Agency Freedom

In this episode, James talks with Dane Williams, Insurance Advisor at Shoemaker Insurance Solutions.To learn more about Shoemaker Insurance Solutions, visit https://www.shoemakerins.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Dane shares his background and how he got into the insurance profession. (2:32) Dane mentions that Shoemaker Insurance has three divisions: commercial, personal lines, and group benefits which are part of the financial planning firm, which has been around for 35-40 years. (4:52) Dane explains that their financial planning clients make up about 35% of their personal lines book. (6:55) Dane shares what he learned when faced with managing a very large account. (15:35) Dane talks about their growth path and how Shoemaker Insurance has continued to learn and adapt to new areas of opportunity. (20:08) Dane explains the steps that are taken if Shoemaker Insurance has a producer that is not very competent. (23:37) Dane discusses how his local podcast got started and what inspired him to launch Key Exchanges in the 901. (28:19) Dane shares the process of having introspective moments while launching his podcast. (32:49) Dane considers insurance as the vehicle via which he is able to interact with, be around, be involved with, and love people well. (45:14) Key Quotes: “It's been unique to see that that's been kind of our organization's path and how we've consistently found this is new problem, a new struggle for us to try to overcome. Let's see how we do it. And it's going well, I'm excited about the growth .” - Dane Williams “I'm grateful to get to consume it all, let alone be a part and be friends with so many of you guys, because I know I am a drastically better insurance agent because of time spent with a lot of you guys even though you don't realize you were spending time with me.” - Dane Williams “I love people and insurance is the vehicle that allows me to interact and be around and be involved and love people well.” - Dane Williams

In this episode, James talks with Meg McKeen, Founder of Adjunct Advisors.To learn more about Adjunct Advisors, visit https://www.adjunctadvisors.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Meg discusses the importance of personal development and self-exploration, which led her to build a successful consulting career and helped her to create opportunities for others. (4:21) Meg shares how she struggled with being out of alignment in her traditional insurance job and how taking a year off to reevaluate and realign with her values led her to entrepreneurship. (8:05) Meg mentions the importance of energy alignment and cultural fit in hiring and leveraging existing strengths to attract and retain employees. (17:21) Meg discusses the changing nature of leadership in organizations, with a move towards more collaboration and buy-in from team members, driven by a younger generation of employees who grew up in a more collaborative environment. (22:14) Meg explains the need to support and empower women in sales who are seeking more challenge, opportunity, and money, rather than assuming they are content in administrative service roles. (27:42) Meg mentions that curiosity and humility are important in achieving progress toward a larger goal. (31:21) Meg discusses her experience as an entrepreneur and emphasizes the importance of perseverance and adaptability in overcoming challenges. (35:40) Key Quotes: “One of the things I've learned along the way is that we spend a lot of time and energy trying to be what we're not. And when we really sit with and honor who we are, that's when the magic happens.” - Meg McKeen “I believe one of the greatest missed opportunities in our business is the relationship that we have with ourselves, and really the deep understanding of who we are and what we stand for. And how we want to show up in this business is something that we are not taught as professionals.” - Meg McKeen “There are women who are craving more, more challenge, more opportunity, more money, but aren't being presented with the opportunities to get there and I think that's where we really get hung up. There are definitely plenty of people that are happy with the role that they have and don't aspire for other things. But I think we need to focus on the ones who are on the move." - Meg McKeen

In this episode, James talks with J.C. Wogomon, Owner and Founder of Catalyst Insurance Group.To learn more about Catalyst Insurance Group, visit https://www.catalystinsgrp.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: James shares how he and J.C. Wogomon met in Phoenix in April 2021. (2:03) J.C. explains that when he originally considered creating Catalyst Insurance Group, he had approximately a six-month runway, so the first thing he did was jump on as many podcasts as he could find. (3:00) J.C. discusses his beginnings and how he got into the insurance industry. (5:00) J.C. believes that the first two years of his insurance job were a learning process, but he is now confident in his ability to deliver. (14:56) J.C. discusses the most important lessons he learned as a captive agent. (21:39) James believes that there is a significant difference between being a professional salesman and being a hustler and higher-value prospects can detect when you are operating at a different level than your colleagues. (27:19) J.C. explains that the word Catalyst is derived from the idea of a condition, event, or person that has resulted in a significant change. (29:40) J.C. mentions that when he launched his agency, he had no perspective and that he would go into things without any preconceived ideas of how things should be other than what he learned on a podcast. (36:55) J.C. explains that their website is more than simply a digital brochure that visitors may peruse, it's truly an asset and tool in their agency that they utilize every day. (47:13) Key Quotes: “When I opened my agency, I had no perspective. And that was a blessing and a curse, right? I would go into things with no preconceived ideas of how it should be. Other than what I listened to on the podcast, that's how I've been able to build my agency the way that I built it, is learning from others.” - J.C. Wogomon “I would think in the way insurance is delivered to the customer has been probably the most dynamic eight-year gap in the history of our industry as far as the evolution of technology.” - J.C. Wogomon “I use our website, it's not just a digital brochure that people can go look at, it's literally an asset and tool in our agency that we use on a daily basis. We have so many internal forms hosted on our website that are internal facing for us to use so that we can input the information so that it'll digitally zap over to the other platforms that we're using.” - J.C. Wogomon

In Part 2 of this two-part episode, James talks with Aaron Farmer, Principal of Top Dog Pet Health Insurance, and President of California Flood Insurance.To learn more about California Flood Insurance, visit https://californiafloodinsurance.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Aaron discusses how his agency initially planned to get homeowners insurance and how they ended up with a private flood program. (4:09) Aaron explains what a syndicate is and how Lloyds works. (10:45) James mentions that one of these days he'll find someone high up at Lloyds willing to go on a podcast episode. (13:07) Aaron explains that the broker's duty is to constantly run around to all the syndicates and have individuals lined up ready to drop their line down to add aggregate. (18:29) Aaron explains how he came up with the concept for Top Dog Pet Insurance and how he got Bradley Flower’s attention. (26:26) Aaron mentions that, for the agents, Top Dog Pet Insurance is simple, timely, the commission is good and they are not connected to any other carrier. (28:57) Aaron shares that Top Dog Pet Insurance provides clients with a unique URL that they can place on their website, in a marketing campaign, and in a welcome package, and the customer can quote and bind themselves while the agent is still paid a commission. (30:22) Aaron explains that the service on the pet insurance is fantastic because there is a vet chat available 24/7 or they can phone in. (31:29) Aaron shares that in the first two weeks, they had well over 100 individuals sign up. (33:27) Aaron mentions that he is looking for someone who writes a large policy out of pet insurance. (36:48) Aaron expresses his willingness to assist anyone in the business, young or old, who may need advice. (39:16) Key Quotes: “The service on this pet thing is tremendous. So, agents can feel very confident that if their customer calls in and needs help, their customer is going to be, ‘Wow, this was fantastic’. Because there's a 24/7 vet chat, or they can call in. And the agent doesn't have to do any service.” - Aaron Farmer “I got a lot of help through the last 24 years of being an agent…there's people always willing, that gave to me, that didn't have to, and I want to feel that I can give. This isn't about you know, selling anything. If I can give any advice, please just reach out. I'd be you know, I'd be honored to help anyone… young or old in the business.” - Aaron Farmer

In Part 1 of this two-part episode, James talks with Aaron Farmer, Principal of Top Dog Pet Health Insurance, and President of California Flood Insurance.To learn more about California Flood Insurance, visit https://californiafloodinsurance.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Aaron discusses how he got his start in the insurance industry and shares that he has a soft spot in his heart for farmers. (5:10) James discusses the benefits of an independent agency vs a captive agency. (8:08) Aaron shares that he had a bit of an advantage that most people don't have, and that is that he had gotten into the private flood game and used private flood to write homeowners. (13:56) Aaron believes that most agents nowadays are unconcerned about losses or the failure of a company. (21:18) Aaron explains why it is important for any agent, particularly younger agents, to consider becoming a business owner after they have chosen to stop working as an insurance agent. (25:12) Aaron mentions that one advantage of his farmer's contract was that he could put business outside of farmers if it didn't fit. (32:16) Aaron shares that he just re-entered the contracting market with a live company that does some very fascinating InsurTech-type things with life. (38:16) Aaron explains that life insurance has many challenging issues, but there are many resources and you can bring in experts, if needed. (42:54) Aaron discusses several technologically advanced and inventive projects he's working with. (43:42) Key Quotes:  “I believe you can be successful. It doesn't matter, independent, captive, there are successful people everywhere.” - Aaron Farmer  “I feel like it's our duty as agents, we should be talking to people about life insurance, it's important.” - Aaron Farmer “There are a lot of complex issues that could be solved with life insurance, but someone just needs to tell them. And someone needs to hold their hand. And there are a lot of resources. So you don't even have to be 100% expert, you can just bring the experts in, right?” - Aaron Farmer

In this episode, James talks with John Loeber, and Shea McNamara from Limit.To learn more about Limit, visit https://www.limit.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: John explains that Limit is a digital wholesale insurance brokerage that innovates to bring retail brokers and independent agents insurance coverage quicker, smarter, and cheaper. (3:02) Shea mentions that their team is made up of proper tech masters from the big tech shops of the world who know how to code, develop, and build, and also world-class insurance professionals who have been in the industry for 15 to 20 years. (4:24) Shea discusses the responsibilities and backgrounds of each Limit co-founder, and how they came up with the idea for Limit. (7:38) Shea explains how Limit differs from other companies and why they emphasize agent empowerment. (15:57) Shea explains what the Limit Platform is and how it saves agents time. (18:22) John mentions that Limit can compete on commission and that technology allows them to automate a large portion of the type of behind-the-scenes work (29:30) Shea explains that they are developing an excellent ability to analyze price and market trends by product, company size, industry, and by amount of limit being purchased. (36:17) Shea believes that one of the unique aspects of working on a technical product is that it constantly reminds us that we are still in the early stages of quicker, better, and cheaper insurance transactions. (39:50) Shea shares their thoughts on the possibility that embedded distribution provides the marketplace, and what Limit is going to do to help merchants who want to explore more efficient ways to provide solutions to their clients. (44:00) Key Quotes: “We believe that unfortunately, the agent who's the best at building those relationships, and trust and understanding, they're inundated with compliance and regulation and repetitive rope business processes. And we want them to spend all their time and energy building trust and building relationships and building custom insurance programs to protect businesses across the country.” - Shea McNamara “Agents are our first and foremost, our most important customer. Our second most important customer is our carrier partners. ” - Shea McNamara “One of the special things about getting to work on a kind of technical product is that it always underscores everywhere that these are just like the early days, right? These are the early days of faster, better, cheaper insurance transactions.” - Shea McNamara

In this episode, James talks with Shefi Ben-Hutta, Founder of Coverager.To learn more about Coverager, visit https://coverager.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.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Shefi shares her background story and experience in the insurance industry. (3:32) Shefi discusses her experiences as an insurance professional in Israel. (5:58) Sheffi explains how Israel's insurance industry deals with terrorism and why she migrated to America. (16:26) Shefi mentions that working for a startup company that sold technology software to independent agents brought her to the United States. (20:07) Shefi discusses how she made the choice to leave the carrier side and focus her career on Coverager. (25:16) Shefi shares what led her to start Coverager, an online newsletter and database that creates and curates coverage on the most pressing topics relevant to the insurance industry. (31:54) Shefi mentions that Coverager has a lot of automated technologies, which allows them to be a small team while still being integrated and aware of what everyone is doing. (40:32) Shefi mentions that when individuals start businesses, they need to pay attention to how they grow, who they market to, and how they acquire their audience. (42:29) Shefi explains that InsurTech is a mindset and embedded insurance is a strategy. (46:45) Shefi discusses advocating for the independent agent channel to better use embedded as a distribution category and conduct activities in the embedded space inside an independent agency office. (53:53) Key Quotes: “I found my meaning with Coverager because I find my meaning with being able to influence what people think and what they do. And it really feels like we're at the center of InsurTech. And there's so much innovation around us.” - Shefi Ben-Hutta “You have to do what others are not doing. In insurance, it's pay to play. ” - Shefi Ben-Hutta “It doesn't matter what you do once in a while. It matters what you do every day.” - Shefi Ben-Hutta

In this episode, James talks with Ryan Hanley, the founder of Rogue Risk. Ryan also serves as a senior leader with SIAA.Check out Ryan's passion project, Finding Peak, at www.findingpeak.com.Check out Ryan's agency, Rogue Risk, at www.roguerisk.com.If you're interested in learning more about the SIAA opportunity for you and your agency, email me or message me on FB.Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Ryan compares what it took to launch a podcast in 2011 to what it takes now. (3:38) Ryan mentions that speaking through the filters of what he has learned in the insurance industry helps him to catch a very wide audience outside of insurance while simultaneously speaking to the insurance industry. (6:15) Ryan discusses what an RSS feed is and how difficult it was to create things that people today take for granted. (8:08) Ryan believes that people's most valuable asset is attention and that what we focus on, determines who we become. (20:35) Ryan explains that the next step up from the unhireable entrepreneur is someone who can operate with an entrepreneurial spirit inside a bigger business, a family of organizations, or a network of partnerships. (29:01) Ryan mentions that one of the most exciting aspects of the insurance industry today is that it is gaining more business owners and fewer agency owners every day. (36:08) Ryan shares that being acquired by SIAA was the single finest business decision he has ever made, and that appointing Michael Blake as his CRO was the second-best business decision he has ever made. (38:45) Ryan mentions that one of the factors that contributed to part of his career success is that he takes little joy in personal success. (45:05) Ryan discusses what made him decide to be affiliated with SIAA. (53:44) Ryan explains why he prefers to think and act as a business owner rather than as an agency owner. (58:10) Key Quotes: “What I did was basically use a talk to a broader audience, but talk through the filters of what I was learning in the insurance industry. And that allowed me to capture a very broad audience beyond just insurance, but also speak to the insurance industry at the same time.” - Ryan Hanley “One of the most exciting things for me about the current state of the insurance industry is that we are adding more and more business owners and less and less agency owners every day.” - Ryan Hanley “You have to have an ego to be the best at something. But at the same time, you can't allow that ego to stop you from being the best because it can be both the superpower and kryptonite at the exact same time.” - Ryan Hanley

In this episode, James talks with Elliot Bassett, host of the Getting Past the Premium podcast. Elliott is also the co-founder of Launch, a sales process management software platform.To learn more about Launch, visit www.getlaunch.ioVisit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Elliot discusses how Ellerbrock-Norris got started, and what prompted them to build out three separate divisions of the company to answer client needs. (3:29) Elliot shares that Ellerbrock-Norris has about 65 team members located across four Nebraska sites and that they are working to get more niche. (6:12) Elliot mentions that Ellerbrock-Norris operates in a highly team-oriented environment, with each team member playing a specific role within the team structure. (10:04) Elliot shares the idea behind Getting Past the Premium podcast and discusses its sales process series. (14:20) Elliot mentions the need to educate customers and prospects since they are unfamiliar with the industry. (21:48) Elliot explains why they created the Launch software platform and how it fills a significant industry need. (26:26) Elliot discusses how Launch can be utilized in the sales process to give clients an objective risk score and show them visually their deficiencies so that you can easily build out a client plan. (29:12) Elliot shares that people can learn more about the Launch platform at getlaunch.io. (31:23) Elliot explains that soft markets may hide a lot of faults in agencies, but hard markets require you to show value since you can't control the insurance price. (38:52) Elliot discusses ownership and obligation in carrying on a family-owned company legacy. (45:55) Key Quotes: “Launch digitizes that entire process that we've been talking about, the sales process series that you discussed and it's taking that assessment-based model, putting it into a software system that makes it super easy to walk through, it gives you an objective risk score. So when you go through that assessment with your client, you're asking all these questions, and they're actually going to get a score on a scale from zero to 1000.” - Elliott Bassett “Soft markets can hide a lot of deficiencies when it comes to agencies because you know, it can be easy, the clients are saving money or they're not spending any more money and you know, that can be easy to hide behind. Hard markets are much different, you have to be showing value, because you can't control what that insurance price is going to do. So the client has to be able to see value in your relationship.” - Elliott Bassett “The worst thing you can do is bring a prospect on as a client that doesn't align with your process, your relationship, your value prop, because you're gonna be upside down that client from day one.” - Elliott Bassett

In this episode, James talks with a commercial insurance expert and the host of the Millionaire Insurance Producer podcast, Charles Specht.To hear more from Charles, visit his show at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/millionaire-insurance-producer/id1567947856Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.comConnect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedomEmail us at podcast@agencyfreedom.com with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe.Episode Highlights: Charles shares that he coaches insurance agents and works with insurance businesses and that he enjoys the opportunity to help people. (3:30) Charles believes that around 50% of the businesses who engage him do not want to leave their agent and make it plain that they do not want to transfer agents; they only want to ensure that they are getting the best deal. (6:16) Charles discusses the two most important things an incumbent can do to save their seat and go in the right direction. (9:08) Charles mentions that the majority of his clients hire him on an annual retainer and he works with their agents, but approximately 25% hire him and never have him speak with their agent. (14:47) Charles explains a few things that the competing agent may do to improve his or her chances of getting the incumbent dismissed. (17:12) Charles mentions that his main concern when it comes to the idea of bringing in competing agents in the bid process is not to muddy the water. (22:25) Charles explains that the concept of the final look is one of the reasons he has a consultancy company. (28:13) Charles mentions the importance of having open communication with the insured on how the whole process will operate, what you will accept, and what you will not allow. (31:25) Charles discusses another factor to consider when thinking about how to win business. (39:22) Charles shares why 2023 will be an exciting year for him and his company. (47:25) Key Quotes: “My main focus, when it comes to the renewal of bringing in competing agents in the bid process, is to not muddy the water. And I tell the agents that if any of my markets get a double submission from you, we will take all the markets away from you and give it back to the incumbent.” - Charles Specht “The last thing I'm ever going to allow to happen is an incumbent agent who has no plan and will not represent my account to the wholesale market. It is a different world altogether.” - Charles Specht “The standard markets are good at writing what they want to write, they are terrible at writing things outside of their normal appetite hitlist.” - Charles Specht Resources Mentioned: Charles Specht LinkedIn Millionaire Insurance Producer Podcast