Agency Nation Radio - Insurance Marketing, Sales And Technology

You might not want to realize it, but the bar is set pretty low. When the simple act of filming a video is the best case scenario for incremental change, it's time to pay attention. Those were the expectations of OIA's IACON 17 Keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan, before he addressed a room of 300 plus insurance agents. He has more and can deliver more, but you're not ready for it. It's up to you to stop telling and start showing, the people you want to do business with, exactly what you do. You do that by delivering value from the first second someone has the possibility to know who you are, regardless if you're there to know it or not. It's that on-demand value that helps raise the bar and starts to change how much people from outside our industry are able to give us.

If not, then you're making your insurance life much harder than it needs to be. They crazy part is how many agents want to feel the pain with you. When you target a niche online, it dramatically improves your ability to see who you're looking for. You're also going to allow your agency to easily stand tall over everyone else chasing that business. If you can make their life easier and deliver value when it's most convenient form them, you're probably already tickling their fancy. Those are the moments most agents refused to catch and the ones that waiting for you. That's what I talk about with Ryan Sautman, of Just4You Insurance, as he tries to figure out where to be found. P.S. Don't forget, you can always subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive content every Thursday(ish) here.

It's a new day for Agency Nation. If you liked what you saw before you should love what's next. If you want more insurance related content to help your agency get where you want to go, then we need more people creating it. On today's episode, I join my long-time secret friend Ryan Hanley to discuss why he wanted to me come over to "the dark side" and help him create it. We lay out the new plan for Agency Nation as a platform in all three major mediums of audio, video and written content.  Our goal is to make sure you never run out of ways to learn how to increase the relevancy of your agency.  Also, to avoid being overly self-indulgent, we sneak in a quick conversation about the importance of delivering value whenever you can, regardless of when you "should." I'm excited to be part of this new team and can't wait for you experience first hand what the new Agency Nation will be able to deliver. 

Creating technology to improves efficiency in form submission is NOT a sexy business. But in terms of improving the effectiveness of independent agencies, there are few processes which eat up more staff time and resources. This is the first episode in a new series focused on highlighting insurtech companies supporting the independent agencies. Learn more about Broker Buddha here: https://www.brokerbuddha.com/ Get your ticket to Elevate Conference 2018: https://www.elevateconference.com/  

In this episode we break down some of Lemonade's recent press announcements and their overall impact on the insurance industry. What can we learn from Lemonade's exceptional ability to generate buzz around their brand? Buckle up, Marty is back on Agency Nation Radio and he's got Ryan all fired up.

Rejection is a way of life for sales professionals. But for many just starting out, it can be a major barrier to success. In this episode, we answer a question from the Amy, a new insurance producer struggling with rejection and try to get her back on track.

The digital marketplace has changed a lot about how the insurance industry operates. The sales process is no different. In this episode (taken from The Show), Ryan Hanley breaks down why the linear sales funnel is dead and why we MUST embrace the non-linear sales funnel if we're going to succeed long-term.

InsureTech Connect 2017 is the largest insurance technology conference in the country with more than 3,800 insurance professionals attending... In this episode, Ryan Hanley breaks down the conference and shares his 3 major ideas coming out of the conference and how these ideas will impact the next 3 years of insurance business.

What to build relationships and drive new business opportunities? Then LinkedIn is the social network for you... In this episode of The Show, Ryan Hanley breaks down 9 LinkedIn marketing tactics, (actually 12 marketing tactics) that drive deeper relationships with your target marketing. Get more of The Show here.

In a special guest appearance, State Auto Insurance CEO, Mike LaRocco, joins Agency Nation for a candid conversation on insurance innovation. Here are a few of the topics we discuss: Overcoming legacy technology Addressing middle market commercial online Creating a culture of innovation ...and so much more. Get more of Agency Nation Radio here.

Greg Rollett defines "Brand" as simply, "Your Story," and according to Greg, there is no better way to tell your story than video. In this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we're joined by Emmy winning producer, Greg Rollett for a deep dive into the importance of video and video marketing in establishing a strong brand in the marketplace. In a world where attention wins, "Constancy and Consistency" are the keys to attracting attention. Get more Agency Nation Radio here.

Billy R. Williams, Ph.D., is the President of Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring, an insurance agent and small business owner mentoring company that mentors 1000's of insurance agencies and small businesses annually on the best tools, processes, and workflows to grow their enterprise. Dr. Williams is an expert at helping insurance agents and agencies double or triple their current production while cutting their marketing budget by up to 40%. This is an incredible interview, with insight stacked upon insight. Seriously, it took me 30 minutes to figure what to call this episode because there is so much in here... Click here to get more Agency Nation Radio.

There are few skills more valuable to an insurance business than the ability to sell. In episode seven of The Show, we examine the one skill undeniably more valuable to insurance professionals over next five years than sales: the ability to attract attention online. Get more of The Show here: https://www.agencynation.com/theshow/

Karn Saroya, co-founder and CEO of Cover, joins Agency Nation for a discussion on what it means to be a technology company first and insurance agency second. Cover, a standout product of Silicon Valley incubator, Y-Combinator, is driving growth through their mobile-first approach to traditional insurance.  Cover may be mobile-first, but all measures, a true independent insurance agency and great lesson for all of us to learn just what the customer experience has become in 2017... Get more Agency Nation Radio here: https://www.agencynation.com/podcast

At Agency Nation, we live by one mantra, "Give without expectation of reciprocation." In this episode of Agency Nation Radio, we explain how our mission benefits you, the audience of Agency Nation. Ryan also provides an inside look at the future of Agency Nation and the role it plays in adding value to lives of insurance professionals. Get your ticket to Elevate 2018 here: https://www.elevateconference.com/

Few insurance carriers lean into customer experience like Plymouth Rock. That's why we asked Bill Martin, CEO of their Bunker Hill Insurance brand to stop by Agency Nation Radio. Plymouth Rock recently announced a new homeowners insurance product in Pennslyvania, (soon to be released in New York as well), which fixes the current "broken" home quoting and binding process. They've focused this process on customer needs first and their own process needs second in an effort to improve the overall customer experience.  Get more of Agency Nation Radio.

Jay Weintraub, founder and CEO of InsureTech Connect, joins Agency Nation Radio for a discussion about the pulse of insurance technology and independent agents place in the modern marketplace. As the insurtech movement pushes into the forefront of almost every conversation in the insurance industry, there is no one better than Jay Weintraub to breakdown what's going on today. Get more from Agency Nation Radio.

In an epic discussion about what it takes to run an independent insurance agency, agency owner Seth Zaremba of Zinc Insurance joins Agency Nation Radio to share his experience.

Jason Cass joins Agency Nation Radio for a conversation on the last seven years of insurance marketing and thought-leadership. Running his own independent insurance agency and GROW Program has given Cass a unique perspective on the insurance industry. He shares that perspective and more on this week's episode of Agency Nation Radio.

Tyler Asher, president of Safeco Insurance, joins Agency Nation Radio to explain the four big bets Safeco is making on the future of insurance.