The Insura-Preneur Podcast

Michael Jans – Co-founder of Agency Revolution

Insurance Marketing Today: What's working (and what's not)

Michael Jans turned the tables. This time, he let YOU - the audience - choose the questions. He gives his most poignant answers. (With a few surprises.)

Do NOT miss this podcast if you want to hear what Michael’s answers are to any of these questions:

1. What is the ONE place I should invest my resources for rapid organic growth?
2. Do commercial lines producers really need to ‘do digital marketing’ if they’re already constantly in touch with their clients?
3. Should the Independent Agency Channel give up on Personal Lines? (Do not miss Michael’s response to this important question.)
4. My CSR’s keep telling me that prospects just want the cheapest price. What should I do?
5. What are the ‘4 Kinds of Money’ in insurance. (This question comes from a broker who saw Michael’s recent keynote at an industry conference.)
6. Maybe I’m old school, but I just don’t ‘get’ digital. Should I throw in the towel?

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster? Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Seth Greene – Lead Generation & Marketing Expert

Renowned marketing expert shares 5 questions you must answer to effectively market to your audience

World class marketer Seth Greene is the only person to be nominated 3 times for the GKIC Dan Kennedy Marketer of the Year award. He's also the author of 7 best selling marketing books, and co-host of the SharkPreneur Podcast, alongside regular Shark Tank judge, Kevin Harrington. Seth has also been written about in Registered Rep Magazine, Insurance News Net, Horses Mouth, and is a regular contributor to Life Health Pro, and Think Advisor. He has also been featured in Inc Magazine, CBS MoneyWatch, CBS News, LA Times, The Boston Globe, The Miami Herald, and more. This episode Michael and Seth talk about marketing, marketing, and marketing. Discover exactly how you should be finding, defining, and reaching out to your audience using reliable processes and techniques, and learn about an unusual new marketing technology that generates leads based on specific locations.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster? Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Brett Pierce – Digital Marketing & Social Media Manager at Travelers

Major carrier's digital marketing expert delivers a masterclass in best practices for independent agents & brokers

Get ready to pay close attention as Brett Pierce delivers advice every insurance agent & broker would be wise to implement. This discussion is packed with tips, suggestions and best practices that can be applied to any agency quickly, and get results right away. From how to improve your website so it attracts more traffic and gets more conversions, to what you should be doing on social media platforms and which ones you should be focusing your attention on, and even the right way to build and influence feedback on major review platforms like google and yelp. Get ready to listen to this discussion twice, you don't want to miss a detail!

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster? Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Dave Christensen - Chief Product & Technology Officer at FMG Suite

What if prospects thanked you for your marketing?

The old ways of marketing are dying out, because in today's world where something interesting exists around every corner, consumer expectations have changed drastically. That's why Dave Christensen (and Agency Revolution) believe so strongly in marketing that constantly delivers valuable content to the audience you want. Together Dave Christensen and Michael Jans discuss what makes really great content marketing, and how it really is the most respectful way to advertise. They also discuss the fact that not everyone running an agency or brokerage is equipped to write blog posts, create interesting graphics, or videos – and how Attract^TM, the powerful suite of tools he created with Agency Revolution, will help insurance agents & brokers overcome the barriers of content creation and distribution.

Learn more about Attract^TM here

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Larry Morrison - President of the Business Transition Network

Leading Merger & Acquisition expert in the insurance industry shares how agencies thinking about perpetuation can put their best foot forward

Larry Morrison is the insurance industry's leading expert on Mergers & Acquisitions, Succession Planning, and Business Valuation. He carries with him 40 years of experience (25 years focusing on insurance), and more degrees and accreditation than we could possibly list here. Larry is even one of the few people in our industry accredited (twice over!) to appraise the work of other appraisers! In this information-overload of a discussion, Michael Jans and Larry Morrison dive into the nitty-gritty details about selling, merging, or acquiring an insurance agency, including the forces driving the heated M&A environment our industry currently occupies, and provides excellent advice for agencies looking at internal perpetuation. Get your pen and paper out and be prepared to listen to this one twice! You don't want to miss a single detail.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Bill Wilson - Founder of InsuranceCommentary.com

Insurance education advocate shares how agents can do more for themselves, and their customers

Bill Wilson is a walking knowledge-base of everything insurance. Formerly the Associate Vice President of Education & Research at The Big I National, as well as the Founder & Director of the Big I's Virtual University, Bill is now the Founder and CEO of InsuranceCommentary.com, and is the recent recipient of the Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award - The Big I's highest honor for non-agents. Bill Wilson has been published by nearly every major industry publication, and has been a featured speaker at so many industry events, it's more likely you've been a part of his audience. In this discussion Bill and Michael discuss the disruption in the industry caused by outside start-ups and why many of them are just a novelty, and the importance of insurance education among industry professionals, and what insurance agents & brokers can do to better educate themselves - and their customers.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

John Nemo - Keynote Speaker, Best-selling Author, LinkedIn Guru

LinkedIn expert delivers great advice on creating a profile that will generate leads

John Nemo is not an insurance guy - he's a lead generation expert. And what he has to tell you about using LinkedIn will transform the way you write your profile, and it will change the way you reach out to potential new connections. In this discussion John shares why 99% of all LinkedIn profiles are written all wrong - and exactly how to shape a profile that will have leads excited to talk to you. Not only that, John shares must-use advice for how to turn those leads into real connections, and a few tricks on how to leverage LinkedIn's search to becoming the Google of professional leads.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

 

 

Dan King - Former Director of Agency Development at Travelers Insurance

Travelers Insurance Veteran Shares Secrets to Long Term Profitability

Dan King worked at Travelers Insurance for over 40 years as everything from Underwriter, and Agency Manager, to Regional Vice President of Personal Lines and ultimately Director of Agency Development. Throughout his career Dan has helped independent agents find long term growth and profitability by focusing on business planning, job design, mergers & acquisitions, perpetuation planning, and staff compensation plans. You've likely seen his byline in trade magazines or even seen him speak at events across the country to a room full of agents like you. In this discussion, Dan and Michael talk about compensating for long term profitablity, the distinction between customer services and customer experience, best practices in hiring, and critical analytics to track.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Rosalie Donlon - Managing Editor at National Underwriter, Property & Casualty, PropertyCasualty360.com

Insurance Journalist Shares Detailed Survey Data About Industry

Rosalie Donlon is the Managing Editor at National Underwriter, Property & Casualty, and PropertyCasualty360.com. She has more than 20 years of professional publishing experience as a writer, editor and content acquisition strategist. Before joining ALM Media LLC in-house, Rosalie was the contributing author and editor of several insurance industry and legal publications, including Employment Practices Liability, Guide to Captives and Alternative Risk Financing, and 2015 Retirement Plans Facts. In this discussion Rosalie comes armed with data from a survey conducted in partnership with PIA National, National Underwriter, and NMG Consulting, about how agents & brokers are feeling and responding to trends and issues in the industry such as dealing with succession and perpetuation, growth plans, reduced commissions, relationships with carriers, the aging of the industry, and more.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.

Jim Schubert - President & CEO at Southern States Insurance, Inc

2^nd generation owner shares how he grew the agency by leveraging modern tools & tactics

Like a lot of insurance agency or brokerage owners today, Jim Schubert was pulled into the family business through the circumstances of life - and during his time there he has helped Southern States Insurance grow into one of the largest independent insurance agencies in the Southeast United States. So how do his agencies emails achieve over a 50% open rate? How did he receive almost 450 referrals in one year? How did he develop a blog that generates leads? Listen to this fantastic discussion and discover how Jim Schubert is taking old-school tactics and making them new again.

What are other agents & brokers doing to thrive? What are the biggest trends affecting the retail insurance agent & broker? What are the most important strategies and tactics you need to grow faster?  Find out here in the Connected Insurance Podcast, where Michael Jans discusses the biggest issues affecting the independent insurance agent and broker with the industries leading figures.