December 1, 2023 • 12 mins
Welcome to a brand new episode of the Preeminent Producer Podcast, where today we delve into the vital topic of "Strategically Preparing for the New Year as a Commercial Insurance Producer." As we approach the end of the year, it's crucial for insurance professionals to gear up for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
In this episode, we'll be joined by seasoned experts in the commercial insurance industry who will share their insights on how to effectively plan and strategize for the upcoming year.
Remember to subscribe to the Preeminent Producer Podcast for more insightful episodes like this, and don't forget to leave us a rating and review!
...
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
#insurancepodcast #CommercialInsurance #InsuranceProducer #NewYearStrategies #InsuranceTrends #ProfessionalDevelopment #InsuranceNetworking #InsuranceTechnology
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of the time of this recording, it is December 1st
Can you believe it?
And Christmas will be here, anew year will be here, and this
is when people start talkingabout setting new year's
resolutions, goals, things ofthat nature.
Well, in today's call, we'regoing to have a quick
conversation of a conversationthe coaches were having on not
necessarily resolutions, butsetting targeted, specific goals
(00:22):
, and what are some of the goalsthat they would recommend.
As a producer on the journey ofbecoming a preeminent producer,
what goals would they recommend?
You guys considering and reallystarting to plan now, not
waiting until January.
So let's dive into thisconversation.
I'll see you at the end.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
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
(01:02):
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 (01:23):
There are so many things that are going on this
time of year and we're gettingready for the holidays.
We're doing all this otherstuff, but in business, we need
to be planning on.
The one thing that I think weneed to do and this is going to
encompass a whole lot of thingsWhatever you're going to do, do
it now.
Don't wait to set goals.
Don't wait to implement goalson January 1st.
(01:45):
You're already behind the game.
Anything that you're doing nowand we'll go over this in later
podcasts about the importantthings that we're going to be
doing but whatever you do,whatever you're doing right now,
do it now so you hit the groundrunning.
Don't be on January 1st what Icall getting ready to sell.
The next thing you know isFebruary 1st and you're still
(02:08):
planning.
Plan it, implement it, have itoutlined of what you're going to
do and be ready to hit it fullyon the running on the ground,
ready to go on.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
January 1st.
That's really good advice.
Today is December 1st.
I can't believe it's Decemberalready.
In my agency we have twoprinciples.
I have a business partner andwe're actually meeting a little
bit later than we'd like to, butwe're meeting next week.
It's still before January 1stto really go over and do our
(02:42):
planning.
Doing it now I agree with, andnow is early, december's almost
too late, but we can still beeffective with it.
We have a little pattern.
We go through a certain list ofsubjects that we really revisit
every year and try to analyzeand make our adjustments and our
(03:05):
planning.
Both of us come into thatmeeting, I think, prepared with
our ideas.
Usually we end up doing thatplanning session over the course
of a couple days, not full days, but over the course of a
couple days.
I guess just, paul, to answerthe question, I guess just doing
(03:31):
it.
I don't think in my agency thatI've ever failed to do that.
We might talk about this whenwe do a deeper dive.
One thing that I have failed todo and I think it would be
prudent for everybody probablyis to not just wait once a year
I don't know what you guys do,but maybe partway through the
(03:54):
year six months of nothing else,just checking our own track?
And do we need to make someadjustments?
Just because we come up withsome grandiose plans, december
15th doesn't mean that we haveto be slavishly follow those.
To be a little flexible, Iguess, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
Yeah, well, I'll bring up the tail.
I think at this time of year,it's really important for
producers to look back so thatthey can look forward.
Look back on the past year,look at your successes, look at
your failures.
(04:37):
Get with someone Hopefully youhave an agency leader that you
can go to discuss those withthem get your data, pull your
data from your systems, pullyour financial planning.
If you've hopefully done that,to know what you need to hit to
make your goals be it yourshort-term, mid-term, long-term
(05:01):
goals personally.
But to plan for the new year,in my opinion, you really gotta
look at okay, this is whatreally went well and how am I
gonna team myself up to havemore wins like that and it may
be a specific business segment,whatever it is.
(05:21):
Do more of that in the new year.
Look back at some of yourfailures and say, okay, did I
really have a shot?
How did I miss this?
Did I miss it in the firstmeeting?
Like picking up that thisperson was blowing smoke or I
just had high hopes, that Ireally wasted my time, and just
take some time to really havesome introspection with that,
(05:46):
but also, as I say, if you canmeet with someone else to kinda
bounce it off of them.
You might tease some things outthat you don't wanna repeat in
the next year, or shouldn'trepeat.
So it's really a time to kindajust press the pause button,
look back, to look forward andthen get rolling at the first of
the year.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
And you know, christian, something I like that
you said and there is, and youdidn't put it this way, but it's
the way I took it.
Yeah, we gotta be.
We should be brutally honestwith ourselves, right?
Hopefully we're all somewhatpreeminent and we're having some
success, but on our failures,yeah, we really gotta look at
that and see if that suggestssome adjustments that we have to
(06:32):
make.
So no sense pretending.
We gotta be honest about it.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Don't all progress starts with the truth, otherwise
there is no progress.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yep, well said.
I mean, you can't be afraid oftalking about failures, of you
know, you can't be afraid oflooking back at what went wrong
as well as what went right,because if not, you will repeat
it.
I mean, it's, you know, we'rehumans and that happens and so
if we bury it, it's gonna comeout again and it's already
(07:07):
proven to be a problem.
It's gonna be a problem again.
So just get real, butdefinitely do that.
Look back to look forward.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Is there one thing that you guys find that you
always, always, always make surethat you address during your
strategic planning for the newyear?
Is it whether it's numbers,whether it's making sure your
team's organized?
I mean, whatever it might beand you might be different than
some of the listeners, but isthere one key thing that you
would recommend every producerdefinitely taking to account
(07:39):
when strategically planning?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Sure, I think so.
I think.
Knowing your numbers, just knowyour numbers, and the number is
just not the goal that youwanna hit.
Know your average account size,know your minimum account size,
know what it takes to get there.
Run through the little formulathat we have here that'll walk
(08:01):
you through your numbers.
Knowing your numbers always,not just.
You don't set your goal at thebeginning of the year and you
look at it on December 30th togo damn, I guess I didn't make
it, or damn I guess I did.
You know, monitor, know yournumbers, monitor through the
year.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
I would say the one thing that we make sure to do is
look at our carrier mix andmake sure that we align
ourselves with insurance companyor companies that we've had
success with, and for ourproducers to try to align
themselves with an underwriterand establish that relationship.
(08:43):
If they already have it, makesure we solidify it in the next
year.
If they don't have one and thecarrier has been knocking it out
, we want to get to know thatunderwriter and have that close
relationship.
That's really important, guys.
As we enter into a hard market,relationships with underwriters
are extremely helpful.
I have one and a half goldennuggets.
My half golden nugget is cleanyour damn desk off.
(09:06):
You got to start the new yearwith a fresh slate.
That's a simple thing Clean offso you can start it now.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Hey, christian, on that last note and that could be
the subject of a whole otherdiscussion is kind of
organization.
It does kind of start with yourdesk.
I got to the point a few yearsago at one point.
I've always been pretty neatand tidy.
I got to the point where mydesk was just such a mess that I
(09:40):
really made an effort to cleanit off.
I have techniques to do thatand how you don't lose track of
anything.
It's so much more efficient andso much lower stress when you
do that.
That's an interesting subject.
I think I would say the onething that we never when I say
(10:00):
we again, my business partnerand myself we never fail to do,
it's related to knowing yournumbers.
I guess in a way and Christian,you brought this up actually
already we look at targetclasses of business, and not
only where we've had successes,but through analyzing rate
(10:20):
structure, number of employees,et cetera, and carrier appetites
and what we enjoy working on.
We factor all that in andreally assess do we need to beef
up our database in certainbusiness segments?
It's the only thing.
If it's garbage and it'sgarbage out, it can be hard
enough to get up to the platewith a new prospect.
(10:44):
You don't want to get up to theplate and then find out that
now, here, my baseball analogyis going to completely fall
apart.
But you don't want to get up tothe plate and then find out it's
not even something you want towrite for one reason or another.
So, paul, the one specificthing that we do, among others,
but one thing is we alwaysassess our target classes for
(11:08):
our database of prospects andwhat we want to go after.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
All right, guys, I hope you got some good takeaways
from that.
A huge one is knowing yournumbers.
That's a huge, huge one.
But also it rakes in the verybeginning of not waiting.
Don't wait till January tostart setting these goals.
Month of really November, butalso December, should be
strategic planning Getting veryclear, getting very specific on
(11:33):
what your goals are, what yourtargets are, whether it's the
financial targets, maybe evenskill sets, things you want to
improve on as a producer,communication, follow up systems
, all of it.
This is the time to be planning.
So, guys, make it a point thismonth to be strategically
planning so you can make 2024the best year yet.
(11:55):
If you'd like more informationon how you could get personally
coached by the coaches that youhave listened to, visit us at
thepreeminentproducercom.
Again, that'sthepreeminentproducercom, and
we'll see you in the nextepisode of the Preeminent
Producer Podcast.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
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 podcasts.
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.
Of the time of this recording, it is December 1st
Can you believe it?
And Christmas will be here, anew year will be here, and this
is when people start talkingabout setting new year's
resolutions, goals, things ofthat nature.
Well, in today's call, we'regoing to have a quick
conversation of a conversationthe coaches were having on not
necessarily resolutions, butsetting targeted, specific goals
(00:22):
, and what are some of the goalsthat they would recommend.
As a producer on the journey ofbecoming a preeminent producer,
what goals would they recommend?
You guys considering and reallystarting to plan now, not
waiting until January.
So let's dive into thisconversation.
I'll see you at the end.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
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
(01:02):
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 (01:23):
There are so many things that are going on this
time of year and we're gettingready for the holidays.
We're doing all this otherstuff, but in business, we need
to be planning on.
The one thing that I think weneed to do and this is going to
encompass a whole lot of thingsWhatever you're going to do, do
it now.
Don't wait to set goals.
Don't wait to implement goalson January 1st.
(01:45):
You're already behind the game.
Anything that you're doing nowand we'll go over this in later
podcasts about the importantthings that we're going to be
doing but whatever you do,whatever you're doing right now,
do it now so you hit the groundrunning.
Don't be on January 1st what Icall getting ready to sell.
The next thing you know isFebruary 1st and you're still
(02:08):
planning.
Plan it, implement it, have itoutlined of what you're going to
do and be ready to hit it fullyon the running on the ground,
ready to go on.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
January 1st.
That's really good advice.
Today is December 1st.
I can't believe it's Decemberalready.
In my agency we have twoprinciples.
I have a business partner andwe're actually meeting a little
bit later than we'd like to, butwe're meeting next week.
It's still before January 1stto really go over and do our
(02:42):
planning.
Doing it now I agree with, andnow is early, december's almost
too late, but we can still beeffective with it.
We have a little pattern.
We go through a certain list ofsubjects that we really revisit
every year and try to analyzeand make our adjustments and our
(03:05):
planning.
Both of us come into thatmeeting, I think, prepared with
our ideas.
Usually we end up doing thatplanning session over the course
of a couple days, not full days, but over the course of a
couple days.
I guess just, paul, to answerthe question, I guess just doing
(03:31):
it.
I don't think in my agency thatI've ever failed to do that.
We might talk about this whenwe do a deeper dive.
One thing that I have failed todo and I think it would be
prudent for everybody probablyis to not just wait once a year
I don't know what you guys do,but maybe partway through the
(03:54):
year six months of nothing else,just checking our own track?
And do we need to make someadjustments?
Just because we come up withsome grandiose plans, december
15th doesn't mean that we haveto be slavishly follow those.
To be a little flexible, Iguess, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
Yeah, well, I'll bring up the tail.
I think at this time of year,it's really important for
producers to look back so thatthey can look forward.
Look back on the past year,look at your successes, look at
your failures.
(04:37):
Get with someone Hopefully youhave an agency leader that you
can go to discuss those withthem get your data, pull your
data from your systems, pullyour financial planning.
If you've hopefully done that,to know what you need to hit to
make your goals be it yourshort-term, mid-term, long-term
(05:01):
goals personally.
But to plan for the new year,in my opinion, you really gotta
look at okay, this is whatreally went well and how am I
gonna team myself up to havemore wins like that and it may
be a specific business segment,whatever it is.
(05:21):
Do more of that in the new year.
Look back at some of yourfailures and say, okay, did I
really have a shot?
How did I miss this?
Did I miss it in the firstmeeting?
Like picking up that thisperson was blowing smoke or I
just had high hopes, that Ireally wasted my time, and just
take some time to really havesome introspection with that,
(05:46):
but also, as I say, if you canmeet with someone else to kinda
bounce it off of them.
You might tease some things outthat you don't wanna repeat in
the next year, or shouldn'trepeat.
So it's really a time to kindajust press the pause button,
look back, to look forward andthen get rolling at the first of
the year.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
And you know, christian, something I like that
you said and there is, and youdidn't put it this way, but it's
the way I took it.
Yeah, we gotta be.
We should be brutally honestwith ourselves, right?
Hopefully we're all somewhatpreeminent and we're having some
success, but on our failures,yeah, we really gotta look at
that and see if that suggestssome adjustments that we have to
(06:32):
make.
So no sense pretending.
We gotta be honest about it.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Don't all progress starts with the truth, otherwise
there is no progress.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Yep, well said.
I mean, you can't be afraid oftalking about failures, of you
know, you can't be afraid oflooking back at what went wrong
as well as what went right,because if not, you will repeat
it.
I mean, it's, you know, we'rehumans and that happens and so
if we bury it, it's gonna comeout again and it's already
(07:07):
proven to be a problem.
It's gonna be a problem again.
So just get real, butdefinitely do that.
Look back to look forward.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Is there one thing that you guys find that you
always, always, always make surethat you address during your
strategic planning for the newyear?
Is it whether it's numbers,whether it's making sure your
team's organized?
I mean, whatever it might beand you might be different than
some of the listeners, but isthere one key thing that you
would recommend every producerdefinitely taking to account
(07:39):
when strategically planning?
Speaker 3 (07:41):
Sure, I think so.
I think.
Knowing your numbers, just knowyour numbers, and the number is
just not the goal that youwanna hit.
Know your average account size,know your minimum account size,
know what it takes to get there.
Run through the little formulathat we have here that'll walk
(08:01):
you through your numbers.
Knowing your numbers always,not just.
You don't set your goal at thebeginning of the year and you
look at it on December 30th togo damn, I guess I didn't make
it, or damn I guess I did.
You know, monitor, know yournumbers, monitor through the
year.
Speaker 5 (08:22):
I would say the one thing that we make sure to do is
look at our carrier mix andmake sure that we align
ourselves with insurance companyor companies that we've had
success with, and for ourproducers to try to align
themselves with an underwriterand establish that relationship.
(08:43):
If they already have it, makesure we solidify it in the next
year.
If they don't have one and thecarrier has been knocking it out
, we want to get to know thatunderwriter and have that close
relationship.
That's really important, guys.
As we enter into a hard market,relationships with underwriters
are extremely helpful.
I have one and a half goldennuggets.
My half golden nugget is cleanyour damn desk off.
(09:06):
You got to start the new yearwith a fresh slate.
That's a simple thing Clean offso you can start it now.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
Hey, christian, on that last note and that could be
the subject of a whole otherdiscussion is kind of
organization.
It does kind of start with yourdesk.
I got to the point a few yearsago at one point.
I've always been pretty neatand tidy.
I got to the point where mydesk was just such a mess that I
(09:40):
really made an effort to cleanit off.
I have techniques to do thatand how you don't lose track of
anything.
It's so much more efficient andso much lower stress when you
do that.
That's an interesting subject.
I think I would say the onething that we never when I say
(10:00):
we again, my business partnerand myself we never fail to do,
it's related to knowing yournumbers.
I guess in a way and Christian,you brought this up actually
already we look at targetclasses of business, and not
only where we've had successes,but through analyzing rate
(10:20):
structure, number of employees,et cetera, and carrier appetites
and what we enjoy working on.
We factor all that in andreally assess do we need to beef
up our database in certainbusiness segments?
It's the only thing.
If it's garbage and it'sgarbage out, it can be hard
enough to get up to the platewith a new prospect.
(10:44):
You don't want to get up to theplate and then find out that
now, here, my baseball analogyis going to completely fall
apart.
But you don't want to get up tothe plate and then find out it's
not even something you want towrite for one reason or another.
So, paul, the one specificthing that we do, among others,
but one thing is we alwaysassess our target classes for
(11:08):
our database of prospects andwhat we want to go after.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
All right, guys, I hope you got some good takeaways
from that.
A huge one is knowing yournumbers.
That's a huge, huge one.
But also it rakes in the verybeginning of not waiting.
Don't wait till January tostart setting these goals.
Month of really November, butalso December, should be
strategic planning Getting veryclear, getting very specific on
(11:33):
what your goals are, what yourtargets are, whether it's the
financial targets, maybe evenskill sets, things you want to
improve on as a producer,communication, follow up systems
, all of it.
This is the time to be planning.
So, guys, make it a point thismonth to be strategically
planning so you can make 2024the best year yet.
(11:55):
If you'd like more informationon how you could get personally
coached by the coaches that youhave listened to, visit us at
thepreeminentproducercom.
Again, that'sthepreeminentproducercom, and
we'll see you in the nextepisode of the Preeminent
Producer Podcast.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
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 podcasts.
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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