The Insura-Preneur Podcast

Barry Rabkin - President of Market Insight Group

Veteran Insurance Analyst Shares How Technology is Changing How the Industry Attracts and Retains Customers

Barry Rabkin’s forty plus-year insurance career has been driven by curiosity and passion to analyze the “why and what” about technology’s potential impact on insurance commerce, markets, customers, and channels. Rabkin worked for insurers for 17 years mostly in marketing and market research departments across all major lines of business; consulted to insurers for 8 years while employed with Arthur D. Little, IBM, and BearingPoint; and led insurance strategy analyst practices at technology analyst firms in the US (IDC, Meta Group) and UK (Ovum). His areas of analysis include customer experience, marketing and distribution, channel management, mobility, geospatial, and the Internet of Things. Rabkin has delivered presentations to insurance audiences across the globe (including London, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Stockholm, and Zurich) concerning the role technology could play in the industry to get and keep 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.

Tony Cañas - Co-Founder of insnerds.com, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and Middle Market Underwriter

Insurance industry's 'Voice of Millennials' shares what insurance must do to capture the hearts of this crucial generation

Tony Cañas is a young insurance nerd, blogger, and speaker. Tony has been a leading voice in the industry's effort to recruit and retain millennials in insurance - helping the industry understand how to engage this demographic that will soon make up more than 50% of the workforce. In this eye-opening discussion with Michael Jans, Tony Cañas shares a 5 step plan for the industry to attract this crucial generation - and keep them engaged. Get a pen and paper ready - you're going to want to take notes!

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 Allen - Assistant Director of Social Enablement at The Hartford

Social Selling Expert Delivers 3 Step Plan to Generate Leads from Social Media

Brett Allen enables insurance agents & brokers to connect with their marketplace using authentic content and proven engagement tactics built upon social psychological compliance principles and strengthened by years of real-world experience. For over a decade Brett has been helping small businesses and marketing specialists expand their online reach, increase credibility, stay in front of their marketplace, and convert social traffic into warm-market leads. In this discussion Brett shares a 3 step process to leverage social media to produce leads, practical tips for generating traffic through LinkedIn and Facebook, and valuable insight on blogging and content creation to drive your marketplace to you.

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.

Lucas Jans - Vice President of Product & Co-Founder of Agency Revolution

Insurance technology mastermind reveals how agents & brokers can use email better than any other industry

How do you write automated messages your customers want to receive? What are technologies do agents & brokers need to pay attention to today? With everything that's been changing - what has stayed the same? Discover these answers and more in surprising and informative discussion with Lucas Jans, Vice President of Product & Co-Founder of Agency Revolution. In 1999 Lucas created ZipDrip, the first automated email system for insurance agencies & brokerages, he later went on to build The Quantum Navigator, the first social media network for agents & brokers and has been at the center of developing some of the most important technolgies in our industry. Don't miss this discussion.

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.

Chuck Blondino - Director of Agency Capabilities and Programs at Safeco Insurance

Cutting-edge Safeco research reveals how top agencies achieved 86% growth

Take notes. Chuck Blondino joins the podcast for a can't-miss episode armed with hard data about what the fastest growing agencies working with Safeco are doing to rise to the top of the marketplace. Chuck has been at Safeco Insurance for 23 years, as a commercial underwriter, underwriting manager, assistant director of commercial sales, region manager, marketing director, and now as director of agency capabilities and programs. Throughout Chuck’s career the one constant has been helping independent agents grow. Chuck’s team at Safeco today includes the Bricks and Clicks team, the Customers For Life team, and Safeco’s Marketing Solutions Center. Chuck believes independent agents can take back market share and grow in personal lines business just as they do in the commercial market.

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.

Michael Jans - Insurance Marketing Guru, Founder of Agency Revolution

Michael Jans discusses the stark choices old-school insurance agents face in today's marketplace

We're joined by Rick Fox so we can once again turn the tables on Michael Jans and put him in the hotseat! Together they discuss what Michael has learned and observed from interviewing the top minds in the independent insurance channel. Discover the risks Michael Jans thinks insurance agents & brokers are opening themselves up to if they rely on what worked 10 years ago, and the mindset that today's thriving agents & brokers use to make their customers love them.

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.

Jeremiah Desmarais - Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker, Insurance Marketing Authority

Insurance marketing mastermind shares how successful agents find ROI.

Jeremiah D. Desmarais is a 23-time award-winning financial marketer, TED Speaker and philanthropist that has been featured on Forbes, CNN, and Worth. His work has generated over two million insurance leads and helped advisors in over 51 countries generate over $300M in sales commissions. Labeled “One the greatest marketing minds in the financial industry”, he’s a sought after speaker, coach and private mentor to advisors, carriers and marketing organizations. He was key in building one of the top 17 fastest growing insurance software companies in the country on the Inc 500 List in less than three years – hitting a record 1503% growth. He then turned around the marketing systems at a multinational insurance automation firm to increase sales by $26M in only 9 months – effectively tripling sales prospects within 60 days. The firm went to be sold for $1.2B a short time thereafter. His #1 best-selling book, SHIFT: 201 Instant-Action Proven Marketing Strategies to Sell More Insurance and Financial Products Now is available on Amazon

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.

Randy Schwantz - Author of 'The Wedge'

Commercial Insurance Sales Guru Delivers Step-By-Step Advice To Build Sales Systems

Author of the classic insurance agency sales book, 'The Wedge', Randy Schwantz has a deep and detailed discussion with Michael about how to build really great systems to make your insurance agency or brokerage as effective as possible. Learn all about how to map a conversation to always be prepared, provide value and close sales - get details on a hiring process guaranteed bring the right producer into your agency or brokerage.

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.

Ryan Fleming - Vice President of JGS Insurance

Fast-growth insurance agency VP delivers practical details to generate new customers.

For the third year in a row JGS insuance has been named an 'Elite Agency' by IBA. In this discussion Ryan Fleming shares how to take yourself from being an agent or broker to a 'trusted advisor' and digs into the nitty-gritty details about how to be transparent while leveraging your knowledge to generate more customers for you insurance agency or brokerage.

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 Hartnett - President of Hartnett Advisors

Microsoft's Godfather of insurance services shares valuable insight about why independent agents aren't going anywhere

Bill Hartnett was an Agency Princiapl and PIA Rhode Island board member, but while on the Board of Directors at ACORD in 1994 he met with some people from Microsoft that wanted to understand the insurance industry better. He told them "If you ever get serious about this, why don't you give me a call? Maybe I'll come help you." They took him up on that offer and for 18 years Bill Hartnett was 'Mr. Insurance' at Microsoft before returning to ACORD as the Head of Innovation. Now Bill is the President of Hartnett Advisors, where he provides strategic advice on the transformational power of technology in business. Bill and Michael have an absolutely fascinating discussion covering everything from what it was like working with Bill Gates to why he believes the independent insurance channel isn't going anywhere, and the role technology can play in helping independent agents & brokers thrive in a world of direct insurance sales.

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.