Agency Intelligence

In this episode of The Ryan Hanley Show, we're joined by Helen and Dave Edwards, founders of Sonder Studios and authors of Make Better Decisions: How to Improve Your Decision-Making in the Digital Age, an essential guide to practicing the cognitive skills needed for making better decisions in the age of data, algorithms, and AI. Do not miss this incredible deep dive into the next generation of artificial intelligence and the insurance industry… Episode Highlights: Dave shares that Sonder Studios has been operating since 2019, and it began with the purpose of truly opening people's minds to the depth of humanity in this digital age. (4:24) Helen explains that data has value once people or machines understand it since humans think in 1-4 dimensions, but machines can think in infinite dimensions. (10:29) Dave discusses that for the value of data to be translated to people, we humans must first understand what it means. (13:37) Helen explains how to determine when to ask the correct questions when presen

Grab a notepad and pen because this episode is worth a whole notebook! In this episode of The MVP Podcast, Mitch sits down with Andy Mathisen from Glovebox and Brett Young from Erb & Young to discuss their 4 Pillars for Success and why it is extremely important for young agents to build their own 4 Pillars. If you don't have a strong foundation, things can only last so long. But if you have a strong foundation, you can build an empire! Episode Highlights: To begin the episode, Andy Mathisen and Brett Young answer a series of rapid-fire questions. (3:26) Mitch discusses the importance of having a process in place to achieve your goals. (8:32) Brett mentions that one of the techniques he learned was to curate his social media feed every quarter. (10:37) Andy believes that you will be well positioned if your foundation includes the following four pillars: operations, education, marketing, and growth. (14:35) Brett discusses the four pillars of success at Erb & Young that he believes are foundational, n

In this episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens sits down with Syd Roe, Director, Agency Marketing of Vertafore. Syd and Teresa talk about her journey in the insurance space and how that journey is helping Vertafore market forward. Episode Highlights: Syd explains that she wanted to help tell the story of the independent agent in a way that made people feel like the rock stars they are. (2:30) Syd shares how her insurance career started, the companies she worked with, and how she grew in the insurance industry. (4:23) Syd mentions that she believes in small businesses because that is where her heart is, and she wants to use that to help Vertafore re-envision how it interacts with the industry. (14:20) Teresa explains that one of the things she loves about the insurance industry is that people can choose the type of environment they want to work in. (18:35) Syd believes that what she does in her personal life can give her either a competitive advantage or provide difficulty in her profes

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Stephen Harrington-Descoteaux, Performance Coach at Agency Performance Partners. Episode Highlights: Stephen shares his background and what led him to the insurance sector. (2:35) Jason believes that when it comes to branding, the name of the business is very important. (8:12) Stephen discusses how he met Kelly Donahue-Piro and how they began working together at Agency Performance Partners. (9:18) Stephen mentions that he is currently working with several clients on compensation and incentive plans. (13:19) Stephen emphasizes the importance of having replicable processes because having inefficient processes or unclear operations can be stressful to our staff. (19:51) Stephen explains that during their annual review processes, they have a checklist of 20 discounts to review to determine those the customers currently have and those they may still be able to get. (21:50) Stephen shares how he ensures that the customers are a go

Personally, I see the difference being about 50%, between those producers who have a solid plan/strategy, versus those agents who don't have a prospecting plan. It's that important! Agents and agencies with no plan write, according to my estimation, 50% less in a year than they could write, if they had a personalized and workable new business strategy for each producer. In this episode of the Millionaire Insurance Producer podcast, host Charles Specht will give you four things to consider when developing your Strategy, as well as announce an upcoming training he's providing on this subject come December 16th. Episode Highlights: Charles explains that it is never too late to start making plans. Following the strategy, the plan might also result in more agents signing a Broker of Record letter. (2:15) Charles mentions that it is all of our responsibility to ensure that we are in charge of our career, assets, and business. (4:44) Charles discusses that, for those who do not have a strategic new business p

This episode sees the DIPP dudes digging into pints of Garrison and Lance enjoying some house crafted root beer from NHL hall of famer Lanny McDonald’s Tamarack Brewing Co. while discussing how to scale a brokerage. One of Canada’s fastest growing companies – in all industries, not just insurance – Surex originally opened in a town of 2,400 people, now has more than 45,000 customers across the country, and saw revenue growth of over 500% from 2014 – 2019. After defending his love of Nickelback – yep, we know that’s hard to do – Lance talks about online aggregators and how Surex leverages them, digital marketing, relationships with carriers and why online quoting is a continual evolution. He also shares some valuable (but expensive) lessons that the brokerage has learned over the past several years. It should come as no surprise to anyone that our industry is ripe for disruption, Lance thinks it’s time we all work together to get ahead of this and quit letting old insurance thinking dominate the future. Want

In this episode, James talks with Tony Caldwell, CEO of One Agents Alliance. To learn more about One Agents Alliance, visit https://www.oneagentsalliance.net/ Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.com Connect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedom Email us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints, or your favorite grilling recipe. Episode Highlights: Tony shares how he started his own business when he was ten and went into the insurance business after completing his political career. (2:45) Tony explains that future successful independent agents will have a much deeper and richer understanding of their clients and customers. (9:13) Tony mentions that independent agencies should stop thinking of themselves as a service organization and start thinking of themselves as sales organization that takes care o

In this episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens sits down with Bobbie Collies, Chief Growth Officer at Coterie Insurance. Bobbie and Teresa talk about data and how it is changing our industry. Episode Highlights: Bobbie shares how she got into the insurance sector and what she's been doing in the insurance technology space. (1:09) Bobbie mentions that many Insurtechs companies started out wanting to disrupt the industry but have since shifted to figuring out how they can best support the current operating model of the industry. (5:06) Bobbie explains how utilizing data is the only way to survive in this industry. (10:03) Bobbie discusses how technological advancements are changing the value proposition of independent agencies. (16:16) Bobbie mentions that Coterie Insurance launched “Simply Bind” in July of this year, which is their underwriting engine paired with their quoting engine, that provides agents with a legitimate quote within seconds or minutes. (22:15) Bobbie explains that

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Chuck Blondino, Author of the book: The Remarkable Insurance Agency. Chuck discusses how his book can help independent agents and agencies in generating revenue while having fun with clients, the community, and marketing. Episode Highlights: Chuck shares his journey from entrepreneur to writing his own book. (3:27) Chuck mentions that Liberty and Safeco allowed him to establish his own department with a dozen people dedicated just to helping independent agents grow. (5:29) Chuck discusses the post-retirement realizations that inspired him to write his book, The Remarkable Insurance Agency. (11:43) Chuck shares that multiple companies were willing to be interviewed to share their stories, results, and marketing examples for his book. (14:04) Chuck discusses some of the challenges he encountered when publishing his book in a different format, and that he hasn't started the e-book or the audiobook yet, but expects to do so eventual

While enjoying a Garrison Lil’ Juicy IPA, Aviva Digital Marketing Consultant Charlene Ramdeo chats with the DIPP crew about key tools to help brokers on their digital journey, how to win back market share and grow lead volume. She stresses the importance of Google reviews and focusing on improving your search engine ranking locally before trying to tackle more places. As Charlene says, “Start small, dominate that and then move on to other areas.” She surprises Jeff, Adam and Steve with some mystery shopping results for Excalibur Insurance, Mitchell & Whale and Cheep Insurance to see how long it takes each brokerage to get back to potential customers looking for quotes. She also weighs in on the speed of each company’s mobile site. Who do you think came out on top? Place your bets now! Resources: Tom Reid Jeff Roy Steve Earle Adam Mitchell Digital Insurance Pint Podcast

In this episode, James talks with Vonda Copeland, Operations Specialist at Copeland Insurance Agency. To learn more about Copeland Insurance Agency, visit https://www.copelandins.com/ Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.com Connect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedom Email us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints, or your favorite grilling recipe. Episode Highlights: Vonda discusses how she got into the insurance industry and mentions that everyone seems to have a strange story about how they got into the industry. (3:10) Vonda shares what it is like working in an agency with her husband and mentions that despite having both strong personalities, they are able to figure out things and meet in the middle. (15:27) Vonda explains that a checklist is important to make sure that important details ar

"Seek out pain, fall in love with suffering." - David Goggins In this episode of The Ryan Hanley Show, we break why seeing comfort, even if it's comfort in being uncomfortable, is the worst course of action to reach success. "Discomfort is your friend." - Joe Rogan Big shout out to Chris Paradiso for the inspiration on this one, don't miss it… Resources Mentioned:  Finding Peak Whether you’re thinking about starting a new independent agency or looking to grow your existing agency, SIAA is the solution. They aren’t simply the largest agency network in the country, they’re the best - because they make a real commitment to their members’ success. SIAA member agencies are independent, but never alone. Visit siaa.com to learn more. 

In this episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens sits down with Anais Babajanian, Business and Career coach at Anais Babajanian Coaching. Anais and Teresa talked about how to get really clear about the items that hold us back so we can achieve our goals. Episode Highlights: Anais shares how she got her start in accounting and what led her to business and career coaching. (1:19) Anais describes the process of getting a coaching certification and what it takes to be a truly great business coach. (4:16) Anais advises anyone, particularly business owners who want to make a change in their businesses, to take it one step at a time and understand that not everything will change in one day. (7:02) Anais explains how important it is to have goals and change them as life changes, but it is more about the trip than the destination. (14:18) Anais explains how to determine when to drop an idea that is no longer working and move on to the next. (19:24) Anais mentions that people must uncover the so

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Garrett Droege, Director of Innovation at IMA Financial Group. Garrett discusses the future of tech in the insurance industry and beyond and how to learn from your competitors. Episode Highlights: Garrett mentions that they have worthy rivals in their company with whom they share information and learn and that anyone can learn if their ears are open. (5:41)  Garrett shares his background story and how he got to where he is today in the insurance industry. (6:58) Garrett mentions that he used to run a global broker network called Tech Usher, which specializes in technology-related insurance. (8:26) Garrett mentions that everything he learned in the insurance industry was from other people and probably some of the competitors or people he thought were better than him in some way. (10:38)  Garrett explains how he and Ryan Hanley had the same idea on how Twitter is going to be the future of business. (15:33) Garrett mentioned how

You don't need more 'time' on your calendar in order to be more successful. What you need is better 'usage' of your time. In others, stop doing whatever is keeping you from getting the results you ultimately want to achieve. To summarize it even more .... JUST SHUT UP AND START PROSPECTING!  In this episode of the Millionaire Insurance Producer podcast, host Charles Specht breaks down the prospecting numbers (both weekly and annually) for you to demonstrate what is needed in order to start having the financial success you want for yourself. Episode Highlights: Charles shares why you need to stop doing whatever else you are doing and start focusing on prospecting, or in other words, shut up and prospect. (1:53) Charles discusses why prospecting is the most important thing you can do as an insurance agent. (6:35) Charles mentions that prospecting can take many forms; you may be able to prospect current clients by gathering references and having them make phone calls or send emails on your behalf. (9:19)

In this episode, the DIPP crew speaks with Nick Kidd, CEO & Co-Founder of Quotey, about his journey from AXA to CEO of April Canada to leading all things commercial at Mitchell & Whale, the pain of manuals and comparative rating in commercial insurance quoting and how he believes Quotey has the potential to transform the insurance industry and be the preferred digital platform of choice in commercial lines. Nick discusses how commercial insurance “is an awful beast to work in” and why that led to him creating Quotey – a platform built by brokers for brokers. With Quotey, Nick says that brokers can complete client applications in as little as 10 minutes. They’ll then receive multiple insurer quotes in seconds. Yes, we said seconds.  Grab yourself a pint and learn all about Quotey, Steve’s “say no to portals” movement and a whole bunch more in our first episode of season three. Resources: Tom Reid Jeff Roy Steve Earle Adam Mitchell Digital Insurance Pint Podcast

This is an hour long webinar sponsored by InsuredMine with Jason Cass, where he discusses VE's with other top CEO's of VE companies.

In this episode, James talks with Don Polczynski, President and Partner of RD Advisory Group, and Roe Polczynski, Founding Partner of RD Advisory Group. To learn more about RD Advisory Group, visit https://rdadvisorygroup.com/. Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.com Connect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedom Email us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe. Episode Highlights: James explains that the goal of this episode is to provide context and practical insight into the topic of strategic planning and annual reviews. (2:30) Roe discusses how they would advise someone to begin getting their minds around the strategic planning and review process. (4:16) Roe and Don discuss the first stage in the process of developing a strategic plan. (9:18) Roe shares that A

In this solo episode of Power Women In Insurance, Teresa Kitchens discusses what underearning is and why it is so important to see the signs of it so we can fully achieve our goals. Episode Highlights: Teresa shares how reading Barbara Stanny's book Overcoming Underearning has changed the way she thinks about herself, her business, and what she wants to accomplish in the insurance industry. (00:11) Teresa explains that the book begins with a great parable, and it's truly about how we as people become overwhelmed by "what if," "maybe I can't," or "what if I don't?". (3:34) Teresa mentions that she loves the definition of stress in the first section of the book because it says stress is underearning and worrying about the future, and she can relate to it because she always worries about the future. (6:12) Teresa explains that underearning is a side result of not living our full potential, but we must remember that everyone has their own goals, perspectives, and way of reacting to things, and they react

In this episode of The MVP Podcast, Mitch Gibson sits down with author, entrepreneur, and thought leader, Brandon Smith to discuss how the adversity he faced has pushed him down his pathway to success. It is important to know that we all face adversity, but the real question is, "Did that adversity make you stronger?" We also discuss some sales tips and tactics young agents should be engaging in on a day-to-day circumstance! Episode Highlights: Brandon shares some of the challenges that he had as a young baseball player. (4:38) Brandon shares how he determines his value how that has motivated him in recent years to give back to the community. (6:56) Brandon believes that the majority of new agents quit the industry within 24 months because they don't have the right training and tools, and they perceive their job as a producer as an ordinary job, not a profession. (11:09) Brandon believes that the most successful producers are those that are willing to admit that they don't know everything and that the