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🔒 The Essence of Insurance: Making an Impact as an Insurance Agent 🔒

Dear Insurance Champions,

Here's the deal, too many insurance agents get caught up obsessing over price, racing to be “the cheapest” in a game that’s rigged by direct carriers like GEICO. But as we’ve seen time and again, you win not by selling on price, but by building value, mastering your process, and caring more about your prospects than the commission.

Real talk: If you truly want to close more deals, earn higher retention, and stop feeling stuck on the price hamster wheel, it’s time to level up your sales game with tried-and-true tactics from the trenches.

How Top Producers Sell Smarter (Not Harder):

• Quit Leading With Price

  The only time price matters is when you fail to show value. Start out presenting the best coverage for the client, not the cheapest. You can always drop down to “Volkswagen” coverage if needed, but if you never pitch the “Cadillac” first, you lose before you start.

• Dig Deeper With Questions

  Most agents vomit information. The ones who win? They ask. And ask. And ask again. Use needs-based questions (“Who’s your current carrier? What do you like/dislike? Why shop now?”) and watch prospects reveal the real pain points that move them off the fence.

• Lead Activation: Rapport First, Sales Second

  Stop opening calls with, “Want an insurance quote?” It’s the root canal nobody wants. Instead, start human (“How’s your day going?”) and build rapport as you uncover needs. People crave genuine service, be the agent who listens.

• Give a Damn, For Real

  Commission breath kills trust. Make your intent clear: “I’m here to help, whether you buy today or not.” You’re not there to push; you’re there to protect. (And remember, prospects are buying insurance somewhere, make it your agency.)

• Objection Handling: Don’t Just Accept “I Need to Talk to My Spouse”

  Ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s just code for “I’m not ready.” Ask, “What’s making you hesitate?” Dig until you hit the real reason. Top closers don’t take stalls at face value, they help prospects decide.

• Daily Training: The Non-Negotiable

  The best agencies train every single morning, no matter how awkward or repetitive. Consistency turns green agents into killers. There’s always a new angle, success to celebrate, or a process to sharpen.

Action Steps:

• This week, rewrite your opener. Make it about them, not you.

• Track the questions you ask in your first 10 calls. Are you learning enough before you sell?

• Run a sales huddle tomorrow. Celebrate success. Address one common objection.

• Audit your team’s call intros, who’s leading with “quote” or “price”? Fix it ASAP.

Save this newsletter. Share it with your team. Let’s get specific on what’s working for agency owners today.

Stay sharp, The Insurance Dudes

Craig Pretzinger and Jason Feltman

The Insurance Dudes! 🚀

Three Key Questions to Reflect on Your Insurance Agency Bonus This Year

If you just got your annual bonus, or maybe you didn’t, let’s do something different for a minute: grab a piece of paper and answer, honestly, are you happy with your bonus? And, more importantly, why or why not? Be real with yourself, this isn’t about beating yourself up if things didn’t go perfectly. Some years, curveballs come at you and you can’t control everything. But when you write it out, it gives you a snapshot of where you stand and opens up a space for some real reflection.

Next up, take a look at the actions you took last year that led to your results. If you hit your bonus goal, awesome. What specifically did you do that got you there? Break it down, maybe you put in extra time on marketing, hired that extra person, or dialed in your team’s process. If you landed halfway to your target, or didn’t make bonus, get clear on what you did that set that into motion. Sometimes it’s easy to focus on what we didn’t do, but the real gold is seeing the patterns you can actually control.

Now, here’s where you raise the bar: ask yourself what you’re willing to do differently this year to make things better than last year. If you only invested a certain amount on marketing, is it time to push that number and test new strategies? Are you ready to finally delegate those tasks that eat up your day so you can focus on the bigger picture? For a long time, I found myself spinning my wheels, doing the same things but hoping for better results. That never worked. Change only came when I got honest about what I was actually willing to shift.

The key is being intentional and honest with yourself, whether you want to free up time, grow your wealth, or both. You need to set up the right processes, bring the right people in, and trust your team so you’re not carrying the whole load alone. That’s how you get off the hamster wheel and move toward the agency, and lifestyle, you actually want.

Answer those three questions, write them down, and you’ll have a clear path for what’s next, no matter how last year ended up.

Around The Web 🌎

The YouTube 🎥

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