For most of my life I was never much of a reader…
But I started getting serious about it around 3 years ago…
Which lines up to be around the same time I finally started getting some real traction with growing my agency.
Then I stumbled upon these which I believe are must-read books for insurance agents.
However most agents I talk to don’t read that often, maybe a few books a year.
So if that sounds like you, I definitely recommend you spend more time reading…
And with that being said here are the 3 books that’ve had the biggest influence on how I run my agency…
And I say also must-read books if you’re looking to become the most successful insurance agent!
In fact, I would even go as far as to say I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.
Must-read Books for Insurance Agents
(By the way, these are not affiliate links. Just making it easy for you to go check them out)
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work And What To Do About It
The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies
Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount: The Ultimate Guide to Opening Sales Conversations and Filling the Pipeline by Leveraging Social Selling, Telephone, Email, Text, and Cold Calling
Traction: Get A Grip On Your Business by Gino Wickman
This is more or less my personal list of “must read” books on how to build a successful insurance agency.
So if there’s any here that you haven’t read, go ahead and check them out.
You might’ve noticed that none of these books are specific to insurance…
And that’s because if I had to point out one big mistake that 90% of agents are making…
It’s that they don’t view their agency as a BUSINESS — just like if it was starting a clothing brand or launching some kind of tech startup.
I made that mistake too and it held me back for years…
But these 4 books helped me make that mental step and I’ve never looked back.
Free Book for Insurance Agents
If you’re an insurance agent and you’re interested in:
Learning to generate your own leads…
How to go out and get referral partners…
I recommend reading this book.
I used the exact same strategies in this book to grow my agency to $5 million in 4 years
This book is completely free. Click below to get your copy.
How to become the most successful insurance agent (even if the odds are against you)
A little while ago I shared an interview I did with Omar Elattar.
He runs a YouTube channel called “The Passionate Few”…
And is by far one of the best interviewers out there.
Him and I sat down to talk about my story…
From overdrafting on my credit cards and working in IT…
All the way to my starting insurance agency and building a 7 figure business.
I also talk about how events like my divorce and my father’s death affected my journey to getting where I’m at today…
Plus how I even convinced my wife to quit her 6-figure a year job to help me build the agency!
Now, since the interview talks a lot about success and entrepreneurship…
There are three things I wanna point out upfront (I also mention these in the interview):
- I never had an “entrepreneurial spirit” growing up (didn’t get into business until my 30’s)
- I was not born into a rich family (in fact, my parents were poor)
- I was never a “natural born” salesman (I sucked and it took me a long time to get any good)
So it just goes to show you…
You don’t gotta be that savvy kid with a lemonade stand in order to grow up and eventually run a 7 figure business.
The Truth Behind “Self-Made”
‘Cause one of the biggest fads I see online these days is people saying they’re “self made”.
“Self made” millionaires. “Self made” entrepreneurs. Even “self made” insurance agents.
(That’s right. Just reading these must-read books for insurance agents won’t make you a successful insurance agency owner)
People like this are everywhere, claiming they went from zero to hero entirely on their own.
And while I definitely respect the grind and the hustle I’m sure they put in…
For anyone to say they’re “self made” is a huge disrespect to everyone else that played a role in their success.
Sometimes it’s hard to notice the impact other people have had on us along our journeys…
But the truth is, to be 100% “self-made” is impossible.
I mean, without my mom for example.. I wouldn’t even exist!
And when it came to starting my scratch agency, sure I grinded and worked my ass off…
But I would never be where I am today without my wife.
As I said, I actually convinced her to leave her 6 figure a year salary to help me start the agency…
And without the trust she placed in me plus all her support and hard work…
It’s hard to imagine how well (or more likely, not well) things would’ve gone otherwise.
Even when it comes to Fully Covered, I never would’ve started it without Bobby…
And without his team there to help us roll this thing out, I’m not sure how many people’s lives we would’ve been able to change over these past couple years.
Anyway, here’s why I wanted to write about being “self made” today.
Sure, it sounds flashy to say you worked hard and changed your life or your business all on your own…
But being hard-headed like that and turning away help is a guaranteed path to failure if you ask me.
If not in the short term, then definitely in the long term.
Getting help from other people is an amazing thing…
And anytime I hit a wall or feel like I’m stuck with any type of problem with my agency…
I’m always surprised by how quickly a fresh pair of eyes and a new way of looking at things ends up being exactly the answer I needed.
Plus, to be completely honest with you…
Now that I can look back and see how far I’ve come (even though I’m not where I want to be just yet!)
I just feel incredibly grateful for all the people who have helped me along the way…
And a lot of that feeling gets channeled into the content I put out and into wanting to help other agents do the same.
That’s a big reason why I started Fully Covered in the first place.
I feel like I got incredibly lucky with the cards I’ve been dealt and the people I’ve met.
But not a lot of people out there get to have the same kind of help and support that I have.
And so wanting to give other people the same helping hand that I’ve had is what got me interested in coaching and building this program.
Now, if the glamour of saying you’re “self-made” is really worth the pain of doing things all alone, then by all means go for it.
But personally, I’ve found more success and happiness than I ever could’ve imagined by leaning on others to help me out.
And while there’s definitely people out there who’d look down at me for admitting that…
The fact is, I couldn’t feel more proud about it.
What is the hardest part of being an insurance agent?
As any insurance agent would know, starting an agency from scratch is not exactly the easiest especially on the first year.
You’ve got to figure out how to grow your insurance book of business.
For many insurance agents, that was their main problem before they joined Fully Covered – having to constantly find new ways of getting business.
When you’re a brand new agent, you’re trying to find all different avenues – sourcing, getting realtors on board, getting mortgage brokers to send you business, and yeah, even cold calling every day.
You’d really want to have that revenue coming in, from other people, aka referrals, to help you get your business to the next level.
However, just getting your foot through the door is really hard because there’s already a million other agents trying to contact the same leads, the same lender or the same broker.
What skills should an insurance agent have?
Most modern-day businesses, whether that’s insurance, or coaching, or selling handmade products, are actually in the MARKETING business (whether they ever realize it or not).
Take McDonald’s as an example. Most people would say that McDonald’s is in the hamburger business.
I mean, they make billions of dollars selling hamburgers so obviously, they’re in the hamburger business.
Right?
NOPE.
McDonald’s is actually in the Real Estate business.
‘Cause you can make the tastiest, cheapest hamburgers in the world.
But if you got no traffic in your store.
And if nobody knows you exist.
The business is gonna fail.
And just like McDonald’s…
If there’s no eyeballs on your product.
No leads to follow up with.
Or no new people to coach or train.
Ya got nothin’.
And this is where I see a lot of agents struggle…
They think they’re gonna crush it ‘cause they’re great at selling policies.
But as an insurance agent, you’re not actually in the insurance-selling business.
You’re in the business of generating leads for your referral partners.
Because without any leads… You’re not gonna be making sales.
Even if you’re the best salesman on the planet.
So I’d say to become a successful insurance agent, you should have good marketing skills to generate your own leads for your business.
P.S. Alongside these must-read books for insurance agents, the easiest way to learn something new is to have someone who’s already been a successful insurance agent teach you.
Would you be interested in having me teach you how I built a network of over 25 referral partners who send me 100 binder requests per month?
Want to have me, Bobby, and our entire group of over 700 insurance agents by your side — helping YOU scale your agency?
You see, Fully Covered is way more than just a program. It’s like a family.
But instead of annoying relatives and fighting siblings…
We’re all focused on growing our businesses and helping each other out.
Nato owns Guajardo Insurance Agency. He learned the lessons he needed to learn so that his agency avoided the traditional ups and downs of lead flow and sales. He created Fully Covered to do just that. A methodology and system that provides predictable and automated online leads to insurance agents that have a passion for helping people.
Today, Nato runs his business together with his wife, Angelica, without the stress of finding the next client or worrying about if there is enough money in the bank. Plus, he gets to protect clients with our Agency and protect his peers through education and systems that took years to figure out on his own.
