October 13, 2023 • 11 mins
On the journey on the road to becoming a Preeminent Producer, challenges will happen. How we deal with them will determine our results.
In this episode, I one of our coaches about a time where an obstacle rose up and how he dealt with it.
...
Are you a commercial insurance producer struggling to stand out from the competition? Do you find it challenging to grow your book of business and create a fulfilling career?
Then welcome to The Preeminent Producer Podcast! Each week, we'll be tackling important topics, sharing proven strategies and insights from successful producers that are in the trenches and have traveled the journey to becoming a Preeminent Producer.
You'll discover what it really takes to become Preeminent & build your book of business, in a way that isn’t being taught anywhere else. Our hosts are experts in the field and have built thriving businesses by becoming the most trusted adviser to their clients. Welcome to your journey to becoming a Preeminent Producer.
Let’s dive in!
Ready To Grow Your Book Of Business?
For More Information go to:
https://www.thepreeminentproducer.com/
Also, check us out on Youtube: / @thepreeminentproducer
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Regardless if you are a seasoned professional or you
are brand new to the insuranceindustry on the road to becoming
a preeminent producer, it'ssafe to say that you're going to
face obstacles, and in thisepisode of the Preeminent
Producer Podcast, I asked thequestion to the coaches to share
a story.
You know what is an example ofan obstacle that you have faced
(00:20):
and how did you overcome it?
So in this episode we're goingto be hearing from Rick Greggs
and tell his story of anobstacle he faced and how he
overcame.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Are you a commercial insurance producer struggling to
stand out from the competition?
Do you find it challenging togrow your book of business and
create a fulfilling career?
If so, then welcome to thePreeminent Producer Podcast.
Each week, we'll be tacklingimportant topics, sharing proven
strategies and insights fromsuccessful producers that are in
the trenches and have traveledthe journey to becoming a
(00:53):
preeminent producer.
You'll discover what it reallytakes to become preeminent and
build your book of business in away that isn't being taught
anywhere else.
Our hosts are experts in thefield and have built thriving
businesses by becoming the mosttrusted advisor to their clients
.
Welcome to your journey tobecoming a preeminent producer.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Like any producer who's been in business for a
while, I probably have a lot ofthem, because we fall a lot
before we get up and run.
Life isn't easy.
Business isn't fair.
It's a full contact sport.
But there's one that sticks outin my mind.
I was a young, young producerand I wrote my first large
(01:37):
account.
I was so pleased.
I remember talking to theunderwriter about it and it was
time to bind coverage.
I went out, made mypresentation.
They said yes, we want to.
There was a very largenonprofit.
We want to buy insurance fromyou.
And I thought, oh, that's great.
Came back and I was atraveler's underwriter and I
called him up and I said, hey,doug, we're going to write this.
(01:58):
And he said okay, hey, listen,I want to tell you something.
Make sure you get money,because the minute I bind this
son of a god, it's accruingdollars.
That scared me to death and Idid it all as well.
So I kept the account forseveral years and had an
incredibly great relationshipwith the CFO and the CEO.
There was a change at the top.
(02:21):
Now again, I am a young producerhere.
I'm probably 28 years old andnot very savvy in the world of
insurance and all of a sudden Iget this thing that they are
going and they're going to do anRFP.
I'm thinking RFP?
I didn't know what an RFP wasand I didn't really do an
(02:46):
investigation.
I was working before I had myown agency.
I was working in a kind of aregional agency with a bunch of
not heads that really had smallbooks of business, and I didn't
seek out help to figure out whatan RFP was.
I went in and did it myself anddid a very miserable job,
didn't even understand what itwas and, of course, lost the
(03:07):
account and it was a realwake-up call.
It was devastating to me as ayoung producer who needed the
money, who needed the experience, and it took me a while to get
over that.
But then the good thing aboutthat, it's not what happens,
it's what you do about it.
(03:28):
And it became a tremendouslearning experience for me on a
number of levels.
I now know, believe it or not,what an RFP is Done.
Many of them done them reallywell.
But more importantly than that,it was knowing not only the
technical side of the businessbut the other side of the
business.
What is an RFP?
How do you prepare for it?
(03:48):
You need to seek out help fromthe insurance carriers, from
other people in the agency.
If you're a young producer andnever done one of these, from
your support staff, from anybodyyou can possibly think of
including going to people who doRFPs in other industries.
In other words, one of my largeclients now is a large
restaurant supply company andthey do RFPs and sit down with
(04:12):
one of their better sales men orwomen and say, okay, how do you
do?
What do you do it?
Because I just had lunch theother day with a very successful
stockbroker and his son.
His son is taking over hisbusiness and we all have used
euphemisms in our past of whatwe do.
(04:32):
We sell insurance, they sellstocks and bonds, and he was
really emphatic.
He teaches that Everybody sells.
So the point is selling isselling.
Go to successful salespeople,find out what makes them tick,
find out how they do RFPs, findout all of those kinds of things
about them and make yourselfbetter.
(04:54):
I now, from that lame back,write some very large nonprofits
have done so for years andyears and years, but that was a
devastating day in my insurancecareer.
That came out to be one of thebest days of my insurance career
, looking at it through the rearview mirror, I learned and you
know we're all gonna get knockeddown and it's not gonna be fair
(05:15):
man.
It's not gonna be easy, butyou've got to be able to learn
from those experiences, to seethem in the future, to see, to
learn to be able to handle itthe next time it comes up,
because you know what, in someform or fashion, it's gonna
present itself again and you'llbe ready.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
You know, rick, there were kind of tooth takeaways
that I jotted down from thatstory.
One of them is there's kind ofa I know a cliche or some
expression out there, somethinglike it's not as important what
happens to you, but how youreact to it.
You know when things happen,something like that Boy.
(05:58):
You know, paul, you had saidthe journey to being preeminence
not always easy, and boy, it'snever.
I guess it's never easy, and sowe're always going to have
those situations.
It's so great that you wereable to take something from that
.
The other thing that jumped outat me and it's not always easy
to do this, but it's sure thishelp it's just not being afraid
(06:19):
to ask others for help.
You know, yeah, yeah, one ofthe lessons I've learned, I
think, over the last 40 years ofdoing this a little bit of a
tangent, but not much of atangent here, guys but one of
the things when I was young Ialways kind of thought that I
sort of knew it all, and thelonger I live I realize that,
(06:40):
yeah, other people havelegitimate good ideas too.
I'm not always right, you knowso.
So not being afraid to askothers for help in those
situations, it's a way to go.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
You know, if you think you know it all and many
of us did when we were youngthere's no opportunity to learn.
If you think you know it all,there's no more to learn.
Number one and number two Iprobably mentioned this once
before reading a book and thetitle of the book is the Book.
I don't remember anything aboutthe book, who wrote it, who the
author was, how big it was, butthe title of the book is it's
(07:14):
Not what Happens, it's what youDo About it.
That's the book I mean.
That really is it's.
We're going to face situationsthat are beyond our control,
that are not fair, and we'regoing to have to sit down and
we're going to think, ok, thisis, this is what's happened.
What am I going to do?
Am I going to yell and scream?
Am I going to cry and kick thedog?
Hopefully not.
Or am I going to sit down?
(07:36):
Am I going to learn from thisthing?
Am I going to go forward andsay, ok, I'll never do that
again, or I'll recognize thatwhen I'm in that situation again
?
I think we learn more from ourdefeats than we do our victories
, so that's why it's important.
That's why defeats areimportant.
I hope you minimize them, butthey become catastrophes if you
(07:57):
don't learn something from them.
Yeah, wait.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Yeah, you just got to be able to pick yourself up and
keep going.
And we've probably all knownpeople I'm thinking of one
producer years ago in my agencywho, yeah, he could just never
let go of those defeats.
It just ate him up to eight.
He just wasn't ultimately cutout for it.
So you know he quit because.
So you got it.
Yeah, I guess I'm going tostate the obvious.
(08:22):
You got to.
What can I learn from this?
And then implement that andthen move on.
Hey, rick, I'm just curious,since that was such a big
account early in your career,how long did it take you, if you
recall to, to get back to, evento replace that income?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I would say I did it the nextyear.
I mean, it was.
It's such a wake up call.
It's like, oh my God, and I waspoor.
It was my biggest account andit really motivated me through.
You know, you can be motivatedthrough all kinds of things.
You can be motivated becauseyour money motivated.
But I was money motivated outof necessity at a young family.
(09:02):
I had to go out and do it, so Ihustled my tail off and went
out.
That's a good question.
I replaced it that year throughseveral accounts.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Rick, what would you, what advice would you give to,
maybe a young producer that isexperienced something similar to
what you experienced?
And I know Matt just brought upsomeone who who ended up giving
up because it just you know thefailure eight, adam.
What piece of advice would yougive to a younger producer
that's going through somethingsimilar?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Well, I think the one thing you have to remember
about this it's not a job, it'sa career, and we've said that
many times on these calls.
There's going.
You have to have persistence.
You have to understand thatthis is a great career for those
who it's a great career for, ifyou'll pardon the preposition
at the end of the sentence there.
(09:50):
You're going to face adversityand I don't care what you do.
If you want to becomepreeminent, if you want to put
in the time to excel, challengesare going to come and those
preeminent people find a way toget over those hurdles and
recover from them.
It's worth doing.
It's such a great career.
It gives you the opportunity todo so many things that I
(10:14):
couldn't have done in any othercareer, and you've got to be
dedicated to the idea that it'sa marathon.
It's not.
It's it's not a sprint.
It's a career over a longperiod of time and it builds and
builds and builds.
It gets better and as you learnmore about it.
So be patient, perseveranceprevail.
All right, I hope you enjoyedthat.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I hope you're encouraged by that.
If you are facing your ownobstacle, know that this is all
part of the process, and how youhandle the process as well as
the struggle is huge.
Now I want you to stay tunedfor part two next week.
We hear what we're calling thegut punch story from Christian,
and we're also going to behearing from Matt Starchy as
well on obstacles that they face, so you don't want to miss that
(10:56):
.
If you've enjoyed this storyand you'd like more information
about how to be coached by theseguys, definitely visit us at
the preeminentproducercom andagain, we'll see you in the next
episode for part two of thepreeminent producer podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of
the preeminent producer podcast.
If you're enjoying the show,please feel free to subscribe,
rate and leave a review whereveryou listen to your podcast.
That helps others find the showand we greatly appreciate it.
Once again, thanks for joiningus and we'll catch you in the
next episode of the preeminentproducer podcast.
Regardless if you are a seasoned professional or you
are brand new to the insuranceindustry on the road to becoming
a preeminent producer, it'ssafe to say that you're going to
face obstacles, and in thisepisode of the Preeminent
Producer Podcast, I asked thequestion to the coaches to share
a story.
You know what is an example ofan obstacle that you have faced
(00:20):
and how did you overcome it?
So in this episode we're goingto be hearing from Rick Greggs
and tell his story of anobstacle he faced and how he
overcame.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Are you a commercial insurance producer struggling to
stand out from the competition?
Do you find it challenging togrow your book of business and
create a fulfilling career?
If so, then welcome to thePreeminent Producer Podcast.
Each week, we'll be tacklingimportant topics, sharing proven
strategies and insights fromsuccessful producers that are in
the trenches and have traveledthe journey to becoming a
(00:53):
preeminent producer.
You'll discover what it reallytakes to become preeminent and
build your book of business in away that isn't being taught
anywhere else.
Our hosts are experts in thefield and have built thriving
businesses by becoming the mosttrusted advisor to their clients
.
Welcome to your journey tobecoming a preeminent producer.
Let's dive in.
Speaker 3 (01:14):
Like any producer who's been in business for a
while, I probably have a lot ofthem, because we fall a lot
before we get up and run.
Life isn't easy.
Business isn't fair.
It's a full contact sport.
But there's one that sticks outin my mind.
I was a young, young producerand I wrote my first large
(01:37):
account.
I was so pleased.
I remember talking to theunderwriter about it and it was
time to bind coverage.
I went out, made mypresentation.
They said yes, we want to.
There was a very largenonprofit.
We want to buy insurance fromyou.
And I thought, oh, that's great.
Came back and I was atraveler's underwriter and I
called him up and I said, hey,doug, we're going to write this.
(01:58):
And he said okay, hey, listen,I want to tell you something.
Make sure you get money,because the minute I bind this
son of a god, it's accruingdollars.
That scared me to death and Idid it all as well.
So I kept the account forseveral years and had an
incredibly great relationshipwith the CFO and the CEO.
There was a change at the top.
(02:21):
Now again, I am a young producerhere.
I'm probably 28 years old andnot very savvy in the world of
insurance and all of a sudden Iget this thing that they are
going and they're going to do anRFP.
I'm thinking RFP?
I didn't know what an RFP wasand I didn't really do an
(02:46):
investigation.
I was working before I had myown agency.
I was working in a kind of aregional agency with a bunch of
not heads that really had smallbooks of business, and I didn't
seek out help to figure out whatan RFP was.
I went in and did it myself anddid a very miserable job,
didn't even understand what itwas and, of course, lost the
(03:07):
account and it was a realwake-up call.
It was devastating to me as ayoung producer who needed the
money, who needed the experience, and it took me a while to get
over that.
But then the good thing aboutthat, it's not what happens,
it's what you do about it.
(03:28):
And it became a tremendouslearning experience for me on a
number of levels.
I now know, believe it or not,what an RFP is Done.
Many of them done them reallywell.
But more importantly than that,it was knowing not only the
technical side of the businessbut the other side of the
business.
What is an RFP?
How do you prepare for it?
(03:48):
You need to seek out help fromthe insurance carriers, from
other people in the agency.
If you're a young producer andnever done one of these, from
your support staff, from anybodyyou can possibly think of
including going to people who doRFPs in other industries.
In other words, one of my largeclients now is a large
restaurant supply company andthey do RFPs and sit down with
(04:12):
one of their better sales men orwomen and say, okay, how do you
do?
What do you do it?
Because I just had lunch theother day with a very successful
stockbroker and his son.
His son is taking over hisbusiness and we all have used
euphemisms in our past of whatwe do.
(04:32):
We sell insurance, they sellstocks and bonds, and he was
really emphatic.
He teaches that Everybody sells.
So the point is selling isselling.
Go to successful salespeople,find out what makes them tick,
find out how they do RFPs, findout all of those kinds of things
about them and make yourselfbetter.
(04:54):
I now, from that lame back,write some very large nonprofits
have done so for years andyears and years, but that was a
devastating day in my insurancecareer.
That came out to be one of thebest days of my insurance career
, looking at it through the rearview mirror, I learned and you
know we're all gonna get knockeddown and it's not gonna be fair
(05:15):
man.
It's not gonna be easy, butyou've got to be able to learn
from those experiences, to seethem in the future, to see, to
learn to be able to handle itthe next time it comes up,
because you know what, in someform or fashion, it's gonna
present itself again and you'llbe ready.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
You know, rick, there were kind of tooth takeaways
that I jotted down from thatstory.
One of them is there's kind ofa I know a cliche or some
expression out there, somethinglike it's not as important what
happens to you, but how youreact to it.
You know when things happen,something like that Boy.
(05:58):
You know, paul, you had saidthe journey to being preeminence
not always easy, and boy, it'snever.
I guess it's never easy, and sowe're always going to have
those situations.
It's so great that you wereable to take something from that
.
The other thing that jumped outat me and it's not always easy
to do this, but it's sure thishelp it's just not being afraid
(06:19):
to ask others for help.
You know, yeah, yeah, one ofthe lessons I've learned, I
think, over the last 40 years ofdoing this a little bit of a
tangent, but not much of atangent here, guys but one of
the things when I was young Ialways kind of thought that I
sort of knew it all, and thelonger I live I realize that,
(06:40):
yeah, other people havelegitimate good ideas too.
I'm not always right, you knowso.
So not being afraid to askothers for help in those
situations, it's a way to go.
Speaker 3 (06:51):
You know, if you think you know it all and many
of us did when we were youngthere's no opportunity to learn.
If you think you know it all,there's no more to learn.
Number one and number two Iprobably mentioned this once
before reading a book and thetitle of the book is the Book.
I don't remember anything aboutthe book, who wrote it, who the
author was, how big it was, butthe title of the book is it's
(07:14):
Not what Happens, it's what youDo About it.
That's the book I mean.
That really is it's.
We're going to face situationsthat are beyond our control,
that are not fair, and we'regoing to have to sit down and
we're going to think, ok, thisis, this is what's happened.
What am I going to do?
Am I going to yell and scream?
Am I going to cry and kick thedog?
Hopefully not.
Or am I going to sit down?
(07:36):
Am I going to learn from thisthing?
Am I going to go forward andsay, ok, I'll never do that
again, or I'll recognize thatwhen I'm in that situation again
?
I think we learn more from ourdefeats than we do our victories
, so that's why it's important.
That's why defeats areimportant.
I hope you minimize them, butthey become catastrophes if you
(07:57):
don't learn something from them.
Yeah, wait.
Speaker 4 (08:01):
Yeah, you just got to be able to pick yourself up and
keep going.
And we've probably all knownpeople I'm thinking of one
producer years ago in my agencywho, yeah, he could just never
let go of those defeats.
It just ate him up to eight.
He just wasn't ultimately cutout for it.
So you know he quit because.
So you got it.
Yeah, I guess I'm going tostate the obvious.
(08:22):
You got to.
What can I learn from this?
And then implement that andthen move on.
Hey, rick, I'm just curious,since that was such a big
account early in your career,how long did it take you, if you
recall to, to get back to, evento replace that income?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, that's a good question.
I would say I did it the nextyear.
I mean, it was.
It's such a wake up call.
It's like, oh my God, and I waspoor.
It was my biggest account andit really motivated me through.
You know, you can be motivatedthrough all kinds of things.
You can be motivated becauseyour money motivated.
But I was money motivated outof necessity at a young family.
(09:02):
I had to go out and do it, so Ihustled my tail off and went
out.
That's a good question.
I replaced it that year throughseveral accounts.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
Rick, what would you, what advice would you give to,
maybe a young producer that isexperienced something similar to
what you experienced?
And I know Matt just brought upsomeone who who ended up giving
up because it just you know thefailure eight, adam.
What piece of advice would yougive to a younger producer
that's going through somethingsimilar?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Well, I think the one thing you have to remember
about this it's not a job, it'sa career, and we've said that
many times on these calls.
There's going.
You have to have persistence.
You have to understand thatthis is a great career for those
who it's a great career for, ifyou'll pardon the preposition
at the end of the sentence there.
(09:50):
You're going to face adversityand I don't care what you do.
If you want to becomepreeminent, if you want to put
in the time to excel, challengesare going to come and those
preeminent people find a way toget over those hurdles and
recover from them.
It's worth doing.
It's such a great career.
It gives you the opportunity todo so many things that I
(10:14):
couldn't have done in any othercareer, and you've got to be
dedicated to the idea that it'sa marathon.
It's not.
It's it's not a sprint.
It's a career over a longperiod of time and it builds and
builds and builds.
It gets better and as you learnmore about it.
So be patient, perseveranceprevail.
All right, I hope you enjoyedthat.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
I hope you're encouraged by that.
If you are facing your ownobstacle, know that this is all
part of the process, and how youhandle the process as well as
the struggle is huge.
Now I want you to stay tunedfor part two next week.
We hear what we're calling thegut punch story from Christian,
and we're also going to behearing from Matt Starchy as
well on obstacles that they face, so you don't want to miss that
(10:56):
.
If you've enjoyed this storyand you'd like more information
about how to be coached by theseguys, definitely visit us at
the preeminentproducercom andagain, we'll see you in the next
episode for part two of thepreeminent producer podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Thanks so much for joining us on this episode of
the preeminent producer podcast.
If you're enjoying the show,please feel free to subscribe,
rate and leave a review whereveryou listen to your podcast.
That helps others find the showand we greatly appreciate it.
Once again, thanks for joiningus and we'll catch you in the
next episode of the preeminentproducer podcast.
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