Agency Launch-For Insurance Agents

Hosted by Matt Dietz

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Episodes

315

Latest episode

Jul 2026

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About the show

A look into the life of the owner of an insurance agency. I opened my agency in 2004. I talk about sales, marketing, staffing and retention. If you can master these 4 things, you can write your own ticket. Get in.

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60 recent

August 18, 202614 min

Matt's terrible horrible no good very bad day

Matt’s No Good, Very Bad Week as an Agency OwnerMatt Peets of Agency Launch shares a difficult week running his insurance agency and offers a free vetted resource list via text (208-213-8809, send “free”). He describes being named in a small-claims lawsuit tied to a client’s auto accident despite not being a claims adjuster, forcing him to respond within 21 days. He also recounts a former protege asking to take back six households he wrote while in Matt’s program; Matt explains the program expectations, notes the protege was paid for the work, offers a buy-back option, and keeps the policies in the agency after a professional discussion. Finally, he details a producer being recruited by another agent with district office involvement, leading to a tense conversation with his district manager, an apology, and the employee quitting. Matt emphasizes staying professional during disruptive weeks and mentions coaching options at agencylaunch.net.00:00 Show Intro and Focus00:21 Free Resources Text Line01:06 Bad Week Setup01:54 Getting Sued in Small Claims03:56 Protege Wants Clients Back06:59 Producer Poaching Drama12:00 Lessons Staying Professional13:35 Wrap Up and How to Get Help

July 31, 202646 min

Chatting with Matt: The Real Deal on Insurance Sales

Agency Launch on The Stack: Building Pipeline, Selling Value, and Delegating to Grow an Insurance AgencyMatt Dietz of Agency Launch joins Mo’s webinar show The Stack to discuss core agency fundamentals amid industry changes, focusing on building a dependable sales pipeline without simply buying more internet leads. Dietz advocates multiple acquisition “lines in the water,” reverse-engineering premium goals into a daily quote target (e.g., four serious quotes/day) and using closing ratios to diagnose sales-process problems, emphasizing that emailing quotes without conversations drives low conversion. He highlights mortgage lenders as top referral partners versus real estate agents, outlining ways to meet and nurture lender relationships and provide reciprocal value. Dietz also addresses overcoming fear of rejection by networking, asking direct questions (“Who’s your agent?” and “Is there any reason I can’t earn your business?”), and building confidence through repetition. Finally, he covers delegation, staffing sequence, and time audits to reduce “fake work,” improve accountability, and focus teams on quoting, calling, and selling.00:00 Welcome and Setup01:06 Guest Intro and Catch Up02:38 Pipeline Basics and Systems04:38 Reverse Engineering Quote Goals06:19 Lead Myth and Sales Process08:33 Stop Emailing Quotes10:38 Internet Leads Reality Check12:50 Mortgage Lenders Referrals17:55 How to Meet Lenders21:15 New Agent Rejection Fear23:58 Ask For Business Naturally24:13 Room Full Of Owners25:42 The Two Key Questions27:38 Network Everywhere You Go29:26 Confidence Through Reps30:40 Delegation Builds Agencies31:48 Stop Quoting Yourself35:19 What To Delegate First36:15 When To Hire Next38:16 Time Audit And Focus41:56 Manage Producers By Numbers43:36 Final Thoughts And Q And A

June 26, 202611 min

Reframe what "Sales" means to you.

Reframing Sales as Service in an Insurance AgencyMatt Dietz of Agency Launch invites listeners to join his texting community (text “free” to 208-213-8809) for weekly tips, including a mortgage-lead program, and directs them to agencylaunch.net for coaching and programs. He addresses agents’ reluctance to sell because they don’t want to seem “salesy,” arguing that running an agency requires embracing sales with the right mindset. Dietz contrasts pushy tactics with professional selling that makes clients feel understood and supported, and encourages agents to build confidence through product knowledge and by seeking answers when they don’t know. Quoting a book, he emphasizes “sales is service,” noting common blockers: lack of self-belief, misunderstanding sales as manipulation, and fear of rejection. He urges agents to educate clients on being properly insured by asking strong questions about limits and coverage needs, and reminds listeners that sales is difficult but essential to agency success and personal freedom.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:17 Join the Text Community01:11 Why Agents Fear Sales02:00 Reframe Your Sales Identity02:54 Build Confidence Through Learning04:43 Sales Is Service Mindset06:08 Educate Clients With Questions09:04 Push Past Rejection and Doubt10:27 Sales Is Hard Reality Check11:05 Wrap Up and Resources

June 5, 20269 min

Tame Your Phone and Win Your Day

Take Back Your Time: Cut Phone and Email Distractions for Agency OwnersMatt Dietz hosts Agency Launch, a show about running an insurance agency through staffing, retention, marketing, and sales, and invites listeners to join his texting community by texting “free” to 208-213-8809 for free resources. He shares a coaching-call lesson with a high-performing agent who thought he needed to work more, but realized he was mainly unorganized and distracted. Matt argues that phones and platforms are designed to capture attention and that business owners must be fanatical with time, recommending Cal Newport’s books Digital Minimalism and Deep Work. Practical steps include turning off email notifications, reducing how often email pushes to the phone (e.g., hourly), silencing text sounds, using Do Not Disturb on an Apple Watch, and setting up location-based Focus Modes at the office and home to limit notifications and calls. He also directs viewers to agencylaunch.net for coaching options and notes he’s active on LinkedIn.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:16 Free Texting Community00:55 Working More vs Organized01:49 Devices Steal Attention02:59 Books to Reclaim Focus03:53 Stop Email Interruptions05:40 Silence Texts and Watch06:47 Focus Modes at Work Home08:37 Final Advice and Next Steps

May 14, 202612 min

The 4 things you can get from a 1-1 marketing meeting

Build a Referral Pipeline: One Coffee Meeting a DayMatt Dietz hosts Agency Launch and discusses running a profitable insurance agency by focusing on sales, marketing, staffing, and retention, inviting listeners to text “free” to 208-213-8809 for resources and join his texting community. He shares a coaching conversation about a top pain point for agents—building a pipeline—and contrasts the difficulty of relying on expensive internet leads with the slower but higher-closing referral-based approach from a growing network. He recommends setting daily face-to-face meetings with clients and community contacts (coffee, lunch, office visits) and making four key asks: who they need to meet, offering to connect them via three-way text, and then requesting their business, an introduction, or a referral. He challenges an agent to book five appointments and notes consistent meetings can expand networks and generate new personal and commercial business. He promotes limited one-on-one coaching at agencylaunch.net.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:19 Join the Text Community00:46 Coaching and Common Pain Points02:43 Choose Your Hard Marketing03:49 Build a Referral Network05:37 Coffee Meetings Playbook07:38 Three Asks to Make10:36 Set Daily Appointment Goals11:44 Wrap Up and Coaching Invite

May 6, 20269 min

The Essential Evolution of an Agency Owner's Role

From Agent to Agency Owner: Evolving Your Role Through DelegationMatt Dietz explains how an insurance agency owner’s role should change over time, drawing on his 22 years in the business. Early on, owners must learn every function—sales, marketing, service, billing, claims, hiring, and training—but continuing to do day-to-day service work later limits growth. He argues that “not enough time,” “my clients need me,” and “I can do it faster” are usually signs of poor delegation and insufficient training, not real constraints. Dietz describes an early “2.0” agency as having at least a producer and a customer service rep, with the owner increasingly focused on coaching, building the team, and business growth rather than answering phones, quoting, or converting policies. He promotes his free resource list via text and highlights Agency Launch coaching options.00:00 Welcome and Free Starter Kit00:41 Agency Ownership Evolution01:07 Early Days Do Everything02:01 Delegation Fixes Time Crunch03:01 Agency 2.0 Team Setup04:11 Stop Doing Service Work05:29 Train It Away Not Faster06:18 Restaurant Owner Mindset07:15 Time Money Freedom Goal08:18 Wrap Up and Where to Find Me

April 30, 202615 min

Cut Costs, Not Corners: The Agency Guide

Budgeting for Insurance Agencies: Cut Expenses, Protect Payroll, and Know Your NumbersMatt Dietz of Agency Launch shares budgeting advice for insurance agency owners based on coaching a client who was dipping into savings to cover payroll. He emphasizes knowing monthly expenses within 10%, auditing the last 90 days of electronic spending for recurring charges, and tracking major costs like payroll and rent. He suggests payroll at 25% or less of income is strong, notes some agencies run near 50%, and recommends comparing an employee’s 90-day compensation (including taxes) to premium produced to evaluate performance and possibly show select numbers to employees so they understand agency overhead. Using an example of $35,000 in monthly expenses, he outlines options like cutting an underperforming $5,000/month role, forecasting income/expenses with and without that employee, and subleasing oversized office space to reduce rent, stressing that major changes can be temporary and not permanent.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:15 Free Texting Community Offer01:02 Why Budgeting Matters02:05 Audit Your Monthly Expenses04:04 Payroll Benchmarks to Watch05:27 Is This Employee Worth It08:03 Show the Team the Numbers10:42 Big Cuts Payroll and Rent13:57 Nothing Is Permanent Options14:37 Wrap Up and Where to Connect

April 23, 20269 min

Turning Pressure into Premiums

Hitting Your Premium Bonus by Flipping the SwitchMatt Dietz of Agency Launch shares a story about coaching an insurance agent who needed $60,000 in monthly premium in a specific line to earn a bonus and was stuck around $51,000–$52,000 midweek with only days left. Matt challenges him to find business “right in front of you” and remove friction to bind now, including calling a $9,000 household to lock in the rate immediately and offering to cancel old policies and simplify the process. The agent also uncovered another $4,600 policy a team member had been sitting on, then closed the $9,000 account, hitting the target and earning the agency’s first $6,000 monthly bonus in about four years. Matt uses this to ask why agents work differently when a bonus is on the line and encourages building the ability to “flip the switch” to hit targets consistently.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:21 Free Texting Community Offer00:57 Agent Bonus Goal Story02:08 Flip the Switch Mindset03:59 Close Business Now Tactics05:55 Bonus Hit and Lessons07:11 Why Incentives Change Effort07:36 Life Policy Contest Example08:39 Wrap Up and Coaching Options

April 14, 20268 min

How your team should evolve

Staffing Evolution in an Insurance Agency: Raising the Bar as You Grow | Agency LaunchMatt Dietz explains how staffing needs and expectations evolve as an insurance agency grows, sharing his experience moving from hiring what he could afford early on to building an “optimal team” of high-level professionals. He describes how increasing pay helped attract more experienced, plug-and-play employees, which raised his standards and enabled greater delegation. He emphasizes that agency owners often accept lower performance (like producers writing $10–$15k/month in premium) until they see what stronger talent can do, after which expectations permanently rise (e.g., $20k, then $30k/month). Matt encourages owners to keep improving recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, and training systems, viewing current team members as part of an ongoing bridge toward the team they want.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:12 Free Text Community Offer00:56 Staffing Topic Intro01:12 Early Hiring Reality03:08 Pay More Raise Bar03:56 Producer Performance Benchmarks04:41 Evolving Team Expectations06:05 Set Realistic Production Caps06:53 Keep Improving Systems07:58 Wrap Up and Where to Find Matt

April 7, 20269 min

Life insurance just got alot easier

How to Sell More Life Insurance with a Frictionless Instant-Issue ProcessMatt Dietz hosts Agency Launch and discusses a new life insurance platform that removes friction by eliminating paramed exams for about 80% of applications and enabling instant-issue offers up to $2 million, helping his agency write nine policies in March. He recommends including a standard 10-year, $150,000 life quote with every home/auto quote to create life conversations, then asking where clients have coverage and whether they have enough. He suggests dangling an affordable policy, highlighting net cost using home/auto discounts, and emphasizing the simplified process: clients complete an emailed application in about eight minutes, with a 24-hour “deadline” to boost completion. After approval, he upsells by presenting multiple term lengths and coverage options to leverage choice and anchoring. He closes with ways to connect and access free resources and programs.00:00 Welcome to Agency Launch00:21 Free Resources Text Line00:43 New Life Platform Wins01:24 Add Life Quote to Every Quote02:20 Cheapo Policy and Discounts04:09 Frictionless Email Application04:55 24 Hour Deadline Trick05:37 Approved Up to 2 Million05:49 Upsell With Options and Anchors08:41 Results and Weekly Goal08:48 Where to Find Matt09:13 Programs and Final Thanks