Taking Your Agency To the Next Level - Interview With Hill Shaw

Hey there, agent leaders. Brent Kelly here, host of the Agent Leader podcast. Thanks for joining me for another episode. Excited to be with you and excited to share an interview, a special interview with one of our private client members of the Sitkins Network. And in fact, just to give you some background, some context, I initially was going to get a hold of him. We were just having some, some conversation and he agreed to do a testimonial about what we do with, with them and other agencies as part of the SIT Network. And oftentimes testimonials are pretty quick and short, but he'll expanded on some really important concepts and so much so that we wanted to add this to the podcast. And I think, you know, not only does it certainly talk a little about what we do at the Sidkins Network. So in that case, is it self serving? Yeah, I guess it is. But he talks about leadership and some of the things that they struggle with. And you know, I asked Hill, why did you join the network? You know, where were you at in the agency? I asked Hill about, you know, what are some of the results and things that they're doing. And he did a really good job explaining some of the, that the, you know, not just the results but the strategies and behaviors that they began to implement to get the results that they want. And then, you know, just talking about making a commitment. Because ultimately, as we share with the Sidkins Network and if you join the Sitkins Network, the experience is the professional fitness experience, the profit experience, which is based around three key areas. Clarity. Right. So just understand as an agency, where are you today? Be honest with yourself. Where do you really want to go and why do you want to go there? And just talking about those concepts of clarity is really important for agency leaders. And Hill talks about that when I ask him the first question, why did they join our private client group, the Sitkins Network? Next is consistency. There's no doubt that we want great results, but to get great results we must have consistent behaviors and habits. And Hill talks about that. And then lastly, it's about making a commitment. It's about making a commitment to yourself as an agency leader. It's about making a commitment to your team. It's about making a commitment to your clients, about making a commitment to your community. And ultimately within our coaching program and the profit experience, it's about making a commitment to each other. Right? We're going to make a commitment to you and you as an agency leader, make a commitment to us that we want accountability to each other so that we can get to the places that we want to get to. And that's the idea of making a commitment to become your best version possible. So I just wanted to give some overview. Overview. We're going to dive into this. And again, it wasn't planned to be on a podcast necessarily, but as I was listening to Hill and just kind of sharing things, I'm like, wow, this is really some good information that agency leaders in general need to hear. Because Hill and Eric are young in the agency leaders sense of the world. They are 44 years old. They started Atlantic Shield again in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, in 2004, just with those two. And they worked their tails off. They worked really, really hard, and they've grown a very, very nice size agency. They got 25 team members. Continue to grow, continue to change, continue to evolve. Very profitable, very successful. And I know oftentimes with agency leaders, especially those younger agency leaders, when I say younger, I mean, I don't know the age. But you're newer at this, right? Sort of thing. They go, well, you know, I don't know. I haven't been doing this for 40 years. Well, Hill and Eric just again started with a dream, right? An idea, a concept of what they wanted to build. And they got to a point where they were having some success, working a lot of hours and putting a lot of time and energy. And as they began both to grow a family and look for better ways, that's when they reached out to us. That's kind of where this conversation kicks off. Hope you enjoy Hill, Shaw and myself talking about just their experience in the Sitkins Network. Hi, Brent Kelly here of the Sitkins Group, and I'm honored to be with Hill Shaw, agency principal at Atlantic Shield Insurance Group, INS in beautiful South Carolina, sunny South Carolina. Right, Hill?

Yes.

There you go. I just want to ask Hill a few questions about his experience with the network. Some things that he's learned, some accomplishments, and just what he would tell others. So, Hill, first of all, just so the people listening, why did you and Atlantic Shield join the Sitkins Network?

We joined Sitkins a year and a half ago because my business partner and I realized that with 14 years of insurance agency ownership under our belt, we needed to take the agency to another level, to really break out of the norms that we had fallen into. We had created some traps and started to notice some excuses, some issues with retention had been told by some industry insiders and experienced agency owners and acquirers of agencies that we would inevitably plateau if we continued to do business as usual. I found that there was Some truth to that statement, as I really did some soul searching. We were involved in some merger acquisition talks. And my business partner and I are 44 years old, and we just saw the ability to continue to grow the agency, our own, as something that would provide us more financial upside than selling at our age. So as we, as we went through the analysis and ultimately decided to remain closely held and owned just by us and not sell to any of the larger firms in the United States that are acquiring, I knew and I told my business partner, if we're going to continue to own this agency and be the leaders in this agency, we're going to need to step up, work with some body, some firm that can help us take this to the next level. We not only owe that to ourselves, more importantly, we owe that to the team of 25 people that we have working with us. They deserve excellence. And in order for us to get there, we need a guide. And I had read Roger Sitkins articles and rough notes for many years. And so the first place that I went was the Sitkins network, because I had essentially been modeling my agency after Roger's articles. I agreed with them. I had implemented loosely and inconsistently some of his concepts, but I knew that I agreed with what he was saying, and we just needed to formalize our approach and our strategy. So Sitkins was my first and only phone call.

Awesome. Yeah, it was. It was. It was great getting to talk with you. And we spoke before I hit record here. Just, you know, part of it, you and your team, that passion for growth and always seeking something more that's there, not. Not to be complacent. So I appreciate you sharing that, Hill. You know, you guys have worked on a lot of different things, and as you know, we've got many strategies. I said, kids that we work with agencies with. But from your personal vantage, point, Hill, what. What's been your greatest advancement or results since you've joined the network?

As an agency owner with 25 employees, 14 years in the business, I would estimate premiums in the neighborhood of $30 million here. We just ended up chasing a lot of ideas and initiatives, and we just lacked focus. We did a lot on a little. We never really saw anything through. And I began to realize that while I was talking the talk, I wasn't walking the walk. And the writing on the wall for me was that at some point, the morale in the office and the belief, everybody looked to me as a leader, and I saw it in their eyes that they believed in what I was preaching. I realized that if we didn't start to really follow through and remain focused on the things we were preaching, we were going to lose people. And so my biggest advancement personally and I believe as agency as a whole is that Sitkins really provided us with concepts that we could pick and choose from and say, okay, these are the items we are going to focus on right now to take us to the next level, to come up with that three to five year strategy is great, but what are you going to do today to get yourself to your vision? You have to take action. And so what Sitkins does a great job of is providing you concepts to focus on and then providing you handouts and literature and leadership calls to really keep you focused so that you check things off your list. You don't have this big list that keeps getting bigger and nothing's ever getting checked off. Just the focus is what I've enjoyed most about Sickens.

That's awesome. Yeah, I appreciate you sharing that. It's one of the things I know with a lot of agencies, you know, Hills, I travel and talk to people on phone calls and be like, oh, you know, it's just I don't have time for more to do. And we all know as an agency leader, there's a lot to do, a lot on your plate. But I think, you know, a big part of, as you just said, the word is focus is not to do more things, but do less of the right things more often, you know, and be more focused and consistent with that. And that's a process that takes a while. There's no doubt. But it's just, it's streamlining and getting really focused on what really matters and do that at a high level. So I appreciate you sharing that last question. Hill. I just mentioned, I do talk a lot of agencies and they're considering joining and hey, does this make sense for me? And every agency is unique, not agencies, not all agencies are the right fit. But if the right type of agency was considering joining Hill, what would you tell them?

I would tell them to contemplate the, I mean, I think of Neil Armstrong, you know, one small step, one giant step. It, it really is that concept. It is a really small step to join the Sickens network, but it is one giant step with regards to the time, energy and effort that it will take to implement and really focus and change the way you're doing business. But if that's something you're seeking, if you're not afraid of hard work, dedication, focus, strategy, if what you really want is to become unique agency in Your marketplace. And you want to have consistent sustainable growth and an environment of excellence within your office, Sitkins can absolutely provide you that path. They can give you not only the concepts that you're looking for that you likely already have, they're going to provide you the focus and the accountability to keep you as an agency owner on track, which is what we're all lacking. We're all the corner office, the suite, and we really don't have a lot of accountability over top of us. So we've utilized Sitkins as that C suite accountability. And to keep us focused on where we're going and not to really not to leave what we say we're going to do. Those non optional behaviors, you know, those things that we can manage. So when we go look at numbers, the numbers are a result of the behaviors that we've learned and focused on through the Sickens network. So in short, if you're ready to take your organization to the next level and you're not afraid of having some accountability for yourself and the people that you employ and you're ready to take that journey, Sitkins is in my mind, the only place to go.

Well, thank you, Hill. I appreciate that. And you know, as you were talking, I was just thinking not only are you a great member and a great client and you're coachable and you guys work hard and you are a great leader, but you become a great friend. I think that's the cool thing about this opportunity in this business in general. So appreciate you sharing that. Appreciate you taking some time today to just tell about your experience with the network. It's much appreciated.

Thank you, Brent. Thank you for everything.

All right, so there you have it. My interview with Hill Shaw of Atlantic Shield Insurance. Hopefully you enjoyed that interview and learned a lot. I mean, I learned a lot in just listening to Hill and his dedication to be the best version possible. I think, you know, of all the things that Hill just said there at the end, it's this idea of making a commitment. And you know, one of the things that I'll often talk to with agency leaders is, you know, we've got people on our team and they may have people they're accountable to, whether it's you as the leader or another manager in the office. But oftentimes as an agency leader, if you are the principal or running the agency, my question is, well, who are you accountable to? Who's helping provide you with resources and ideas and can be a sounding board to help encourage you and challenge you when you need it? Because we all need that whether you're an agency leader or any other type of human being, without somebody else there to help to encourage and challenge and push us to be our best version, we will often fall short. And that really is what the Sitkins Network is all about. It's about providing you with tools and resources, but then to help you focus on the right tools and resources to use at the right time for your agency, all while having coaching, support and being part of a network of other committed agency leaders who want success. However you define that as much as you do and you put those together, it becomes very, very powerful. So if you would like to learn more about our private client network, the Sitkins Network, and the profit experience, and also just to see if a territory is available, we don't work with all insurance agencies. We are very particular in who we work with and lots of different reasons. And not all territories are available. It's also exclusive. But if you want to learn more and apply to see if there's an opportunity, go to sitkins.com that's S I T K-I N S.com TSN that's the Sitkins Network. So sitkins.com TSN to learn more and apply. Hope to talk to you soon and all the best in your success.