The Power Producer's Podcast

Welcome to the

Power Producers
Podcast

This is The Power Producers Podcast where we are refining and redefining the sales game. A place where sales professionals can come to learn from other sales professionals and thought leaders who have mastered their craft. As well as their peers who are still striving for perfection to achieve their “why”. Real sales professionals. Real stories. Real results. Are you ready to feel the power?

A Conversation we Need to Have with Brenden Corr and Justin Goodman, Episode #348

December 18, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers takes a bold step outside the box to discuss an often avoided yet critical topic: Mental Health. Joined by Brenden Corr of The Loss Runs Pros and Justin Goodman of Total CSR, David dives into their passion-driven initiative, Project 55. The conversation highlights the growing openness around personal struggles on platforms like LinkedIn, emphasizing the need for real, vulnerable discussions on topics such as ADHD, alcoholism, anxiety, and depression.

A Better Agency Provides a Better Client Experience, Shoptalk Episode #166

December 13, 2024

In this special episode of Power Producers Shop Talk, David Carothers sits down with Nicholas Ayers from Glovebox to discuss the recent acquisition of Better Agency by Glovebox and what it means for the insurance industry. David shares his insights as an investor and friend, focusing on the impact this partnership will have on both companies, their customers, and the broader market. With reflections on entrepreneurship, growth, and innovation, this episode offers a deep dive into the journey of building something meaningful and adapting to change.

Data Driven Prospecting with Insurance X-Date, Episode #347

December 11, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers welcomes Rob Gifford and Dan Abercrombie from Insurance Xdate. The trio dives into the journey of building an innovative tool for commercial insurance producers, exploring how Insurance Xdate simplifies pipeline management and prospecting. From leveraging data insights to overcoming challenges in a competitive market, Rob and Dan share actionable strategies and lessons from their experiences, making this a must-listen for producers looking to refine their sales game.

Sivan Iram – The New Breed of Wholesaler, Episode #346

December 4, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers talks with Sivan Iram from Flow Specialty. They discuss Flow Specialty’s innovative approach to using AI in insurance to enhance wholesale relationships, improve underwriting response times, and reduce operational friction for agents. Flow Specialty combines human expertise with AI-driven tools to speed up quote turnaround and improve accuracy without requiring agents to use portals. Sivan highlights that Flow’s AI is an internal tool supporting brokers rather than replacing them, positioning the company as a “caddy” for agents. Flow’s AI manages various tasks, such as analyzing quotes, market insights, and carrier communications. This combination allows agents to handle complex insurance transactions efficiently and frees up time to focus on larger accounts.

Wade Millward – Building a Winning Insurance Agency, Episode #345

November 27, 2024

This engaging episode of Power Producers Podcast features a candid discussion between David Carothers and Wade Millward on the intersection of insurance, operations, and growth strategies in the franchising space. With nearly two decades of industry experience, Wade shares how his unique background in software and insurance led to developing scalable solutions for franchisees and franchisors. The conversation spans various topics, from the challenges of producer development to the importance of automation and relationship-building in scaling a business.

A Producer’s Work Never Ends, Shoptalk Episode #165

November 22, 2024

In this special Thanksgiving edition of Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers dives into the holiday season’s challenges and opportunities. He shares strategies for staying proactive, avoiding complacency, and building a strong foundation for 2025. Reflecting on personal and professional growth, David emphasizes gratitude for the communities and partnerships that drive success.

Talk to me Goose with Joe Ems, Episode #344

November 20, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers spoke with Patrick McBride and Joe Ems from Sembley, a company offering innovative technology designed to simplify the commercial insurance quoting process. Joe explained the origins of Sembley, which was created to address common pain points in the industry, such as the tedious nature of filling out renewal forms and collecting client data. A standout feature discussed was Sembley’s user-friendly interface, affordable pricing, and integrations that improve efficiency. By leveraging custom intake forms, property data imports, and integration options with systems like Hawksoft and NowCerts, Sembley aims to streamline workflows for agencies, reduce back-and-forth with clients, and enable seamless data mapping across various forms. This technology allows agencies to focus on client relationships rather than manual tasks, making it particularly valuable for agents looking to enhance both client service and operational efficiency.

Two Tricks for Contractors that Stand the Test of Time, Shoptalk Episode #164

November 15, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers breaks down his top strategies for engaging contractors effectively. Drawing from real-world experience, David shares the key questions and approaches he uses to understand contractors’ needs and build trust. He emphasizes the importance of uncovering pain points related to certificates of insurance and audits, providing actionable insights on how producers can leverage these moments to win new business and strengthen client relationships.

Richard Stamets – Enabling Agencies with AI, Episode #343

November 13, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers podcast, David Carothers speaks with Richard Stamets, Chief Commercial Officer of BluePond AI, about the transformative role of generative AI in commercial insurance. They discuss BluePond’s AI-driven solution, the Broker Co-Pilot, which has been designed specifically for insurance with functionalities for policy checking, quote comparison, underwriting submission ingestion, and claims ingestion. Richard shares insights into how BluePond’s generative AI technology not only automates and improves accuracy in policy comparison but also assists brokers by identifying selling behaviors and enhancing operational efficiency.

Sometimes We Need a Little Spark, Shoptalk Episode #163

November 8, 2024

In this impactful episode of the Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers brings on guest Raghav Tana to discuss the personal challenges and profound purpose behind Raghav’s initiative, the Little Sparks Project. This nonprofit organization aims to provide financial and emotional support to families of children with complex medical needs, sparked by Raghav’s experiences with his son, who was born with Apert Syndrome. David shares his own journey with his son Ethan, who has special needs, reflecting on the emotional and financial toll of ensuring adequate care. They discuss the importance of advocacy, community support, and how their personal hardships have led to a shared mission of helping others facing similar struggles. The episode highlights the upcoming Little Sparks Project gala in December, emphasizing the importance of donations and community involvement.

Steve Bruder – Differentiation in the Land of Commoditization, Episode #342

November 6, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers sits down with Steve Bruder from Foxen to discuss how Foxen integrates renters’ insurance compliance and risk management solutions into property management. The conversation highlights how property managers can use Foxen’s system to ensure compliance with insurance requirements, prevent gaps in coverage, and generate ancillary income through revenue sharing. Steve provides insights into how Foxen’s innovative approach addresses the often-overlooked problem of tenants canceling insurance policies, which can leave property owners vulnerable to costly claims. This episode emphasizes how commercial insurance agents can leverage Foxen’s solutions to differentiate themselves in the habitational real estate space, improve client retention, and enhance the value they offer to clients managing larger property schedules.

David’s Cold Calling Recap, Shoptalk Episode #162

November 1, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers provides a deep dive into effective prospecting tactics for insurance producers, challenging misconceptions about cold calling and outlining a comprehensive approach for sustained success. David highlights his recent experience with a 500-dial cold-calling challenge, underscoring the role of focused preparation and systematized tracking in lead generation success. He discusses the value of in-person marketing drops, HubSpot CRM’s data insights, and the benefits of having a robust client database to streamline follow-ups and boost engagement.

Ray Gage – Start with Stop, Episode #341

October 30, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews Ray Gage, a veteran of the insurance industry who transitioned into mindful business coaching. Ray shares insights from his decades-long career in insurance, including selling his agency and the emotional challenges that followed. The conversation explores the often-overlooked emotional side of agency sales, leadership, and the impact of mindfulness in both personal and professional lives. Ray also discusses his upcoming book “Start with Stop”, which focuses on the power of stopping to reassess and transform one’s approach to business and life. The book offers 16 chapters, each addressing a distinct area of improvement such as leadership, time management, and communication, allowing readers to find practical transformations tailored to their needs.

Stop Selling on Price, Shoptalk Episode #161

October 25, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers discusses the importance of shifting away from selling on price and focusing instead on the total cost of risk (TCOR). Carothers emphasizes that insurance producers must position themselves as trusted advisors by addressing not only insurance premiums but also uninsured losses, compliance costs, safety program investments, and indirect costs such as reputational damage and employee downtime. He offers five critical questions that producers can ask at the point of sale to differentiate themselves from competitors and provide value to their prospects by focusing on long-term risk management and business operations.

Matthew Bryan – Ideal Prospects Lead to the Ideal Life, Episode #340

October 23, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers speaks with Matthew Bryan, a seasoned insurance professional from Tennessee. The conversation dives into Matthew’s unique journey from a background in broadcasting and finance to owning multiple insurance agencies. The discussion highlights how Matthew leveraged his experiences in banking and real estate to transition into commercial insurance, drawing parallels between commercial banking and insurance.

Displacing The Incumbent with Risk Management Tools, Shoptalk Episode #160

October 18, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Shoptalk, David Carothers interviews Dustin Boss, co-founder of Emerge Apps. Dustin discusses how his experience as a producer led him to develop a suite of technology tools for agents, including OSHA compliance and risk management software. He shares insights into how these tools can help agents offer more than just insurance by focusing on compliance, safety, and risk management. This episode highlights creative ways to approach middle-market clients and the importance of leveraging technology to differentiate from competitors.

Lawson Condell – Enabling Producers with Riskbly, Episode #339

October 16, 2024

In this episode of Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews Lawson Condell, founder of Riskbly, a platform designed for commercial insurance agents to streamline risk management services. Lawson shares his journey from the Air Force and sales roles at ADP and Oracle to founding Riskbly. He created Riskbly to address inefficiencies in the commercial insurance process by providing agents with a white-labeled, customizable platform for managing policy documents, safety videos, risk management programs, and real-time insights.

Targeted Digital Leads, Shoptalk Episode #159

October 11, 2024

This episode of the Power Producers Shoptalk, is focused on the use of digital marketing tools, specifically pixel tracking, retargeting, and video proposals, to enhance lead generation and sales conversions in the commercial insurance industry. The discussion emphasized the importance of quick follow-up on leads, the role of automation, and the critical need for a well-defined sales process when dealing with cold traffic. David Carothers and Chris Langille highlighted the use of pixels for tracking website visitors, remarketing strategies, and content creation to drive traffic to agency websites. The session also covered how personalized content, like blog posts and video proposals, can significantly boost sales, especially when paired with proper retargeting.

Jim Matuga – Storytelling Meets AI, Episode #338

October 9, 2024

In this episode of the Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers interviews Jim Matuga, the founder of Interaction Media and creator of StoryMaker, a SaaS platform that leverages AI to help agencies and producers tell compelling stories that drive sales. They dive into the importance of storytelling, content creation, and how to connect with customers on a deeper level by using generative AI.

Grit and Determination What Sales Producers can Learn from Pete Rose, Shoptalk Episode #158

October 4, 2024

In this Power Producers Shop Talk, David Carothers reflects on his childhood idol, Pete Rose, and the profound impact Rose’s grit, determination, and relentless hustle had not only on baseball but also on David’s personal and professional life. The episode is bittersweet as David shares the news of Pete Rose’s unexpected passing and then dives into how the lessons Rose embodied on the baseball field can be translated into the world of sales and commercial insurance.

David Carothers

Kyle Houck

Leveraging AI for Efficiency in Wholesale Insurance: Enhancing Relationships, Reducing Friction, and Optimizing Risk Transfer

December 11, 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in the insurance industry, especially within the wholesale sector. Amid mounting pressures from hard market conditions

Building a Winning Insurance Agency: From Differentiation to Franchise Compliance and Process Mastery – A Conversation with Wade Millward

December 5, 2024

The insurance industry is transforming. Producers and agency owners today are navigating a landscape that demands not just traditional knowledge but a commitment to innovation,

Streamlining Insurance Workflows with Sembly: Enhancing Efficiency, Client Service, and Data Integration for Commercial Agents

December 2, 2024

Commercial insurance agencies face challenges in complex workflows, data management, and client servicing. Agents handle a high volume of client information and must process renewals

Revolutionizing Commercial Insurance: How Generative AI and Collaboration Drive Efficiency and Client Satisfaction – A Conversation with Rich Stamets

November 25, 2024

In recent years, generative AI has taken center stage across many industries, revolutionizing how we handle data, communication, and repetitive tasks. Nowhere is this change

Mastering Mindfulness in Business: Strategies for Agency Owners and Producers to Transform Leadership and Sales – A Conversation with Ray Gage

November 14, 2024

Success in business requires more than just technical expertise and hard work. For insurance agency owners and producers, success relies on mastering leadership’s emotional and

How Life Insurance Safeguards Business Continuity: Buy-Sell Agreements, Key Person Insurance, and Wealth Accumulation

November 11, 2024

In the world of business, planning for the future is crucial. However, many business owners overlook one critical aspect of their long-term strategy: life insurance.

Power ProducersPodcast