Vertafore Insurance Podcast

This week, we welcome Bradley Flowers of the Insurance Guys podcast and founder of Portal Insurance, and we’re talking about sales versus service.  

Bradley shares with us his philosophy on service, and how that has made all the difference when it comes to his agency’s success. Sales are important, but service should take the spotlight when it comes to growth and retention.  

Rick and Bradley discuss the steps agencies can take to make service center-stage and better compete with direct-to-consumer companies. And Bradley gives his take on what agencies can learn from big box companies even when they don’t see eye-to-eye.

If you like stats, this episode is for you. Rick shares highlights from our annual insurance agency workforce whitepaper that details findings from a survey of more than 1,000 independent insurance professionals in the U.S. In this episode, Rick digs into how the industry reported on their feelings surrounding InsurTech and agency modernization and what this means for agencies looking to grow and thrive in 2021.   

(3:30) Feelings on InsurTech in general 

(6:45) The difference between using tech and embracing it 

(12:15) The problem with time 

(16:30) Getting real results from real change 

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Our guest for this episode is Torey Maerz, Founder and CEO of Rocket Referrals. Torey is here to remind us that we can do hard things, and 2021 is going to be a year of massive change and adjustment for insurance when the world opens back up. It's time to get comfortable with discomfort, and it's time to embrace your entrepreneurial spirit for the explosion of changes coming. 

In this episode, listeners get a dose of tough love from a guy who knows what it takes to build strong and lasting relationships with clients and build success in times of change.

This week, we're adding a new episode format to the podcast: Ask Rick. Rick gets all kinds of questions from people across the insurance industry. In this episode, Rick answers some questions that people across the industry can relate to, and we invite listeners to submit their questions to [email protected] to be answered by Rick in a future Ask Rick episode.

In this episode we welcome Kelly Lennon, Vice President and Risk Advisor for Technology at USI Property and Casualty. Kelly is an insurance professional who also has a background in sales and marketing, and she is talking to us about the power of video for reaching end-insureds. 

Kelly uses video to engage with the industry and her clients, and she's giving listeners tips and tricks on how to effectively incorporate amateur video into daily processes. She's also here to remind us that it's ok to try new things (and then try them again if they don't work). 

Video can be a great way to differentiate yourself in the market, and this episode will give you a place to start if you haven't already. If you're already using video in your sales and marketing efforts, she offers some great tips and tricks to make it even better. 

(6:30) Using video to cut through the clutter

(9:30) Growing business online using video

(11:00) Repurposing video for the biggest impact

(14:30) Embedding video as an active engagement strategy

(16:30) Getting started

No matter your role in an insurance organization, you've got goals, projects, and dreams. It can be easy to fall behind and veer off course in your pursuit of a win no matter who you are or what the end goal is. In this episode, we're talking about a no-excuses approach to reaching your goals with a little inspiration from a silly but great movie, Wedding Crashers, and this applied to everything in your life—insurance-related or not.

A happy, loyal client is worth their weight in gold. We all know keeping an existing client is easier than finding a new one, but it's time to stop paying lip service to retention and start digging into the whys and hows of a great strategy to keep clients in your book of business.

In this episode, Rick outlines the top three reasons why retention is so important and provides a 3-step playbook for how to implement a winning retention strategy.

Tyler Asher believes that independent agents can turn their competitive advantage into superpowers in the market, and he’s here to tell us how. As President of Independent Agent Distribution at Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance, Tyler is a treasure trove of information and he’s hitting us with some high-impact knowledge in this episode.  

Rick and Tyler discuss:

Digital transformation and online presence (5:30)

Turbocharging sales (13:30)

The talent problem (and solution) (21:00)

It’s a new year with new goals and a fresh start—making it the perfect time to talk about taking your sales to the next level. Whether you are a natural seller or not, this episode is for you. In this episode I outline six proven strategies for slaying your sales goals in 2021.

We put a bow on 2020 and welcome the new year with James Thom, Chief Product Officer at Vertafore. James' industry knowledge runs wide and deep, and he's offering great, unvarnished advice for success in 2021. 

Last year brought numerous challenges and opportunities to adapt and pivot, and with that came a surge in tech-enabled solutions throughout the industry. This year is about capitalizing on that surge of technology and making the best of it long-term. 

Rick and James talk about: 

Big takeaway from 2020 (3:50)

Themes and trends for agencies in 2021 (10:30)

The 3 most important tech solutions for any agency (20:00)