Look, if you’re going to be successful in the commercial insurance game as a producer, you have to understand that you have got to be so much more than just a salesperson to your prospects and your clients for that matter. If you think I’m kidding around, I’m going to share a story from my book of business today, that just made my day when I got out of bed.
So many times, we get caught up in the pressures of production that we forget why we do what we do. The truth of the matter is people are not interested in a salesperson. I know it’s cliche, and I even hate to say it, but it’s a fact. People want a trusted advisor. You go in to consult with your clients and prospects on the core functions of their business. It’s time that we start holding ourselves in the same regard as their accountants and their attorneys. Risk management advisors and insurance professionals have gotten a bad rap for a lot of years, and you know what, it’s because of us. It’s because of what we’ve done. We all want to go in with the hit it and quit it mentality, that we’re just here to sell you something, and we’ll see a few weeks before renewal to try and sell you something again.
You can’t keep business that way, and you certainly can’t grow a book of business that way. This morning when I woke up, my thought process was validated entirely by this email that I got from one of my clients. “David, I need your book. I’m willing to pay. Where can I get one? I know you saved my business and wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Getting us hooked up with Pilot Bank was a huge win. Thank you.” See, the reason this validated my thought process is because when everybody else was out shouting, “COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID, COVID,” I wasn’t. I realized that for me to sustain my book of business, I needed to maintain my relationships and help keep my clients in business. As a result, we held a webinar with my good friends at Pilot Bank and their SBA lenders, the second that PPP loans became an option.
I sponsored the webinar. I moderated the webinar, and not one time during that entire webinar did I even mention the word insurance or the fact that I wanted to try and sell these prospects something. See, part of our job as a producer and a trusted advisor is to be connectors. We have to be connectors more than we’re salespeople. What I did was I recognized the people who needed money. I understood that I had relationships with the people who could help them get that money. All I did was bring them together. As a result, my channel partner, Pilot Bank, benefited greatly. Several of my clients moved to their banking relationships to their institution as a result of the connection. My clients benefited because they got the money they so desperately needed in a time where they were getting thumped.
Did that have anything to do with insurance? No! All I did was make sure that I know what my clients and prospects need so well that I can be a resource to help them meet that need. It’s not about selling a product. It’s all about solving problems. If you and your team can figure out what those problems are and demonstrate pragmatic solutions, you’re going to kill it in commercial insurance.
Until next time: Kill or Get Killed
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.
Please confirm you want to block this member.
You will no longer be able to:
Please note: This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.
Responses