Jan 2, 2020
EP - 38 In this episode, you’ll learn about a few the hosts favorite podcasts of 2019 and the value they can bring to you as an insurance agent.
FAVORITE PODCASTS
BUSINESS AND INSPIRATION
BRIAN BUFFINI - I’ve been a fan of Buffini for a long time. It’s the one podcast I look forward to every week...It plays every Tuesday morning. His methodology is so simple. His podcast is usually very inspiring and he has some great guests. While his message is primarily focused on the real estate industry, his ideas will also work in the insurance industry. Brian does throw in a little bit about is coaching business, and that turns some people off. I ignore that part and love the ideas he shares.
For those of you that work in personal lines and do a lot around homeowners ….his podcast will provide some insight into the real estate business which can help you with your conversations with your referral partners.Occassionally he talks about the state of the real estate market which I think is helpful for those in our industry.
MARKETING
BUILD A BETTER AGENCY - Hosted by Drew McLellan and mentioned in episode 37. While this podcast is focused on marketing agencies, so many of the concepts discussed work for business owners. He’s talking about real issues that business owners need to think about. You’ll get some ideas herer for your business with some marketing ideas mixed in!
DUCT TAPE MARKETING - John Jantsch - something you might not know about me is for the last 10 years, I was a part of Duct Tape Marketing. I found out about the organization when he released his book The Referral Engine. Since I was in the referral training business, I thought I’d get some good systems for teaching people about referrals. When I joined in 2009, the internet was exploding. Creating content was essential. So instead of absorbing referral strategies, I started building websites, creating email campaigns, doing social media posts. After a few years, I started to realize that I didn’t like doing any of that. I went on a speaking spree for a year before my caregiving role kicked in. I’m no longer part of the network, but I’m a big fan of John and Duct Tape Marketing. One of the things he would talk about from the beginning was creating a podcast. It seemed overwhelming to me at the time considering I was learning so many other things. In retrospect, I wish I’d focused on the podcast and stayed away from websites and the other marketing tactics I was offering. I think podcasting is the best sales tool out there. It’s a great platform ...hence I have 4! This podcast is one of the older ones and many people model their podcast off of Duct Tape Marketing!
SPONSORED BY PODCAST, INC
WHEN: May 1, 2020
WHERE: Washington, DC.
If you have a larger company, let’s say more than 50 employees, how are you communicating with staff. As the company grows, it’s easy to loose the small business feel where everyone knows the owner of the company and gets to talk to them.
This conference is about creating podcasts for internal communication. Getting the CEO, the HR department, the Marketing department and other department heads to talk to the rest of the employees.
Often times these conversations happen at annual meetings or quarterly roundtables, but everyone is vying for time, and can’t always deliver the deep messages they want.
We are bringing together companies that want to create podcasts for internal communication and talking about best practices. We are talking about creating a podcast that only your employees will hear…..not the outside world
This is a conference where someone from HR, Marketing and specifically communications and IT need to attend!
If you have an agency with multiple locations, are part of an insurance company or a vendor in this space, we’d love to see you there if it makes sense for your company.
Go to podcastinc.com to get additional details. This isn’t just for the insurance industry, there will be other industries in attendance such as banks, non profits and government agencies. We will have limited seating, so if you think this will make sense for you, don’t wait too long to register.
PODCASTS ABOUT PODCASTING
If you are into podcasting or want to learn more about podcasting, I have 3 podcasts to recommend. I’ll keep this brief since many of you might not be interested in podcasting. But I am and listen to a lot of podcasts on the subject.
NEW MEDIA SHOW - Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee - Both of these two are icons in the podcasting space. They’ve had this show for almost 10 years. If you are interested in the industry, it’s the one to pay attention to.
SCHOOL OF PODCASTING - Dave Jackson - Dave has also been podcasting for a long time. He’s teaching people how to podcast. He’s in it every week. If you think you want to start a podcast, check out his show and his program. He’s good! Podcasting is his gig.
THE FEED - this podcast is co-hosted with Rob Walch and Elsie Escobar, both podcast hall of famers. It’s the marketing arm for Libsyn which is a podcast hosting company. I have three of my podcasts on this platform and one of them on Blubrry which is Todd Cochranes company. They talk about issues around podcasting and around LIbsyn. Always good stuff.
CRIME
When I was training for the NY Marathon in 2018 year, I listened to a lot of crime podcasts. I’m a slow runner so I spent a lot of time training and listened to a lot podcasts. My major in college was law enforcement, so I’m often intrigued by crime stories, but I don’t listen to them too consistently.
One of my favorites is Up and Vanished, the first season but the second season didn’t keep my attention. This is a true story and they found the criminal as a result of the podcast, so don’t google this one…..just start from episode 1 season one.
I also listen to Crime Junkie and will pop on Small Town Dicks every once in awhile.
INSURANCE
I have my share of insurance podcasts that I listen to but some of them just turn my stomach…..so macho, old boy network that I struggle with them. The content is usually good, but I can’t handle the locker room ego crap….so I’ll let you find the insurance podcasts you like!
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m about diversity, inclusion and I feel very strongly about supporting and promoting women. Insurance is a male dominated profession for some reason and someone needs to stand up for women in this industry. When I look at conferences being planned, the first thing I look for is how many women speakers there are….and their titles. If there aren’t any women or diversity on the speaker list, I call out the conference planner.
I’m doing my small part and I hope some of my younger peers will do the same in promoting women. To those of you in the insurance space creating podcasts and promoting women in the industry, I salute you!
I listen to them, I pay attention. Don’t make them the token episodes, make sure you have a balance of women and diversity on your episodes.
If you didn’t know this, I have a few other podcasts that I produce. One of them is Divorce Exposed. Insights for staying married, inspiration for surviving divorce. It’s a passion project for me and if you listen to episode one of this podcast, you’ll get a good idea of my background.
Another podcast is Business In Real Life. This one started out promoting my clients. It’s been like pulling teeth to get my clients to agree to a podcast interview, so it’s evolved into ideas about running a business. I now use it as a tool to promote my business groups.
Its the first podcast I started and it will probably be benched the first as I focus on this one, and the other two.
My most recent podcast is Seniors We Love. Since I’m back in the insurance business, focusing on medicare insurance options, I’m using it as a tool to market my new agency. I want to talk about seniors who deserved to be remembered. Eventually I want to turn some of the episodes into a book that can be handed down families so their loved ones aren’t forgotten in the event that digital goes away!
If you listened to episode 37 where I talked about year end planning, my own planning is focused on these podcasts and growing my new agency. Let’s see how I practice what I preach!
I’d love to know your favorite episodes. Go to the Business of insurance FB page and leave a note about the podcasts you enjoy! Let me know what you like about it as well!
Until next time, keep creating opportunities.
YOUR HOST:
Debbie DeChambeau, CIC, AAI, CPIA - an entrepreneurer, business advisor, insurance professional and content creator. Her goal is to inspire you to think differently and explore ideas that disrupt the status quo.
Debbie has been an insurance agent for over 25 years and has an extensive business and marketing background.