In this episode Trey and Micah talk with Brent Gilliland, Agency Principal at Clandestine Insurance Agency. Brent shares how he went from getting fired after his first year, to six years later, he's running a one-man agency clipping along at $400K in revenue, built entirely around a niche nobody else wanted to touch.

In this episode:

• How Brent got fired after year one for chasing a niche
• Landing with an outdoor rec agency and learning from program presidents
• Why relationships with underwriters matter more than almost anything else
• Building a firearms-specific insurance program from scratch
• What it looks like to run (and start scaling) a one-man agency
• Advice for producers in their first 3-5 years who feel stuck
• The rise of the "broker of one" and why solo producers don't need to give up 70-80% of their paycheck to an aggregator

If you're a producer thinking about niching down, or wondering whether you can build something on your own without a big agency behind you, this one's worth the full watch.

🎙️ Max Revenue Show — hosted by Trey Shields and Micah Salas

👉 Subscribe for more conversations with agents and agency owners building real revenue in insurance.

In this episode, Trey Shields kicks off a new Monday segment with Brandon Schuh, breaking down the biggest stories in insurance so producers can stay ahead without drowning in their inbox.

In this episode Trey sits down with Luke Berry, Max Revenue's resident Employee Benefits expert, to break down how he's on pace for his best year ever — $800K in revenue through six months, projected to hit $1.1–1.3M by year end.

Luke gets specific about what's actually driving the growth: giving away value through "micro summit" events, a custom-built AI agent trained on his agency's own data, and a complete rethink of how his team processes information. They dig into real (anonymized) deals, including a 300-life AOR win closed in a single month, walk through what it took to build a fully HIPAA/SOC2-compliant in-house AI system, and talk through the real cost, ROI, and security questions every agency owner is asking right now.

They also zoom out to the bigger picture — where AI is headed for producers, CSRs, and account managers over the next five years, the "agency of one" theory, tech-first insurtechs vs. legacy agencies, and why the foundation of great production will always be listening, not tools.

If you're a producer or agency principal wondering how to actually start using AI (not just dumping policies into ChatGPT), this episode is the playbook.

........

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⏲️ Luke's Productive Producer PDFs:

https://www.maxrevenuegroup.com/products/planner-pdf-s

........

00:00 – Intro & welcome
00:40 – Setting up today's episode
01:18 – Revenue update: $800K and on pace for $1.1–1.3M
02:07 – How the deals come together: micro summits
04:35 – Case study: winning a large orthopedic practice
07:06 – Case study: 300-life group closed in one month
09:26 – Finding the right AI consultant
12:05 – How he vetted and hired his AI consultant
13:02 – Is the consultant taking new clients?
13:22 – How much growth is AI vs. compounding hard work
16:02 – Productive vs. busy: using AI for clarity
16:34 – Free resources: weekly planning PDFs
17:46 – Timeline to get the AI agent live & training the team
19:14 – AI as an enablement layer, not a job-killer
20:56 – Data security & compliance concerns
22:09 – What this actually costs to run
23:32 – Applying AI to P&C, not just EB
25:40 – The cost of compute and staying ahead
26:34 – Five-year outlook: agencies, producers, and AI
28:02 – Where CSRs and account managers fit in
31:06 – Corgi and the tech-first vs. legacy agency race
33:23 – Protecting relationship-based business from disruption
34:03 – What's next: revenue targets and the $10M book goal
36:54 – Where to start: building your own AI agent
39:18 – Creating a single "brain" for your agency's data
41:01 – Combining marketing data with AI for prospecting
42:50 – Investing in yourself and your team
45:02 – Leadership lessons from making the first move
45:30 – Wrap-up & where to find Luke

In this episode Clayton Wood, CEO of Pinnacle Benefit Partners, breaks down his simple yet powerful cold-calling strategy that helped him scale his book from zero to seven figures. If you’ve ever thought cold outreach is dead or felt too intimidated to pick up the phone, this episode is for you. Clayton reveals how volume, confidence, and a relentless approach turn cold calls into revenue. He shares his proven scripts, tactics for overcoming gatekeepers, and the mindset shifts that transform beginners into confident pros.

........

Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👕Check out our Max Revenue merch:

https://max-revenue-store.printful.me/

In this episode Micah and Trey talk with Mega Producer and Insurance Nerd, Brandon Schuh. Brandon explains where the market is, why it is where it is, and maybe even more importantly, where it's going.

Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👕Check out our Max Revenue merch:

https://max-revenue-store.printful.me/

In this episode, Micah breaks down his curiosity-based approach to moving those "I'm happy with my agent" prospects without resorting to pressure or manipulation.

Topics covered:

• Why the "low-hanging fruit" 10-20% isn't where the real money is
• How to tell if a prospect is truly loyal or just avoiding confrontation
• The curiosity framework for getting insureds to take a second look
• How hard-selling a "happy" client can backfire
• Staying top-of-mind without coming across as pushy

If you got value out of this episode, subscribe, follow, and leave a review — it helps us out a ton.

........Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

👕Check out our Max Revenue merch:

https://max-revenue-store.printful.me/

Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

........

Resources & Links:

📕 Sims' Social Selling Playbook:

https://www.maxrevenuegroup.com/products/social-selling-playbook

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In this episode, Trey and Micah sit down with David Steenstra of Christensen Group, a commercial insurance producer who wrote over $900K in new business in 2.5 years entirely through drop-ins.If you've been wondering whether face-to-face prospecting still works in today's world, this one's for you. David breaks down his entire drop-in playbook: how he structures his days, what he says when he walks in the door, how he handles gatekeepers, and how he wins business on coverage and service, not price.

........

Resources & Links:

📈 Free Trial of Insurance Xdate:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

https://www.insurancexdate.com/maxrevenue

🔗 Work with Element22:

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Or call Brian at 843-296-3376

📬Sign up for The Max Revenue Letter:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://maxrevenuegroup.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

........

Timestamps:00:00 — Intro & meet David Steenstra02:31 — How Federated shaped David's drop-in foundation05:00 — The "howdy call" philosophy & why small talk isn't dead07:18 — Micah on the "bring value" debate & what buyers actually want10:41 — Do you need X-dates before dropping in?12:20 — Handling gatekeepers & who to ask for14:08 — Cadence: how often should you drop in?16:04 — Why the hard-to-crack prospects are David's favorites17:02 — Asking questions you'll need answers to later18:36 — How much of his $900K came from drop-ins vs. other methods?38:49 — BOR vs. quoting: how David decides which path to take43:15 — Coverage, service, or price? What's actually driving David's wins45:41 — "Are you ready to fire your agent?" — a bold close that worked48:06 — The loss call: what to do after you don't get the business51:47 — How David organizes his territory using Google Maps55:00 — Advice for a $500K producer who wants to start dropping in58:02 — In 12.5 years, only kicked out twice — just walk in the door