The Agent Leader Podcast: Recent Episodes
Brent Kelly
Brent Kelly, President of The Sitkins Group, Inc. hosts a weekly podcast focusing on helping independent insurance agencies sell more, retain more, and earn more, all by leading with greater influence.
How did Ed McGrath lead BancFirst Insurance Services from $6 million to an astounding $33 million in revenue? Discover the secrets behind this monumental growth as Ed, the President and CEO, sits down with us to discuss the pivotal strategies and leadership decisions that made this transformation possible.
You'll hear about the importance of an independent operational approach, the power of investing in new agents, and the unique leadership style that has driven their success.
This episode promises valuable takeaways for any agency leader aiming to elevate their business and achieve ambitious goals. Join us for a conversation that could redefine your approach to growth and leadership in the insurance world.
To learn more about programs that helped boost BancFirst's growth, visit www.sitkins.com
To order your copy of our Best Version Possible book visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Unlock the secrets to agency growth and leadership success with Bart Straka, President and CRO of TRICOR Insurance. Discover how Bart transformed from a producer to a leader at one of the top 100 agencies in the country.
Learn how the agency has expanded to 32 locations and 310 employees, with an impressive projected revenue of $58 million, and the pivotal role a strong agency culture plays in this remarkable journey.
Highlights include:
(00:01) Agency Growth and Leadership Success
(06:34) Building Success Through Growth and Development"
(17:14) Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in Insurance
(29:14) Optimizing Agency Efficiency and Growth
(40:14) Impactful Relationships in Professional Growth
Delve into the multifaceted challenges and opportunities within the insurance industry, such as talent acquisition, market unpredictability, and the lag in technology adoption.
Hear Bart's perspective on transforming these hurdles into growth opportunities through proactive strategies and ensuring the right people are in the right roles for maximum efficiency.
With personal anecdotes and professional wisdom, Bart underscores the significance of meaningful relationships in achieving both personal and professional growth, rounding off an episode filled with lessons for agency leaders and industry professionals alike.
To learn more about how you can transform your agency like TRICOR, visit www.sitkins.com
In this episode, Brent Kelly is joined by Mark Rollins, a former highly successful insurance agency leader and current founder of Retirement Transformed.
Mark, also the author of The Evolving Man, shares insights that go beyond the usual financial aspects of perpetuation.
Together, they explore the emotional and spiritual journey leaders face when transitioning from agency ownership, diving deep into vulnerability, authenticity, and the personal impact of retirement.
Rollins reflects on his own agency success, while emphasizing the importance of identity, purpose, and staying active in retirement.
Tune in for a conversation that will inspire you to rethink how you approach both your professional legacy and personal growth.
To learn more about Mark's company visit https://retirementtransformed.com/
To book your agency assessment with one of our coaches visit https://www.sitkins.com/bookacall
Brent Kelly sits down with Max Olson of Legacy Advisors, an expert in agency valuation, to discuss the strategies that can significantly increase the value of your insurance agency.
Whether you're preparing for a buyout or simply want to boost your agency's future, Max shares key insights on optimizing revenue, streamlining operations, and securing the best price for your agency.
Key topics include:(5:55) Success leaves clues, Max shares some areaswhere agencies have succeeded.
(15:25) Mistakes agencies have made
(23:00) The one thing that agency owners should be most focused on
(30:00) How to find balance in ambition and life
Tune in to learn the steps you can take today to enhance your agency's worth and position yourself for a profitable exit.
Visit https://www.legacy-advisors.com/ to learn more about their services for insurance agencies
Visit https://www.sitkins.com/bookacall to schedule your Best Version Possible assesment.
How can good results be holding your agency back?
Roger Sitkins joins Brent Kelly to dive deep into all seven of the Good Results Traps - or common challenges that many agencies face when they become content with merely good outcomes instead of pushing for the Best Version Possible results.
This Good Results mindset prevents agencies from reaching their full potential and end up leaving millions of dollars of value on the table.
Learn how to escape these traps, get a clear understanding of your current position, desired future state, and the steps required to bridge that gap.
Dive into key strategies like optimizing sales and service capacity — ensuring producers are focused on sales-related activities and service teams are working efficiently without interruption. Get into Accountability, an essential in driving the desired behaviors and results.
The coaches discuss the importance of building a promise-based culture that fosters engagement, productivity, and a sense of ownership across the organization.
By striving for the Best Version Possible of themselves and avoiding the comfort of "good" results, agencies can achieve greater financial freedom, more options, and overall success.
This episode is your blueprint for achieving sustainable growth and profitability, packed with actionable insights for insurance agency owners and leaders.
Don't miss out on these strategies to refine your business approach and lead your agency to success. Visit www.sitkins.com to learn more about our programs
To order a copy of our book Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To schedule a free agency assessment with one of our coaches, visit www.sitkins.com/bookacall
Are you falling into Good Results Trap #7 by under-utilizing your agency’s technology and talent? In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent Kelly dives into the critical importance of your agency’s talent and growth strategy.
Brent emphasizes that the key to staying competitive and efficient lies in a proactive approach to investing in both your people and technology.
(3:58) There's an undeniable link between employee development and organizational success. Learn how to invest in your team correctly.
(17:36) As a leader, rethink your perspective on technology. It should not be a mere expense, but a vital investment in the future of your agency.
Join us as we explore how you can foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptation within your agency. By doing so, you’ll set the stage for long-term growth and ensure that your agency doesn’t just survive but thrives in today’s fast-paced environment.
Ready to take the next step in your agency’s journey toward becoming its Best Version Possible? Don’t miss this episode, and be sure to book a call with one of our expert coaches at https://www.sitkins.com/bookacall to learn more about how we can help you achieve your agency’s full potential.
Skyrocket your agency's revenue by embracing proven strategies used by top-performing agencies. In this episode, Brent Kelly gets into how the 80/20 principle can revolutionize your business model, helping you focus on the top 20% of your clients who generate 80% of your revenue.
Imagine the impact of having half your revenue come from just the top 5% of clients—it's not only possible but achievable with the right approach.
Brent guides you through the essentials of client tiering, optimizing carrier management, and strategic resource allocation, all designed to streamline your operations and boost profitability.
Whether you're an experienced agency owner or just getting started, this episode offers valuable strategies to help you work smarter, not harder. Tune in now to transform your agency's revenue model and secure a more prosperous future.
Don't miss out - schedule your free Best Version possible agency assessment today at sitkins.com/bookacall
Do your agency’s beliefs and behaviors align? Brent Kelly dives into Good Results Trap #5 which covers having limited or no culture of accountability in your insurance agency on this episode of The Agent Leader.
Learn how fostering a Culture of Accountability can not only boost performance, but also make your agency a beacon for top talent.
Examine the critical role of Strategy and Accountability, and learn why no strategy can reach its full potential without a solid foundation of accountability.
If you’re ready to transform your agency into its Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bookacall
How can you turn part-time clients into full-time profits for your insurance agency? Brent Kelly shares the strategies that can transform your business model, boost your profitability, and secure your agency's future in this episode which continues our Good Results series with Trap #4 Part-Time Clients.
Understand the critical importance of transitioning part-time clients to full-time status for your agency's sustainability. Brent shares strategic client engagement techniques that not only improve client satisfaction and loyalty but also enhance your agency's profitability and market competitiveness.
To learn more about our programs for growth-minded agencies, visit www.sitkins.com or schedule your free agency assessment at www.sitkins.com/bookacall
What's the best way to scale your agency's revenue and ensure sustainable growth? Escape the Part-Time Producer Trap! Brent Kelly continues the Good Results Traps series with Trap #3, having part-time producers.
Discover the critical elements that can elevate your agency from "doing ok" to thriving. Brent dives into the often-overlooked factors that are essential for agency success, including the strategic and financial models that provide a solid foundation for growth.
Learn why part-time producers could be holding your agency back, and how increasing Time Spent Selling (TSS) can transition your team to full-time revenue generators.
Topics discussed:
We explore the concept of Sales Zone Efficiency, revealing that many agencies are missing out on significant revenue by not optimizing their sales activities.
Plus, we tackle the common barriers to agency growth, and how to overcome them to achieve and surpass your revenue milestones.
Whether you're struggling to hit that $1,000,000 revenue mark or looking to push beyond, our insights on increasing your sales could be the game-changer your agency needs.
If you're ready to take your agency to the next level, book a call with one of our coaches at sitkins.com/bookacall
Or order our Best Version Possible book
What is your agency's set offense? Can you clearly articulate the differences of your agency vs. everybody else? Are your pipelines overflowing? If any of those answers are no, you may be falling into Good Results Trap #2, which wecover on today's Agent Leader podcast.
In this episode, Brent Kelly continues the GoodResults Traps 7-part series by covering the “trap” of doing good despite having No Unique Sales Approach.
Visit our site to Schedule your Free Agency Assessment
You can go back to listen to Trap#1 – Having No Set Strategic of Financial Plan now
Episode highlights:
(3:50): Brent talks about how 2023 was a record-breaking year in organic growth percentage across the board as reported by Reagan Consulting.
(6:36:) Brent warns that when good results are coming easy, we often forget about what's possible for our agency.
Four Areas in Trap #2 to Consider:
(6:50): Commodity-based Selling rather than being a trusted advisor
(10:15): Not knowing or unable to define your points of differentiation.
(12:27): Having pipelines that aren’t full of ideal clients
(19:50): Having low referral rates
Keep listening for the rest of the Good Results Traps insurance agencies fall into, and learn how to easily avoid them.
If you’re ready to take your agency to the next level with proven processes and programs, learn about the SitkinsExperience.
Is your agency getting good results? Careful, these good results could very well be traps that are holding your agency back from becoming its best version possible.
In this first of a seven-part series, Brent Kelly talks agency leaders through the first trap - having no clear strategic or financial plan.
Get ready to ask yourself if your business model is leading your agency to the place that you ultimately want to arrive at, along with more:
(12:20) questions to ponder on your path to more success
(19:08) Metrics and stats to measure
(20:45) Examples of how much money your "good results" could actually be costing you.
Plus more important insights on the traps ahead on this episode of The Agent Leader.
To learn more about our programs that help your agency become its Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com
To get your free assessment with one of our coaches, visit sitkins.com/bookacall
What's the secret to sustaining impressive growth in your insurance agency year after year?
Discover Specialty Risk Insurance Agency’s blueprint for achieving a staggering 32.4% year-over-year growth for 12 years straight in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast! Chance Morgan joins Brent Kelly to deep dive into the strategies, hiring philosophies, and training programs that have propelled an agency to remarkable success and resilience in the market.
Discover how their agency's commitment to creating a supportive, family-friendly workplace coupled with a philosophy of collaboration over competition has fueled their impressive growth and cultivated a thriving independent agency that future generations would be (and currently are) proud to be a part of.
If you want to be in the same room as Chance and other growth-minded agency leaders, learn more about our programs at www.sitkins.com
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, host Brent Kelly discusses the three steps to becoming a Best Version Possible agency. He emphasizes the importance of clarity, alignment, and focus in achieving agency transformation and growth.
(5:30) It all starts with agency leaders answering three key questions for Clarity: where are we today, where do we want to go, and how are we going to get there?
(8:00) The next step is getting alignment or buy-in with your entire team.
(10:00) Step three is to take one key area and get laser-focused on it.
To become the hero your agency needs, learn more about our coaching programs or book a call at www.sitkins.com
What's the secret to transforming your agency with less effort and more impact?
Discover the blueprint to agency success that every leader needs. This episode dives into the heart of empowering insurance agency leaders, showcasing how doing less can actually lead to achieving more. By focusing on strategic delegation, cultivating team empowerment, and embracing reflective leadership practices, you'll learn how to optimize your agency's operations and foster an environment of growth and innovation.
Key Highlights:
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Understand the essence of empowering agency leaders and why 'doing less' can be your biggest leverage.
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Explore how to eliminate non-essential tasks.
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Learn the continuous journey towards excellence in agency leadership and why it's crucial for your personal and professional development.
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Discover the art of strategic delegation to optimize operations and empower your agency team.
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Find out how to create a culture of team empowerment where every member feels valued and capable of contributing to success.
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Embrace reflective leadership practices to constantly evaluate and improve your leadership style, ensuring it aligns with your agency's objectives.
By the end of this epsiode, you'll have a clearer understanding of how to enhance your agency's performance by focusing on impactful activities, optimizing resources, and creating a culture of empowerment and excellence - all so you can "quit" doing it all.
This isn't just advice; it's a structured, strategic approach to leading your agency to thrive in a competitive environment by doing less but achieving more.
Steer your agency towards unprecedented growth and become your Best Version Possible with our consulting and training programs. https://www.sitkins.com/
To read the transcript or watch the full video visit our site.
Are you coming at accountability backwards? Brent Kelly discusses how to use accountability for success in your insurance agency on this episode of The Agent Leader.
Discover the essential strategies for growth through insights on aligning your team, understanding roles, taking strategic actions, and the power of coaching to excellence.
Learn how awareness and strategic client acquisition can transform your operations and lead to sustained growth. Plus, explore the role of accountability and continuous improvement in fostering a culture of excellence.
Whether you're a leader looking to inspire your team or an individual aiming for excellence, this episode offers valuable lessons on leadership, strategic planning, and the importance of aligning your agency's vision with actionable steps.
Key moments:
(4:25) Alignment
(7:15) Actions
(9:35) Awareness
To learn more about our programs and how we help agencies thrive, visit www.sitkins.com
Order our Best Version Possible book
Visit Rough Notes
Are you a cow or a buffalo in the insurance industry? Brent Kelly introduces a "cow mentality" and a "buffalo mindset" and how each pertains to different areas of an independent insurance agency.
Learn how to shift from a cow to a buffalo with eight specific areas:
- Focus on problem vs. a focus on the solutions. (7:30)
- Activities vs. Results (9:00)
- Living in the past vs. Focus on what's next (10:07)
- Showing up and give up vs. Prepare and practice for desired results (11:43)
- Energy takers vs. energy makers (12:56)
- Complacent vs. Charging ahead (14:25)
- Already knowing vs. Always learning (16:55)
- Making excuses vs. seeking accountability (19:16)
Does your agency currently operate as cows or buffalos?
Assess where your agency falls in each of these areas and strive for a buffalo mindset in order to achieve your Best Version Possible.
To access our Agency Transformation Scorecard, visit ww.sitkins.com/scorecard
What's the secret to building powerful relationships with CFOs?
Unlock the key to establishing meaningful connections with CFOs by understanding their priorities, challenges, and strategic goals with this episode of The Agent Leader.
Brent Kelly and Kari Glennon dive into what makes a CFO tick, from the nuances of their day-to-day responsibilities to the overarching strategies that drive their decisions. Learn why empathy, strategic alignment, and thorough preparation are your best tools for engaging with these top executives.
Whatever your role in an insurance agency, this conversation offers valuable insights into the CFO's world. Discover the importance of differentiating between tactical and strategic roles within an organization and why knowing the psychographics of a CFO can be just as crucial as understanding their demographics.
Don't miss out on learning how to communicate effectively with one of the most pivotal roles in any organization.
Begin transforming your interactions with CFOs today.
Resources mentioned:
Agency Transformation Scorecard sitkins.com/scorecard
Subscribe to CFO.com to stay informed about current financial and business trends.
To access the full video and transcription of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/connecting-with-cfos-to-achieve-sales-goals
Brent Kelly discusses the parallels between dunking a basketball and achieving success as an independent insurance agency in this episode of The Agent Leader.
Brent explains how training applies to both basketball and insurance agencies. Much like our producer program, ProducerFit, which focuses on building foundational blocks for success, you can't build success with weak links.
So how can you avoid weak links in order to achieve long-term success with your agency? Brent urges leaders to understand the importance of mindset, alignment, retention, performance, and productivity in the insurance industry.
Whether you're looking to build a lasting legacy or seeking strategies for immediate improvement, this episode offers invaluable insights and practical advice for agencies aiming to achieve their Best Version Possible.
To access the Agency Transformation Scorecard to provide feedback on your agency's current standing visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard
To access the full episode transcript and video visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/dunking-agency-success
What are three reasons why agencies and their teams often avoid one of the most powerful areas of agency growth?
Brent Kelly introduces the concept of the Ultimate Growth Strategy in this episode of The Agent Leader, along with the three reasons for avoiding this strategy:
- Complacency (6:30)
- Lack of capacity (7:40)
- Lack of confidence (9:43)
If you're ready to address these issues and implement strategies to improve your agency results, visit www.sitkins.com
To read the full transcript and access the Agency Transformation Scorecard visit our site
Is what you're thinking stopping you from achieving? In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, Brent Kelly and Roger Sitkins discuss the importance of beliefs and thinking in achieving success.
Listen in for tips on how to turn internal convictions into external actions and desired outcomes. Our coaches are big believers in positive thinking as a driving force for desirable results. Learn how to adopt this same positive approach that is crucial for insurance agencies intent on improvement.
Brent and Roger touch on strategies like targeted referrals and the reverse referral process, offering innovative methods for business growth through high-quality lead generation. Coupled with the emphasis on delivering an exceptional client experience and focusing on Green Zone activities, agencies are provided with a strategy for transformation.
Get inspired by best practices that prioritize efficiency and client satisfaction to position agencies for sustained growth and success.
This episode will have you set to align your beliefs with behaviors and results.
To access the Agency Transformation Scorecard, visit sitkins.com/scorecard
In this podcast episode, Brent discusses the easy, normal, and comfortable things that insurance agencies often do that can hinder their long-term growth and success.
Listen as Brent highlights four specific areas where taking the easy way currently could be making your future harder:
- Accountability (6:20)
- Productivity (11:30)
- Agency profitability (13:50)
- Having a defined selling system (17:17)
Isn't it time you step out of your comfort zones and start doing the harder things upfront, to achieve better results in the long run?
To access our free resource, the Agency Transformation Scorecard, which provides feedback on key areas of your agency's performance visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard
What's the secret to transforming your independent insurance agency into a high-performing powerhouse?
Discover the undeniable power of a structured selling process in our latest episode. Brent Kelly delves deep into why relying solely on talent isn't enough and how a systematic approach can significantly elevate your agency's success.
Learn the critical difference between talent and the ability to teach, and understand why preparation goes beyond mere planning to become your ultimate competitive version.
We highlight the value of a sales playbook, likening it to a 'set offense' in sports, and explore how continuous skill development and self-awareness can set you apart in the competitive insurance market. Whether you're looking to refine your sales strategy or seeking ways to stay ahead, this episode is packed with insights aimed at driving your agency toward operational excellence.
Join Brent as he breaks down key components, offering actionable advice and strategies to not just survive, but thrive in today's fast-paced market.
It's time to give your agency the clarity and competitive edge it deserves, visit sitkins.com/experience to learn about our programs.
Take the free Agency Transformation Scorecard assessment at sitkins.com/scorecard
In this podcast episode, Brent Kelly discusses three important questions that people are asking about you as an agency leader:
- "Can you help me?" (3:00)
- "Do I trust you?" (8:43)
- "Do you really care about me?" (15:00)
Brent emphasizes the importance of these questions in determining a leader's impact, influence, and results. Listen in for practical examples and suggestions for improving your status in each of these areas.
To take the Agency Transformation Scorecard quiz, visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard to gain awareness and clarity about your agency's current standing.
To watch the video or read the full transcript of this episode, visit our site.
Learn how to make your agency soar with seven characteristics of eagles that can be applied to independent insurance agencies in this episode of The Agent Leader.
The characteristics include:
- Vision (5:20)
- Fearlessness (9:30)
- Tenacity (16:30)
- Hunting (19:40)
- Vitality (23:15)
- Flying high (27:00)
- Nurturing (29:10)
Listen in for highlights on the importance of having a clear vision for your agency, being proactive and fearless in pursuing goals, staying committed and persistent, actively seeking out ideal clients and talent, surrounding oneself with growth-minded individuals, and prioritizing the growth and development of your team members.
Get ready for an action-packed episode learning how to soar above your competition from eagles.
To access the Agency Scorecard, visit sitkins.com/scorecard
To watch the video or read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/lessons-on-leadership-from-eagles
Unlock the secrets to skyrocketing your agency's revenue and client satisfaction by escaping hysterical activity! Roger Sitkins joins Brent Kelly to unravel the art of prioritizing top customers, managing the 80/20 rule, understanding revenue concentration, and much more.
Whether you're struggling with client management or looking for ways to boost your profitability, this episode has got you covered with Seven Ways to identify if you're stuck in Hysterical Activity on the Way to the Grave, and how to escape it:
- The Call Me Syndrome (6:00)
- Confuse Pay Time with No Pay Time (9:10)
- Practice Quoting (13:07)
- Lack of a Sunday or Weekly Plan (18:00)
- No Future Ideal Client (25:25)
- Not understanding the 80/20 Principal (28:35)
- Making promises without plans (36:00)
To learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
To read the full transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/unlock-agency-growth-by-eliminating-hysterical-activity
In this podcast episode, Brent Kelly discusses the importance of asking questions in order to improve communication, engagement, and connection with others. Brent emphasizes that asking questions is the number one skill to learn for agency leaders, sales professionals, and insurance service professionals.
Listen in for four reasons why asking questions is important:
(5:36) #1- It allows you to truly control the conversation.
(8:23) #2 - It creates pain and opens new files
(11:03) #3 - Questions provide buy-in
(12:29) #4 - Asking questions creates action
Brent also highlights the difference between closed-ended questions (which should be avoided) and open-ended questions (which are more effective).
Get inspired to practice asking better questions and to seek out opportunities for low-risk practice.
If you're ready to grow your agency and learn more skills to Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit Sitkins Group
To read the book mentioned in this episode, visit 21 Secrets of Million Dollar Sellers, by Steven Harville
To read the full transcript or watch the video visit our blog
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In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly discusses the importance of aligning all aspects of your insurance agency - sales, service, leadership, and marketing.
Brent emphasizes the need for three areas to align your agency and improve overall performance:
- Commitment (8:15)
- Culture (11:00)
- Communication (12:40)
Listen in for examples of how sales and service, leadership, and marketing should work together to create a high-performance team.
If you want to align your agency with the resources and programs available visit sitkins.com/experience
Brent Kelly dives into three reasons why Practice Quoting is Stupid in this episode of The Agent Leader.
What is practice quoting? We define it as "the art of providing a quotation to an unqualified prospect in order to force the incumbent agency to lower their renewal price while retaining the account."
Practice quoting is a waste of time, energy, and money for insurance agencies. Need more reasons why practice quoting is a bad idea?:
1 - It undermines your professionalism as an insurance agent. (6:48)
2 - It eliminates the opportunity for proper diagnosis and analysis of the clients' needs. (10:55)
3 - It makes you look and sound generic. (16:04)
Brent encourages insurance agencies to establish rules of the game upfront, focus on providing value and expertise rather than just quoting, and differentiate themselves in the marketplace.
To get your copy of the No Practice Quoting poster for your office, visit www.sitkins.com/npq
Connect with Brent on LinkedIn
Join us as we dive deep into the inspiring journey of insurance industry veteran, Kari Glennon. Brent and Kari discuss her background and experiences in the insurance industry, as well as some of the key challenges and successes she has witnessed.
Kari emphasizes the importance of accountability in agency leadership and suggests using cohort management to tailor support and resources to individual producers based on their needs and goals.
With highlights on perpetuation, the 80/20 rule and the value of going with your gut instinct in decision-making, Kari's insights provide valuable advice for agency leaders looking to improve their operations and achieve success.
Tune in for a dose of inspiration and professional wisdom from the inspiring Kari Glennon.
If you're ready to grow your agency, visit www.sitkins.com to find out more about our programs.
In this episode, host Brent Kelly interviews Jim Koster, the Vice President of Sales for Property & Casualty at TRICOR Insurance to discuss the challenges and successes of building a growth-oriented agency culture.
Jim emphasizes the importance of finding quality producer candidates, and investing in training and development to ensure their success. He also highlights TRICOR's success in implementing high-performance teams and the Green Zone approach, which has led to improved relationships, high retention rates, and organic growth.
In the end, Jim advises listeners not to be afraid to be great and to focus on mastering the basics consistently and exceptionally well.
If you want to join TRICOR's journey towards becoming their best version possible, visit www.sitkins.com/fasttrack.
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, host Brent Kelly interviews Chet Rhoads, president and CEO of HUB Three Rivers. Chet discusses how his leadership tactics have helped double the size of their agency while maintaining a great culture.
Listen in for highlights on organic growth, the significance of role-playing, and executing the right behaviors to further your career in the insurance industry.
If you want to get great results for your agency like Chet, visit sitkins.com/fasttrack to learn more about our programs.
In this episode Brent Kelly interviews Harrison Brooks, a partner and consultant at Reagan Consulting, to discuss the growth and challenges faced by independent insurance agencies.
Harrison shares success stories of agencies that have grown their revenue and offers advice on how to compete in the current marketplace.
Harrison emphasizes the importance of being creative, equipping employees with the right questions to ask, offering more than just economics to retain talent, and institutionalizing the business to create a unique client experience.
Harrison concludes by highlighting the significance of investing in unvalidated producers, and encourages agencies to benchmark themselves against top performers in the industry.
To learn more about Reagan Consulting, reach out to Harrison Brooks at harrison@reaganconsulting.com
To learn more about our Fast Track program, visit www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
Visit our sponsor, The Rough Notes Company.
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, Brent Kelly interviews Mike Malinowski, the president and CEO of EHD Insurance. Mike and Brent dive into the challenges and successes of running a successful insurance agency, with highlights including:
- the importance of developing a sales culture within the agency
- the benefits of creating a separate business unit for smaller accounts.
- the value of continuous learning and personal development for insurance professionals.
Listen in for tips on the importance of leadership, culture, and ongoing education in the insurance industry.
If you want to Be Like Mike and get outstanding results in your independent insurance agency, visit www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
To watch the video recording of this episode or read the full transcript, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/be-like-mike-malinowski-of-ehd-insurance-agency
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, Brent Kelly interviews Jim Welsh, the CFO of Winton-Ireland, Strom & Green (WIS&G), a California-based insurance agency.
Jim Welsh shares his experience so far working with the Sitkins Group to improve their agency's performance, especially finding value in the holistic approach of our training programs.
Get ready to hear how identifying and leveraging their points of differentiation and deepening their relationships with clients through community-oriented events has become part of the culture at their agency.
Jim doles out advice for younger professionals on taking risks, exploring opportunities, and finding enjoyment in their work.
If you want to join Jim and WIS&G in improving their growth-minded agency, visit www.sitkins.com/fasttrack to find out more about our 90-day program.
The recent Best Practices Study showed that the most critical issue facing independent insurance agencies today revolves around one thing, people. How can you find, develop, and retain the best talent?
This episode is a special replay of a Live webinar with Brent Kelly built to help show you how to:
- Get your sales & service teams working together; same goal, different roles.
- Increase productivity to get your Producers in the "green zone" at least 80% of the time.
- Structure your teams and processes to allow for greater capacity.
- Free up time for you to actually focus on your agency; not just work in your agency.
Let's face it, with the continual increase of mergers and acquisitions, and producer and team member lift-outs, the issue of people isn't going away any time soon. Not only is this issue a consistent drain on your time, energy, and effort, but it is also costing your agency millions of dollars in agency valuation.
If you're ready to address this issue head-on, so that your agency can achieve the maximum value possible, we're ready to show you how.
https://www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, Brent discusses the issue of treating everything as an emergency in your insurance agency.
He emphasizes that not everything is an emergency, and treating everything as such can cost the agency time, money, and create culture issues.
Brent shares insights from conversations with agency leaders in our coaching programs, highlighting the importance of defining what constitutes an emergency and empowering and trusting the team to handle non-emergencies.
To read the full transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit sitkins.com/blog/this-is-not-an-emergency
To learn more about our 90-Day Fast Track program, visit https://www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent Kelly discusses the importance of becoming more interesting in order to be more successful as a leader or professional in the insurance industry.
So how do you become a more compelling and engaging communicator in order to connect with others and build relationships? As Dale Carnegie said "to be interesting, be interested."
With that in mind, what is your communication growth plan? It's worth crafting one so you don't look back at a year or three years or five years and realize you haven't grown.
Brent offers ideas such as open-ended questions, actively listening, and preparing for meetings and conversations to improve your interest levels.
If you're ready to get your agency on the path to more success in the new year, check out our 90-day program called the Best Version Possible FastTrack, which aims to help agency leaders and their teams achieve better results.
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/not-interested-or-are-you-not-interesting
The purpose of this episode of The Agent Leader is to challenge you and to encourage you to think bigger than you've ever thought before.
As an individual, as a department, or as an entire agency, so often we don't realize how limited our thinking really is. In fact, our limited thinking creates limited results. But, if we can think bigger, we have better behaviors, and our behaviors drive our results.
Get ready to expand your thinking and realize what your "Unless" is as Brent challenges you on this episode.
Referenced resources in this episode:
Fast Track Training Program
10x is Easier Than 2x
Brent shares areas of impact from his recent three-day Agency Leadership Institute hosted by Cincinnati Insurance and led by Reagan Consulting.
Listen in for what great agencies from around the country discussed as their top areas of impact.
Get ready to take notes and learn more on:
Recruiting and training producers, having a culture of accountability, green zone focus, leading with excellence, and having a sales process or plan that can be reinforced.
To learn more about our 90-day training program for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit sitkins.com/blog/two-impact-items-from-the-agency-leadership-institute
What is the greatest asset your agency possesses?
Technology? Data? Insurance carrier relationships? Community involvement? Knowledge? Credibility?
While all of these are great assets, the number one asset every agency has is its people.
In fact, in the recent Best Practices Study, the concept of developing your people was mentioned 8 times in the opening section - with IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE!
The problem is that most agencies don't have a true plan or process for developing, growing, and training their most important asset.
During this replay of a live presentation, Brent Kelly, President of Sitkins Group, shared the top three impact areas for personal and professional development that will lead to increased organic growth and profit - AND MILLIONS of dollars in agency value.
Listen in to learn:
1. How to install a training and development program for ALL of your key personnel that actually works
2. How to get "buy-in" from your team and get them excited and engaged in the process.
3. How to get the greatest agency return on your investment of time and training/development.
To learn more about our Fast Track program, visit https://www.sitkins.com/fasttrack
Brent is joined by one of our awesome members, Ben Zimmer, CEO and founder of Ethos Insurance and Risk Management.
Ben is an excellent example of the growth-minded leaders we like to work with at Sitkins Group, and when you listen you'll know why.
Get ready for an impactful discussion with Ben on what is working in his agency - that's been growing 20-25% YOY.
As the episode title implies, Ben's agency is a true believer in the organization of meaningful meetings. Learn how Ben's agency has grown from Vulnerability with Accountability, and many more clues to success, in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
To attend the Live event with Brent on September 7, 2023, register on LinkedIn.
Click here to order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible.
What would you do if someone on your team made a mistake 80% of the time?
Reprimand them? Possibly.
Train them? It better be a lot of training!
Release them? Hard to argue.
When you ask agency service team members how many times a producer gets a service request or change 100% accurate and 100% complete, the first time, the answer is usually about 2 out of 10.
In other words, producers make mistakes on service duties about 80% of the time.
In this podcast, Brent shares the Three Reasons You Need to Fire Your Producers From Service.
To watch the video or read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/fire-your-producers-from-service
If you're ready to get your agency to its Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com
How often do you or the people in your agency focus on things that, although they may be impactful, they have no control over?
How much time, energy, and effort goes into anger, frustration, or anxiety wasted on others' mistakes that we can't change?
Do others' actions impact you? Yes. But the bigger question is, do they control you?
In this episode of the Agent Leader, Brent Kelly will provide ideas on where agencies can take charge of areas of impact vs spending too much time, energy, and effort in areas outside of their true control.
To learn more about our programs for insurance agencies, visit https://www.sitkins.com/
How can you make meaningful change in your insurance agency? Brent talks over four ways agency leaders can create greater buy-in with their agency teams.
7:30 - Having a Clear Vision vs. Confusion
11:08 - Having a Culture to support the Change
14:30 - Having Consistency vs Intensity
16:50 - Commitment vs Complacency
If you're ready to make impactful change in your insurance agency and want to learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
or get a jump start with our Best Version Possible book.
Are you simply making the easy choices in your insurance agency, that are actually making your life harder in the end?
As we always say, if you make easy choices today, it'll make your life harder long-term. Brent challenges independent insurance agency leaders to think through five choices that can impact your business long-term.
4:30 - Choice #1, Does your agency have a Team Training and Development Plan?
9:08 - Choice #2, Having High-Performance Teams, which means having clear and consistent communication between your sales and service teams.
12:42 - Choice #3, Producer Accountability to Results
16:28 - Choice #4, Leveraging the Power of the 80/20 Rule
21:15 - Choice #5, 3P's - Playbook, Preparation, and Practice
Are you willing to make some of the hard choices now that are going to make the long-term success of the agency easier?
If you're ready to get predictable and guaranteed results in your insurance agency, visit sitkins.com to learn more about our programs.
To watch the video or read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/easy-vs-hard
Have you ever wondered what you could gain from producer training program? You're not alone, producers keep asking if our programs are right for them. Brent Kelly goes over the core strategies from our #1 program, ProducerFit, to help develop insurance producers.
Get ready to take notes on the tips to success in insurance sales that Brent shares from our 8-week virtual program. Whether you're a veteran in the insurance industry or a brand-new producer, we guarantee you'll get better results with ProducerFit.
If you're ready to increase your sales, have full pipelines and create the perfect schedule that allows for more freedom with ProducerFit, visit www.sitkins.com/profit to sign up for the next session.
Brent is bringing some excitement and thoughts back to you, the audience, from two events he recently participated in.
Great ideas are everywhere for improving your agency. The real challenge is how can you as agency leaders keep the intensity through consistency for change?
One of the biggest frustrations we see in working with agencies like you is the fact that we start things, we just don't finish them real well. So let's get in to three practical ways to help your agency have more consistency.
If you're ready to jump start true change in your agency, visit sitkins.com/profit to learn about our popular Producer Improvement Program.
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit sitkins.com/consistency
Brent highlights three shifts that insurance agencies can make to truly become indispensable in their marketplace.
As an agency leader, or within your agency, your agency culture, what needs to change to get you to the next place?
Follow along as Brent goes over three shifts you can make to transform into indispensable, along with some deep questions to ask yourself as a leader.
Shift 1: Shifting from quotes to risk advice
Shift 2: Shifting from transaction to relationships
Shift 3: Shifting from a vendor to a risk partner
To watch the video or read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/become-indispensable-in-insurance
To learn more about our agency transformation process, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
To order our Best Version Possible book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Roger Sitkins and Brent Kelly finish their discussion on Service Capacity in Part Two of our Two-Part Series on Sales & Service Capacity.
Listen in as Roger shares how simply knowing your numbers can increase your service capacity, how to use technology to enhance client relationships, and KPI's to help you measure capacity in your agency.
If you missed part one, you can catch it on our playlist or website, Increasing Sales Capacity
To learn more about our programs for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
Roger Sitkins and Brent Kelly finish their discussion on Service Capacity in Part Two of our Two-Part Series on Sales & Service Capacity.
Listen in as Roger shares how simply knowing your numbers can increase your service capacity, how to use technology to enhance client relationships, and KPI's to help you measure capacity in your agency.
If you missed part one, you can catch it on our playlist or website, Increasing Sales Capacity
To learn more about our programs for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
Roger Sitkins comes back as Brent's guest for a 2-Part series about Sales and Service Capacity.
In this first part, our coaches tackle the topics that can help you increase, and improve, your sales capacity.
Get ready to take notes on agency valuation, how to invest in your agency, and examples of what independent insurance agencies have done, can do, and should do to help improve their sales capacity.
Stay tuned next week for Part Two of this series, focused on Service Capacity.
To learn more about our Membership Experience, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/the-impact-of-your-capacity
Brent Kelly continues his series on capacity and shifts it into the 4M's of sales leadership from a book called Becoming a Person of Influence by John Maxwell.
Listen in and take notes as Brent talks you through what these 4M'S mean to you as an insurance agency sales leader.
- 5:00 – Model – To model the right behaviors and strategies are
- 6:50 – Motivate – Provide motivation, understanding, and support
- 7:53 – Mentor – Provide Mentoring and coaching when you go deeper with those that you serve
- 18:20 - Multiply – Getting great buy-in and watching your investments in your people multiply
If you’re ready to increase your capacity and start Selling More, Retaining More and Earning More, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
This is the first in a series about agency capacity. There's a lot that goes into that, and a lot to discuss, from leadership capacity, sales capacity, service capacity, and what all that means for your agency in terms of results, processes, systems, and pretty much everything you can think of.
How can you gain clarity on your leadership capacity? Start by asking yourself these three questions:
- What must I change to stop trying to have it all?
- What "good" things can I stop doing, in order to do the best things?
- What must I do to become more proactive, and less reactive?
To learn more about our private client network, visit sitkins.com/experience
To watch the video or read the transcript, visit sitkins.com/blog/three-questions-for-leadership-clarity
Let's talk about five reasons why your agency doesn't need a coach in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
Now obviously this title shouldn't be taken seriously, and be taken as more of a challenge to you as an insurance agency leader. Are youwilling to work with others to develop and improve yourself and your team? After all, no one ever accomplished something great, alone.
So let's dive into these five reasons why you wouldn't need to be striving for the best version possible of you or your agency.
- You’re immune to the outside forces in the world
- You’re waiting to sell out
- You believe that your team is not worth investing in
- You are the competition that is feared in your marketplace
- You’re getting incredible results
If you’re ready to grow your agency and want to learn more about how we work with agencies, visit sitkins.com/experience
What are the two vital questions that every sales leader should be able to ask, and of course, get answers to?
As an agency leader or as a producer, it's important to hear this message so you can develop your own personal accountability in becoming a great sales professional.
It’s all about how you can Define, Document, and Deliver within your agency. As Brent says, it’s really hard to manage air – if nothing has been defined or documented, it cant be delivered.
Get ready to add these two simple but powerful questions to your leadership repertoire:
“I thought we agreed on.”
“Help me understand…”
To learn more about our network of growth-minded agencies, visit sitkins.com/experience
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/two-vital-questions-for-sales-leaders
Brent Kelly starts this episode off with a challenge to insurance professionals - how many of the things that you can control are you truly in control of?
How much of your time, energy, and effort is lived with intention, intentionality, versus accidental and reactive?
With that in mind, Brent goes through three areas where you can be more intentional to become your best version possible.
- Be Intentional with your communication
- Be intentional with your calendar
- Be intentional with your commitments
Listen in for specific examples for each of these three areas of intentionality and some impressive stats from our member agencies – including an 80% growth rate!
To learn more about our network of growth-minded agencies, visit sitkins.com/experience
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit sitkins.com/blog/intentionality
Brent talks you, the agency leader, through beliefs that are holding you or your agency back in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
Get ready to discuss seven beliefs that could be holding you back from the true results you want in your agency:
- Your past is better than your future
- Fitting in is better than becoming world class
- We replicate vs. revise
- We can’t write larger accounts
- We can’t work on referrals only
- We can’t really differentiate
- We’re done learning, expanding, and growing.
If you’re ready to break through these belief barriers and become your Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/experience to learn more about our network of growth-minded agencies.
To read the transcript or view the video recording of this episode, www.sitkins.com/blog/seven-beliefs-holding-you-back
Brent shares some solo thoughts on a really important topic today - your agency's culture. What is a culture of excellence? What does a culture of excellence mean to you as an agent leader, to your agency, your team, your clients, and your community? You name it. It's all about a culture of excellence.
So let's go deeper in this idea of what excellence means to you and having the ultimate competitive advantage.
Listen as Brent shares some heartfelt clues to success on becoming the competition that is feared, never losing to someone who is more prepared than you, and personal accountability in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
To read the transcript or watch the video recording, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/culture-of-excellence
To learn more about our client group, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
Mary Savage, Director of Marketing at UNICO Group, joins Brent to share her experience in agency development and growth through marketing.
Listen in for a great perspective on agency challenges from the marketing side, including how Mary's team builds relationships with their advisors so that they're seen as a trusted team member, and not as a service center. Using our Risk Concierge Program, UNICO's marketing team branded a sales playbook that has helped their producers, and agency, grow and succeed together.
Get great tips to independent insurance agency success, and a little basketball talk, on this episode of The Agent Leader.
To learn more about our membership group, visit https://www.sitkins.com/experience
Brent Kelly gives an overview of our ProducerFit program by sharing the 10 Foundational Blocks of Producer Success.
As Brent goes through this list, ask yourself how well you as a producer are doing in this area, or, "How well is my production team doing as a best version possible production team?" Get ready to rate yourself on these 10 foundational blocks of production success:
- Having a high performance team
- Having your producers in the game
- Continuations, not renewals
- Relationship Management
- Pipelines that are comprised of Future Ideal Clients
- Having a unique Selling System
- Relentless Preparation
- Ultimate marketing strategy
- Having a sales playbook
- Personal Accountability
If you're ready to be in the room with other growth-minded insurance professionals, visit www.sitkins.com/experience to learn more about our programs.
Allison Hammons of Knight Insurance Group joins Brent on this episode to share tips to her success in independent insurance.
Listen to gain clever tips on:
- Recruiting talent, both internally and externally
- Creating a solid culture that includes praise within the agency
- The importance of having mentors
Plus more great takeaways, available in video and text format at https://www.sitkins.com/blog/were-all-in-this-together-with-allison-hammons
If you're interested in getting your agency to its Best Version Possible, visit sitkins.com/experience
There's plenty of Wisdom in the Room with Dan Mickells of UNICO Group joining Brent as a guest on The Agent Leader for this episode.
Dan shares stories of success, and stories of failure, that will help anyone in insurance sales learn some important lessons along the way - including why it's important to not be afraid to fail.
Get ready to take notes, Dan's agency has the success to support their strategies like:
- Going deep in conversations with clients
- Meeting expectations
- Meeting people to make good things happen
- Sunday planning sessions
- Perfect schedules
- Getting your team all on the same page
- The importance of stepping out of your comfort zone to grow
Plus more great conversation and ideas from a great independent insurance agency leader.
To read the full transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/theres-wisdom-in-the-room-interview-with-dan-mickells
If you're ready to be in the room with growth-minded leaders like Dan Mickells, visit sitkins.com/experience to learn more about our private client group.
Our coaches, Roger Sitkins and Brent Kelly, talk over a Christmas Wish List for independent insurance agencies in this episode of The Agent Leader. Get ready to imagine your agency accomplishing the following things in 2023 and beyond:
- Having your entire team 100% aligned around a common goal.
- Have all of your team members in ongoing personal development programs
- Sales and Service teams working together as High Performance Teams
- Improve your Sales and Service Capacity
- Weekly sales Improvement Meetings
- 90%+ of your producers meet or exceed their sales goals every year
- Achieve a 99% effective retention rate on the clients you want to keep
- The 80/20 Rule
- Having Future Ideal Client only pipelines
- Have a unique, repeatable sales process
- Have Points of Differentiation that give you an Unfair Advantage against the competition
- Relentlessly Prepared for every opportunity
- Have organic Growth rates that are twice the Best Practices numbers
- Earn an operating profit of over 30%
Be like one of our clients that increased their value from $16.8 million to $30.3 million. If you’re motivated, our network of high performing agencies wants you in the room with them. Visit sitkins.com/experience
To read the transcript or watch the video recording of this episode, go to sitkins.com/blog/wish-list-for-insurance-agencies
Art Betancourt of AEBetancourt joins Brent today to share his expertise on how to attract, find, select, and hire great talent for your agency.
By far the biggest challenge we hear from agency leaders is finding agency talent, because there simply isn't enough right now.
Art shares tips on how to:
- Go find and develop talent - because once you need to fill the position, it's too late.
- Using performance-based hiring metrics
- Create a total talent pipeline
- And more great clues to success in your independent agency
To read the full transcript or watch the video of this episode, go to www.sitkins.com/blog/recruiting-agency-talent
To find out more about how AEBetancourt can help your agency find the right fit for a position, visit https://aebetancourt.com/
To learn more about the Sitkins Experience visit https://www.sitkins.com/experience
Is your agency committed to being a true sales organization? Without weekly (not weakly) held sales improvement meetings, you aren't efficiently developing your sales team.
Brent talks agency leaders through three important parts of a sales meeting, what to include, what to leave out, and how to keep the impact going all week long so you can unleash the collaborative genius within your team.
To learn more about becoming one of our growth-minded agencies we work with, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
To order our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
How do you get your people to buy-in to new ideas or strategies in your agency?
No matter how good your idea is, if you can't get your team to buy into it, it's a failed idea. Let's talk about this and your agency. "How can you get more people to buy in?" It takes consistency, communication and collaboration. Because again, without it, no idea matters.
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode visit sitkins.com/blog/get-more-buy-in-with-your-agency-team
To order a copy of the Best Version Possible book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Kevin Stipe from Reagan Consulting joins Brent to discuss main Challenges and Opportunities for independent insurance agencies.
Listen in as Kevin gives great advice on what he sees the Best Practices agencies doing. From building effective teams, heading into a recession, and the importance of getting people working together, Kevin covers it all on this episode of The Agent Leader.
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To learn more about Reagan Consulting and the Best Practices study, visit reaganconsulting.com
Tim Parenti from First Insurance Funding joins Brent for this episode of The Agent Leader. Listen in to Tim's perspective on how independent insurance agency leaders can move their business forward.
Tim covers his view from the financial side of key struggles leaders are facing, how to build a long-term team, and how to find good talent outside of the insurance industry. Come for the great advice, stay for the special appearance from Matt Foley, straight from his van down by the river.
To learn more about the Sitkins Experience, visit www.sitkins.com/experience
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To learn how First Insurance Funding can help move your agency forward, visit www.firstinsurancefunding.com/
What is the best version possible of an insurance agency? This episode is a recording of a live webinar hosted by Brent Kelly where he addressed this question. The foundation for every successful insurance agency is alignment of leadership, sales, service and operations. Learn how to align the same goals with different roles, improve buy-in with your team, and how to get tangible results.
Get actionable ideas, and a fresh perspective of leadership for independent agencies today.
To watch the full playback of this webinar, visit https://www.sitkins.com/bvpx_stop
What’s the plan for your insurance agency? You’ve heard us say it before, but the #1 job of an agency leader is to develop their people. Now knowing that’s your #1 priority, what’s your plan for actually doing it? Brent will talk you through the importance of having a plan, and then some ideas of what you could do to expedite developing a plan.
You know that good is simply not good enough for your team, now it’s time to take action on it. If you’re ready to get a solid plan in place for your insurance agency, visit www.sitkins.com/experience to learn more about how we help agencies
To order your copy of Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/whats-the-plan-for-your-agency
Roger Sitkins is back for this episode of The Agent Leader to go over the Best Practices Study from Reagan Consulting.
This yearly Best Practices study provides a lot of great knowledge and information, so we brought Roger on to get his reaction to it all. We'll discuss what the information means to you as an agency leader, and your agency. How do you digest this information? What are some things that will help move your agency forward to become that Best Version Possible?
As we go through the critical issues and opportunities facing agencies, you'll see it all comes down to the big three - Leadership, Culture, and People.
To order your copy of Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/best-practices-for-insurance-agencies
There's four areas to focus on that will make a huge impact in your agency. Want to hear what they are?
Brent takes all the lessons that we talk about, everything we've learned from 40-plus years in the industry and combines those into four practical areas to focus on in your agency. Listen in for why these four traps are so important, why agencies get hung up on them, examples of success, and failures.
Walk away with the knowledge of what falling into these four traps can cost you, and also some things that you can begin to implement and gain by doing so.
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/four-traps-to-success
To order your copy of Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
What does the Agency Leadership Institute and planning a 40th birthday party have in common?
Brent just experienced both events in one week, and found 3 lessons along the way that agency leaders can take away.
You've got to
- Share your Vision
- Empower and Equip Your Team
- Constantly Improve
To read the transcript or watch the video of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/empower-equip-and-improve-lessons-for-agency-leadership-institute
To order your copy of Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Ryan Teubner, producer at Rich & Cartmill, Inc. joins Brent to talk about his biggest struggles, successes and advice for other independent insurance agents.
Listen to Ryan share stories of his success at winning clients, having freedom to be with his family and how he operates on not being afraid, with a little luck mixed in.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/creating-luck-and-taking-calls-with-ryan-teubner
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Rick Fox, Head of Agency Sales for Vertafore, joins Brent to talk about how agencies can leverage the power of technology for relationship building with their clients.
Listen in for tips on how to:
-
Get the best bang for your buck when your agency eventually gets acquired
-
Give staff 30% to 40% more time back, so they can go build more loyal customers
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Making tech scalable for your agency
-
Making your agency more attractive to clients and future employees
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Build a user experience that is modern and will scale to whatever happens in the future.
Let's gain efficiency and give back more time to your team to go build loyal relationships with Rick Fox, now.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/building-effective-relationships-with-tech-interview-with-rick-fox-of-vertafore
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
The final episode in our 8-Part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about Leadership. As John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” We see this is true in all the independent insurance agencies we work with.
The #1 job of any leader is to improve their people. If leading your people is your job, and your people are your agency’s best assets, why aren’t you doing more to invest in them and their skills?
Brent and Roger talk through perpetuation and how agency leaders can make decisions with intention to lead their agency to more success.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/click-8-leadership To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #7 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about moving from Winging It, to having a Proven Process.
During this Click, we focus on getting your agency set up with a proven playbook now, so you don’t have regrets later. After all, Yesterday becomes tomorrow unless you do something different today.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/winging-it-vs-proven-processes-click-7 To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #6 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about moving from being Generic to Indispensible.
During this Click, you're going to discover little things you can do quickly to establish your agency as unique and indispensable. A lot of agencies have different tools and resources. The question is, how many of them are actually using them?
Listen in to how one agency found success by doing the opposite of every other indpendent insurance agency, and how another is on their third year in a row of a million in revenue on BORs alone!
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/click-6-generic-to-indispensable To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #5 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about moving from the Trivial Many to the Vital Few. Do you want more things to do in your agency? Probably not!
Our goal is not to give you more things to do. It's to help you focus on the right things, the most important things, and to do those things more often and with more intention. As an agency leader, you’ve got to understand the concept of what must be simplified so that you can focus on what really matters to gain momentum.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/click-5-trivial-many-to-vital-few To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #4 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about moving from Renewals to Referrals.
On average, about 90% of clients renew with insurance agencies. That's pretty great when nine out of 10 people are going to pay you money next year. The bad news is that less than 10% of those same people will refer another client to your agency. So 90% + renew, less than 10% on average refer.
Let’s dive deep into how to fix this in your insurance agency and start operating off the mantra “Every client from a referral, and a referral from every client.”
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/referrals-vs-renewals To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #3 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about Activity vs. Results.
Are you running an activity-based agency that celebrates being busy, or are you a results-based agency that actually gets important stuff done? Roger and Brent talk agency leaders and producers through Red Flags and Traps in your agency, and how to fix them, in this "Click".
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/activity-vs-results-click-3 To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Click #2 of our 8-part series of "Clicks", or breakthroughs, for insurance professionals is all about Teams and realizing you can’t do it all alone.
You can try to go it alone as an agency leader, or you can build a team and equip and empower a team around you. Listen in as Brent and Roger share clues to this Click for agency leaders and producers focused on: • The Green Zone • Me, Inc and We, Inc • The Curse of SAKU • High Performance Teams • Referrals
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/teams-click-2 To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
1 of our new 8-part series of "Clicks".
What are these clicks for insurance professionals? They could be breakthroughs, busting through a plateau, or it's a mindset shift. We're talking about when you begin to do things at a different level to get the results that maybe you didn't even think were possible prior to that "click."
Through the summer, Roger and Brent are going to share some of the clicks to help you and your agency get out of the familiar plateaus.
This first Click is truly a mindset shift. It's moving from small thinking to true higher-level thinking and what that can do for your career.
Listen in as Roger shares the story of how one client's click helped him create over $6 million of commission income on his personal book of business, plus more clues to success on this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/small-thinking-click-1 To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Do you want to avoid the stinky commission breath? If you want to stand out, you want to become the point of comparison in your marketplace, then this episode of The Agent Leader is for you.
Brent goes over what it means to have commission breath, and three areas that you as an agency, as a producer, can work on to develop, to make sure that you truly are standing out and not having commission breath.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/avoiding-commission-breath To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Producer Jeff Jones of IOA joins Brent to discuss his clues to success with a multi-million dollar book of business.
Listen in as Jeff discusses what he believes in the cholesterol of every agency or producer, and how you can avoid it.
From his version of the 80/20 rule, to helping his clients move forward while striving for his own personal best version possible, there's plenty to pick up on from Jeff in this episode of The Agent Leader.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/agency-cholesterol To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Long time client and friend Mark Carlson of T. Charles Wilson joins us today to talk about how his Expertise has brought a level of Ease to his niche.
Learn from Mark's experience as an independent insurance agency owner and producer as he shares keen insight.
If you want to learn about how to produce more business, and some of the challenges and successes that agency leaders go through, this conversation is for you.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/ease-with-expertise To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Brad Rutt of HUB International joins us for a great conversation on being Deliberate, while also being Patient on his path to success as an insurance producer.
Get ready to take notes as Brad shares his story of transitioning from a lawyer to a producer specializing in the cannabis industry, clues to his seven-figure new revenue year last year, and examples of things he'll never do again on sales calls.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/deliberate-growth-with-bradley-rutt To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Million dollar-plus Producer Barbara Galgiani joins us to talk about transitioning from a CSR to a producer on this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
Pick up tips to Barbara's success as she hustles hard to reach her new goal of doubling her million dollar status.
We continuously talk to producers about owning a certain part of the marketplace, and that's just what Barbara has done. Success leaves clues – find a niche.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/niche-to-succeed To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Get ready to take notes, we’ve got a new type of guest on today. Curt Vondrasek, EVP of Member Leadership Engagement of the ISU Network, joins Brent to share how he helps agencies create greater value in their network.
ISU Network is the second largest in the country, with an average agency size of $3.5 million in revenue, and they’re focused on growth. Curt discusses how he works with the agency owners on everything from perpetuation to organic growth to training programs like ours.
Pick up Curt’s clues to agency success, along with the biggest challenges and opportunities he sees in independent agencies today, on this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
To read the transcript of this episode, visit www.sitkins.com/blog/value-creation To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
"When you invest in yourself, when you try to surround yourself with the best, success is imminent - but it is not easy." Get ready for a great conversation with Steve Woodward, Senior VP of Employee Benefits at HUB International.
Steve talks with Brent about how investing in himself helped him land the best account of his career, along with challenges and wisdom he's picked up along the way.
Steve isn't done yet Learning More and Listening More, and if you as a listener are wise, you'll take his advice to focus on improving yourself as well.
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
Brent’s bringing some of the key learnings that he’s taking away from recent industry events and sharing them on the podcast today.
It all comes down to four areas where agencies can get complacent, and what happens when they do:
- Alignment
- Green Zone
- Retention and Referrals
- Obtain
As you listen today, challenge yourself, ask yourself, “Why am I settling? Why am I saying good is good enough? Why am I holding myself back, my team back, my clients back from a greater opportunity.”
To order a copy of our book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our movie explaining the Sitkins Process, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
To learn more about our sponsor, visit www.roughnotes.com
This episode of the Agent Leader podcast features three independent agency leaders in a panel discussion during our recent ProFit Networking event.
Mike Malinowski, Dan Elliott and Todd Lykke join Brent to discuss not just agency success, but how they had to get uncomfortable with change to achieve their successes.
From celebrating their best quarter in new business sales ever, to advice they'd give their younger selves, listen in for clues to these Sitkins Network members' success.
If you want to network with great agencies and leaders like these, visit www.sitkins.com to learn more about our programs. or to Book a Call visit https://www.sitkins.com/bookacall
To order a copy of our Best Version Possible book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
He's a newer producer blazing his path to success by being prepared. Listen in as Toye Oshoniyi from Dominion Risk Advisors drops clues to his early success in the P&C world, with a focus on three crucial things:
- Asking the right questions
- Removing one word from his vocabulary
- Being prepared
If you're ready to gain the unfair advantage over your competitors like Toye by attending ProducerFit, visit https://www.sitkins.com/profit To order a copy of our book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp Watch our documentary for agency leaders www.sitkins.com/vip
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
"You're choosing your lifestyle with the actions you take every day." Wise words from our guest and agency owner, Kevin Charleston, of Specialty Risk.
Kevin drops tons of clues to his agency's success in this episode that you'll want to replicate. Listen in as he talks about - Choosing a niche and focusing on the right types of accounts - Getting buy in from your team - Putting a focus on your people - and more ways they're running a successful agency that doubles premiums every two and a half years.
Get ready for an inspiring conversation from a great agency leader, now.
To get results like Specialty Risk is, visit https://www.sitkins.com/ To order a copy of our book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp Watch our documentary for agency leaders www.sitkins.com/vip
It's OK to be challenged - wise words from a great agency leader, Jeff Kirk or Dostal & Kirk agency in Ohio. Jeff talks about the challenges he faces in leading and growing his agency, his personal life, and how he's never stopped learning after 41 years in the insurance industry. Listen in for great pieces of advice any size agency leader can learn from on this episode of The Agent Leader. To get your agency great results like Jeff's agency, visit www.sitkins.com to learn more about our programs. To order a copy of our book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp Watch our documentary for agency leaders www.sitkins.com/vip
This episode is all about Communication and Consistency, with commercial sales manager Tim Hrehor of First Citizens joining Brent. Tim talks about how their independent insurance agency is finding success that they can replicate, working with ideal clients, and seeing growth by staying focused. Listen in for shared stories of success, struggles in the agency, and more great advice on The Agent Leader podcast, now. To get your agency great results like Tim's agency is, visit www.sitkins.com to learn more about our programs. To order a copy of our book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Brent is joined by sales leader Shane Ideus of UNICO Group for this episode of The Agent Leader. Shane shares their agency's key successes of growing to $30 million in revenue, and how they're keeping their team in a growth mindset. If you're looking for tips on gaining Clarity in your agency, and how to perpetuate growth, listen in, Shane's sharing wisdom.
If you’re ready to get great results like Shane and UNICO Group, visit www.sitkins.com to learn more.
To order a copy of our new book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Brent is joined by Dan Elliott, Vice President at Diebold Insurance Agency, for this episode. Reflection turns experience into insight, and Dan discusses lessons he's learned while taking over the family agency, struggles, and successes they’ve dealt with.
As Dan wisely states, you never know everything, and should never be done learning. So, are you done yet? If you’re ready to get great results like Dan’s agency, visit www.sitkins.com to learn more.
To order a copy of our new book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp
Brent's talking straight to you, Sales Leaders, in this episode of The Agent Leader podcast. This is a holistic message for the sales leaders in the agency, and others as well, focused on the Three C's - clarity, consistency, commitment. It's something that we talk about frequently and to go back to the very root cause of the clarity, consistency, commitment is a conversation that Brent had with Roger Sitkins almost five years ago now. Every successful producer, agency, and sales leader have Clarity - they know where they want to go and have a plan to get there. Consistency - They understand that there's just a few things you have to do really well, not everything. Commitment - to themselves, their agency, clients, and community.
To learn more about our new book, Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To watch our documentary for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
Our book, Best Version Possible, is finally out! In this episode, Roger joins Brent to explain the purpose and passion behind our recent projects, and what is it going to mean for you, the independent insurance agency owner. So, to help agency owners get to their ultimate freedom, we've turned this into a process. There's an actual process of a best version possible. It’s simple, but not easy. There's four basic steps to your BVP that most agencies aren't committed to really understanding, or being aware of going deep in these areas:
Alignment – clear vision of the same goal, different roles. Green Zone – Producer focused on the four key money-making activities Retaining at a Higher Level Obtain Future Ideal Clients
Notice we don't get into a whole bunch of new selling activities until we get aligned, until we get our time spent selling - our green zone - where it needs to be, where we're taking care of our best customers.
To order your copy of our book, visit www.sitkins.com/bvp To view our new documentary for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/vip
Dr. Travis Parry joins Brent for this episode of The Agent Leader to talk about 3 Myths of Achieving Balance. Listen in to find out if you're falling victim to any of these myths that are blocking you from achieving balance in your career and life. To learn more about the Achieving Balance book, visit https://www.travisparry.com/book
If you're ready to get great results for your insurance agency, visit www.sitkins.com
Best Version Possible Book available to order now! https://www.sitkins.com/bvp
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Brent and Roger do a year-end review of what they've learned in 2021 and what they think lies ahead for the insurance industry in 2022.
As insurance consultants, we always say Success Leaves Clues, so listen in as our coaches answer: - What did you personally learn most this year as a coach to independent insurance agencies? - What areas did agencies find the most success? - What mistakes we continue to see agencies make. - What does 2022 look like for independent insurance agencies?
If you're ready to get great results for your insurance agency in 2022 and beyond, visit www.sitkins.com
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
We've hit the end of the year, now it's time to Slow Down in order to Speed Up for the new year ahead. In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent shares five ways you can slow down to reach your Best Version Possible. 1- Reflection 2- Scheduling 3- Asking Yourself Questions 4- Stop Lying to Yourself 5- Filter down to One Thing
If you're ready to get great results for your insurance agency and go through a 90-day Deep Dive with our coaches, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Brent is joined by Roger Sitkins on this episode of The Agent Leader to discuss great lessons from little league - 10 Things That Require Zero Talent.
Listen in to hear how these core 10 are crucial to success in the independent insurance world: 1 - Being on Time 2 - Work Ethic 3 - Effort 4 - Body Language 5 - Energy 6 - Attitude 7 - Passion 8 - Being Coachable 9 - Doing Extra 10 - Being Prepared
If you're ready to get great results for your insurance agency and go through a 90-day Deep Dive with our coaches, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Roger Sitkins joins Brent for another episode of The Agent Leader, focused on a great Joe Calloway quote - "Be so good at the basics that you are considered cutting edge." This idea speaks so much on everything we do at Sitkins with independent insurance agencies, focusing on consistency in the basics to build success. Listen in for a great conversation on asking for referrals, low-risk practice, having points of differentiation, and more key points of creating a true sales organization. If you're ready to get great results for your insurance agency and go through a 90-day Deep Dive with our coaches, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
Joe Calloway books mentioned: Becoming a Category of One Be the Best at What Matters Most
To view the video of this podcast or read the transcript: https://www.sitkins.com/blog/be-so-good-at-the-basics-that-you-re-cutting-edge
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Agency leader Todd Lykke joins the Agent Leader podcast to talk strategies as a true Sales Organization. Todd shares great tips on how he has grown his agency by focusing on sales and always looking for what's next. Listen in as Brent and Todd discuss mindset, strategies, and discipline that you can apply to your independent insurance agency.
If you're interested in getting the same results as Todd's agency, TCL, and other member agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
To view the video of this podcast or read the transcript: https://www.sitkins.com/blog/mindset-strategy-and-discipline
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Brent is joined by Paul Corder, the Senior Director of Sales and Marketing for Peel & Holland in this episode. Paul shares some struggles, lots of successes, and core processes that are driving their success. Gain great tips from this insurance agency's experience building value and relationships with clients - and hear some great quotes along the way. If you're interested in getting the same results as Peel & Holland and other member agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: www.sitkins.com/programs
To learn more about our producer sales course: www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: www.sitkins.com/podcast
Listen in as Brent discusses how the quality of questions you ask clients, prospects, and yourself can help propel your career forward. Learn how to move from Can I, to How Can I, and finally How Will I... to make your goals a reality. Let's accelerate your success, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
To learn more about our producer sales course: https://www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? https://www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Sitkinselect
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: https://www.sitkins.com/podcast
This episode focuses on a phrase that pertains to most insurance professionals, "Do not complain about that which you tolerate." Brent goes through ways that producers, sales managers and agency leaders can all use this phrase to make improvements to their routines. Brent's challenge to all his listeners is to identify one area, whatever your agency role is, one thing that you've been complaining about too long that you're finally going to say enough is enough. Take the first step to make sure that in the future, this becomes certainly much less of an issue or a problem for you and the agency. Let us help you and connect you with other agencies, coaches, and peers that can share stories and ideas to make sure that you're compressing time. Life's too short. Let's accelerate your success, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
To learn more about our producer sales course: https://www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? https://www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAFd3mDIxF2c0TPvAZb8-FQ
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: https://www.sitkins.com/podcast
Roger Sitkins joins Brent to talk about a new breakthrough for insurance agencies and producers - the true value of an appointment. Listen in as they discuss the impact an appointments value has for producers and agencies.
Learn new strategies focused on TSS, Time Spent Selling, and how to get producers in the green zone doing the four key money making activities: sales, the continuation process, relationship management, and pipeline building.
InsuranceSales #InsuranceAgent #SitkinsistheSolution #InsuranceTraining
Need total agency training? The Sitkins Group, Inc coaches offer dynamic training programs, both online and in-person, for independent insurance agencies. Learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training programs for producers, agency owners and account managers here: https://www.sitkins.com/aim
To learn more about our producer sales course: https://www.sitkins.com/profit
Want to see all of the events we have coming up? https://www.sitkins.com/eventcalendar
Subscribe to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAFd3mDIxF2c0TPvAZb8-FQ
Listen to the Agent Leader podcast: https://www.sitkins.com/podcast
"Don't lose yourself, and remember what makes you unique." Great words of advice from Kristen Schoeneberger, assistant vice president of HUB for a new episode of The Agent Leader podcast. Kristen shares her insurance sales success story of scoring two BORs before lunch time - the best excuse for being late to one of our training programs ever! - and her biggest takeaways in her first year being in the independent broker side, from challenges to key techniques and strategies. Listen in as Kristen tells how a total team sales approach has benefited her, and shares more advice for newer insurance professionals.
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To learn more about our All-Inclusive agency training model, visit https://www.sitkins.com/aim
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To access the agency transformation scorecard, visit https://www.sitkins.com/scorecard
insurancesales #independentinsurance #sales #bor #salestraining #insuranceproducers
Roger Sitkins joins Brent Kelly for another episode of The Agent Leader, focused on the Five Critical Mindsets of Successful Insurance Professionals. Listen in as the coaches talk through each mindset: Relationships, Productivity, Growth, Integrity and Alignment, and how they pertain to you and your career in an independent insurance agency. To access the Agency Scorecard, visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard or to learn more about our All Inclusive training programs, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
ProducerFit graduate and Risk Advisor, Joe Vens, joins Brent Kelly for this episode of The Agent Leader podcast.
Joe drops great tips for younger (and experienced but still growing) insurance producers including:
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"People won't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
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Having a niche separates you from 95% of your competition that identifies as more generalist type insurance agents.
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How you can create impact from sharing your value proposition in a different way.
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In negotiating, you're always in the best position when you're willing to walk away from an opportunity.
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If you're going to have external success with clients, you've got to have internal success with your team, that you're aligned and on the same page.
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"If you don't buy into a system and process, you are going to be everybody else. And if you're fine being everybody else, do that,"
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The best time to lose business is in the first meeting.
Joe's final words for any insurance producer or risk advisor?
"I would say, spend time and be intentional about, if you're starting out, what risks or what opportunities do you really enjoy spending time in? Be intentional about where you want to spend your time, and then just make the decision to specialize in that space and commit to it. Allow yourself during working/selling hours to have a focus around "where do I want to be? And how do I brand myself and market myself as somebody who is a specialist or an expert?" Maybe that will take some time, but it is true if you are focused on it to outwardly be telling people, 'I have a focus in manufacturing, I have a focus in general contractor risk. I have a focus in retail,' whatever space that you enjoy being in, make a decision that you're going to have a focus in that space."
To learn more about our programs visit https://www.sitkins.com/aim To hear more episodes of The Agent Leader podcast, visit https://www.sitkins.com/podcast
insurancesales #independentinsurance #insurance #independentagents #producertraining #producertips #agencyleadership #profit #sitkinsisthesolution #salestips
What’s holding you back? In Brent Kelly's most recent webinar he discusses three traps that prevent agencies from becoming their best version possible. If you're ready to transform your insurance agency without losing your sanity, listen in to the audio playback of this webinar now! To access the Agency Scorecard, visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard or, learn more about the all-inclusive model that allows your agency access to all of our training programs for CEOs, CROs, Producers and Account Managers, visit https://www.sitkins.com/aim
There is a calling in your life and in your agency to do something great. It starts by really understanding who you can be at that best version possible as a producer or agency leader. What is your Best Version Possible (BVP), and how are you going to become that? When you look at this idea of BVP professionally, and personally:
How are my relationships? How are my interactions? How is the office productivity? What do my clients look like What is the culture of the agency? What's the culture of my home?
When you really understand what truly is your best version possible, it can be a huge moment for you as a leader, you've just got to eliminate all the "stuff" that gets in your way.
To watch the video recording of this episode or to learn more about our All-Inclusive membership training program for independent insurance agencies, go to https://www.sitkins.com/blog/committing-to-your-best-version-possible
It all starts with a decision - are you going to simply dabble in areas of your agency, or are you going to get laser-focused to achieve the results you desire?
In this episode of The Agent Leader podcast, Brent Kelly discusses how insurance agency leaders can transform from a dabbler into a doer.
Every insurance professional needs to make a decision somewhere along the lines of "This is who I am. This is who we're going to be. This is what it's going to look like." You need to have a compelling vision that you can work towards, and be consistent and stay accountable to it - but it all starts by making a decision.
You can also visit https://www.sitkins.com/blog/doer-or-dabbler to watch the video of this podcast or read the transcript.
To learn more about our programs that help insurance producers and leaders Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
insurancesales #insuranceagency #independentinsurance #agencygrowth
Is your insurance agency doing the limbo? In this episode Brent Kelly and Roger Sitkins discuss 3 key areas where agencies might be bending to get below the bar versus finding ways to hop over the bar and achieve excellence. To learn more about our all-inclusive training programs, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
Are you poised to make the second half of the year twice as good as your first half - what do you have to do differently to make it happen? Listen in as Brent and regular guest, Roger Sitkins, talk about how you as an agency leader or producer can Simplify and Focus to set yourself up for a great last half of the year. Visit www.sitkins.com/scorecard to get your free download on the Agency Transformation Scorecard.
One of the biggest challenges all insurance agencies face is consistent sales.
In most agencies, you see the Good Quarter/Bad Quarter Cycle. A Producer prospects like crazy, starts getting sales, prospecting falls off, sales start trailing behind it, they panic and start prospecting again. It's a never-ending cycle that leads to the typical good quarter, bad quarter, good quarter, bad quarter cycle.
The #1 mistake most agencies make is celebrating busy. Do you want results or do you want to be really busy? As a sales organization/Producer, you can grow at any level you want! What does a results-based agency/Producer look like?
- Organic Growth increase by 63% in one year - even during COVID
- 98% Effective Retention
- Hitting an entire year's sales goal by the 1st quarter of the year
Are you ready to be a results-based agency?
Get everyone in your agency on the same page and working toward a common goal - Retaining & Obtaining Ideal Clients. Same goal, different roles!
Our All-Inclusive Membership gives you unlimited access to:
- ProducerFit training for your sales team
- Account ManagerFit training for your service team
- Chief Revenue OfficerFit training for you sales leaders
- CEO Boot Camp for your management team
- Monthly Sales Meeting for your sales and sales leaders
- The Better Way University for your Small Commercial & PL teams
- The Better Way Bi-Monthly coaching sessions for SCL & PL
All for one monthly price. Plus, if you register as a result of this webinar, your first payment won't be until 8/15/21. As with all of our programs, membership comes with a 100% Money Back Guarantee. Get a jump start on the second half of 2021 today and finish the year strong! To register go to https://www.sitkins.com/aimgo
Brent is joined by Brittney Stinnett, an awesome agent from Peel & Holland and recent ProducerFit graduate. Listen in as Brittney talks about Owning Her Success by finding a mentor, hitting her yearly goals by May two years in a row, and finding the right people to help her along the way to becoming a Million Dollar Producer.
Success leaves clues, and sales leader Matt Fairbanks drops lots of clues you can pick up on in this episode of The Agent Leader. Matt talks over the mindset shift needed to excel, and living a purpose through the relationships he’s built in his career so far at EHD.
Listen in to learn how to stop lying to yourself as a producer, if you think you practiced enough, if you think your pipeline is full enough, if you think you asked for referrals enough, did you really do that? Or are you lying to yourself? As Matt famously puts it, "If you think you're telling yourself a hundred percent truth, that's the first lie you told yourself."
To learn more about how to get involved in our programs, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
Part 4 of our series featuring Roger Sitkins focuses on Earning More. There's some traps agencies need to look out for when it comes to earning more, does your agency have: Profitable accounts subsidizing unprofitable ones? Profitable producers subsidizing unprofitable producers? Listen in for some great tips on how you can increase profits, improve your team, and where to invest in your agency.
Check out the other episodes in this series, focused on going deeper in your insurance agency, sales, retention, and earning more.
To learn more about our all-inclusive training model, where your entire team can get unlimited training, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
Part three of our four-part series featuring Roger Sitkins focuses on retention. How do you retain ideal clients for your agency? Brent and Roger dive deep into the mindset needed, from policy delivery to continuing the relationship - not renewing the account - that will be very informative to insurance professionals.
Roger Sitkins joins Brent for part two of our four-part series on major aspects of insurance agencies. Last week we talked about going deeper in your agency and the four Rs focus. This episode focuses on selling, sales, and agency improvement for producers. So if you are looking to boost your sales and your productivity in the agency, this is a great podcast for you to take a listen to, because "Nothing happens until something is sold". If you want to learn more about our training programs for independent agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
Roger Sitkins joins Brent Kelly in the first of our new four-part series based around the lessons that we've learned the past year that we want to share with you, the agency leader. This episode provides an overview of high-level things that we've seen and the impact they've had on agencies in the last year or so, focused on the Four R's - results, relationships, retention, and referrals. Keep listening as we dive into specific topics for the next three episodes. As always, if you want to know more about our all-inclusive training program, visit https://www.sitkins.com/programs or email us at podcast@sitkins.com
In this episode, Brent Kelly talks about the most vital skill that is often under-utilized and not leveraged as highly as it should be. This vital skill has been talked about before in this podcast, but there's a much deeper level to it. So, what’s the skill, and what are the three areas that this specific skill must be utilized in?
As an agent leader where you're leading a team, or you're a sales professional out there leading your clients, or if you're a claims person or service person and you're out there having these conversations – it all comes down to your influence, which is the heart of leadership. And the most vital skill in influence is to be a high-level communicator.
The three aspects of high-level communicating we go through is - how to ask powerful questions, how to be a true active listener, and how you gain more influence when you talk. As a leader working towards being a better communicator, ask yourself how well are you doing these three things?
If you have a topic or an idea that you'd like Brent Kelly to talk about, we want to hear it! Email us at podcast@sitkins.com any ideas or topics that you think would be beneficial to a group of insurance professionals like yourself. If you are looking to up your game at the highest level and be part of our private client group or all-inclusive membership, where you have access to all of our trainings and programs that we run, please visit www.sitkins.com/programs
How is your enthusiasm? You might think it's pretty good, but at Sitkins Group, Inc, we like to use the ending of the word, enthusIASM - I.A.S.M. - and use it as another acronym, I Am Sold Myself. So, as a leader in the insurance world, are you sold yourself on what you're doing?
There’s three questions Brent asks you around this area of enthusiasm:
The first one is purpose. Your actual purpose. Are you really sold on your mission or your purpose? In fact, do you have your own personal mission statement? Do you have a true understanding of why you do we do what you do? Why do the things that you do matter so much? Whether you're leading your team or you're leading your clients, do you have a personal mission statement? That's your purpose, because if you aren't really sold on what it is that you do, why should anybody else be?
Number two is this, are you really sold on your partners? That's a broad term, and this could be a number of different people. When you think about an agency, the partners certainly are our people on our team, our colleagues, sales, and service and leadership and claims, professionals, our partners, as our carriers. Are you really sold on the carriers you're working with? Are you really sold on the people that you're talking to, to build brand and awareness out in the community?
And then the last one is this, are you really sold on your performance? The value that you provide as an agency leader, are you really sold on knowing that someone's going to be in a better place after doing something with you and your team.
There are certain things that really successful agencies do, and Enthusiasm is an often overlooked one. Is your agency one of the enthusiastic, passionate, ones? Is your belief system at a deeper level, with those last four letters, I am Sold Myself, the first sale in any transaction. Do you really believe, are you really sold on the fact of what you do increases performance and value to those around you?
To learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com
What are you willing to give up to go up? In this episode, Brent Kelly discusses some tradeoffs you can make in both your personal and professional life to become your best version possible. Change is hard, but it's often worth it in your quest to hitting your full potential. If you're sick of running out of time and energy while trying to reach your goals, visit www.sitkins.com/programs to learn more about our upcoming programs.
In this episode, Brent describes characteristics of eagles - the highest flying bird - that agency leaders should also possess. What do these characteristics mean to you in the marketplace? Where are you not flying as high as you could? As an agency leader, you need to be an eagle. Fight for what you want, and fly higher than the competition. To learn more about our all-inclusive programs, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
Are you ready to WIN? At Sitkins Group, we define WIN as What Is Normal in your agency. Brent starts this discussion with the simple statement that Wherever you are today is your current normal. Your current results are directly related to your current decisions, meaning you can look at where you are today and ask yourself "What decisions have I made (or not made) to get me here?" Listen in to establish what your current normal is, what you want it to be, and how you can start to Win at ever-increasing levels. To learn more about ProducerFit and our other highly-rated programs, visit www.sitkins.com
How can you become more interesting? As an insurance professional, why is it important to be more compelling? Brent shares three ways to become more interesting, and by doing so, getting greater influence, buy-in, impact, and more sales. To learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com
Is your agency currently Winging it, or Winning it? Roger Sitkins joins Brent to give agency leaders some tangible examples, philosophies, and ways for you and your agency to move from Winging It, to Winning it in certain areas. To learn more about our programs for independent insurance agencies, visit www.sitkins.com
In this episode of the Agent Leader podcast, Brent Kelly shares the Two Attributes of Dynamic Leaders. If you're an insurance professional, or just anyone looking to better themselves, get ready to take notes. The first attribute of dynamic leaders is that they're insanely curious. The top professionals we work with from the best agencies are always wanting to learn more and are asking the most questions. How curious are you? Brent gives you 3 basic questions that you should ask yourself and think about: How can I add more value to myself? How can I add more value to my team? How can you add more value to your clients?
The second attribute is that they're actively creative. How can you be more creative?
Keep asking why, and remember, the best always seek more.
To learn more about our all-inclusive training programs, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
What separates the highest growth independent agencies from the rest? In this recording of a live, interactive workshop, Brent Kelly shares the three keys to unlock agency growth.
1 - Mindset
What is the culture of your agency? If we asked you to describe what your agency culture is today, would it really be what you want it to be? Beliefs drive behavior.
2 - Skillset
What is the current training and development plan for your agency? Does one even exist? You can't expect your people to get better if you don't provide the opportunity to continue to grow and learn.
3 - Toolset
What tools does your agency have at its disposal? And not just the basics, like computers and phones. What about coaches, resources, peers?
To learn more, or watch the recording, visit https://www.sitkins.com/ceg_playback
Regular guest Roger Sitkins joins Brent Kelly to discuss 3 Key Areas for transformation in your agency.
Mindset – Are you thinking big enough? Is your mindset filled with truth or head trash?
Skillset – What are the skills that you and your agency need to transform in? How can you improve in vital skills such as Communication?
Environment – Surround yourself with people who will challenge you to think bigger, and fill your bucket with resources that will help you get better.
Brent closes the episode with one action item for all listeners: Ask yourself – “What is one item you’ve been talking about for too long that it’s time to take action on?” Now write down when you are going to do it and put it in your calendar to make it happen!
To learn more about how we help transform your total agency, visit www.sitkins.com
This episode features regular guest and CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc, Roger Sitkins. Roger and Brent go over 10 lessons from the recent Super Bowl, what we as professionals can learn from Tom Brady and others that play at the top of their game. While you listen to the 10 lessons, Brent closes out with 10 Questions for agency leaders and insurance professionals: When and how do you practice? What is your set offense? Whats your continuation process? What are you known for? Who do you learn from? Who cheers for you? Who does your culture currently attract? What are you measuring and monitoring? What are your competitive advantages? How are you training your team?
If you're ready to start playing at your highest level possible, and get your entire team trained, visit www.sitkins.com
We're discussing the #1 mindset shift needed in insurance professionals... How can you as an agent leader begin to become more proactive and more intentional versus just constantly responding? In this episode of the Agent Leader, Brent gives 5 Priorities any insurance professional should be focusing on to become more in control in your agency. If right now you're letting things happen to you versus leading the charge towards becoming as successful as you can be, you need to hear this episode about becoming more Proactive versus Reactive.
In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent has regular guest Roger Sitkins back to talk about the Red Zone vs the Green Zone. If you're like most insurance professionals, you're probably stuck in the Red Zone, where you're spending time and energy instead of investing it. Get control of time - your only diminishing asset - to enact your own perfect schedule. To learn more about how you can manage your time to create your best version possible, visit www.sitkins.com
This episode of The Agent Leader features a special guest and client Joe Harriger, Senior VP of EHD. Joe recently sent us a letter about his Sitkins journey that blew us away, and we had to have him on to share his story. Listen in to hear how he rightfully earned the nickname Super Joe by consistently implementing what he learns at a high level to earn not only promotions, but financial and personal freedom. Joe has built an incredible team and culture at EHD that has made his career rewarding enough to retire soon at the age of 62. To learn more about how you can transform your career like Super Joe did, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
This episode of the Agent Leader is all about the all-important Sales Meetings. Listen in as Brent walks you through the Who, What, When, Why and How that your agency's Sales Meetings should be built around.
Ultimately, the purpose of every sales meeting should be to help the sales leaders and producers get better. Learn how to build an effective agenda for your future sales meetings, lead by a designated sales leader, to go over key strategies and behaviors that will help everyone get better. Doing these weekly meetings will not only help your producers become more effective, but will also help you lead with intention in the new year. To learn more about our all-inclusive training program for independent agencies, visit www.sitkins.com/aim
In this episode, Brent discusses the 8 Actions Elite Level Producers take to be successful. These items are ones the truly elite do every single work week to reach their level of success and make good things happen:
- Creating a plan with your end in mind.
- Focusing on your Time Spent Selling
- Leveraging the 80/20 rule for your book of business
- Taking action to develop your pipeline and fill it with Future Ideal Clients only
- Defining your PODs and how you are going to position yourself differently against the competition
- Having a unique, defined Sales Process
- Think, and act around your Continuation Process and strategy
- Unleashing your Ultimate Competitive Advantage with Preparation and Practice
After running hundreds of producer training camps and mastery programs, we guarantee that if you focus on these 8 actions weekly, you’ll reach that Million Dollar+ Producer status. To learn more about ProducerFit and our programs to help independent agency owners and producers Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit https://www.sitkins.com/profit
Roger Sitkins is back as the special guest for this episode of the Agent Leader. Listen in as Roger and Brent discuss the idea that Producer recruitment starts at home. Find out what that means, and how you can find - or create - the perfect producers for your insurance agency.
How are you going to be personally responsible for your results and your success in the new year? Brent goes over three things you should be focused on so you can gain the traction and momentum you need in 2021 - Pipelines, Positioning, and Personal Accountability. To learn more about our programs that will transform independent agencies in 2021 and beyond, visit https://www.sitkins.com/aim
Why do some agencies have 3X the national organic growth rate, super high retention rates, and a positive culture, while other agencies are struggling to gain any traction? This week's episode is the recording of a transformational workshop Brent hosted to over 200 insurance professionals. If you're like most insurance agencies that: - don’t have a differentiated sales process or a set offense - are activity-based vs results-based - don’t leverage their pipelines and lack focus ...then you need to hear this message! To learn more about our new All Inclusive, Unlimited Agency Training Program, visit https://www.sitkins.com/aim
What is something that you know if you were to do it, your life and business would be better, but you keep putting it off? In this episode, Brent discusses how you can avoid getting stuck on Someday Isle..."Someday I'll have the agency I dreamed of..." and instead get the momentum going to make meaningful change now. If it's important to you, the time to act on it is now. Get the motivation, and momentum, from Brent in this episode, and check out how we can help you keep the momentum going for your whole agency at www.sitkins.com
Change is a choice, and sometimes a very necessary one. In this episode, Brent Kelly goes over what choices, and changes, you can make to cultivate an environment of growth in your insurance agency. To learn more about how we help agency leaders and producers Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com
Why is it that you're still not embracing the power of virtual presenting? In this episode, Brent Kelly goes over 3 excuses you or your agency might be using to still not be leveraging the power of virtual. If you recognize any of these excuses, Brent will give you a good push to get out of your comfort zone and into a growth zone of becoming a powerful virtual presenter. What have you found works well for you in the virtual world? Let us know, and connect with us at www.sitkins.com
If I said I’ll give you a $1,000,000 - would you resist that change? Most change is hard, and can cause people in your agency to get angry and try to resist. In this episode, Brent talks you over why is it that some people resist change, some key mistakes leaders make, and a 3-phase approach to help you manage change effectively to get better buy-in with your team. To learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com
Have you been unintentionally Stepping Over Dollars to Pick Up Dimes in your agency? In this episode, Brent goes over the fifth and final mistake insurance agency CEOs/leaders often make, and how you can avoid or fix this costly mistake. To learn more about how you can join other motivated agency owners at our upcoming CEO Boot Camp, visit www.sitkins.com/programs
You can't have a differentiated sales system if you don’t know how you’re different. In this episode, Brent Kelly goes over the fourth mistake agency owners often make - Replicating Average. Does your agency have a unique process and way of doing things that truly sets you apart? Or is your differentiation actually generic? We promise you this works - One of the agencies we work with was able to generate $750k in new revenue by focusing on not replicating the average. To learn more about our CEO Boot Camp and how we help insurance agencies sell more, retain more and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
Are you ignoring the Power of Pareto's Principle? In part three of our 5 Biggest Mistakes Agency Leaders Make series, Brent discusses this simple, yet often overlooked principle that can transform your agency. Seriously, one agency we work with TRIPLED their organic growth in nine months, from 3% to 9%, just by getting focused on this one principle. To learn more about our CEO Boot Camp, visit https://www.sitkins.com/ceo-bootcamp
This episode looks into part 2 of the 5 Biggest Mistakes Agency CEOs make - Wearing Busy as a Badge of Honor. Are you just constantly busy, or are you putting your focus into what gives you the greatest rate of return on your time, investments and relationships? To learn more about our programs, visit www.sitkins.com
Are you running the wrong way enthusiastically, or do you have a plan that your team can really rally around? In this episode, Brent shares some real life experiences of turning an agency around by having a one page business plan, and how you can do the same in yours. To learn more about our upcoming CEO Boot Camp and our other programs, visit https://www.sitkins.com/programs
If everybody in your agency did what they said they were going to do, how great would your agency be? In this episode, Brent breaks down the two drivers of accountability - Culture and Cadence, and how you can define them to build a high performance agency. To learn more about our upcoming virtual programs visit www.sitkins.com/programs
How can you create ART in your agency? In this episode, Brent talks you through three ways to align your agency to get better results, make more profit, have better relationships, and have a lot more fun. To learn more about how we help agency leaders and producers become their Best Version Possible, visit www.sitkins.com.
This week's episode focuses on the all to familiar question of "Are we there yet?" While plenty of you with kids have probably heard this question too many times before, Brent asks if we as adults do the same in our lives - being so worried about the end that we lose the magic of what is happening in the present now. Listen in for tips on how you can learn to appreciate the journey this summer brings, and to take time to appreciate what you have accomplished during these difficult past few months. Ask yourself if you are being present in the moment so you're able to evaluate and adjust to really get to the desired place you're looking to go. To learn more about how we help agency owners and insurance professionals Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com
If you're an insurance agency owner, grab a pen and paper to follow along with Brent's presentation of the Seven P's to Agency Success. These seven P's all focus around one main P, and how sold you are on your own powerful vision or mission. To learn more about how we help agency owners and producers Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com
What is the greatest competitive advantage for insurance companies? Hint - it's not product and price! Listen in as Brent Kelly and his regular guest, Roger Sitkins, discuss how agency owners and producers can gain the ultimate advantage over their competition. To learn more about how we help agency owners Sell More, Retain More, Earn More and Lead More, visit www.sitkins.com
What barriers are limiting your results recently? In this episode, Brent discusses four areas of communication - assumptions, arrogance, indifference and control - that can effect your relationships and outcomes. Focus on these four areas to make deeper connections, gain greater influence, more fulfilment, more opportunities and get better results. If you're interested in finding out how we help insurance agencies and professionals Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com.
As Mike Tyson famously once said "Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face." Just as 2020 has figuratively punched all of us in the face, it has also forced many of us to face our fears, step out of our comfort zones, and embrace change. In this episode, Brent discusses how you can use June as your reboot to create and continue positive change in your life.
Are you running your business by design or by default? In this episode Brent Kelly and his regular guest, Roger Sitkins, talk about designing your future intentionally. You need to go DEEP - Delivering Excellence in Every Process - to truly get the results you want out of your agency. To learn more about how we help agency owners
Are you delivering greatness, or are you swimming naked? Brent discusses this thought with regular guest, Roger Sitkins, in this episode. To learn more about our upcoming, almost sold out, Virtual ProducerFit check out https://www.sitkins.com/profit And to learn more about our private client group, The Sitkins Network, visit https://www.sitkins.com/the-sitkins-network
If you took this time to actually do everything you said you would do “someday” you’d become a great performer pretty darn quickly! In this episode, Brent and his regular guest, Roger Sitkins, discuss ways that agencies and producers can take these lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis and move forward into a new normal. From tough decisions like having to "right size" or cutting compensation to great opportunities hidden in the isolation, listen in to hear how pretenders can transform into performers.
In this episode Brent's starts with a quote from Andy Stanley, "A leader can afford to be uncertain, but cannot afford to be unclear." With that in mind, what are the two greatest investments you can make during these times to provide clarity in your life and career? Don't wait for an opportunity to come to prepare for it, you'll be too late! Prepare today for your opportunities tomorrow by checking out our next session of virtual ProducerFit starting June 2 at www.sitkins.com/profit
How are you dealing with the coronavirus crisis as a leader? Brent Kelly discusses ways that Leaders Can See More, and further, in their agency by doing the prep work now, to have a brighter future. Now is the time to be seeking clarity both internally and externally. To learn more about how we help independent insurance agencies Sell More, Retain More and Earn More, visit www.sitkins.com.
Are you focused on goals, or growth? In this episode, Brent Kelly and Roger Sitkins discuss how focusing on goals doesn't guarantee growth. What do you need to implement in your career, and life, to switch from hitting goals, to hitting growth? Remember, wherever you are today is based upon the decisions you've made in the past. Wherever you wind up in the future is based on what decisions you make, and implement today. To learn more about how we help insurance agencies focus on growth, visit www.sitkins.com.
In this episode, Brent and Roger discuss how this month of isolation is actually the perfect time to go to the SPA...and no, we don't mean leaving your house! Listen in to get tips on how to make your own luck out of this situation, by finding key areas of your business and life where you can prepare today to produce tomorrow. As Brent mentioned, we have launched our virtual ProducerFit program, starting in May. This is the time to make the most important investment you can make.....in YOU. Learn more about our virtual producer improvement program and register at www.sitkins.com/profit
What should an insurance producer be doing this month in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown?
There is no perfect answer and every producer’s situation is unique, but Brent and Roger discuss ideas you can implement that will keep producers proactive and intentional during this difficult time.
Prepare today, to produce tomorrow. To learn more about our virtual ProducerFit program, now available fully online, visit www.sitkins.com/profit
What is a Deep Learning Experience? Brent Kelly and his guest this episode, Roger Sitkins, go into what a Deep Learning Experience (DLX) could do for you and your insurance agency. The first level is awareness, and realizing you have not been going truly deep enough to make the big changes in your agency. There's always more great ideas, than there is time to implement them. Listen in to hear some great ideas on how to go deep with your agency. To learn more about how we help insurance agency leaders and producers sell more, retain more, and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
What can you do today to best position yourself for tomorrow amidst the Coronavirus crisis? How will you add value to, and be a resource for, those around you during these crazy times? Check out Brent Kelly's ProFit Tip on three things you can do as an agency leader to be proactive and lead during uncertainty caused by COVID-19. To learn more about we are helping insurance agency leaders sell more, retain more, and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
Why are you not doing the things you know you should do? There's 3 areas that stand out to Brent Kelly as to why insurance professionals and leaders fail to execute. Are you guilty of one, or more of these that are holding you back from executing and performing at a higher level? What is one area in your life/career,etc where you are failing to #execute? To learn more about ProducerFit and more programs we offer for insurance leaders and producers, visit www.sitkins.com
There's four types of beliefs that are absolutely critical to your agency's success. Beliefs drive behaviors, so are your behaviors aligned with your goals? In this episode, Brent Kelly goes over the four beliefs that drive agency results and are critical for every insurance professional to have.
To learn more about our upcoming ProducerFit program and more events for agency leaders and producers, visit www.sitkins.com
In this episode, Brent Kelly and Roger Sitkins, CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc. discuss insurance agencies selling systems and the importance of them. What is your agency's set offense, your way of doing business? Do you even have one, and if not, why should you? Learn what an Agency Selling System looks like and how to establish one in your agency.
To learn more about how we help insurance agency leaders and producers sell more, retain more and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com or register for our upcoming ProFit Networking event at https://www.sitkins.com/profitnet
If you know you can better leverage your time, efficiency and effectiveness with your clients, why don’t you do it? In this episode, Brent Kelly goes over the 80/20 rule for your book of business, and then dives into the objections that stop you from acting on it. Is it that you're hesitant to have to "give up to go up" in your career? To learn more about our ProFit Networking event or how we help agencies sell more, retain more and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
This episode, part of the series on our Sitkins Core Strategy for Agency Success, Brent focuses on Future Ideal Client (FIC) Pipelines. Do you have a pipeline full of ideal clients, or a database of hope? Brent discusses how to fill your pipelines by looking at your current top clients. To learn more about our premiere networking event for agency leaders, ProFit Networking, visit https://www.sitkins.com/profitnet
Do you have five true points of differentiation in your agency? It's critically important that you do, and Brent Kelly's ProFit Tip of the week focuses on how you can get PODs in place that open new files for your future ideal clients.
This is the fourth of seven core strategies for agency success we teach and preach at Sitkins Group, Inc.
To learn more about how we help our private clients get the competitive advantage with their PODs, visit https://www.sitkins.com/
This episode features a special guest, CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc., Roger Sitkins, discussing getting Exit Barriers in place in your agency. Roger and Brent go over the critical processes agency leaders need to establish to get their agency on the path to Sell More, Retain More, and Earn More.
To find out more about our ProFit Networking event happening March 11-13, visit https://www.sitkins.com/profitnet
Do you have your Me, Inc. in place? Do you even know what having a Me, Inc. means? In this episode, Brent helps you understand the importance of establishing your Me, Inc. and how absolutely crucial it is to your success. Learn how to get everyone in your agency on a personal Me, Inc. plan that will align with the agency's We, Inc. strategy.
To start 2020 off right, Brent will be releasing a 7 part series of episodes based around the 7 core strategies we teach and preach at Sitkins Group, Inc. The first strategy in this episode discusses the importance of having a High Performance Team (HPT). Learn how to establish what a HPT would look like in your agency, and then move on to executing it with the 3 E’s that will help you remember the basic ideas behind a fully functioning HPT.
Now that the new year is here, are you ready to really dig deeper to get better results for you, your clients and your agency as a whole?
What is one of the greatest frustrations for insurance agencies? Most of the frustrations stem from the problem that everyone in the agency is not on the same page. Brent goes over how you as an agency leader can make your agency run more efficiently and effectively in the new year.
This episode is a conversation with Sitkins Network member Jeff Sargent of Community Insurance. Jeff was your classic Producer that ended up buying an agency. He talks about the initial risk he took to buy the agency and where they are today.
Jeff shares some of his greatest leadership victories, working through "growing pains" and transforming his agency.
In this episode, Brent Kelly comes to you from his car with some thoughts three behaviors and strategies you need to do at a high level to achieve high success. Apply these three tips to your insurance agency to not just start new ideas, but finish the ones that will provide the greatest impact to your team. To find out more about how we help producers and agency leaders sell more, retain more, and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
In this episode of the Agent Leader, Brent Kelly challenges you to find a morning routine that will help you start your day not only intentionally, but also proactively. No matter what time you start your day, starting it with intention can change your whole mindset. Brent goes over some well-trusted ways you too can get your morning routine in shape.
To learn more about how we help agency leaders and producers sell more, retain more and earn more, visit www.sitkins.com
What is it that the Elite do to be the Elite? Brent goes over the three things the Elite in the industry have to get to, and stay at the top of their game. One of the concepts the elite understand is that a small action is better than a big idea that never gets acted upon. If you're ready to become your best version possible, to sell more, retain more, earn more and live your life with no regrets, visit www.sitkins.com.
In this discussion between Brent Kelly and Hill Shaw of Atlantic Shield Insurance, Hill talks about why they decided to take their agency to the next level by joining The Sitkins Network. Hill discusses not only their results, but also the strategies and behaviors they've been consistently implementing to achieve the results they wanted in their agency. If you're ready to make the commitment to yourself, your clients, and your agency to be your best version possible, check out www.sitkins.com
In this episode, Brent goes into the power of thinking and challenges you to schedule time in your day to simply think. As an agency leader, how are you limiting your thinking? Imagine the possibilities if you started up-leveling your thinking by surrounding yourself with masterminds and resources that will inspire you to be your best version possible. When it comes down to it, you need to treat yourself like your best client, because you are! You may think you don't have the time to think, but in reality, you don’t have time NOT to. If you're an agency leader looking for a group of other highly-motivated, successful leaders, check out www.sitkins.com.
In this episode, Brent shares a conversation between himself and Jim Lewis of EHD Insurance. Jim tells his story of agency success, which highlights how sometimes your greatest challenges can turn into your great opportunities.
This episode is a conversation with Sitkins Network member Miles Merwin, owner of Advisors Insurance Agency. Miles is a true entrepreneur who left a well-paying job to build his own agency from zero clients, zero revenue and a whole lot of hope into a thriving agency in just a few years time. Miles shares some really insightful ideas for independent agency owners and discusses how surrounding himself with like-minded people and finding his Why helped him get to where he is now.
In the third episode of our three part series on Client Experience, we talk about how to become Indispensable to your clients. How can you start to differentiate yourself, so that you're working only with future ideal clients? How will you start to think different and act different, to make yourself insdispenable?
This episode is part two of our Client Experience series. Stop Guessing is focused around your clients' expectations. Until you actually know what your clients expect from you, you can not meet, or exceed, their expectations. In order to Stop Guessing, you need to focus on the three D's - Define, Document, and Deliver - to understand specifically what your clients want.
This episode is the first of a three-part series on Client Experience, with a focus on the Internal part of your client expereince. You might be wondering why the client experience is that important, but the reality is you can drastically improve your agency overall, along with your client expereince, with purposeful and on-going Internal Communication.
There's three questions you should be asking yourself before any appointment or meeting. When communicating, being prepared helps you to increase your influence and make a greater impact. If you prepare with these three questions, you'll be well equipped to make the most of your next communication.
Leadership is influence. Brent discusses how agency management and leadership need to go hand-in-hand for overall agency health.
When you need to lead others, are you going to just speed ahead, or are you willing to slow down to help others develop their skills and talents, in order to get your whole team to the finish line? Brent discusses going slower so that you can ultimately go farther.
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, “How do attract, develop, and retain the best talent?”
While there is a lot of complexity in this question and many factors to consider, I think there is one answer that is often overlooked.
On this episode, Brent will share this answer and the one question that you need to be asking yourself to attract, develop, and retain the top talent at your agency.
To get profit in your insurance agency, you must first become ProFit (professionally fit). This requires clear leadership, defined models, and proven strategies and behaviors. To find out more about how we help agencies achieve true profit and freedom, visit www.sitkins.com
Are you interested in getting better, or are you truly committed? Brent shares three questions that will help you challenge yourself to find new behaviors and strategies that will help you live your best version possible.
Are you getting the results you want in your agency? If not, it's probably because you're stuck in your comfort zone. What would happen if you stepped out of your comfort zone and started moving towards a growth zone, towards your best version possible?
Exploring the seven roadblocks of true insurance agency success. When we work with agencies and producers, regardless of their goals, we see them struggling with these common obstacles time and again. Are you ready to reach your goals? We love helping agencies get to their Best Version Possible, visit https://www.sitkins.com to find out more.
In this interview with Diebold Agency, you'll hear about their recently completed 5 year plan to double their agency's revenue from $2.5 to $5 million. Additionally, as a family-run agency you'll see how a father and sons can work together to achieve big goals.
Special episode featuring an interview with Sitkins Network member, Jon Miles, President of EHD Insurance. Jon is a stellar example of effective leadership and how to lead the right way. Listen to the lessons he shares from his high-achieving agency and get your pen and paper ready, you'll want to be taking notes.
Special interview with client turned personal friend, Mark Rollins, from our ProFitNet event. Mark sold his agency at the end of last year and shares his success story, how he implemented Sitkins strategies in his agency to get great results, and what's next for him. Check out https://www.markhamrollins.com/ to learn more about how Mark is looking to transform retirement by providing the tools, insight, and expertise other successful post-retirement professionals need to build a purpose-driven life.
In this recording of a live webinar Brent did recently, agency leaders can learn the four simple, but highly powerful, questions that you need to be asking. If you are an insurance agency leader looking for greater clarity, increased confidence, and the capability to execute at the highest level, listen to this today. Links mentioned in episode: https://www.sitkins.com/tsn_profit https://www.sitkins.com/the-sitkins-network
Whether it be with your team members, top prospects, or key clients, they are asking themselves three questions about you. Learn these three vital questions and how you can achieve the answers you desire.
Gratitude is simple, but powerful. Doing basic things like saying Thank You has become so rare in our world that it has also become very impactful. Reach out to your clients and others in your life to show them gratitidue, it's amazing what can happen from saying those two simple words.
Are you putting yourself in an environment for growth? You need to be creating and cultivating an environment of growth in your agency, and to grow, you need to change. Visit www.sitkins.com/profitnet to learn more about our mastermind and networking event for agency leaders.
Come network with the best in the industry at ProFitNet April 9-11. This mastermind event for agency leadership will feature insurance industry leading speakers and great idea-sharing. Join us! https://www.sitkins.com/profitnet
The skill, art and improvement of communication is vital for your success. Are you able to confidently present yourself well in front of others? You need to continually practice your communication skills so you are performing with confidence and clarity when it counts.
If you market to all, you market to none. Are you doing what you do the best, to help your clients at your best? What are you known for? Specialization helps you become World Class in the insurance industry and separates you from the average by making it difficult to replace you. Position yourself as an expert in such a way that clients can't imagine doing business without you.
After a bit of a hiatus, Brent Kelly is bringing new episodes to The Agent Leader podcast. In this episode, Brent shares a bit about: How to become your Best Version Possible and avoid regrets, not just in your business, but also your personal life. Adding value to others The greatest challenge of leadership
The quality of your answers is determined by the quality of your questions. While asking great questions to our team members, clients, and other influences is critical, the most important questions we can ask are the ones that we ask ourselves.
In this episode, Brent will break down the 7 questions every insurance leader should be asking.
When meeting with your future ideal client, it’s imperative that act and sound like a trusted advisor, not “just another insurance agent.” There is a reason why most insurance consumers say that all insurance people sound the same.
Your job is to build strong relationships with your future clients and current clients, but it’s also to serve as an insurance professional.
Professionals are world-class. Professionals are prepared. Professionals are committed to their craft. That means you must ask questions based on helping your future clients control their true cost of risk.
On this episode of "The Agent Leader Podcast," I will discuss how insurance professional ask questions to build rapport, differentiate, and make more sales.
100% effective retention is possible. Yes, it may be more work up front, but when you implement these five strategies with your best clients, your relationships will be stronger, your referrals will increase, and your stress level will decrease.
The goal is to have clients for life. We don’t want to churn clients. We want clients that are with us forever. For their life and for their business life, and for our life.
In today’s world of digital disruption, commoditization, and high client expectations, your agency must become laser focused.
Otherwise, you will be just like a hamster on a wheel going faster and faster, but ending up in the same place.
Know what you want and then go get it.
One of the questions I am often asked is what can a future leader do to prepare themselves for greater leadership responsibilities. It starts by being intentional. Leadership skills don't just happen. On this episode, I highlight 3 keys to intentional leadership.
Self-leadership is the most challenging form of leadership. It’s also the most important aspect of leadership. I love this quote, “When a leader doesn’t inspect himself, the people don’t respect him.”
On this episode, I discuss four ways you can lead yourself more effectively to add value to your team.
When you learn to lead yourself effectively others will want to willingly follow you. You will have greater influence, build a stronger agency culture, and increase your agency revenue.
The insurance industry is desperately seeing leaders. Leaders who inspire, encourage, add value, and are consistently growing themselves so they can help grow others around them. What kind of leader are you? Are you wanting more for your agency, your team, your clients, your partner carriers, and your community?
My wish is that you will be a growing leader who desires to make a positive impact on everyone around you. Regardless of your title, position, or experience, if you seek influence with others, you must continually develop your leadership skills. Remember these four principles of insurance agency leadership. 1) Your effectiveness is determined by your ability to lead 2) Leadership is not a title. 3) Your greatest leadership challenge is you 4) Leadership is about adding value to others
If you want to grow your agency become a leader that others will follow.
This is an amazing industry filled with tremendous opportunity. However, it needs an influx of new talent.
To find and keep the best agency talent, you must have a clear vision, plan, and execute. Great talent won’t just show up, train itself, and produce great results.
Finding and keeping the best talent is no different than finding and keeping the best clients for your agency.
You must first know your agency’s why. What is your agency’s value proposition?
Next, you must know what you want. Who are your ideal team members and how are you attracting them?
Finally, you must create an ongoing training program that allows for your team members to grow and thrive. What is your training process?
I believe that every challenge is an opportunity for those agencies willing to invest in their growth.
High level producers spend 80% or more of every day in these 8 activities.
You can choose to be accidental and let things happen to you, or you can become intentional and make things happen. High achieving insurance producers focus on consistent and proactive habits that lead to exceptional results. You can do the same
As an agency leader, regardless of your official title or position, you are the difference between agency growth and success and being like most other average independent insurance agencies.
The power of leadership is that it has a multiplying effect.
You can two choices: Work harder and longer for the same results or up level your leadership and multiply your efforts.
High achievers invest in themselves. You can’t give to others what you haven’t first received. That goes way beyond just understanding your product and company. You must also be able to work on your own personal growth and development.
"Work hard on your business, make a living; Work hard on yourself, make a fortune." Jim Rohn
Producers need leaders. Leaders who model excellence, leaders that develop winning plans, leaders that maximize talent.
If your agency doesn’t have a designated sales leader, regardless if that is the agency principal or named sales manager, you will not get optimal results.
Who's your offensive coordinator?
No one ever listened themselves out of sale.
When most people think of the best leaders and sales producers they envision someone who is a great talker. While verbal communication is important, there is nothing more powerful than asking great prepared questions and listening.
On today's Agent Leader Podcast, I discuss why and how the best influencers sell their best ideas through the power of listening.
If you don’t value yourself, rest assured your clients won’t raise the price
If you sell your products or services like everyone else, you probably don’t have much value to offer anyway. That’s why you default back to price.
So how can you truly add value to your prospect and clients? It's start by valuing yourself first and asking important questions.
I’m guessing there are some things in your life and in your business that you have put off because you didn’t feel you were ready. Maybe it’s calling the big prospect, or adding a new team member, or just launching a new campaign for you business.
This could be due to the fear of failure, or maybe it’s due to lack of confidence. Regardless, at some point, to grow, you will have to begin to do things before you feel you are fully equipped and ready.
My mentor asked a fabulous question on a recent phone call. He said, “When is the last time you did something for the first time?”
That question stopped me in my tracks and now I ask you the same question. You will never be ready, but you must always be willing.
Most insurance agencies talk and walk much the same. Many leaders ask me how to differentiate their agency in today’s marketplace. I truly believe that empowering leadership is often the primary advantage your agency has over another agency in todays’ competitive market.
When you empower your agency team, you will improve the agency culture, build confidence, and most importantly, create a world-class experience for your clients and company partners.
On this episode, I discuss the 7-steps to empower your insurance agency to success.
At the very top-level of agency leadership develop is significance. My leadership mentor believes that only about 1% of organizations reach this level. After synergy, many agencies feel that they have accomplished their mission, but significance is the last step.
Significance is where multiplication occurs.
Leaders of significance develop and reproduce leaders who stay with the agency, help them reach their potential, but there is one more critical area that occurs when agencies reach significance.
Leaders are learners. Leadership experts Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus wrote about the relationship between growth and leadership: “It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.”
There should be no goal to attend an event other than it provides you with greater ability to improve and build on your current progress every single day.
It’s been said that if I need to be inspired to take steps forward, then I’ll attend an event. If I want to improve, I’ll engage in a process and stick with it.
This Agent Leader Podcast episode will help you engage in the process so you that you maximize every event.
We influence someone everyday of our lives. Is your influence positive or negative? There is no neutral. You are either adding emotional deposits into others lives or you are making withdrawals.
Leadership is one thing…..influence.
It doesn’t matter if you are influencing your team, your clients, or your community; you have the ability and responsibility to become a person of “positive” influence in the lives of others.
Every organization reaches their lid at various times. The key is to having the awareness to understand when you have hit your lid so that you can look at ways to improve your leadership.
When most organizations are stuck they focus only on ways to work harder and dedicate themselves to success. While this is a noble pursuit, at some point, you will run out of time and energy for only a small level of return.
However, if you focus on increasing your leadership ability (people skills, planning and strategic thinking, vision) you will begin to increase your results rapidly. That’s because when you understand and apply leadership skills to your insurance agency, you will so realize that it has a multiplying effect.
How does the 30-second rule motivate people to achieve more?
Motivation helps people who know what they should do…to do it. Motivation helps people who know what habit they should break…to break it Motivation helps people who knows what commitments they should make…to make them Motivation helps people who know what path they should take…to take it
When you apply this rule, you will create more powerful connections, gain influence, and achieve better results.
The question I ask you today is, “Are you ready to grow?” “Are you ready to maximize your potential?” Are you ready to be more, do more, and have more in your life?”
"There is a monumental difference in practice and deliberate practice."
Deliberate practice builds good habits and prepares your for your next opportunity. Average practice usually reinforces bad habits and wastes valuable time.
I firmly believe that an insurance agent is a highly noble and critical profession. It is vital that the industry not only find new and young talent, but give the necessary tools to help new and young agents succeed.
For new agents, understanding these three areas of why many agents fail will be critically important to make sure talented agents will be there in the future to serve others with passion, knowledge, and integrity.
Developing the mindset and learning the skill of connecting is the most profitable thing you can do for your business. When you increase your ability to connect, doors will unlock that you never thought possible.
Connecting is truly all about others. You must get off your own agenda and try to understand your audience. When you improve your relationships, you will grow your business, discover new opportunities, and spend every day loving what you do.
Effective leadership communication and influence, whether it’s with your team, your clients, or your company partners is 87% people knowledge and only 13% product knowledge.
Think about that for a moment. 87% of our success is based on people knowledge, not product knowledge. Yet, insurance organizations spend the majority of their time training only the technical side of the business.
Developing high-level communication skills is hard work, but it’s hard work that creates a huge return on investment.
Life is a series of stretches. Every stretch pushes you forward into growth.
Abraham Maslow stated, “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
You must stretch. You are wired to stretch. You were created to stretch and become the person you were designed to be. You are fully equipped and resourced, but you have to start.
You just have to take the first stretch.
You can’t go up without first looking within. This starts with knowing your purpose.
As author and speaker Simon Sinek says, “Why do you get out of bed everyday and why should anyone else care?” That is your purpose.
Too often I see insurance professionals only focused on what they do and how they do it, but not really sure of why.
As my mentor and leadership expert John Maxwell says, “What if you climb the top of ladder of success only to find that it was leaning against the wrong wall?”
Growing agencies grow more leaders. Stuck agencies grow more followers
As my mentor and leadership expert John Maxwell teaches in the Law of the Lid. “Your effectiveness will never surpass your leadership ability.” If your leadership skills are a 4 out of 10, your agency will never rise above a 4.
Can you communicate effectively what is is you do in a way that establishes you and your business as an irreplaceable value to those who could buy from you?
If you haven’t already, begin to make a list of all the things your clients would lose if they didn’t have you as a business partner. Here is the kicker, you can’t list anything that someone else is doing or can do. What do you do that is unique and irreplaceable in the market?
Momentum is hard to describe, but easy to identify. Momentum makes everything look bigger and brighter when working for you, and makes everything twice a difficult when it’s working against you.
Your business is much the same way. Every small win, every accomplishment, every positive decision creates momentum.
In my continual study of developing my leadership skills and helping others become better leaders, I have found that one of the most challenging aspects of leadership is courage.
Leaders are hard to find because as a leader you are accountable not only to yourself, but to those you lead and serve.
So how can you become a courageous leader?
Here are seven principles that are found in leaders who show courage.
On a scale from 1-10, if you think that you are a 5, you will never perform at a 6 or higher. It just doesn’t work that way.
As psychiatrist Nathaniel Branden states, “No factor is more important in people’s psychological development and motivation than the value judgements they make about themselves. Every aspect of their lives is impacted by the way they see themselves.”
Leadership is the ability to influence and one of the qualities of an influential leader is charisma. Charisma may seem like a God-given natural ability, but any person can display the traits and build charisma to positively attract others.
You will never be ready, but you must always be willing.
When you want something bad enough, there will be times when you will have to act in faith and confidence even when you think you are not ready.
What things are you waiting for?
To achieve anything worth significance, you must be willing to endure criticism
Most of the criticism your receive you will have to block out, but you will also need to find the people you can trust who will offer you feedback even when it doesn’t always feel good. In fact, sometimes it will downright hurt.
Your growth won’t happen alone. You can make positive changes on your own, but to get where you truly want to go, you need the help of others to guide you on your way.
So who are your mentors? Who are the people you learn from and help you in your growth journey?
Every one of us has our own “shopping cart.” That small action we take for granted that may not seem like a big deal at the time, yet speaks volumes on who we truly are and what we will become.
Find Your Why! “People don’t buy what you do they buy why you do it.” No matter how great your insurance agency may be at what you do and how you do it, the only way you will truly connect with your prospects and customers is if they understand your “why.”
If you focus on people, you will profit. If you focus only on profit, you lose the people.
Please let me clear. I want you to profit, I want you play golf, I want you to take vacations. I want you to be a highly successful insurance producer.
However, if you don’t have passion for serving, learning, growing, and doing the hard work first, you need to quit. For the sake of your agency, for the sake of your company partners, and for the sake of your clients.
You don’t want to spend years as an underperforming, unhappy, unsatisfied insurance producer. There are only two choices: Quit or commit to being the best producer you can be.
It’s been reported that we say an average of 6,000 words per day. That’s like speaking a large book every week. The question you must ask yourself is, “How many of my words really count and how many are just fillers?”
So why is connecting so critical? Why was connecting the #1 response I received from my clients? I thought about this for long-time and now looking back several years later, I have come to this conclusion;
The ability to connect increases your influence in every situation.
I recently heard leadership expert, John C. Maxwell say this,
“If gifted and you do nothing, you will be in the top 50%. If gifted and you do something, you will be in the top 10%. If gifted and you do everything, you will be in the top 1%”
Finding and using your natural talent is only half the battle. From there, it’s up to you to put in the work to both rise to the top and stay at the top of your profession.
Here is a fact, successful people work hard and make consistent SMALL smart decisions every day. They make choices that may seem irrelevant at the time, but over the course of months and years add up to huge benefits.
“You don’t have to know how, you just have to know how to get it.” Paul Martenelli
Successful people and businesses that make significant positive changes don’t succeed because they had a complete road map in front of them. They succeed because nothing will get in their way.
“The #1 catalyst to change is action.” John C. Maxwell
If you are hesitant to make a change, I offer you one piece of advice. Take action.
"Do the thing and then you will have energy to do the thing." Emerson Several years ago when our top agency producer told me to just pick up the phone and make the calls was an example of "doing the thing." I did not “feel” like picking up the phone that day. However, when I went ahead took “action” and made the call, I suddenly gained more energy to make more calls and other productive activities. My action led my motivation, not the other way around. Go "Do the thing" you need to do.
When I ask “What would you do if you could not fail?” it requires you to think bigger and beyond what you view as “realistic.” It challenges your rational thinking.
Don't allow you conscious level of awareness to sabotage your future potential
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." It’s easy to make a commitment with our intentions when the commitment is any day, but today.
What is the "Daily BizzGrowl" podcast? Who am I? Why should you listen? I address these three questions on this episode.
There is no potential in any teaching, training, or technology. Potential is only found within you.
The question is, how will you develop your potential? How will you change? How will you grow in 2017 and beyond?
It starts by developing and maintaining a personal and professional growth plan.
Once your formal education is finished, you must take complete ownership of your growth and development because guess what…….no one will do it for you.
Brent's daily "BizzGrowl." To seize opportunities you have to move from accidental to intentional