Meet Adrienne. After working in education as a training coordinator for over a decade, she recently made the jump to run operations at an employee benefits firm. It wasn't easy and she admits that she made some rookie hiring mistakes at first. But since then, she's been promoted to CEO of Benefit Advisors. Because in just 2 years after taking over the insurance agency -- Adrienne's lead their team to over 40% growth. And hired a few solid ROCKSTAR producers along the way. But the best part? She'...
Apr 05, 2021•13 min
Meet Ryan. He's the father figure of a blended family living off the coast of New Jersey. Ryan's also the Sales Director at JGS Insurance, who joined Bignition a few years ago. Since then, he's helped their team to achieve a few BIG squad goals like ... - 3X their sales revenue - Increase to a 97% retention rate The best part? They're still growing. ---- *P.S. -- Are you an independent insurance agency leader with 4-10 Producers looking for a scalable growth system? Here's a free webinar just fo...
Apr 01, 2021•20 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Meet Justin. He went from being a college football coach to selling insurance for a living ... Now he coaches Producers in his agency on how to do it too. Justin told us, "There's really no difference between the two jobs ... You've just got to be disciplined to a system." His secret training system? Bignition. Because with Bignition, there is no room for excuses anymore. Your Insurance Producers get access to 24/7 sales training on-demand and the technology to track activity effectiveness. ... ...
Mar 02, 2021•30 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Imagine you’re a 28 to 32 year-old commercial insurance agent going after accounts anywhere from $7500, up to $30,000 in revenue. How do you position yourself to set more appointments with these types of prospects? The answer: BETTER MARKETING! Join Randy Schwantz and insurance marketing LEGEND, Michael Jans, as they take a deep dive into becoming a better marketer to set more appointments.
Feb 22, 2021•57 min•Season 2Ep. 8
One of the biggest questions agency owners face when making a new decision for their business is, "When will we see a return on investment?" This wasn't any different for agency owner, Jared Pitts, from GIA-TX. He admitted that he was extremely skeptical of the program at first. But with Bignition, there is no secret formula here. If you want to grow your agency, it's VERY simple. We'll bring the tools and coaching. You bring the commitment and effort. And together, we'll catapult you to the nex...
Feb 08, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Randy Schwantz and Tim Pollard, author of The Compelling Communicator, discuss virtual and effective communication during COVID. In this video they dive into things you should know, common mistakes, and how mastering a few communication tips can hugely impact your business and success. At the end of the day good communicators win and bad communicators lose. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AND - We've negot...
Jan 19, 2021•48 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Don't you hate it when you spend a boatload of your time, money, and effort finding quality candidates -- only to have your newbie quit 2 weeks later? It's frustrating. But you don't need to give up on hiring just because the last new Producer you hired felt like an absolute train wreck. The truth is you have what it takes to hire Producers that'll make it. You just need the proven playbook to do it right. In the latest episode of Agency Growth Machine Podcast -- I caught up with one of our Bign...
Jan 12, 2021•16 min•Season 2Ep. 6
What happens when you hire a new-to-industry Producer who doesn’t know the first thing about selling insurance? In this episode of Agency Growth Machine, join Randy Schwantz and guest, Scott Knowles, as they explore a New Producer School focused on Workers Compensation. Find out how long it really takes to train a new Producer (Hint: it’s probably not what you’d expect.) Grow Big or Stay Home™ https://www.thewedge.net/bignition/ ------------------------------------------------------------- *P.S....
Nov 13, 2020•40 min•Season 2Ep. 5
With all the negativity in the world, it’s extremely hard to see anything positive. The problems become even more magnified if negativity is all you can see. In this episode of Agency Growth Machine Podcast, Randy Schwantz sheds some light on how your future can be bright no matter what goes on around you. Grow Big or Stay Home™ — www.thewedge.net/bignition/ ------------------------------------------------------------- *P.S. — Check-out these FREE goodies for Agency Owners: www.thewedge.net/webi...
Nov 05, 2020•15 min•Season 2Ep. 4
There's a couple of different ways to look at this, but ultimately you can either sell out, keep your agency and double it, or just put up with what it is. Listen in and join Randy in the discussion of the pros and cons of each. Grow Big or Stay Home™ — www.thewedge.net/bignition/
Oct 30, 2020•21 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Because of The Wedge, you already have the tools to Double Your Agency's Growth. Many people have tried, but only the committed make it happen. Join Randy discuss principles from Think and Grow Rich, sharing how committing to a plan is the key to success. Interested in our sales training? Click here - November 16-17 for Virtual Wedge Training.
Oct 21, 2020•32 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode of Agency Growth Machine, Randy Schwantz, author of the Wedge, breaks down Winning Through Intimidation by Robert J. Ringer. He discusses a couple of theories in the book and applies them to life in the insurance world... touching on preparing for tough times, keeping a positive attitude, resilience, and how to set yourself up for success. His mission is to help people accomplish long term success personally and in their career. Give it a listen! To learn more about what we do at...
Sep 23, 2020•24 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Let's talk about challenging the way you think and getting clear on your goals, so that you can begin to pursue them. Re-write and rebuild your personal story about who you are and what you want to achieve. If you don't work on your vision for your career or life and begin to map it out... Or commit to being who you want to be, you will stay in a state of mediocrity. Does it have to be that way? No, but it is up to YOU to be extraordinary. Interested in learning more about growing your agency or...
Nov 11, 2019•26 min
I want to give all the recognition I can to Robin Sharma for his book, The 5 AM Club . It impacted me so much I sent a copy to 3 of my kids and attended his Personal Mastery Academy. Have you ever felt like you're not reaching your potential? Imagine if you were able to resist all the temptations that distract you from your goals. All the things that you don't need or rely on, but give your time and attention to. It could be social media, your phone, Netflix... What if you were able to get excit...
Nov 05, 2019•25 min
I'm back for another episode of Agency Growth Machine. We're going to talk about how to grow your agency and look, the big quote I'm going after right now because I'm setting up this three-part series on leadership with Bill Belichick. We just did Nick Saban coming up today and coach K coming up in the future and here's why. My core belief is that the difference between where your agency is today and where it's going to be tomorrow and deep into the future is in direct proportion to your ability...
Jan 09, 2019•32 min
What we’re going to be talking about today is leadership and if you’re a leader, here’s what I want you to be thinking about, the difference between where your agency is today and where it will be tomorrow and deep into the future is in direct proportion to your ability to lead and develop your sales team. So I think the key phrase there is ‘it’s in direct proportion to your ability’ and if you don’t continue to develop your ability then your salespeople won’t develop themselves and your growth ...
Jan 03, 2019•32 min
There’s a blast from the past, something that you’ve heard a billion times. The guy that we all love, man. I just can’t wait to hear what he’s got to say. In fact, it’s coming up here in just about three, two, one. Ready Go. Pat will always have his teams prepared. Whoa. You heard that voice before. Who is it? Pat will always have his teams prepared. Can you say Magic Johnson, one of the best all time ever, ever, ever, ever. And so what he’s talking about is Pat Riley, Pat, a major league coach ...
Dec 26, 2018•30 min
Hey there everybody, this is Randy Schwantz. Welcome to another episode of Agency Growth Machine. I hired a marketing consultant to help me out and one of the assignments he gave me was to watch Simon Sinek do his TED Talk on Start with Why . It made me go pull the book off my shelf again and as I’m reading through it, thinking through it, mapping it out just a little bit, here’s what’s kind of hitting me; what Simon does a good job of is comparing somebody like Apple to somebody like Dell. They...
Oct 24, 2018•23 min
Letter to My Boss… I love you, but I’ve got to go to a place that will help me grow. This new Agency Growth Machine podcast is a little off the rails…. 3 subjects: Why did I write the “letter to my boss?” New Trends Old World Agency vs. The New World Agency Probably some stuff that will make you mad… Hope you tune in. Listen below.
May 03, 2018•1 hr 4 min
What is Failure? Why do people make so much of it? In this brief Agency Growth Machine Podcast, I get into Failure in a unique way. I think you’re going to like it. Listen below.
May 03, 2018•17 min
Fundamentally, people know what they have to do to be successful. They have to prospect and set appointments. They have to convert those prospects into clients. They have to retain those clients for as long as possible, hopefully a lifetime. But, many have a hard time with the first step…. Prospecting. The source of the problem is NOT finding names to call. It’s NOT having a telephone that works. The problem is FEAR. And FEAR comes in different packages, sometimes disguised, but nevertheless… it...
Feb 12, 2018•21 min
When someone comes after your business, you leverage your relationship with your customer, get the last look, and keep the account. How many naïve producers have you rolled in your career? Want to solve the ‘getting rolled’ problem? Listen now. For In-depth training on the latest sales techniques, CLICK HERE .
Feb 02, 2018•32 min
I’ll Teach You HOW to Wedge-OUT the Incumbent… And Get a BOR Letter Up-Front. I’ve taught thousands of producers how to ‘unseat’ the incumbent and WIN the business at the first interview. I’m a process guy… Everything can be boiled down to a process in my world and The Wedge is a process that, when mastered, will have Mr. Prospect asking you to do business. For In-depth training on the latest sales techniques, CLICK HERE to join us in April for the next The Wedge 3-in-1 Workshop . Sign up now an...
Jan 25, 2018•28 min
Here’s the problem, a Good Cop’s job is to get the candidate excited about insurance, your agency and working for you. The Bad Cop’s job is to get the TRUTH about the candidate: Can they sell? Will they sell? They are TWO remarkably different roles, almost as different as being a spouse and a parent. For more on BAD COP, listen below.
Jan 19, 2018•21 min
The biggest challenge that kills growth is that you, the agency owner have so few systems to drive growth, you struggle to find the time. No systems for sales training. No systems for running sales meetings. No systems for accountability…
Jan 11, 2018•29 min
Don’t you hate it when someone says, “your ANYTHING sucks.” I know I do, I could quickly lose respect for that kind of marketing communication. So instead, let’s say your sales meetings are awesome, but being a progressive Agency Owner, you want them to be better, more effective, drive differentiation and as result, get 200% more BORs. Would you be more comfortable saying that? I know I would. Want better sales meetings… Listen now.
Jan 04, 2018•24 min
Think simply: A car is just a way to gain leverage on your time, it's gets you from point A to point B faster than walking, riding a bike or taking a bus. When you think about growing your agency, getting your producers engaged, confident and writing new business, there are numerous areas of 'leverage' you could be missing.
Nov 29, 2017•23 min
It's easy to assume everyone else has it together, no problems, they are rocking it. But, in many cases you'd be dead wrong. Many of the people you see as Superman are just like you. Here's my story.
Nov 15, 2017•33 min
Taking a 60 year old agency and transforming it from a very respectable, but somewhat sleepy local agency into a GROWTH MACHINE is an a great story. Hear about Jon's journey... it'll change your view on what you can accomplish.
Nov 08, 2017•32 min
There are 100's of CRM and Pipeline management tools on the marketplace. You should choose carefully which one you adopt. In this episode we break down the reasoning you should consider before you make a commitment
Nov 01, 2017•34 min
