Episode 342: How to Get Out of the Weeds and Actually Lead Your Insurance Agency

Welcome to the Scale Your Insurance Agency Podcast. This podcast will give you all of the tools to scale your insurance agency and live life on your own terms. Wherever you are today, if you're stuck or well on your way to the success you desire with the right people, processes, and promotions in place, you will be unstoppable. And now I'd like to introduce your host, Mike Stromso.

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Scale Your Insurance Agency Podcast. I got a question for you today. If you were applying for the job that you actually do right now every day, would your title, position be agency owner or senior customer service representative? Be honest, because all progress starts with the truth. Of course, you're likely the best problem solver. You're the best salesperson in the organization, and you're the person who knows every account, every carrier, every relationship, every process, and everything else. After all, you built it. Congratulations. Well done. But if everything needs you, you've created a ceiling on your agency's growth. And more importantly than that, you have a ceiling on your freedom. And we don't want that for you. That's why we're here. Because we love, love, love, love serving the independent insurance agency industry. That is our heart and our joy. And we don't want anybody to ever feel like they're on an island alone. Because you're not. You're here. Thank you for joining us. So I'm thinking about an agent who was at one of our live events at the end of last year. And the agent came up to me at a break, and this is an agent that we've worked with for a couple of years. And he told me, Mike, I heard you say something about this this morning, and today's the day that it clicked. And I said, Chris, what's going on? He goes, I heard you say earlier that I'll never ever find anybody that can do 100% of what I do in the agency. That person does not exist. That's because you are you. I said, but if you can find somebody who can do 80% of what you do and do it well, that's a massive win. And so that's what you're looking for. That massive win. And he said, Mike, I'm going back to the office and I'm going to elevate my second in command to run the agency, and I'm going to go do what I do. And what's happened to this agency, incredible, phenomenal things. I just happened to know that this agency has a VA team. The agency owner, now that he has this freedom, just went over and met live overseas with the VA team that they built. They have a certificate program for the VA team. They have a certification. They have an elevation roadmap on how these people can elevate themselves within the business. And yes, not only gain greater stature, but yes, earn more money as well. And they're pumped, they're excited, they're self-sufficient, they want to learn. And the other great thing that this agency owner has been able to do, he now has the freedom to dig deeper into his numbers. And he told me when we met, he goes, Mike, I've identified that 91% of our revenue is from our top 50% of clients. And I've also identified that 83% of our revenue is from our top 25% of clients. So they've identified all these things, and they've got a service team that's taking all of the work off of the desks of their licensed insurance professionals. Better said, a licensed processing team that's taking all of the work off the desks of their licensed insurance professionals and freeing them up so they can do the things that only they can do, which is how it should be. And that agency is exploding and they are going to do incredible things in the future. I just happen to know that he also just met with a couple of acquisition opportunities because he now has the time to do so. So that's why my question out of the gate was it was what it was. If you were applying for the job that you are currently doing today and that you perform, would your title or your whatever it says on your business card or your digital profile, would it be CEO, agency owner, or leader, or would it be senior customer service representative? Let's get let's get you out of any service work so that you can lead your team. Your responsibility is to set the vision, build the systems, lead your people, and to set the direction the agency is going in. I'm gonna give you some quick hits today. And remember, don't think it, ink it. So if you're in a position, you're at a desk, or you can write this down, please do. If you're driving, then don't. Let's keep driving and taking this all in. And of course, I'm sure that you may have some technology tool that can quickly transcribe this and get it into a working form. Great. One, are you the agency's best employee or its leader? Remember this. People are silently waiting to be led. People are silently waiting to be led. Lead them. They're expecting you and waiting for you to lead them. And I'm not saying that you're having every answer for them or you have an open revolving door where they can run into their office, into your office anytime they need to. That's not what I'm saying. But they're expecting you and looking for you to set the vision, to set the future plan. Go back, you may have heard this on a previous podcast episode. We've hired two people in the last two weeks. And one of the things that they have mentioned that excites them so about our future at UPP is what we're going to do in the future. We have a big vision and we plan to grow. And we plan to impact more agents' lives. And speaking with a number of agents, we've had agents say, Mike, if you can do what you plan to do, you're going to impact a million lives. That's our goal. Impact a million lives. And what about your business? What's your core values and your core purpose? That's our core purpose. Impact people's lives personally and professionally. Back to the topic. Are you the agency's best employee or its leader? But in our new teammates, they've both said we love the fact that your vision is so big. It makes us want to work even harder to go achieve it. And because that vision is so big and we're constantly intentionally doing the things that we need to do, things keep happening. Incredible door open this morning. Just because that's how things happen. When you set the vision and do the activities and intentionally take certain actions, things start happening. The right work is what we call it. So make sure that you are leading your team and you're not the agency's best employee. You are its leader. The leader takes responsibility for building the team that consistently delivers results. Not activities, results. Remember, when you go to your team and they say, Oh, we're so busy, say, great. Tell me about your results. Because every desk is a profit center. And every sales position needs to have goals. And it's simply, are you on track to your goals or off track to your goals? That's the simple question. That's the simple check-in question. Okay. Look out for the warning signs. And making sure you're keeping yourself on track. See if your team members are bringing you decisions they can make themselves, that's problematic. If your calendar fills with service issues while strategic priorities get postponed, that's a problem. If you step in because explaining the task feels slower than doing it, don't do it. I know it's hard in the beginning, but you've got to position yourself to build and improve systems and workflows. Because once you have those systems and workflows built, then you can start installing the technology to build off of that. And that's when it gets really, really good. And if the agency struggles when you leave for a day, for a week, for two weeks, that's a problem. So we want to help you achieve that freedom. Just starting work, just started working with an agency. They told me we're gonna have trouble breaking away for six hours. My thought, I'm glad you're here because we're gonna help you fix that. That's not how it should be. And it's likely just a couple of operational tweaks is gonna solve that. Excited for their future. The second takeaway. What should owners and leaders stop doing? What should you stop doing? Start with the recurring work that you're doing that a trained, properly trained team member could be doing within clear directional standards. Like routine service tasks, document follow-up, account status check. It's all intentionally planned items. I know because I was the community guy in our independent insurance agency, and I know a lot of you are. You're the person that's out there in the community, you have all the relationships, the big key relationships, right? And so it was not uncommon that somebody would come up to me and say, Hey, Mike, I need to make a change on my account. Can you just take care of it? One of my favorite phrases of all time that I learned to say every time. Hey, give me some quick information about what it is, and myself or one of my teammates is gonna get to work for you right away. Myself or one of my teammates. Myself or one of my teammates. And who would it be? It would be a teammate, 99% of the time. And the only the 1% of the time when I was involved, if it was more complex, it needed a deeper explanation. I didn't want to waste time on the spot. And if you can't empower your team or delegate to your team in that situation, that's a whole nother conversation. It's really all about training in that case. Okay. Scheduling, inbox sorting, administrative coordination. What should you stop doing? If you're doing any of these things, stop it. Renewal workflows and routine carrier follow-up. There's a way to systematize all that so it doesn't touch your inbox, your screen, whatever it is. Approving ordinary decisions that fall into somebody else's area, give them the authority to do so. Give them permission to take care of things on your behalf. You see, anytime that you're going to give somebody else permission and the authority to do something, you've got to make sure that you're clear on the desired outcome. You've got to make sure they have the right training, the right resources, the right accountability, and the right check-ins. Right now, uh, the new team member that I am personally training daily huddles.

Daily.

Because that's what it requires to make sure they're properly trained. And it'll it'll move away from that in the near future. But there's a documented training plan and daily huddles with accountability. Expected outcome. And you gotta make sure that you want when you hand it off to somebody else, that it doesn't create even more questions. There has to be clarity. That's why we created the old next action sheet or what is now the 131 plan. Thanks to the encouragement from Dan Martell. When your team comes to you with that one thing, they keep on the phone via text and run into your office, whatever it is, connect with you on Zoom, and they have that one thing. Simply say, hey, tell me about the one thing. What do you think we should do? Well, I don't know. That's why I'm coming in talking to you. I don't know what to do. Well, let's trade shares. Let's say you're in the owner's chair or the leader's chair, and I'm gonna be in your chair. Give me your best idea as to what we should do. And they'll say, well, we should do this, this, and this. 80% of the time, it's probably a good start, or it is the answer. And then the next action sheet that I created so many years ago, I would give them a document. Now it's digital or online as well, however, you position yourself. And you have them document exactly their next steps. And then you have a deadline and you have a confirmation if it's that important, they're gonna get back to you and confirm that it's done. That was how we built our organization and confidence within the team so they were empowered to make decisions without. And so what the 131 is when your team comes to you with the one thing, set a new standard. You come to me with one thing, you must bring three ideas as to how you think this will get done. And we're gonna decide together which one of those three you're gonna run with, and we're gonna make sure you have clarity of outcome. That's it. Now, thinking back, I remember the time because I had, you know, six, seven, eight teammates at that time, and they were constantly coming in, asking me questions about this and that, and this and that. And I said, enough. I need freedom so we can continue to grow. So I set a team meeting agenda every single week. And it took me two to three months, I'm gonna say, meeting, week after week after week after week, teaching my team on how to make judgment decisions so they could gain confidence in making these decisions on their own. And you know what happened? They did it. And all of a sudden, because I gave them permission and the training and the authority to do it, I said, hey, you guys got this. You don't need me unless it's critical. You have permission to go ahead and make the decision and do it. Now, let me share with you one other little thing that I used to say when they deserved it. And you've got to make that call as to whether they deserve it or not. I used to say, let's say I had a teammate, totally trusted teammate. They did a great job. Uh, we're all human, right? Are they perfect? No. We just ask one thing: a perfect effort. So we've got a trusted teammate, they're really, really good at what they do, would rehire them again in a heartbeat, that kind of person. I would say to that person, you know what? Whatever you do in making these decisions, I will always have your back. As long as you follow our core values, our core purpose, and you're on the moral and ethically sound ground. Right? So as long as all that's in place, I will always have your back, no matter what happens. And if something goes awry, I will always have your back. I can't tell you over the years how many times that people came to me and said, Mike, I can't tell you how important it is that you say that. Knowing that you have my back is all I need to hear. Leadership, ladies and gentlemen, leadership. So, next. What must the owner own? What must the owner or the highest leader own as far as their core responsibilities? Other leaders can contribute into these areas under your direction and your standards, but the owner remains accountable for making these things happen. One, vision: where we are going and what kind of agency we are building. I have it right here in my possession. I don't know if you can see this or not. You can. Our goal is to build the future agency, design and build the future agency and start operating in the present. That's your goal. Build the agency of the future. Share it with your team. Let them know exactly how you're gonna get there. And then start operating like that future agency in the present to the best of your ability. That's what they want to know. People want to be part of something special. The best team players, the A players, they want the chance to do something significant. They want to be part of something special. Next, so set the vision. That's one. Number two, the people. Do you have the right leaders with clear expectations and meaningful accountability in place? Do you have the right team member? Do you have the right people in the right seats? Right person, right seat. It's not uncommon that we run into agencies where you have the right person but wrong seat. So we simply redesign the agency a bit. Next, strategy. You, the owner and top leader, are responsible for the strategy. What opportunities deserve people's time in the certain seats, the investment in money, and the attention and their attention. Strategy. When you have that time to think, that's what I'm after. I'm I've got thinking time now. It's a wonderful, incredible place to be. And growth. You're responsible for vision, your people, your strategy for growth. Are we increasing profit? Are we increasing the margins? Are we increasing the operating capacity as revenue continues to grow? Gross revenue and net revenue? I mean, all of that's in play. And lastly, relationships. If you're talking with any clients, which clients deserve and need your time? Not all of them. We've got to change. Here's something that I seem to be talking about more and more nowadays. We've got to change our self-identity. We've got to change our self-identity. Critically important sometimes, especially if we're a founding owner and more of the ones who did it all. We sold policies, we built the systems, we had all the carrier relationships, we knew all the processes, and now we're teaching somebody else. We get to, we don't have to do anything. We get to change our self-identity. So the relationships, whether it be clients, carriers, referral sources, or other community relationships, bring somebody along. Go out with them for a period of time and then release them. And let them build their own relationships and build their own influence. So your responsibility is vision, people, strategy, growth, and relationships. Your highest value work is creating the conditions for everyone else on your team to equally grow and flourish. Because that brings them fulfillment. And that's when they become more loyal. So how do you shift your time? Well, simply it begins with your judgment and your ability to time block. It becomes with your judgment and your ability to time block. And your ability to identify the things that you should not be doing and then train and empower somebody else to do those things. Somebody else can own the outcome. Make sure they're clear. And for the highest priority items in your agency, there should only be one person that owns the outcome. There should be one person that owns the outcome. And you should automate wherever possible. Automate wherever possible. See, machine work, the definition of machine work is repetitive rules-based activities that have a predictable outcome. The definition of machine work or what can be automated? Repetitive rules-based activities that have a predictable outcome. So how much can you automate? And lastly, what can you eliminate? What can you eliminate? Be looking for things to eliminate. It's the great essence of scale. And whether you like them or not, let's just look at this from a scaling in business perspective. That's the one thing that Elon Musk does really, really well. Eliminate items and get to maximum efficiency. So be thinking about that. What can we eliminate that protect leadership time? I remember to give you an example from our early days of efficiency, when we were doing a lot of scanning. And there was a lot of additional documents that came in for direct bill policies where the billing relationship was between the carrier and the client. The billing relationship is between the carrier and the client. The agency is not there. So why are we even touching these documents? An efficiency consultant that we hired at the time said. And we were like, you're right. We eliminated 40% of our touches on documents. Just like that. Eliminated. So for all of these things, does your calendar reflect the future agency that you want? Or only the demands of today's agency? Does your calendar reflect your future agency or only the demands of today's agency? Remember, when your team comes to you and asks, we need to do this and I don't know what to do about this. Quick answer. What do you recommend that we do and why? What do you recommend that we do and why? Coach their judgment. Clarify their authority, their authority to do it. And let them know if it needs to be escalated, only in this situation do you escalate it? True owner independence does not mean owner absence. It means the business performs under clear leadership with capable people that have clear expectations and goals and operating standards. It's that simple. So, quick action items for your accountability out of the gate today. Over the next seven days, here's what I want you to do. One, identify three recurring responsibilities that you're currently doing that you can transfer to somebody else. Three of them over the next week. Two, assign a clear owner standard, and decision boundary for those three recurring responsibilities. I want you to find three things, the lowest level things that you're currently doing that you're going to hand off to somebody else. Next, protect two leadership blocks on your calendar. As soon as you're done with this podcast, stop what you're doing, block two leadership blocks. Well, it might be 30 minutes, it might be an hour. You can do it. Like I learned from the billionaire many, many years ago when I invested go see him for a whole day. He said, when things go wrong or you're afraid to do something, think about it like this: Nobody died, or nobody will die. Just do it. That's how we become a billionaire. Huh? Protect two leadership blocks on your calendar. Do it right now. And lastly, use the time to move one important growth priority forward. That thing that you've been wanting to do but have not done. Whether it be a people issue, a process issue, or a marketing issue, a promotion issue. People, process, promotion, marketing issue. Here's the deal. Being indispensable to every transaction limits your agency. If they can't do it without you, you have a ceiling within your agency. Build a team, lead a team, train a team, empower a team that can deliver without your consistent involvement. And use your leadership abilities to create vision, to create strategy, to create growth. Because that's why you started the business in the first place. Future that you want, the freedom that you crave, it's all there waiting for you. You just gotta do the right work. Start doing the right work today. And if you got great value from this podcast, help somebody else out. Help a fellow agency owner, somebody else in the industry, another leader. Send them this episode or just send them to ScaleYour Insurance Agency Podcast.com so we can help them grow too. Remember, that's why we're here. We love this industry. It brings us great joy to help all of you. So help somebody else out, pass it on. But we don't want anybody to feel like they're ever on an island either. It's time for action, ladies and gentlemen. Let's go. I'll see you in the next episode.

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