By Brent Kelly

If you are small business owner that is looking at hiring your first employee, have a family member who works for your business, or you are using a subcontractor, you may have asked this question, “Does my business need workers compensation?”

So you started your business out of your home and now you need some part-time help.  Do you need workers compensation insurance?  

Your family member is helping you on the weekends and you are paying them for their help. Do you need workers compensation insurance?

You hired a one-man subcontractor who does not have workers compensation insurance on himself.  Do you need workers compensation insurance?  

The short answer in almost all of these cases is YES.  That answer; however, is a little too simple.

The first idea you need to understand is that workers compensation laws vary by state.  If you live in New York, the workers compensation laws may be much different than what they are...

By Brent Kelly

If you have been in business a long time with multiple employees, chances are you are aware of the experience modification rating factor. However, if you are new in business or just starting to add employees, you may be thinking, “What in the world is this guy talking about?”

The experience modification is simply a factor that insurance companies use to adjust workers compensation premiums based on your loss experience.  There is a very complex formula to determine this factor, but I simply want to explain how it can affect your business.  I have met with many business owners who really do not understand the experience modification rate and how it affects their business and more importantly their profits.

The basis of the experience modification concept is to determine if your workers compensation loss history is above or below average.  If your business has had less claims than other related business, you will receive a credit.  If you...

By Brent Kelly

Do you cold call? Does your boss make you cold call?

If so, I believe you could be wasting valuable time.

Let me ask you some straight forward questions about cold calling.

• Do you get excited to cold call?
• Are cold calls adding value to your prospects?
• Does cold calling leave you frustrated and dejected?
• Do you have days you would rather not show up to the office because you have to cold call?
• Do you have many current customers who have thanked you for cold calling them?

Long time sales professionals and managers will state that cold calling is part of the deal. You put your time in, work through the rejection, and if you make enough calls, you will get some appointments.

The last statement is true. If you make enough calls, you will get some appointments and eventually some sales. YAY!!!

Here is my response.

• How many calls does it take to get one appointment?
• How many people did you piss off in the process?
• How much time have you wasted?
• How much do...

By Brent Kelly

“Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be” – John Wooden

Despite what some people may think, the insurance industry is a highly noble profession. So why do insurance agents come and go? Why do so many new insurance agents fail and experienced agents plateau?

The insurance industry offers amazing career opportunities for those who seize it. This is especially true for insurance agents/producers. I spent 15 years as a property & casualty agent and have had many ups and downs. There were moments of great success and days where I simply wanted to throw in the towel.

The insurance industry needs some new young talent and strong leadership.Unfortunately, young people aren’t flocking to become insurance agents. For those new agents that do take on the challenge of becoming a new insurance agent, many fail. Why?

I think there are three main reasons why insurance agents fail.

1- Expect too much too soon.

Let’s face...

By Brent Kelly

Any person or business can become a dominant force in their field, but you must have guts.

If you want to stand out from crowd and become the point of comparison, you have to think outside the box, be creative, and do things others aren’t willing to do.

Most sales professionals and businesses I know put their blood, sweat, and tears growing their client base, but that usually involves doing the same types of things the competition is doing.  This typically includes attending networking events, direct mail, cold calling, word of mouth, newspaper or radio ads and e-mail newsletters.

All of these things can be effective in growing your business, but I think there are nine ways you can cement yourself as the “true” industry leader and expert.  Let me caution you, these nine ways aren’t easy and they very likely will take you out of your comfort zone, but if you want to dominate you have to take risks and be bold.

At this...

By Brent Kelly

Over 50% of People Now Shop For Insurance Online, Is the Independent Agent Doomed?

A recent article found that over 50% of people looking to obtain auto insurance quotes now go online to shop. This trend will probably continue as insurance buyers are looking for convenience and competitive pricing.  Large companies like Geico, Progressive, and Allstate are spending millions of advertising dollars to get these customers.

Does this mean the local independent agent is doomed? 

Quite the contrary in my opinion. I think this presents one of the greatest opportunities independent agents have had in a long time.  What do I mean?  Let me back up and point out a couple of things relating to that article first.

1) The article stated that 54% of consumers turn to the internet for a quote, but most still purchase through an agent or call center.

2) Customers still highly value customer service and typically will still only move to a new company...

By Brent Kelly

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace that none of us can imagine what new technologies will be available in the next 20 years.

I found a clip on YouTube recently, and it absolutely blew me away. Not even 20 years ago, some of the “smartest people” on television didn’t know anything about the internet. I am not making fun of them, because in 1994, none of us really did.

In 1994, a new technology was surfacing that most of had no clue about. Today, we use the internet for just about everything and businesses would be crippled without it.

What’s my point?

The point is that new technologies are being developed right now that will completely change how we do business in 20 years. We don’t know exactly what they will be, but I guarantee you the face of business will change again in 20 years.
How do I know? Think about the changes made from 1934 to 1954 to 1974 to 1994. Does the automobile or television come to mind?

With that...

By Brent Kelly

You want others to believe in you, your company, your product or service, and the value you provide. However, the most important question to ask yourself is, “Do you believe in you?”

Do You Breed Confidence in Others?

How others perceive you is in direct correlation to how you view and carry yourself.
You must project your self-image in a way that breeds confidence in others.

Have you ever met someone who looks sloppy, give a wimpy handshake, or can’t look you in the eye? They portray little to no confidence in themselves and therefore portray minimal confidence in the product or service they represent.

I am sure you have heard the phrase, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Although that made a great Head and Shoulders commercial, it is also true.

Whether fair or not, people make quick judgments and those judgments are difficult to alter.

How you think about yourself translates directly into how you act and...

By Brent Kelly

I rarely frequent fast food restaurants, but on one particular Saturday morning, I took my kids for breakfast at a local McDonalds. Besides their awesome and underrated coffee, I found something even better.

There was an employee I noticed who was in charge of sweeping the floor, cleaning up trays, and other typical unappreciated jobs. I would assume he makes minimum wage and gets little to no benefits. However, you would never know that by watching him.

In twenty minutes, he struck up countless conversations, engaged the customers, and put smiles on their faces. It was awesome. As I sat there listening to him talk to other customers, I couldn’t help but think; How come most salespeople don’t do this?

No, he wasn’t selling anything. He wasn’t making a commission. He just genuinely cared about the people in the restaurant. It wasn’t fake, rehearsed, or manipulative. It was simply from the heart.

I learned more in 20 minutes watching...

By Brent Kelly

“Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” — Helen Keller

If you have been an insurance sales producer longer than 10 minutes, you know all about risk.

Risk is defined as “exposure to danger.”

Danger surrounds insurance producers everyday. It could be in the form of a manager, company, prospect, client, product, or service. That list could go on and on, but the key point is that risk is clear everywhere you turn.

I believe you could categorize sales risks into three areas:

1. Risk of rejection
2. Risk of failure
3. Risk of financial hardship

These three risks highlight that even though the sales profession is the highest paid industry in the world, only a small percentage of the population enters this line of work. Furthermore, this is why even a smaller percentage of sales producers survive.

I have dealt with these three risks consistently in my own sales career. Although the context of these three risks...