Training programs, onboarding curricula, and role-play systems that actually produce producers. How to ramp a new hire to first policy in 30 days.
42 episodes from Craig Pretzinger & Jason Feltman, hosts of The Insurance Dudes Podcast
05/05/2026 · 9 min read
Losing a producer costs 75 to 150 percent of their salary, and 83 percent of agents quit or switch by year three. The data is clear: people leave over weak leadership, no career path, and thin recognition more than pay. Here is what BLS, Reagan Consulting, and the retention research say about finding and keeping your best agents.
04/29/2026 · 8 min read
Top insurance producers share four skills nobody formally teaches: communication, emotional intelligence, leadership, and execution. Licensing exams cover policy forms. Carrier training covers products. The skills that 10x commission are learned through deliberate practice, not coursework.
02/26/2024 · 5 min read
The biggest hidden cost in your agency is a retained underperformer, not leads or rent. Cultural erosion, opportunity cost, and a quietly lowered hiring standard. Fix it with proactive hiring (warm pipeline always running), structured behavioral interviews, and 90-day ramp-up pay.
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.
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.
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.
09/25/2023 · 5 min read
Five hiring practices that reduce the randomness of agency staffing: define the role's success profile before posting, use structured behavior-based interview questions, screen for values alignment before competence, activate your team's referral network, and move fast on strong candidates. Agencies that do all five stop cycling through bad hires.
09/20/2023 · 6 min read
Run conflict in three moves: establish safety before content (acknowledge the experience), separate the problem from the person, and drive toward commitment to future action rather than agreement on interpretation. Same framework works for angry clients, producer disputes, and accountability talks.
09/18/2023 · 6 min read
Communication is a professional competency, not a personality trait. Build it through five-minute daily reps over 90 days, not three-day workshops. At renewal, post-claim, and competitor-quote moments, surface the real driver behind the client's response before defending the position.
09/13/2023 · 5 min read
Nail the first 30 seconds of an insurance call by stating who you are with confidence, creating a specific reference point, delivering value in one sentence, and asking an engaging question. Skip the company history, the feature list, and the apology for calling.
08/21/2023 · 5 min read
Seven specific leaks that bleed P&C agency revenue every month: hiring for activity not values, rushing past human connection, accountability without diagnosis, treating clients as transactions, presenting generic coverage, follow-up that quits at touch two, and producers who do not actually care about the people on the call.
08/14/2023 · 6 min read
Solve the insurance agency people problem by filtering candidates on values alignment first and competence second, running behavior-based interviews, training for culture in the first 30 days, and separating clearly when performance gaps persist. Waiting to fire is the most expensive decision owners make.
06/28/2023 · 5 min read
Jason Feltman rehabilitated a failing P&C agency by leading every sales conversation with value before price, articulating one concrete reason this client should choose you, and using the napkin tactic: a simple drawing comparing current vs recommended coverage that anyone can explain.
05/10/2023 · 6 min read
Most insurance salespeople don't fail because they lack talent : they fail because nobody fixed the specific, fixable habits that kill deals before they start. Here are 10 reasons and 9 real solutions.
05/08/2023 · 5 min read
Communication is the one skill that separates thriving insurance agencies from struggling ones. Sales, retention, culture, and marketing all run through it. Master deep listening, clarity over cleverness, audience-flexed style, modeled internal feedback, and written communication that scales without you in the room.
04/26/2023 · 5 min read
Three leadership traits separate the best insurance agency owners from average ones: radical ownership of outcomes (no externalizing blame), coaching instead of directing (ask more than you tell), and relentless transparency about strategy and vision. None are personality, all are practiced behaviors.
04/11/2022 · 5 min read
Your insurance agency needs a training manual before the next hire because it cuts ramp time from six months to six weeks, institutionalizes what works after turnover, and turns hiring into a system. Five modules: playbook, products, sales process, tools, expectations.
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.
12/03/2021 · 5 min read
Train sales process through deliberate practice, then verify execution with live call observation, recorded conversations, and documented discovery notes. Give specific feedback tied to specific moments. Run monthly role-plays and quarterly call reviews. Process decays in three to six months without reinforcement.