Incentives to Motivate Staff

How to motivate your team

One of the hardest parts about working as a team is motivating your fellow group members. I once had an agent ask me how he could convince his coworkers to cross sell business and upsell current clients. Without hesitation I responded, “With money and fame!” The tricky part was that his business plan could not … Read more

Need-Based Selling

Need-based selling tips

Let’s talk about potentially the greatest shift in sales in this century: Need-based selling. Need-based selling means restructuring your sales strategies around your individual client’s needs. Up until the pandemic, most sales tactics were based on product offerings; you can provide countless auto policies from all of the biggest carriers, and that is why people … Read more

Developing a Strategy For Success

Examples of a SWOT Analysis

One of the easiest ways to figure out how efficiently your agency is running is by performing a SWOT Analysis… but what the heck is that? Long story short, a SWOT Analysis is a technique for assessing (S)trengths, (W)eaknesses, (O)pportunities, and (T)hreats in your business (mindtools.com). So how is a SWOT helpful? You can use … Read more

Bootstrap Marketing for IAs

Bootstrap marketing techniques

You’ve heard by now the importance of investing in marketing for your agency, but 1) who has the time to launch several successful marketing campaigns and 2) where would you find the money to pay for them? The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to build … Read more

COVID-19 Federal Relief Resources

Federal relief funds

To say business has been tough lately is an understatement. The financial pressure is getting heavier for more and more small businesses as their revenue stream slows to a trickle. Congress passed the CARES act to give relief to these financial burdens, but not everyone has received or qualifies for the CARES Act loans. If … Read more

Confessions of an Ex-Farmers Agent

Why I Ended My Partnership with a Farmers Insurance Agency For almost 15 years, I gave my Farmers Insurance agency everything that I could  – my financial investment, energy and, most importantly, the majority of my time. In return, I received an incredible education, met some of the most skillful salespeople in the industry, and … Read more

Insurance Automation: what is it?

insurance automation technology

What is ‘automation?’ Chances are by now that you’ve heard automation talked about in insurance at least half a dozen times now. Automate this, automate that – but what does it really mean? When these insurance leaders talk about how automation is changing the game in insurance, what specific processes are they referring to? Let’s … Read more

Direct Carrier Appointments vs. Producer Sub-Codes: Which Do You Have?

Different carrier appointments for independent insurance agents

Every captive looks to go independent because they’re tired of being told what business they need to write, how much of it they need to write, and who they have to write it through. You want your name on your book of business, and you want to keep your clients by offering multiple quotes that … Read more

Free Marketing Tools for Insurance Agents 

Free Marketing Tools

America’s largest companies spend mind-boggling amounts of money on advertising, with behemoths like Procter & Gamble, AT&T, and Disney spending billions every year. You don’t have billions (yet!), but there are many ways you can successfully market yourself without even spending a dime. Email Of course you have email, but are you using it effectively as a marketing tool? There’s … Read more