Listen, if you’re going to be successful in this game, you got to turn yourself into a hybrid. If you don’t understand what that means, you need to read this post.
There are three kinds of people in the insurance industry today that are out attempting to produce business. The first one is the technician. The technician is the person that goes in and knows every coverage form, every endorsement. They know so much that they scare their prospect. Technicians lack sales skills, and many times they lack interpersonal skills, and I’m not making a knock on underwriters. Still, technicians are more suited for an underwriting role than they are a production role. I’m not talking about guys that can sell and be a technician or ladies that can sell and be a technician. I’m talking about straight technicians period. Okay. I’ve been in so many appointments where technicians speak way longer than they need to. They need for that person to understand how much they know, and they spend the whole meeting demonstrating their intellect and coverage form, memorization, and understanding. They talk themselves out of deals.
Now at the other end of the spectrum, we have the sales guys, the salespeople, saleswomen out there. What do they do? Well, they sell. They sell at all costs. They’re far from technicians. They don’t understand the technical piece, and they don’t understand coverage. They don’t understand endorsements and all of the things that need to happen to make a program successful, and so they seal the deal, then they hope for the best. Salespeople may sell more and produce more than a technician will. They’re also a walking E&O time bomb.
The third group is the hybrid. That’s what you need to strive to be. A hybrid is someone who has technical insurance abilities and also an ability to open and close deals. Hybrids are where it’s at. And so my challenge to you as you start this next week is, what are you going to do to sharpen the saw? What are you going to do? If you’re a technician, how are you going to push the needle into becoming more of a salesperson? If you’re a salesperson, how are you going to push the needle to become more of a technician? Because at the end of the day, if you’re either one of those two, and you’re competing with a hybrid, the hybrid’s going to run all over you. If you can self assess and determine what you need to do to strengthen your game and move the needle one way or the other and push yourself to become the ultimate hybrid, you’re going to kill it commercial insurance.
Influence is one of the most powerful tools we have in business, leadership, and personal life. Used well, it inspires people, builds trust, and creates ethical results. Used poorly, it can slide into manipulation and self-interest.
Reinvention is one of the most powerful themes in the insurance industry. Some of the best commercial producers in the country did not grow up wanting to sell insurance. They did not study risk management in college. They did not come from an agency family. They found this industry after they tried something else. They found it after life pushed them toward a career where performance, autonomy, and mindset determine the outcome.
The most successful producers in the middle market did not get there because they quoted faster, smiled bigger, or knew how to talk longer. They got there because they learned how to differentiate themselves so clearly that prospects had no choice but to see them as trusted advisors. They learned to operate like businesspeople first and insurance technicians second. They learned how to tie operational mechanics to insurance outcomes. They learned how to control their time, their pipeline, and their future.
In commercial insurance, the most dangerous threats to your book of business aren’t always visible on the loss runs. One of the most overlooked vulnerabilities for middle market producers is ignoring the personal lines needs of their business owner and executive clients.
The commercial insurance industry is one of the few professions where someone can enter with no experience, no connections, and no background in risk management and still build a long, lucrative career. But success is never automatic. It requires hunger, humility, curiosity, and the willingness to keep showing up even when the process feels overwhelming. That is why the story of Pam Seidler has already started making waves among new and aspiring commercial producers.
In an industry where tradition often outweighs innovation, artificial intelligence and automation are slowly but steadily reshaping how independent insurance agencies operate. The push toward smarter, more efficient workflows is no longer a matter of if—but when. While many agencies are still evaluating how AI fits into their operations, early adopters are already reaping the benefits of streamlined submissions, faster processing, and actionable data insights.
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