Podcast
Agency Growth Machine
Hosted by Randy Schwantz · EN
Welcome to the Agency Growth Machine Podcast with Randy Schwantz. This show is for agency owners who want to remain independent, develop their team of producers, and do it in a way that they too can grow and profit from.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The One Question That Turns a Name Into a Red Hot Introduction
4d ago00:16:35Tap to summarizeYou've got clients who'd take your call on a Saturday, and you haven't asked them for a thing. In this episode, Randy Schwantz breaks down the exact conversation that gets your best clients telling your story before you ever pick up the phone, including the one question most producers skip that's the difference between a lukewarm name and a red-hot introduction. One producer ran this system for three years and 43% of his new accounts came straight from introductions. Cold calling is the hard way. This is the smart way. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →The Invisible Ceiling Costing You Your Best Producers
2w ago00:12:58Tap to summarizeYour busiest producer might be your most lost. He's on the phone all day, calendar packed, servicing renewals and putting out fires... and he hasn't set a new first appointment in nine weeks. From the outside he looks like your best. On paper he's drifting straight off course, and nobody can see it. In this episode, Randy Schwantz breaks down the Flight Plan system: a specific number for every producer, the activity math behind it, and a six-week flight review built around the one question that surfaces the ceilings your people have been hiding for years. One agency ran this and grew 18 percent, then strung together three straight years of double-digit organic growth without hiring a single new producer. If you're flying your team by feel and a year-end revenue report, you're catching the drift four hours too late. Listen now and learn to fly with instruments. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Brandon's Story: From the Minor Leagues to a Million-Dollar Book
3w ago00:46:04Tap to summarizeYou keep going back to your old self. You win an account, then drift right back to transactional, price-only selling... and you feel the time, energy, and margin bleeding out of every deal. Brandon Spivey lived it. He came out of State Farm personal lines, got rolled on a deal at a Braves game, and decided he was done playing in the minor leagues. Five years later he's sitting on a $1.35 million book using the Wedge, a locked-in ideal client profile, and a set of named proactive services he can actually monetize. The number that should stop you: when Brandon quantified those services across his top 10 accounts, they averaged $85,000 of hard, tangible value per client in year one. That is where boldness comes from. Not wanting to win, but knowing they need you. He also reveals the drift that he says cost him a $2 million book, and why he fired his biggest client to protect it. If you're tired of burning your marketing team, your underwriters, and your weekends on deals that don't pay, listen before you build your next proposal. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Your Best Client Just Asked to Go Out for Bid. Now What?
4w ago00:10:02Tap to summarizeYour best client just said they want to go out for bid. No complaints, no service problems, no price issue.... they just want to know if there's something better out there. Here's the brutal truth: your value is real, but it's invisible, and a client who can't see your value can't defend you when a competitor shows up with a document. In this episode, Randy Schwantz breaks down the proactive service model, an account-level service calendar that turns everything you already do into something clients can see, expect, and miss if it's gone. One Charlotte agency built it and pushed retention from 91% to over 94.5%, keeping more than a million dollars a year that used to walk out the door. Listen now and find the 10 things you do for every client that you've never put in writing, before the incumbent's next renewal becomes your open door. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Wanting to Grow and Deciding to Grow Aren't the Same Thing
Jun 1500:11:56Tap to summarizeMost agency owners say they want to grow. Ask any of them, and every single one will say yes. But wanting to grow and actually deciding to grow are two completely different things, and that gap is where most agencies stall. In this episode, Randy Schwantz breaks down what real commitment looks like: a specific number, a deadline, and an honest answer to the question most owners avoid. One agency owner took this seriously, made his commitment public to his team, and grew 31% in two years. If you're sitting on a plan that hasn't moved, this episode tells you why. Listen before your next leadership meeting. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →6 Producers. Zero Hires. $2 Million in New Revenue. Here's How.
Jun 800:11:26Tap to summarizeMost producers in the middle of your agency have never been asked what they actually want from their career. Not once. And it's costing you more than you think. In a 10-producer agency, your middle six already generate more revenue than your top performers combined. Randy Schwantz breaks down the math: if those six producers each grow their books by just 20%, that's close to a million dollars in organic growth without a single new hire. One agency owner proved it. Four of six middle producers hit that target, the agency added over $2 million in revenue, and nobody was hired to make it happen. If you haven't had a real developmental conversation with your middle producers lately, this is the episode that changes that. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Same Producers. $3 Million More. Here's What Changed.
Jun 100:12:40Tap to summarizeYou've spent real money on producers and they're still not winning. Here's the uncomfortable truth: it's not them. A Cincinnati agency owner kept the same twelve producers she'd been struggling with, built a system, and went from eight million to nearly eleven million in written premium in eighteen months. Randy breaks down exactly what she built and why the single biggest misdiagnosis in this industry is treating a system problem like a people problem. Fix this before you post that next job listing. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Winston's Story: Rookie of the Year at 2 Years and The Daily Habit Behind the Win
May 2500:36:59Tap to summarizeMost new insurance producers are working hard and going nowhere. Winston Welch was one of them... until he built a system. In just two years, Winston went from emailing quotes hoping prospects would bind to winning Rookie of the Year at Crest Insurance. In this episode, Randy breaks down exactly how Winston bridged the gap between effort and results using the Wedge sales process and Bignition. The math is staggering: organized, disciplined producers will out-earn disorganized producers by $8.5 million over a career. This episode shows you what it actually takes to get there. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Stop Hiring Nice People to Do a Hunter's Job
May 1800:17:24Tap to summarizeEight months. Zero new revenue. And a nice guy who checked every box. If that story sounds familiar, you have a hiring problem, not a training problem. In this episode, Randy reveals the MCOP framework: four pillars that separate hunters from book sitters before you ever sign an offer. He also walks through the retirement math that reveals whether a new hire is truly motivated to grow. The all-in cost of a failed producer hire runs to $150,000. The fix starts before the offer is ever made. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
Transcribe →Stop Quoting. Start Winning: The Complete Flight Plan.
May 1100:24:34Tap to summarizeMost producers think they lose on price. Greg's story proves otherwise. He kept an account where both competitors beat him by $15,000 and $20,000 — and they never knew why. In this episode, Randy Schwantz delivers the complete six-step Flight Plan, from red-hot introductions to cross-selling and wedge-proofing. Incumbents in commercial lines hold a 92% retention rate. Not because they are better. Because they get the last look. This is how you break it. Want us to tackle a real challenge you're dealing with? Submit your question using the link below. We read every question. We don’t respond to all of them—but the best ones get turned into episodes.If this episode was helpful, share it with a producer or agency leader who needs it. Get more insights like this every week: 👉 Subscribe to the podcast & blog: https://thewedge.net
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