The world changed in the last year and continues to cause frustration and discomfort in many areas. But for some agencies, there is a silver lining: They needed to change. And despite the hardships and challenges of the last year, agencies that have learned from the experience may ultimately...
In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent talks through a vital, yet often under-utilized skill for every leader or professional - being a high-level communicator.
Your influence depends on your communication, so, how are you doing in these three areas?
Brent Kelly:
Welcome to The Agent...
Whether or not you realize it, you are in a competition every day, either as an agency or as an individual producer. You are competing to keep your best accounts and open new relationships with ideal clients. You’ll notice I said, “open new relationships,” not “close...
ARE YOU MISTAKING BUSYNESS FOR ACCOMPLISHMENT?
Mistakes are inevitable. In fact, the only way not to make a mistake is to do nothing (which is also a mistake). But rather than think of mistakes as failures, we should view them as opportunities. The challenge is to learn and grow from them.
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In most independent agencies, producers typically operate in one of two zones. They’re either in a Red Zone or a Green Zone.
As the name suggests, the Green Zone is all about earning more green (a.k.a. money!). Those in this zone participate in activities and execute strategies that create...
Recently, an agency CEO asked a great question, and like most great questions, we couldn’t ignore it: Why do some agencies have three times the national average organic growth rate while others struggle to even come close to being average?
Our knee-jerk response was that they don’t...
Agency consulting and training firm, Sitkins Group, Inc., names Brent M. Kelly as corporate president.
Brent, a Certified Leadership Coach of the Maxwell Team, motivating influencer, and speaker, joined the Sitkins’ Team in August 2017, as a trainer and private client coach. Brent previously...
Recently I noticed a roof leak in the covered porch at my vacation home. Even though I knew the roof was in good shape overall, there was some storm damage that needed to be addressed. There were two ways I could deal with it: (1) I could hope it would go away; or (2) I could deal with it as soon...
The greatest challenge for agency leaders today isn’t technology, tools, or competition - it’s focus. I think speaker and author Darren Hardy said it best: “In a daily barrage of distractions, the one who can focus the most wins.”
Obtaining information isn’t the...
Throughout life, uncertainty is something we all face from time to time. The COVID-19 pandemic is irrefutable proof of this. As I write this, no one is sure when businesses will fully reopen. That has made it extremely challenging, both personally and professionally, to know what to do and how to...
GO SHALLOW AND BE AVERAGE OR GO DEEP AND BE GREAT
My experience with agency owners, producers, and other leaders suggests that most of them want to get to the next level (or at least that’s what they say). We all know, however, saying what you want to do is the easy part; actually...
HOW TO TRANSITION FROM IDEAS TO EXECUTION
When I look at agencies, the reason some sputter or plateau is a performance gap. This is the gap between what we know and what we actually do. If I were to draw it, it would look like two mountains with a valley in the middle. But unlike the valleys...
