Agency Intelligence

In this episode of the Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Billy Wagner, Multi-Unit Owner at Brightway Insurance. Billy talks about his focus on growth and sales, the hiring process, and his four different levels of compensation. Episode Highlights: Billy shares that when he started studying the insurance business, he was interested in the P&C side and started a scratch agency in 2006. (12:18) Billy shares that his success in the industry had to do with the skill sets he had and his knowledge of how to manage people. Because of that, each of his team members already has nine team members, and they all came from the service industry. (18:50) Billy mentions that if you have the right structure, the right system, and you get the right person, you can approximately always make a hire if it's structured correctly. (25:11) Billy mentions that having different levels of validation is vital. (28:52) In Billy’s opinion, when somebody delivers an exceptional value, you must continue to fin

In this episode of the Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews David Carothers, Principal at Florida Risk Partners. David talks about the culture of control and culture of collaboration and how he came up with The Protege. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces David Carothers. (1:02) David mentions that he currently has five hot buttons. (4:09) David shares that the one that he’s been stressing about is the agency principals that are trying to figure out what they’re going to do, as they retire. (4:12) David mentions that people must understand that there's more to life than being an income statement rich. (7:24) David mentions that there are two things the insurance industry can do but only a few agencies do it. (9:18) David shares that the first is a track to partnership, you must have a backfill in your organization, if you want to perpetuate the asset that you've built to move forward. (9:26) David shares that the current problem they have in the middle market agencies is they

In this episode of the Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Chris Greene, President at The Flood Insurance Guru. Chris talks about the significance of having flood insurance and the impact of utilizing video as a platform to teach people about flood. Episode Highlights: Katlyn introduces Chris Greene. (00:51) Chris mentions that Louisiana had the most hurricane landfalls ever recorded. (1:37) Chris shares that in 2019, they went to several parts of Oklahoma, Iowa, and Nebraska, meeting with flood victims, helping them mitigate issues, and provided them an appropriate rate, based on the actions they're willing to take. (6:01) Chris mentions that Arizona is one of the most frequently flooded areas because of the monsoon season. (6:44) Chris shares that wildfires create one of the biggest flood exposures because it takes FEMA a few years to change a flood map and to do a flood insurance study. (8:04) Chris shares that they use technology with Google or GIS and other platforms th

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Jay Bregman, the Founder, and CEO of Thimble. Jay talks about his concept and ideas in building Thimble and the three lessons that he wrote back in May. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Jay Bregman. (3:15) Jay mentions that he did an internship at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School in 1999. (8:54) Jay shares that during his internship, he met a lot of law students but most of them were unhappy. They wanted to be entrepreneurs, rather than lawyers. (9:01) Jay shares that he went to graduate school at the London School of Economics in London. He got together with his friend and they started a courier company. (9:25) Jay mentions that they started this company without any knowledge on how to start a courier company based around technology. (9:35) Jay mentions that in 2008, he had his first experience with a sudden downturn in the market. (10:15) Jay shares how he came up with the idea of

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass and guest co-host Katlyn Eggar interview Brent Kelly, the Vice President at Sitkins Group, Inc. Brent talks about how joining the Sitkins Group made him better in the insurance industry and the skills that he has developed with the company. He also shares the significance of the 80/20 rule. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Brent Kelly. (1:14) Brent mentions that luck is met with preparation opportunities to take action. Therefore, you have to be in the right place at the right time. But if you’re not prepared, it doesn’t matter. (4:08) Brent shares that he started in Sitkins Group in 2017 and shares his conversation with Roger Sitkins. (5:23) Brent mentions one of the foundational elements that they teach and show agencies, are the 80/20 rule. (7:39) Brent shares that when he works with agencies, the key point is understanding the levers that move things to free up time. Because that’s the only diminishing asset that we have. (9:13)

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Sharon Emek, the President & CEO of Work At Home Vintage Experts. Sharon talks about her advanced knowledge in technology, her achievements in the industry, and the sophisticated software they created. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Sharon Emek. (3:21) Sharon shares that she came to the industry in the early 1980s and she was a professor at Rutgers University where she participated in doing management consulting. Eventually, she left teaching and became an actual management consultant to insurance brokers. (7:23) Sharon mentions that she learned the insurance industry by the time it was the advent of computerization. (7:43) Sharon mentions that she started her insurance brokerage in 1988 and grew to quite a large brokerage in Manhattan. (8:55) Sharon shares that she became very active in the industry and ended up being the chair of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers in New York. (9:14) Sharon mentions that she

In this episode of Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Justin Eggar, the CEO & Co-Founder of Quantum Assurance International. Justin talks about his experience working with his spouse, the struggle and success in building their agency, and how the pandemic made an impact on their agency and their family as well. Episode Highlights: Katlyn introduces her husband, Justin Eggar. (1:28) Justin thinks that the pandemic has expanded their understanding of the possibilities of working from home. (4:07) Katlyn mentions that 9 years ago they opened their first scratch agency in Geneva, Illinois. (8:09) Justin mentions that their first agency was located in a building that was built in 1920 and it used to be a candy store. (4:36) Just shares that over the ensuing years, they grew from one agency and then a couple of years later they opened their second agency. (10:49) Justin thinks that part of their success is that they lean on each other. (11:35) Katlyn mentions that they have bee

In this episode of the Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Christopher Martens, CIC, CPRIA, Personal Risk Specialist at USI Insurance Services. Chris talks about what high net worth personal lines are all about and shares his approach to prospecting. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Chris Martens. (1:52) Chris mentions that he’s not an agency owner. He’s a producer and his specialty is high net worth, high-value homes, and assets. (23:28) Chris shares that most of the clients and prospective clients that they deal with have multiple residences, they have different ownership structures, and he has a lot of assets under management. (23:50) Chris shares that property can sometimes be finite. There's a replacement cost that can vary depending on whether it's catastrophic, whether more things could happen at the same time, and almost like surge pricing. But he likes to focus on liability. (24:40) Chris mentions that these assets aren't always in brokerage accounts, and the inland

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Steven Mohr, the Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Lightspeed Voice. Steven talks about how they developed Lightspeed Voice, what agencies are looking for in a phone service and what Lightspeed Voice is working on now.  Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Steven Mohr. (1:10) Steven shares that during his younger years, he tried to be an entrepreneur but didn’t work out, then early on in his career he found his way in the business. (9:54) Steven mentions that when he found his way to E Bridge, which was a technology company, document management within the insurance business that built an AMS called E Agent. (10:22) Steven shares that when Allstate purchased the product back in 2012, he went along with the acquisition and worked there until last year managing the agency facing technology. (10:38) Steven mentions that agent integration was one of the first integrations that lightspeed voice did. He made a connection to help l

The New Year is always filled with possibilities and opportunities. In this episode of The Show we breakdown 2020 and share Rogue Risk's plans for world domination in 2021. Get more: https://ryanhanley.com/

In this episode of the Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Mallory Leonard, Principal at ExecHQ. Mallory talks about the significance of having a good coaching culture that’s beneficial in growing your business.  Episode Highlights: Katlyn introduces Mallory Leonard. (1:03) Mallory mentions that she was living in San Diego for 10 years when she had her agency at Allstate agency and eventually sold the agency in 2019. (1:53) Mallory shares that she started as a Sales Producer for an agency and grew a book business on the broker side, at the same time. (4:55) Mallory shares that if you treat your agency like a retail location, you're going to get retail employees. Therefore, she treated her employees like professionals. (6:30) Mallory mentions that you have to make sure that you're putting people in place who have the right leadership skills. But if they don’t, help them and cultivate them to be a good leader. (8:29) Mallory thinks that setting strategic goals with your employ

In this episode of the Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Mitch Gibson, Risk Advisor at HRM Insurance Services. Mitch talks about identifying the risks in your business and the ways to resolve them. He also shares his podcast called Inside Hancock County. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Mitch Gibson. (1:21) Mitch thinks that his skills have gotten him to where he wanted to be in the insurance business. (9:46) Mitch mentions that he’s one of six kids, he has 4 brothers and a sister, and they’re a baseball fan. (13:20) Mitch shares that during his junior year in college, he started working at MS Communications, which is a radio station communications company in Indianapolis, and that was the time when he knew that he wanted to get into sales. (15:53) Mitch mentions that music was his passion and everything that has to do with the production was his passion, as well. (22:18) Mitch shares that his podcast, Inside Hancock County, is about the local businesses, organizations, a

In this episode of Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Jack Wingate, the Founder and President of ALLCHOICE Insurance. Jack discusses how they built an agency that cares more about the customer service experience than its carriers.  Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Jack Wingate. (3:45) Jack shares that he started in the North Carolina Farm Bureau, where a lot of people in North Carolina get started in the insurance business in August 2004. (5:28) Jack mentions that they have acquired four locations, Greensboro, Clemmons, Hendersonville, and Wilmington. (5:36) Jack explains how they came up with their beard logo. (7:19) Jack shares that the concept of one app is transformational because, at the end of the day, insurance companies are underwriting companies. (19:23) Jack shares that if we visualize the pyramid, the carriers are at the top, the clients are at the bottom, then in between is either a direct channel, website, direct mail, or the agent. (19:52) Jack thinks that

In this episode of the Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Jeff Shi, the Chief Visionary Officer at Quantum Assurance International, and Zack Gould, the Managing director at G&N Insurance. They pay tribute to the CEO and founder of Zappos, Tony Hseih, and share how Tony made an impact on them and left a legacy. Episode Highlights: Katlyn introduces Jeff Shi and Zack Gould. (1:43) Zack shares that he started G&N from scratch with Matt in 2010, and they both spent a couple of years at Liberty Mutual. (2:37) Zack mentions that they ran the company for 10 years and recently exited the company and sold it to another insurance agency, but currently run the agency. (2:47) Jeff mentions that he’s a huge fan of Tony Hsieh’s books and a lot of agents from his captive career came to him because he has built a different model of scaling. (3:43) Jeff shares that Tony makes other people's dreams come true and has done it twice. (5:01) Zack thinks that a lot of entrepreneurs who started ha

In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Jennifer Carroll, the CEO of Veruna. Jennifer talks about how Veruna’s platform has changed the agency management system and how they became the world's number one customer relationship management system. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Jennifer Carroll. (1:08) Jennifer shares that fear is fun, strong, and temporary. If you want to change to exist in the long term, you need to get motivated for a positive long-term change for something you want. (7:36) Jennifer mentions that she didn’t start off in the insurance industry, she’s a licensed attorney and has been working with tech startups for the last 10 years. (9:41) Jennifer shares that you can't be tone-deaf, you must understand and be where your customers are, to understand their business needs to continue and grow in the right direction. (10:31) Jennifer mentions that her undergraduate degrees were in biology and chemistry, then she went to law school. (11:22) Jennifer

In this episode of Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Roger Sitkins, the CEO of Sitkins Group, Inc. Roger talks about the coaching and training programs that they provide to independent insurance agencies and discusses how your clarity, consistency and commitment can determine your level of success.   Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Roger Sitkins. (1:06) Roger mentions that he made an early career decision and chose his parent’s insurance agency. (9:58) Roger shares that through the years, he learned a lot from his parents and eventually worked in the business. But unfortunately, during his senior year of high school, his father became a quadriplegic due to a doctor’s malpractice, and their life changed dramatically. (10:14 Roger shares that the first program they developed was a weekend sales and marketing Bootcamp, then they created the first producer training camp, the sales managers camp, and the CEO camp. (11:28) Roger mentions that the GAP for GAP stands for, Goals And Pla

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In this episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Tena Hoyt, the Owner of Geary & Hoyt CPA’s PC. Tena talks about the impact of recent tax changes, the significance of giving financial reports to your clients, and shares her knowledge and expertise in the accounting industry. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Tena Hoyt. (4:12) Tena mentions that when her father’s former accountant offered her a new job, she left her father’s restaurant for the accounting firm, as a staff accountant. (8:41) Tena shares that their niches were insurance agencies, grocery stores, and retail. However, the insurance agency somewhat developed with the client base that they have and they have seen what’s essential along the way, that they could potentially provide. (11:04) Tena thinks that it’s significant for the client to get reports that are meaningful to you, particularly with the trust fund. (15:14) Tena shares that when it comes to automation, getting information from the client has allowed th

In this episode of the Age of Indiependence podcast, host Katlyn Eggar interviews Brandon Smith, the Managing Partner at Glidewell Investments & Insurance Group. Brandon talks about how to build better relationships with clients, his goals, and the benefits of the Producer Development Program. Episode Highlights: Katlyn introduces Brandon Smith. (1:09) Brandon shares that their agency started as an independent life insurance agency 40 years ago and he’s been in the insurance industry for 17 years. (3:59) Brandon shares that he used his background in communications and marketing to help him grow his knowledge in the industry. (5:32) Brandon mentions that he’s responsible for the profitability of the agency, the systems, and strategies and the marketing and high-level thinking. (5:58) Brandon shares that since COVID, they’ve found different ways of doing business, they have shifted their business model to working remotely, and 50% of their employees will not be working in the office permanently. (7:16

In this episode of Agency Intelligence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Carlos Vargas, the Founder and President of Vargas & Vargas Insurance. Carlos talks about his career in the insurance business and how video and social media have helped grow his agency. Episode Highlights: Jason introduces Carlos Vargas. (1:11) Carlos thinks that winning and losing are significant because we all learn from losing. He loves to win, but he will not learn his lesson, without losing. (4:50) Carlos shares that he was trained in the life insurance industry, by his parent’s insurance agent, and the old process of the life insurance industry made him learn about prospecting when you're in people's homes. (7:18) Carlos shares that as salespeople, they go into the conversation or the battle with our hand out. But nowadays, we receive it through social media. (10:58) Carlos mentions that the power of social media is unbelievable, and he has a personal VA that’s been working on his social media. (14:22) Carlos shares