip code and industry. Psychographics tell you what they believe about risk, what frustrated them with prior agents, and the story they tell themselves. Build content and discovery questions off those beliefs and you stop competing on price because nobody else has the same conversation.
10/11/2023 · 5 min read
Replace vague goals with documented metrics like 120 dials, 8 quotes, 3 binds daily. Enforce consequences consistently when benchmarks are missed, run a two-way feedback loop, and put expectations in writing every new hire sees on day one. Your standard equals your team's output, and the owner sets it.
08/30/2023 · 5 min read
Build a consistent insurance sales machine on a tight budget by buying leads daily (not in bursts), holding the spend stable for 90 days, installing a six-touch CRM follow-up, and pushing multi-policy conversation into every quote. Consistency compounds. Optimization without volume does not.