Maybe You Should Quit

Warning, warning, warning, warning. If you're an insurance producer, what I am going to talk about in today's Biz Growl podcast, it may ruffle your feathers a little bit, but I hope you get the true meaning behind the message. Hey there. This is Brent Kelly of bizgris with another daily Biz Growl podcast. So, as I said, this podcast may ruffle some feathers for the insurance producers out there and maybe some insurance leaders as well. And here's why. The idea behind this is this. Maybe, just maybe you should quit now before you send me a nasty email or whatever. Let me explain why. So I had, I was thinking about this. I had a discussion with an insurance producer a few years ago at an industry conference. And this happens all the time. If obviously you've been to industry conferences, there's a lot of different other professionals in the room. And we just started talking about our business and the pros and cons of being an insurance producer. You know, we just talked about things that we were doing. We had a friendly conversation that lasted about 10 minutes or so. And I realized when we got done talking there was a, there was a problem. And that's that this, this person couldn't list anything that he liked about being an insurance producer except if it had something to do with paying bills, right? Money. I mean, that, that was it. I would ask him questions like, what about? No, no, just, just simply pay bills. I'm just gonna keep doing it. And actually there was a second problem and what we talked about, it's that he had been at his agency for five years. He had been an underperforming, unhappy, unsatisfied insurance producer for five long years. Now listen, I do not live in fantasy land. I don't think that, you know, I'm not one of those, you have to love everything about your job and your career, but if you can't name one other thing in a 10 minute conversation other than money on why you work in your industry, you've got a major problem. Because I personally worked at several jobs in my life that I did not like. No, not really at all. And I was only there for a paycheck. These were things like detasseling corn, washing dishes, and I sold cutlery. But here's the difference. I didn't expect to be there forever. Right? It wasn't a career, it was just something I was doing to get to the next thing. So what I'm going to say next, it may be controversial, but here's what it is, and I've already said it, but there are a number. I really believe this. There are a number. I don't know the exact number of insurance producers who need to quit. They need to quit. So let me ask an honest question, and this is why I say that. Have you, have you ever seen anyone really flourish in a career they despised? I didn't say just simply survive, right? This person that I talked to, he survived for five years. I don't know how, because he didn't like anything about what he was doing other than, well, you know, I ain't get a check once in a while, but you can't flourish. You can survive, but I'm guessing it's very unlikely. You know, anyone who's flourished in a career that they really just did not like at all. And here's the thing. I believe, and I've said this before on blog posts that I've written in other conversations, that I believe that sales, production, and specifically insurance sales is one of the most noble and amazing careers you can have. And I know that's not, you know, if you ask the public, that's not what you would hear, but I truly believe that. But just because I believe that and others believe that, it doesn't mean that it's for everyone. Because to be a successful insurance producer, you've got to embrace the good and the bad that comes with that career. You've got to have a heart to serve and add value to others. That's really important. You've got to have a passion to learn, to grow, to, to develop. You've got to work your butt off. You've got to believe that every day you're making a positive difference in the lives of others. Because if you don't believe any of those things, it's all just make believe. Because being an insurance producer, it can be really, really rewarding, right? And if you're listening to this and you're a producer and you've had success, you know that I spent 15 years in the career and it is, it's very rewarding, but it is also very challenging. See, here's the reality. If your only reasons to become an insurance producer are to make a bunch of money, play golf, known for that, and take vacations all the time, you're going to be in for a rude awakening. If you focus on people, you will profit. If you focus only on profit, you will lose the people. And the people, as you know, are the ones that provide the profit. I'll say it again. If you focus on people, you will profit. If you focus only on profit, you will lose the people. So let me be very, very clear, because I don't want to have this come across as a, you know, a downtrodden message that I'm angry at all the insurance producers. That's not the case at all. I want you to profit. I want you to go play golf or whatever it is, you know, your hobby is, have more free time. I want you to take vacations. I want you to be a very highly successful insurance producer. However, if you don't have a passion for serving, for learning, for growing and doing the hard work, first you need to quit. And I say this for not just because of you, but for the sake of your agency, for the sake of your company partners that expect stuff from you, right? Expect a relationship and growth. And of course, and most importantly, for the sake of your clients who wants an insurance producer as a client who doesn't really want to be there, right? Even if you can hide it, eventually it comes out. So I just don't want you to be an underperforming, unhappy, unsatisfied insurance producer for one year, two years, whatever long it may be. So there's really only two choices that you have. And I believe this, and I know some people fall in the middle, and that's the problem. But there's really two main choices. You either quit and go make money doing something else and that you hopefully enjoy, or you commit. You commit to being the best producer you can be. So again, quit or commit. Which one are you gonna do? Hey, thanks for taking some time to listen to today's Biz Growl podcast again. My name is Brent Kelly of bizgriz. You know, if you are committed, obviously this was a, you know, important message. But if you are committed to reaching your potential as an insurance producer, go to my website, brendamkelley.com and check out the Biz Grizz Insurance Producer Growth and Development program. You can try it for 30 days at no cost. You can attend a couple of the calls, the group calls that I give, and be part of the group for 30 days to decide if you like it and want to continue. But please note, there is an application. I only take committed producers willing to invest themselves and reach their true potential. So until next time, this is Brent Kelly, always challenging and encouraging you to go face your grizzly.