Growing up when I played baseball, there was this saying when you won a championship or a tournament or whatever else that said, act like you’ve been there before. That’s probably the best advice I could give any producer out there who’s trying to break into the middle market. You know what? Do you want to hear more?
Growing up, I played sports pretty much my entire childhood and adulthood by playing baseball in college. And if you played ball as I did, every one of us had that crusty guy that held the scorebook in his hand, smoking a cigarette, coaching third base. That guy had a lot of wisdom and probably had more life experience than many of us do. But some of that wisdom is relevant to being a producer today. Anytime we would win a tournament, or we would be the league champions or anything of that nature, the first thing that would come out of that guy’s mouth is to act like you’ve been there before.
One of the biggest mistakes producers make when doing cold calling marketing drops or even going into first appointments is to allow themselves to feel inferior. They beat themselves mentally before they ever walk in. And then they beat themselves up when they leave because they didn’t get the results they wanted.
So my advice is to follow the crusty guy, smoking a cigarette and keeping score in the third base coach’s box: act like you’ve been there before. Mentally prepare yourself; know that you belong at that table before you ever walk in. Walk into that lobby to meet the gatekeeper like that’s your company. You’re just showing up for work that day. And have a conversation like you’ve been friends for years. I know it sounds crazy, and it sounds easy, but it’s not because if it were, everybody would already be doing it.
The truth is if you can commit to acting like you’ve been there before and mentally preparing yourself every single day before you start your cold call journey, whether that be on the phone, in person, or even going into a first appointment, you’re going to absolutely kill it in commercial insurance. And you’re going to be amazed by the amount of momentum you pick up and the confidence you gain going forward as soon as you get that first win by trusting what I’m telling you and acting like you’ve been there before.
In the ever-evolving world of commercial insurance, marketing has become a critical lever for growth. Yet most agencies still struggle to understand what’s actually working. From websites that generate leads with no attribution to CRM systems that silo vital data, insurance agencies are often flying blind.
If you’re a commercial insurance producer trying to grow in the middle market, you’re probably aware that the old-school prospecting methods—cold calling hundreds of businesses, dropping off trinkets, hoping someone is “coming up on renewal”—are no longer enough. In today’s competitive environment, success isn’t about how many people you reach. It’s about reaching the right people at the right time with the right message.
Too many agents stop learning once they’ve earned their license. The bare minimum—meeting continuing education requirements—is not enough in today’s climate. Producers often resort to online forums, asking where they can complete CE hours “as quickly as possible.” This mindset directly impacts their ability to communicate complex subjects like reinsurance or risk modeling to clients in an understandable way. As a result, they struggle to retain accounts and close new business in an increasingly competitive market.
The problem? Too many producers are pitching too soon, to the wrong people, with nothing more than a quote to offer. This article walks through how to close more business by positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, selling Total Cost of Risk (TCOR) outcomes, and using a structured approach to differentiate at every stage of the sales process.
In the modern commercial insurance landscape, trust is no longer built solely through in-person meetings, networking events, or polished brochures. It’s earned digitally—often before a prospect ever takes your call. As sales dynamics shift and competition tightens, the producers who will thrive are those who understand one thing: educational content is the new handshake.
Most commercial insurance producers think of referral networks as an afterthought—something that might generate a lead or two if they attend enough events, shake enough hands, or stay active in their BNI chapter. But the producers who consistently dominate the middle market think differently. They treat referral networks like revenue engines, built with the same discipline as a sales pipeline, and they use those relationships not only to generate appointments but to recruit the next generation of elite producers.
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