Agency Launch

Matt Dietz

A look into the life of the owner of an insurance agency. I opened my agency in 2004. I talk about sales, marketing, staffing and retention. If you can master these 4 things, you can write your own ticket. Get in.

Last refreshed: July 2nd, 2025 at 4:14 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Part 3 of interview with new agency owner Zach Burke.

I asked Zach how he is approaching his budget as a new agency owner. He asked me about my mentors.

Oct 29, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 54

Part 2 of interview with new agency owner Zach Burke.

In this episode I asked Zach what he is doing to get out to such a great start. Zach turned around and asked me if there’s anything that I would have done different looking back on my career.

Oct 28, 2020•14 min•Season 1Ep. 53

Interview with a new agency owner. Part 1

Let’s mix it up a little. I sat down and did a Zoom interview with Zach Burke who is a new agency owner. We decided to create some content and share it with you. This is part 1 of a 6 part series.

Oct 27, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 52

How to find and train telemarketers.

My thoughts on how to find telemarketers and get to most out of them.

Oct 22, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 52

Don’t be afraid of higher premiums.

This episode has a story of a sale I closed from a client who told me he wouldn’t change his policy to me unless I saved him at least 20%. He wound up buying a policy from me that was 20% higher.

Oct 21, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 51

Do you have employees that like to say “no”? 👎

Customer service is the one thing that you can control in your agency. It’s crucial that you continually train and better your service over time.

Oct 15, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 50

Should I pay commission only? 💰

Can you onboard a sales producer and pay them commission only. I’m not saying it’s impossible. I am saying it’s very high risk, potentially very expensive and you have to be diligent with training and tracking. You also have to find the right person who is excellent at sales and that in and of itself, might be the greatest challenge.

Oct 13, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 51

Do you really need to be working 60 hours a week? No you do not. ⏳

Two pieces of advice to get you 5-10 hours a week back. Audit your time. Monitor your screen time.

Oct 09, 2020•7 min•Season 1Ep. 51

Should I keep the employees of an agency I am buying?

Buying an agency with existing employees is a big challenge. The best thing to do is lay out YOUR expectations of their job. They now work for a new company and it’s crucial that they understand their job might come with different expectations. The best case scenario is that they fit perfectly with what you are trying to do. They they are excited about the change in ownership. That they are excited to help you make the transition smoothly and are an important part of your success. This is rare. ...

Oct 07, 2020•13 min•Season 1Ep. 49

A little bit about your host.

As this is my 48th episode, I felt like you should know a little a lot me. I share a little bit about me and my path to becoming an agency owner.

Oct 01, 2020•12 min•Season 1Ep. 48

How to sell life insurance today!!

If I told you do you have to sell life insurance policies by the e nd of next month could you do it? This podcast walks you through how to write life insurance policies quickly.

Sep 29, 2020•9 min•Season 1Ep. 48

How to deal with negative comments on social media.

Sometimes we have people respond to our social media posts in a negative way. This episode walks you through proper ways to handle these difficult online conversations.

Sep 24, 2020•10 min•Season 1Ep. 47

Know your minimum premiums.

Here is a quick method to save you some time. If a potential client comes to you and asks for a quote it’s good to know the minimum premium of the product they are asking about. That way you can gauge right away if they are a good prospect for you or not. If you say, “this is going to be at least $2500” and they are ok with it, they you can apply. If they say “no thanks” you’ve just saved a bunch of time toward something that was going to be a dead end.

Sep 22, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 44

A tough conversation with a client.

I just had a tough conversation with a client that didn’t end the way I like. This is an unfortunate reality of owning an agency. Just wanted to share with you.

Sep 18, 2020•10 min•Season 1Ep. 43

Build a professional team to compliment your agency.

Over time, you will need help with things outside your realm of expertise. This episode walks you through how I build mine.

Sep 15, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 41

A sales story.

This is a story about a time where my plan played out as perfectly as I had planned. It doesn’t always work this well, but a few moves with the right intentions can move things in the right direction.

Sep 10, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 40

Using numbers to increase sales.

What sounds better, For only $30 a month more, I’ll double your insurance. Or for only $360 a year? Or for only $7.50 a week? Or for only $1 a day. They all mean the same thing, but one of them will give you significant edge in selling.

Sep 08, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 39

Should you worry about your competition?

Got a great question from a colleague that I thought I would address. “How do we know who we compete against”. My thoughts lie inside this episode.

Sep 03, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 38

An employee story. “Either she goes or I go”

I walk you through one of my more challenging employee situations when I was put in a difficult situation.

Sep 01, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 38

How to keep clients when you acquire an agency.

I was recently asked how to keep clients in an agency that you acquire. Here are my thoughts.

Aug 27, 2020•15 min•Season 1Ep. 37

Set proper expectations when onboarding new clients.

We had an experience recently that made me take a look at some of our practices. Specifically, setting proper expectations for transition to our agency. This is all fancy talk for, tell clients what they need to do, by what day, and tell them what happens if they don’t do it.

Aug 25, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 36

Transferring policies between agencies.

How to properly handle the transfer of clients into or out of your agency.

Aug 20, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 36

How to work internet leads.

My honest thoughts in internet leads.

Aug 18, 2020•11 min•Season 1Ep. 35

How to play both sides when your stuck in the middle between your company and your client.

This episode explains a situation I was in when my company is asking for something my clients wasn’t ok with.

Aug 13, 2020•10 min•Season 1Ep. 34

Are you giving world class service to your insureds?

My mentor, Troy Korsgaden wrote a new book called Inflection Point and it’s an important read for all insurance professionals. This episode highlights a chapter on the service we must provide to survive. I highly recommend reading it and connecting with him on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Aug 06, 2020•8 min•Season 1Ep. 33

Should you check emails after hours or on weekends?

I’ve checked emails on the weekends and in some cases, that was a bad move. I learned I was going to be walking into a buzz saw on Monday with nothing i could do about it until then and it only brought me worry. I decided to stop checking emails on the weekends and it’s helped give me a needed break.

Aug 04, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 31

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