IA Forward

What if winning in the insurance business isn't about getting ahead, but staying in the game?

This week on IA Forward, Shane Tatum, Tonya Lied, and Mike Boesl unpack the idea of playing the infinite game and what it means for insurance agency owners.

From surviving your first 24 months to building the right book of business, the conversation explores why chasing every dollar isn't always the smartest move, how to handle plans that fall apart, and why long-term thinking matters more than short-term wins.

Because in the insurance business, sometimes the biggest victory is simply staying in the game.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

57% of insurance agencies say their teams need more training to sell on value instead of price.

Shane's reaction? He's surprised it's ONLY 57%.

But that's just one of the eye-opening numbers from the latest Big "I" Agency Universe Study.

Shane and Tonya dig into the numbers, challenge a few assumptions, and discuss what agency owners should be paying attention to.

Because knowing what's happening in the industry is one thing. Knowing what to do about it is another.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

What if one of the biggest opportunities to grow your agency is already sitting in your existing book of business?

Tonya is joined by Robby Jabbour and special guest Jeff Havard of National Farm Life to talk about why independent insurance agents should take another look at life insurance.

From creating another revenue stream and improving client retention, to knowing when and how to start the conversation, they tackle the objections agents make about selling life insurance. Not enough time? Not enough knowledge? Don't want to be pushy? They've heard them all.

You may be protecting your clients' homes, cars, and businesses. But are you protecting their greatest asset?

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

The insurance market is softening. That sounds like good news, right? Maybe. But for agency owners, a soft market brings a completely different set of challenges.

Clients have more options. Carriers want to write business again. Prices are becoming more competitive. And the book of business that felt relatively protected during the hard market may suddenly be getting a lot more attention from your competition.

Shane and Tonya discuss what agency owners should be doing now, because when everybody is back in the game, you need to be playing offense, too.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

“Let me get you a quote.”

Insurance agents say it every day.

Shane, Tonya, and Mike talk about how the insurance industry became so focused on quoting, why agents should change the conversation.

Because your value isn’t in producing a number. It’s in the expertise, advice, and relationship behind it.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

Four out of five policyholders say they’ve never received proactive communication from their insurance agent. 4 out of 5. That’s not a communication problem. It’s a customer experience problem.

Shane and Tonya discuss why real client communication is one of the most overlooked retention strategies in the insurance industry. They share practical ways insurance agents can build stronger relationships, improve the customer experience, and make renewal a non-event. 

Creating stronger relationships doesn’t have to be complicated. You just have to start. Because if your clients only hear from you when it’s time to get their money, don’t be surprised when they start listening to someone else.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

Employee compensation matters. It has to be competitive. But a bigger paycheck will not fix inconsistent leadership, an unreasonable workload, constant chaos, poor communication, or an employee who feels like there is nowhere left to grow.

Tonya and Mike talk about finding the right people, easily building an onboarding process that actually works, recognizing when your best employees are reaching capacity, and creating a culture where people want to stay.

Because hiring great people is hard. Losing them because you failed to give them a reason to stay is even harder.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

The quarterback is not effective if he is playing every position. So why are you spending so much time doing exactly that in your agency?

We discuss hiring for weakness, where AI and your tech stack fit into the equation, why delegation isn’t giving up control, and separating out $500-an-hour work from $25-an-hour work, 

Figure out where you create the most value and then go make it rain! 

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

The market is opening back up, and carriers are throwing bonus money at agents. But before you start chasing bonuses, there’s a bigger question: What could that short-term money cost you later?

In this short update, Shane and Tonya discuss how chasing a $3,000 bonus today could potentially cost you much more at profit-sharing time.

Incentives aren’t bad. But before you chase the money, take off your salesperson hat and put on your agency owner hat.

Take the money when it aligns with your strategy. Just don’t change your strategy to get the money.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.

There’s a fine line between persistence and wasting your time.

In this episode , we talk about knowing when to keep pursuing a prospect and how chasing one client too much can mean missing five other opportunities right in front of you. 

And somewhere along the way, they discuss unique sales techniques, tiny airports, and why hanging up a cell phone will never be as satisfying as slamming down a landline.

Sometimes growth isn’t about chasing harder. It’s about knowing what’s worth chasing in the first place.

Learn more at IntegraPartnerNetwork.com.