The one-person agency playbook. Time blocking, sales systems, client service, and the tools that let a single agent punch above their weight.
34 episodes from Craig Pretzinger & Jason Feltman, hosts of The Insurance Dudes Podcast
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.
12/24/2021 · 4 min read
Step 2 of the Six Step Success framework: build documented systems for onboarding, service, renewals, and lead follow-up. Systems break the owner-bandwidth ceiling and let the agency deliver consistent results without the owner inside every transaction.
12/17/2021 · 5 min read
Insurance agency marketing works when you concentrate on two or three channels matched to your ideal client, fund them as a fixed percentage of target revenue, and measure leading indicators like cost per lead and close rate, not just bookings.
12/15/2021 · 5 min read
Real agency training means scheduled practice with feedback, not information meetings. Run a thirty-minute role-play every two weeks, build a monthly training calendar tied to performance gaps, and put the manager on the hook for showing up.
12/08/2021 · 5 min read
Plan agency hires twelve to eighteen months ahead of the need, write a fit profile before you start the search, and onboard with a defined ninety-day path. That sequence prevents the two failure modes that keep most agencies understaffed or badly staffed.
12/06/2021 · 5 min read
Step 6 of the framework is structural, not tactical. Run a yearly assessment on three things: owner dependency, book quality, and business direction. Fix structure before stacking growth tactics on top of a shaky foundation.
11/24/2021 · 6 min read
Track four non-negotiables, retention rate, closing rate, cost per acquisition, and premium per policy. Add quote-to-bind time, cancellation reasons, activity ratios, and cross-sell rate as diagnostics. When a metric moves, respond fast with a targeted or systemic fix.
11/22/2021 · 5 min read
Tracking metrics transforms agency performance because data turns vague problems into specific ones with specific fixes. Measure acquisition, conversion, retention, and staff performance, then review the numbers in the weekly team meeting so they drive decisions instead of decorating dashboards.
11/15/2021 · 5 min read
Clarity on why you are building this agency is operational, not motivational. A specific purpose acts as a decision filter for hires, products, and client situations, which prevents the slow drift that caps most agencies at their first retention or culture ceiling.
08/27/2021 · 5 min read
Split testing replaces opinion with evidence. Test one variable at a time across enough volume to matter (200+ calls or contacts), write the hypothesis first, and measure honestly. Highest leverage areas: email subject lines, call scripts, landing pages, and follow-up sequences.
08/23/2021 · 5 min read
Agency momentum turns into a runaway train when activity keeps running while results decline. Watch for the gap between effort and output. Block a 90-minute solo strategic review every two weeks, look at close rate, retention, and producer numbers, and make one stop, start, or change decision.
08/20/2021 · 5 min read
Hold conviction during evidence gaps. Culture takes 18 months to show in retention; marketing investments take six months to compound; staff development pays out in years. Keep the destination constant and adapt the route. Doubt projected by the owner becomes the team's ceiling.
08/16/2021 · 5 min read
Bold moves in an agency are rational when you size the downside before you swing. Identify the worst realistic outcome, confirm you can absorb it, then fully commit. Half-commitments produce half-results. The riskiest path is chronic caution dressed up as prudence.
08/13/2021 · 6 min read
When a client says the price is too high, they usually mean one of three things: the rate change feels jarring, they found a lower number online, or they need to feel the value. Each version has a different response. Folding on coverage or delivering a defensive monologue are wrong.
08/09/2021 · 5 min read
Stop being the answer person by writing one-page decision frameworks for the five questions your team asks you most, telling staff to bring decisions instead of questions, and backing their judgment even when the outcome isn't perfect. The dependency is what's capping your growth.
08/06/2021 · 5 min read
Only four levers grow insurance agency revenue: get more clients, lose fewer clients, sell more to existing clients, and earn more per transaction. Diagnose which lever has been most neglected, build a 90-day system around it, and stop spreading effort thin across all four at once.
08/02/2021 · 5 min read
Building lasting legacy in insurance means three things: enterprise value the agency holds when you step back, client relationships maintained by the system instead of your phone, and staff who become better professionals because they worked for you.
07/30/2021 · 5 min read
An agency manifesto replaces generic mission-statement language with specific behavioral commitments that filter hiring, guide daily decisions, and communicate to clients what you actually stand for. Write it from your real decisions, not from what sounds good.