The Confidence Code with Dawnyel Smink, Episode #161

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck interview Dawnyel Smink, President of Canyon Lands Insurance. Dawnyel shares strategies that have contributed to her agency’s success in commercial lines, how they are building a network of agencies, and offers her perspective on how the industry has changed for women over the years.

Episode Highlights:

• Dawnyel shares her backstory and what led her to the insurance industry. (2:44)
• Dawnyel explains what it was like to start up the commercial division of her agency from the ground up. (6:58)
• Dawnyel shares that you need to let your client talk, and if you are not sure about the answer let them know. (10:36)
• Dawnyel shares that her business analogy is always related to a sports team to get clients. (15:01)
• Dawnyel describes what she was seeing 20 years ago for women being part of the industry. (19:20)
• Dawnyel shares her perspective of women versus men. (27:40)
• Dawnyel explains the advantages and differences between a small agency and a big agency. (34:04)
• Dawnyel talks about the network of agencies that she is a part of. (33:26)
• Dawnyel shares her favorite golf course that she has played and has even won in 2017. (41:06)
• Dawnyel shares a part of their project called Declaration of Independence and what it is about. (43:12)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “I just, they want to be heard, the business owners, they want you to talk less. And honestly, I feel like we talk more trying to prove ourselves, and then we talk them out of wanting to do business with us. ” – Dawnyel Smink
• “I want to see us dominate and part of growing CLI in the group that we have is that we can start helping impact that change. And I can do it at a level that I feel is sustainable for me.” – Dawnyel Smink
• “If an agency, if I’m talking with them, and I always say, ‘Is your ego in the way or is your ego out of the way, and if their egos are out of the way, I can work with them.” – Dawnyel Smink

Resources Mentioned:

• Dawnyel Smink LinkedIn
• Canyon Lands Insurance
• David Carothers
• Kyle Houck
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes