Insurance In Your Words

It all starts by making sure you give them something to easily recognize and offer them a seat at your new kitchen table. This is probably the simplest video marketing tip that you can follow to liberate yourself from paralyzing overcomplication. That liberation starts by establishing the most important character of your videos, besides you, which is your one goto camera angle. That simple angle allows you to properly invite people into your office on a consistent basis with zero hesitation. That's what I talked to Jared Bellmund, of AllChoice Insurance, about his ability to focus on only the important things.

Because sometimes specifically organized brass tacks are hard to find just laying around. Sometimes it takes a little extra work and creativity to connect the dots to the most useful and relevant information. On the other hand, there's plenty of sound bite spouting, headline readers who struggle to dive below the surface. Then it becomes a matter of making sure you surround yourself with enough of the right thing to keep your head above water. That's what I talk to Landon Bentham, of Callahan & Rice Insurance, about how many floatation devices he could use.

It usually starts with letting your passion and personality lead the way out into the real world. Because it's out there where people are looking for it the most and can't wait to pay attention when they find it. Real life event marketing has limitless potential beyond free pens and brochures to captivate and inspire what your agency is all about. If not, everything else is just a wasted opportunity to stand out against everyone else too afraid to bring something interesting to the table. That's what I talk to Michele Linca, of Linca Insurance, about as she tries to put her agency out into the real world.

It's hard to think of an industry that has the best and worst compensation model all at the same time. The power and beauty of renewal income is a huge draw for plenty of journeyman sales professionals to the insurance industry. It's this same payment structure that has gotten the best of plenty of agents who couldn't figure out a way to play the game on a bigger scale. As nice as that renewal income is, having zero authority determining the value we bring is challenging at best. That's what I talk to James Castell, of Castell Insurance, about how his agency addressed this problem in his agency.

Starts simply with your ability to find your absolute best clients a lot easier. If you try and talk to everyone, you'll end up talking to no one. Of course, that's the last thing you want to happen in your agency and why it's nessacary to get more specific. It doesn't matter if it's when the policy needs to be purchased, how old the person buying it is or even where it's all happening. That's what I talk to John Stuart, of Bill Quickel's Insurance Plus Agencies, about the specific direction they're heading.

If you don't then you'll make it a lot harder to find the holes in your insurance game. Of course, you want to do everything you can to improve your chances to close a sale. However, sometimes encouraging competition forces you to get a lot stronger much faster. It's developing this confidence that builds your insurance strength both internally and externally in your agency. That's what I talk to Alex Dopazo, of Dopazo and Associates, about as he shares what it's done for him.

It just needs to be long enough to solve the whole problem so people can decide if they want you to help them. Of course, that might be an oversimplification of a slightly more complex problem, however, remains the majority of the solution. The length of your content isn't worth obsessing and over thinking, because the only thing that will come from that is not doing anything. That's why you have permission to start hitting publish anytime and build up to whatever number you're currently not hitting. That's what I talk to Taylor Garcia, of Jackson & Jackson Insurance, about his word count concerns.

It starts by making sure it can afford the most current table stakes customers set. Even then, most of the time we find ourselves struggling to pay an overdue with more piling up every day. It could be something as simple of understanding what SEO work actually needs to be done and how valuable it is. Then it becomes a matter of making one small bet after another and the next thing you know you're pushing the limits of the site instead. That's what I talk to Kim Wood, of Toby & Merril Insurance, about as she works on paying hers.

Starts and stops with the titles of your content, because without good ones there's very little chance anyone will be able to find you. It's always the first and easiest thing to mess up when starting your content journey. There needs to be the same if not more attention paid to that handful of words as is to the entire piece. Almost always it starts by dramatically underestimating just how specific you need to get for people to find you. That's what I talk to Allen Drew, of the Allen Drew Agency, about he's trying to find his right spot.

The truth is, it doesn't really matter, the hardest part is pulling the trigger on how it's going to get done. Because if it's truly important to the success of the agency and you're not getting it done, it's your job to find someone who will. Of course, most of that is easier said than done, but no matter what your first step should be to break the minimum knowledge threshold. That simply means learning enough to know if you're the guy for the job or what you need to expect from someone else if you aren't. That's what I talk to Nick Thalhammer of Cincinnatus Insurance, about as identifies where he wants to improve.

It's easy to do if you don't think about the type of business you need to write to be somewhere else. Growing your book to reach a different destination takes a level on intentionality rarely discussed. Sure, there is certainly a time and a place for selling anything you can, however, the sooner you don't the faster you'll get there. The ultimate test is what happens when you have more business than you know what to do with. That's what I talk to Jared Bellmund, of AllChoice Insurance, about as he works on getting where he wants to go.

If you haven't heard by now, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Just imagine how high that average would be if you dedicated a disproportionate amount of time to the people closest to you, physically and philosophically? That's quite possibly one of the most dangerous combinations for personal growth that exist in the known universe. If you don't believe me, try it. It's nearly impossible to not find those people pushing you to reach achievements far beyond anything thing you thought was possible. That's what I talk to Landon Bentham, of Callahan & Rice Insurance, about exactly how many people he could easily be surrounding himself with.

When they are it allows you to humanize insurance in a way no one else can. Because it's that intimate knowledge that will give you the advantage of communicating in the most effective way. The best part is you don't need a fancy InsurTech solution, instead, you might just need to pick up the thing that's been there from the start. When you do, you'll be surprised at how much there was still left to learn and the headstart it gives to make people think you're the only insurance game in town. That's what I talk to Michele Linca, of Linca Insurance, about her desire to make sure everyone knows she the place to be.

When you do you're able to more completely take advantage of what really works for you instead of what everyone else thinks should. It's in this realization that leads to uncovering opportunities that are commonly ignored. Occasionally they're dismissed for good reason, however, without the proper examination you'll never know for sure. It's this localized testing that creates the most unique and possibly unexpected results others didn't have the patience to wait for. That's what I talk to James Castell, of Castell Insurance, about how closely he listens to the people that keep sending him business.

Starts by making sure the main goal is to drive new business by attracting people unfamiliar with your agency. If you can do that then you need to make sure you're providing just the right amount of necessary friction along the way. That's an unstoppable combination of highly qualified lead bliss that can dramatically change the agency's complexion. If you lose sight of those objectives along the way allowing your focus to drift beyond its scope you could be preparing its ineffectiveness instead. That's what I talk to John Stuart, of Bill Quickel's Insurance Plus Agency, about his recent trip rebuilding his website.

Simply starts by not overthinking all the things you think you should be doing that actually never get done. Recreating your creative process every time will leave the most important aspects of your content unattended The truth is a simple template would do the job better and deliver more results. Not only because it lets people know what to expect, but because it makes it easier for you to publish your way to success. That's what I talk to Alex Dopazo, of Dopazo & Associates, about the importance of his process.

Starts by accepting the reality of the most powerfully efficient prospecting tools available today. When that happens you realized the limitless potential you're provided to scale your outreach efforts. It's only then will you start to realize the importance of knowing exactly what needs to be said to make it all happen. If not, you could find yourself on a dangerous journey across bumpy content terrain that never leads to your desired destination. That's what I talk to Taylor Garcia, of Jackson & Jackson Insurance, about as he starts to map his adventure.

There's a good chance you'll be able to approach things with a fresh perspective few are looking for. On the other hand, just because an idea originated a safe distance away from the industry doesn't mean it's automatically validated. There's certainly a fine line somewhere when it comes to adopting new ideas that can be framed inside a traditional an old box. Of course, the simple act of trying something different at all deserves its own reward and generally leads to people noticing what makes you different. That's what I talk to Kim Wood, of Toby & Merril Insurance, about just how far she willing to go to be different.

Starts by realizing the marketing freedom your legacy agency has granted you to significantly amplify your message. It's during this amplification process that you'll want to make sure you provide consistent reminders to the people who already know you. In addition to that, you'll also want to quell any fear you might have at letting completely new people hear what you're all about. Because as important as retention and referrals are, there's nothing better than when a highly qualified lead contacts your agency. That's what I talk to Sean Halpin, of MJH Insurance, about how he's maximizing his opportunity.

Really starts by figuring out how the percentage of insurance talk you think they need from you. There is no right or wrong answer and is really up to you to decide what feels most natural to you. However, it's never a bad idea to have 100 percent insurance talk in the right place and start subtracting from there. Because quickly eliminating questions and doubts about the thing you're supposed to be best at makes every other conversation easier. That's what I talk to Nick Thalhammer, of Cincinnatus Insurance, as he tried to find his perfect mix.