b atomic airwaves

Kat Ternes, VP of Revenue, hops on less than 24 hours after the acquisition announcement to give a behind-the-scenes on what's next for AgencyZoom. Why did Vertafore acquire? Will the original team stay? What should agents expect?

Cory Hagan, founder of Hagan Insurance, discusses the importance of building a data culture and his experiences operationalizing it. Throughout the episode, he talks about his background, issues he's run into transforming his agency and his commitment to long-term solutions. 

A behind-the-scenes with Allan Egbert, co-founder of Ask Kodiak, on why they made the decision to partner with IVANS. And what this means for the future of Ask Kodiak.

Ty Harris & Matt Wielbut, Co-Founders of Openly, have created a 5-question quoting experience....with option to bind. Their next nut to crack: creating the same frictionless experience on the service side. Here's how they're going to do it (hint: data, data, data).

Carey Wallace, founder of AgencyFocus, has helped agencies across the country weaponize their data for well over a decade. She explains why certain KPIs that businesses currently use to benchmark themselves just aren't good enough anymore. And what metrics we should be thinking about instead.

Brent Hammer, Innovation Officer, and Bobbie Collies, VP of Strategic Distribution, share a behind-the-scenes look at how a regional carrier is quickly carving out space in the IA channel. Our prediction: mid-size carriers who can wrestle the data beast early give themselves a competitive edge against even the biggest nationals out there. 

When we first started b atomic almost 2 years ago, many were skeptical. "Independent agents will never care about their data. And the industry will never care about independent agent data." Today, with just over 75 million rows of data, the skeptics are harder to hear. Here's why.

Everyone I've asked so far has defined "clean data" different. It's inaccurate data! It's incomplete data! It's a bad migration! The answer is...yes...and more. Sarah Applegate, Director of Data Integrity, breaks down exactly what it means and the depths to which bad data can hurt your business. 

You already know the answer: the data. Aaron Bickle, CEO, and Brian Ogle, COO, share what service performance metrics they're tracking...AND how they've used these metrics to re-shape their culture. Beast mode.

"Growth doesn't matter unless it's profitable," Marc Petersen of American Advantage Insurance. Listen as he breaks down the 5 key metrics he uses to measure profitability. P.s. they don't include retention and premium growth. 

Mei Wong, former fashionista turned data scientist, explains why most insurance agents' data sets aren't worth as much as they could be. And how to fix that. In a world of trillion dollar data sales, this is one you don't want to miss.

Wilber Price Insurance is where enterprise standards and pace-of-play meets small business heart and soul. Dan Chadwell, COO, explains how his 20+ year corporate career is helping drive change inside a top Nationwide agency that's turned independent. With data at his fingertips, he doesn't guess whether his service team is profitable....he knows. Here's how.

It's no secret that independent insurance agents have been frustrated with the lack of innovation inside their agency management systems. Even in 2021, many AMS' still struggle with data standardization, won't or can't connect to other solutions (or make it unaffordable) and don't provide the functionality necessary to be competitive in an Amazon world, among other things. Taylor Rhodes, CEO of Applied Systems, is working to change that. Here's his plan. 

Yep, there's a wrong way to build automation. And if built without these principles in mind, it can wreak havoc on your customer experience and business process. Nate Manns, b atomic Architect, and Anna Shaffer, head of b atomic motorsports, explain where to start. 

IVANS, the connectivity highway between independent agents and carriers, has only ever passed policy data through the indie agent's base tech: the Agency Management System. That changed in January, 2021. IVANS connected for the first time directly to a CRM, better agency. How have AMS' reacted? What does this partnership mean for the industry now and in the future? 

Allie Vaughan and Syd Roe discuss the journey of the neon marketing crew and why creating an omni-channel insurance experience has been tougher than we originally thought.

At b atomic, we talk to insurance agency owners across the country who all say the same thing: "I want to be more efficient." They look for the promise of speed from others. "It's time to reverse that thinking," Jeromy Huerta, owner of Heritage Insurance, explains. "First, be self-aware about your inefficiency. Then, speed will find you."

Last week caught us all a bit by surprise. 2 major acquisitions happened in the IA channel. Bold Penguin to American Family Insurance. And EZLynx to Applied. We focus today on the latter. Our big question: does this truly help the independent agent win? 

Jack Wingate, CEO of ALLCHOICE Insurance, isn't one to shy away from a little risk. He was one of the first to take on content marketing (still produces weekly content years later), didn't raise an eyebrow at truly investing in brand, has helped lead the conversation around insurance automation....and now? He put all his carriers on one zoom during a world pandemic. Find out how it went. 

Ben Zauski, a quantitative investment analyst, tackles The Question around predictive intelligence. If we're basing impactful business decisions both at an agency and carrier level off these analytics, how accurate are they really?

The independent insurance distribution model is suffering from a serious lack of connectivity. We've tried to band-aid with portals. But in a world where the customer demands something in minutes, not hours or days....portals just aren't fast enough. Carriers need to deliver the right information to the right agent at the right time. Listen as Clint Houck explains how we're building a connected ecosystem right now.

Before you move your entire team from one piece of technology to another, give this nugget a listen. A bad transition can cost you: a loss of team morale, unhappy customers and, ultimately, your bottom line. Robby Burton from Burton & Co. explains how his recent navigation of these treacherous waters ended with a motivated team, happier customers and even doubled annual sales goals.

Internally, data collection is often perceived as a roadblock as opposed to an opportunity. Shifting that perception starts with understanding the domino effect of bad data entry. How does it affect the customer experience, automations, reporting and ultimately power dynamics in the insurance industry? Olivia Schmitt lays it down for us!

You don't bring on a new CEO unless you're looking to set a new strategic vision. What is that vision? How will they actualize it? And most importantly...why? All questions Reid Holzworth and I wrestle with. This is the next generation of IVANS.

The #1 issue most insurance marketers face today: a disconnected marketing system. They spend so much time being data janitors, their creative time is crushed. But the holy grail of insurance marketing...a fully integrated system...isn't without its challenges too. Listen as Kari Colman, a neon marketer, explains why.

Spike Lipkin built a $500MM insurance agency...that is not a lifestyle business. He walked into insurance just a few years ago looking to solve the tech, data and connectivity issues that could, honestly, kill us as an industry. If you're building for the future, this is one you don't want to miss.

"We're running our agencies wrong," explains David Carothers. "Technology should be seen as a 24/7 cross-functional player in your agency that makes each and every one of you more capable every day. But most just see it as an expense." Honestly, he said it better than I could. 

Data doesn't mean anything unless it changes behaviors. But doing so must be done with care and intention. Too much pressure and you'll create a culture of fear. Too little and you're back in an ecosystem of invisibility. Steve Holley, an indie agency owner in Virginia, explains how he walks that line and finds the right conversation at the right time.

Do you give up the relationship to scale? Or do you give up scale for the relationship? The question that faces so many indie agents today. A tough one considering that relationships have been the key to our success for so long. So, maybe we should ask ourselves this instead: how do you do both?

If your "IT guy" is only focused on managing your office hardware, you'll want to listen to this podcast. Nate Manns, b atomic Salesforce architect, spits some truth on how that role has evolved. For the "IT guys" out there......your value just went through the roof.

4 years ago, agencies across the country said they would never hire a "digital marketer." I'm guessing you'll listen to this episode and say the same thing about this person....this new role you don't think you'll need. I'll take the same 4 year bet.

Saying "yes" to a startup? A tall order for most. Lucky for us...Pat West, Chicago Bulls fan and lover of all things sneakers, is not most people. Kicking of his insurance career at State Farm...trading corporate red-tape for HedgeQuote....and falling in love with insurtech....Pat walks through how and why he ended up on the b atomic crew. Pumped to have him on board!

365 days ago the b atomic team said we would: build 1 platform for indie insurance agent marketing, sales, service & analytics.....a platform that empowered agents to own their own data....collaborate with each other to learn what's working and what's not, operationally. 365 days later? we did what we said we would do. here's a behind-the-scenes look at the journey.

If you'd have asked me a year ago whether we'd be starting not one, but two companies during a world pandemic.....I'd told you that you were crazy! And yet here we are....announcing the start of another industry solution born from necessity.

Landon Bentham, an indie agent from NC, discusses whether insurance was actually prepared for COVID-19, how this will affect commercial coverage moving forward and how to proactively communicate with your clients.

We are all living through unforeseen times. It's called into question normal business practices. Like....is it really the right time to be marketing insurance? Listen as Geralda Ymeraj, CMO of Zinc Insurance, breaks down how she's led Zinc through their best quarter. Thanks to marketing.

With everyone working from home, it's easy to become disconnected from your team and feel....alone. Chris Shaffer, COO of Zinc, explains how the work they've done over the past 12 months on transparency and connection through technology has made this transition much easier. 3 weeks in and they're as strong as ever.

It's a tough time to be an insurance agency owner. How do you tell clients that their policy doesn't cover viral outbreaks, even when the government is mandating shutdown? How do you keep your own team motivated when they're no longer together in the office indefinitely? How do you take time as a business owner to process what's happening and prepare for what's next? Having steered his agency through multiple national crises, Seth Zaremba offers up some life experiences on leading in crisis.

Just in case you missed it, Tarmika and b atomic are joining forces. Tarmika, founded by an independent agent, is a commercial lines comparative rater. Hear how this partnership will help neon agencies and what it means for b atomic partnerships moving forward.

Meet Trevor Baldwin from Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners, an independent agency in Tampa, FL. Trevor explains how his internal data science team gives him a competitive edge with clients, helps him run a leaner agency and has deepened his relationships with  carriers.

After spending 19 years with Intel Corporation, where he led a worldwide team in support of cloud and datacenter customers, Dave Davis left silicon valley. He joined Fudge Insurance, an independent insurance agency in Florida, as Chief Technology Officer in 2019. Here's why he made the jump, what tech roadblocks fudge insurance has run into and how he's helping solve them.

Opening remarks from Clinton Houck, CIO of b atomic, at the very first carrier meeting. 8 carriers and 43 people in attendance to discuss how agents and carriers together can create the future of insurance technology. 

Syd Roe, Billy Williams and Ron Berg sit down to discuss what tech agents should pay attention to in 2020 during the Big "I" Diversity Summit/Winter Meeting. 

For the past few weeks, we've seen this idea floating around: "behavioral data isn't worth much because all it will show us....is what we already know: be nice and care about your customers." The problem is....nice doesn't scale. 

If you're frustrated with the "Why" of insurtech and/or the current carrier-agent highway, this episode is for you.

Meet Kirt Trimble. 9th of our (now) 15 pilot agents! He shares how his early years in the carrier world have helped him transform Trimble Insurance. And why he was so drawn to neon. For those craving serious industry change, this is one you don't want to miss.

In this episode, you'll hear Chris and Seth lead a conversation on service/customer experience during the annual Zinc carrier review meeting. They walk through the data analysis that led to crafting a lasting solution for their team in 2020.

In this episode, you'll hear Chris and Seth lead a conversation on retention during the annual Zinc carrier review meeting. They walk through the data analysis that led to crafting a lasting solution for retention in 2020.

This is a special episode. Today was the year-end carrier review for Zinc Insurance. This is a 30 minute piece of the 2 hour meeting. (Oh yes, you get a backstage pass.) In it, you'll hear Geralda discuss how she's designing her 2020 marketing plan for Zinc. And even more interesting, you'll see how a seasoned insurance marketer leads carrier meetings.

As the b atomic team has pushed our message and mission forward over the last 3 months, we've heard both cheers and fears. One of the loudest fears? A hesitancy to embrace data ownership in a society that's questioning data-centric businesses. Today, we address that fear head on.

Meet Christopher Cook. 8th of our 14 pilot agencies! He shares what took from his tobacco farm roots to successful owner of a multi-location agency. And why he chose Neon. This is an episode you'll come out of ready to crush life.