After two years and over 100 episodes of The Digital Broker, we find out that the insurance agency space has never been in more promising shape. Ryan Deeds and Indio Technologies CMO Ken Wohl look back on what the show has taught us about data, technology, and the future of insurance agencies.
Being a digital broker is less about an attachment to specific tools and more about a mindset of adaptability. Learn how that mindset works and what to focus on before you decide which tools are worth using. Ryan Deeds hosts.
In-person meetings are essential to the insurance industry, but social distancing and quarantines are limiting the freedom to get together in person. Luckily, virtual meetings are coming to the rescue, providing opportunities to keep learning and meeting people. Time to take virtual meetings more seriously. Ryan Deeds hosts.
Paying producers too high a percentage on new business can discourage them from taking renewals seriously, but neither should you keep producers stuck on renewals. There is no universal formula for producer compensation, but here is what to keep in mind when designing a producer compensation structure that makes sense for your agency. Ryan Deeds hosts.
A podcast can drive a lot of listeners and opportunities your way, but it can also be tough to produce. Learn about which tools exist to take the grind out of podcast production so you can focus on just pressing Record. Ryan Deeds interviews Jason Cass.
Leadership involves making decisions based on the available information, but in times of crisis, information is volatile, if it's available at all. Learn how to lead your team through crisis by becoming flexible, nimble, and agile. Ryan Deeds interviews Brian Comerford, host of the Lead.exe podcast.
Bad days are going to happen, but if you know what you’re doing, great days are going to happen too, and they can supercharge employee morale and wipe out the impact of previous bad days. Here are a few, simple things you can do to deliver great days to your employees. Ryan Deeds interviews Azia Hurley and Melissa Wilder.
Insurance agencies have historically been slow to catch up on technology, but COVID-19 is changing everything. Learn how insurance agencies are making important technological adjustments that will benefit them long after the crisis is over. Ryan Deeds interviews Eric Wistrand, CIO of Couch Braunsdorf.
When your house and the office become the same place, it is easy to feel like your career is stuck, too. But there is much you can do at your desk to grow your network. Ryan Deeds interviews Olivia Schmitt, who landed her dream job at Total CSR by posting consistently on LinkedIn.
Insurance is supposed to be a lifeline against tough times, and this is the toughest time that many people have ever known. Here is what you can do to put your agency in a position to keep helping people. Ryan Deeds hosts.
Extraordinary times are pressuring insurance agencies to switch to remote work immediately, but knowing where to start can be disorienting. We get straight to the point and tell you which collaboration tools you can start using right away, without having to sort through hundreds of options. Ryan Deeds hosts.
Bad days are going to happen, but when they *keep* happening, they can destroy agency morale and drive employees away. Here is what you can do to minimize the incidence of bad days and reduce the negative impact of the ones that happen anyway. Ryan Deeds is joined by Azia Hurley and Melissa Wilder.
Onboarding and offboarding are two sides of the same coin, but onboarding gets most of the attention. It's time to get serious about the offboarding process, to keep employee departures from upsetting agency workflows and operations. Ryan Deeds is joined by Azia Hurley and Melissa Wilder.
He has invested in several insurance agencies and retooled them to be more efficient. People are curious about how Billy Williams, Founder of Inspire A Nation Business Mentoring, does this. His response? "I'm not smart, I can just figure stuff out." Learn which rules of thumb he uses to size up agencies and spot problems quickly. Ryan Deeds hosts.
The term "retention" alone is misleading, suggesting that there is a single way of looking at retention. In reality, three different types of retention determine the growth of an insurance agency. Learn what they are, how to measure them, and how to compare them to get the most accurate read on your growth. Ryan Deeds hosts.
Out of all the things that make an agency successful, culture is the most important—and the least understood. Learn how to build a visible and self-perpetuating culture by keeping things simple, rallying people around a goal, and attaching tangible experiences to successful outcomes. Ryan Deeds interviews Heather Smyrl, co-founder of Highpoint Insurance Group.
Many agencies look at booked revenue alone, but without a clear idea of your estimated revenue, you can't grow. Learn how booked and estimated revenue differ as metrics, and how you can get a better read on your agency's estimated revenue. Ryan Deeds hosts.
The definition of value is always changing. Your *values* shouldn't be doing the same. Learn why a consistent set of values is the closest thing you have to a compass to guide you in times of uncertainty and inconsistency. Ryan Deeds interviews Trevor Baldwin, CEO of Baldwin Risk Partners, the first commercial insurance brokerage firm to IPO in over 15 years.
Technology is indispensable to scaling—but people don't want to talk to robots when they're filing a claim. Learn how to use technology to grow your agency without losing your connection to your customers. Ryan Deeds interviews Chris Frankland, Head of InsurTech Partnerships at ReSource Pro.
Insurance agencies sometimes confuse customer service with customer experience. Customer service is only one part of the customer experience. Learn how to deliver amazing customer experiences that make your customers enthusiastic about referring other people to you. Ryan Deeds interviews Jason Cass of Insurance Agency Intelligence.