Today In 5 Minutes Or Less (TLDR):

• 🔒 Why Industry Hires Might Be Holding Your Agency …

• The One Skill Insurance Agents Miss: How Client Ma …

• Around The Web 🌎

🔒 Why Industry Hires Might Be Holding Your Agency Back🔒

Dear Insurance Champions,

Here’s some real talk: Most agencies sabotage their own growth in the hiring process, and then wonder why producers never stick, performance stalls, or the agency feels like a hamster wheel.

Let’s break down three game-changing, battle-tested principles you can use TODAY to build a more resilient, profitable P&C agency. These aren’t theories, they’re field-tested truths from the trenches.

1. Ditch the “Industry Pro” Obsession , Hire Sales Hunters Instead

We’ve seen too many owners addicted to hiring people with insurance on their résumé. Here’s the deal:

• Industry retreads bring bad habits (and baggage).

• The top producers aren’t insurance nerds, they’re professional sales assassins.

• Every new hire should be someone who gets up hungry, thrives on rejection, and DRIVES deals. The technicals can be taught.

Action:

Seek out B2B salespeople from copier sales, office supply, payroll, or credit card processing backgrounds. Set up referral meetings before ever offering a position.

2. Build a Zero-Risk Producer Pipeline

Most agencies throw new producers into the pool and pray they swim. Here’s a smarter play:

• Form alliances BEFORE you hire. Run regular coffee meetings with future recruits, exchange real business.

• Track every referral and tie it back to the person. Once their book can support their “magic number” (the income floor they need), bring them in already producing.

• Result: No empty months. No risk. No excuses.

Action:

Start a referral tracker. Meet monthly with potential future hires. Don’t pull the trigger until their referrals cover their base.

3. Company Culture Isn’t a Perk, It’s Your Moat

If you’re micromanaging PTO or worried about butts-in-seats, you’re losing the war for quality talent.

• Give your team real autonomy (unlimited PTO, quarterly self-improvement days, paid service days).

• Watch retention soar, performance sharpen, and the “big account” mindset stick.

Action:

Institute a quarterly “Level Up” Day for your staff, paid time for self-improvement or community service. No tracking, no guilt-tripping. Just results.

• Rapid-Fire Agency Improvements:

• Build a 5-tool sales team (not just “talkers” or “technicians”).

• Prepare with tight, open-ended questions for every prospect.

• Remember: Most deals are lost by over-talking, not under-explaining.

Bottom Line:

You want agency freedom? Start with who you let into the cave, how you activate them before hiring, and what relentless, supportive culture you enforce. The difference is the distance between burnout and a $3M+ revenue shop.

Stay bold,

Craig Pretzinger and Jason Feltman

The Insurance Dudes! 🚀

The One Skill Insurance Agents Miss: How Client Management Impacts Claims

Real talk: Most insurance agents are bulletproof when it comes to pitching policies, answering coverage questions, and locking down QHHs. You're trained to know the close ratio, your Cost Per Sale, and how to keep that Lifetime Value juiced. But when the claim hits the fan? That’s where most agents get exposed, brother.

You’ve got no real playbook for client management after the sale. Galen Hair drops the hard truth: nobody is teaching agents how to actually guide clients through claims. You know your quoting game. You know your retention moves. But when Ms. Smith calls with a claim, and her life’s upside down, you’re stuck between a rock and the carrier’s “Sorry, nothing you can do” policy. That’s reality.

You want to help. Hell, you need to help if you want E&O headaches to stay away and keep those renewals on autopilot. But most carriers won’t let you – the claim is out of your hands. You can send the emails, you can make the calls, but “making it happen” isn’t an option. If you fake it, your clients know. If you admit the truth, you risk looking powerless. This isn’t in your onboarding packet. No script covers this.

Here’s what actually works: No smoke, no mirrors, just radical transparency with your clients. Own that you can’t influence the carrier’s claims department, but be the guy who keeps your client informed. Set expectations day one. Build a process (literally a checklist) for updating claim status, following up, and being the proactive communicator the other agents aren’t. Document every interaction – for your own E&O, and so when renewal time hits, your client remembers who stuck by them. That’s your “TeleFunnel for Claims” if it exists.

The #1 retention move most agency owners miss isn’t a slick sales follow-up. It’s how you manage the mess. Agencies that crush renewals have reps who say “Here’s how it’ll go, here’s what I can do, and here’s what I’ll keep you updated on.” It’s not sexy, but it is something nobody teaches. Stop worrying about the things you can’t control. Fix the thing you can: process, communication, and client empathy.

Listen to the full episode for the real-life stories, pain points, and practical tactics, this is episode #1080. Comment if you’ve had that “helpless” claim call and tell us how you handled it.

Around The Web 🌎

The YouTube 🎥

We sit down with Justin Thomas to break down what’s actually working in digital marketing for insurance agents today. Justin shares his journey from selling insurance to building Insurance Advertising Masters, where he now teaches insurance agents and financial advisors how to generate a consistent stream of qualified conversations using funnels, Facebook Ads, and YouTube Ads.

This Week On The Podcast 🎧

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