By Brent M. Kelly One of the most vital aspects of insurance agency growth is simply knowing what it is you want and then having the focus, consistency, and persistence to go get it. One of my favorite resources that we use with our Sitkins Network members is the 80/20 analysis. I am guessing ...

The term leadership is used every day in business, sports, and in our personal lives. It’s often discussed, but rarely understood. Like many industries, the insurance industry has been influenced by both positive and negative leadership over the years. Today, with the rapid pace of new informati...

AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? I’m sure you’re familiar with the opening line of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times …” I believe this may apply to today’s independent insurance agencies as well. It’s the best of times because agen...

What is the number one job of the offensive coordinator for any football team? To score points. Yes, an offensive coordinator has other responsibilities, which I will discuss, but at the end of the day, the success of the offensive coordinator is based on putting points on the board. Every suc...

Studies have shown that effective leadership and influence, whether it’s with your team, your clients, or your company partners is 87% people knowledge and only 13% product knowledge.  Reflect on that statistic for a minute, almost 90% of our ultimate success is not determined by what we know, b...

An effective process consistently produces the right results Although this topic could apply to most employees, this article is really directed at Producers. One of the biggest problems I see with average producers is their inability—or unwillingness—to focus on the right things. They chase way...

When I got into my vehicle a few weeks ago, a warning light popped up on my dashboard display with the message, "Annual Service 100 Miles Past Due." I ignored it for a few weeks and then received an updated warning: "Annual Service 300 Miles Past Due." That's when I remembered the old saying, ...

In the early days of my Producer Training Camps, we’d have brand new producers— literally just licensed and in the business for only a few months—as well as 30-year-plus veterans who were still committed to improving. I’d always tell the younger producers to pay very close attention to what we we...

Last month’s article was about the Five Profit Zones. Well, after it went to print I had one of my semi-famous BFOs (Blinding Flashes of the Obvious): There is a sixth and very important profit zone—your insurance carriers. I would love to have just 1% of the dollars left on the table each and e...

According to recent studies, fewer than 15% of independent insurance agencies practice effective true sales management. (Perhaps the key word is “effective,” as in “getting results.”) So if sales management is essentially nonexistent in independent agencies, how is it that we have producers with ...