The Agent Leader Podcast
by Brent Kelly--The Agent Leader Podcast
The podcast for independent insurance agency leaders and their teams to learn practical strategies and behaviors to become their best version possible. Hosted by Sitkins Group President, Brent Kelly, The Agent Leader Podcast provides agencies with leadership, sales, and self-development methods that actually get results. With our focus on a total-team approach to improving independent insurance agencies, we dive into sales, service, and leadership teams.Leadership is not a title. Leadership is influence. Become a better leader and gain influence with your clients, team, and community.
Episodes
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Stop Overlooking Your Service Team
Your agency’s next stage of growth may depend on the people you’re overlooking. When agency leaders think about growth, producers and sales leaders usually come to mind first. But what about the people who interact with clients every day, protect relationships, strengthen retention, and create...
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Scaling Your Agency in the Age of AI with Seth Zaremba
AI is changing the insurance industry fast. Seth Zaremba, founder of b. atomic, joins Brent to discuss how the agencies that learn to use it strategically can gain a serious advantage in the ability to scale. Drawing on his experience as a producer, agency owner, and insurtech entrepreneur, Seth...
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Optimizing Your Results: The Discipline of Continuous Improvement
Improvement doesn't happen simply because an agency has a good strategy. It happens when leaders consistently review what is working, learn from the results, make the right adjustments, and keep moving forward. In the final episode of this four-part series, Brent Kelly explores the fourth...
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Mastering Agency Growth With Execution
Most agencies don't have an idea problem, they have an execution problem. They already know plenty of ways to grow, but when every idea becomes a priority, nothing gets the focus required to produce results. In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly continues the four-discipline...
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You Don’t Have a People Problem, You Have an Alignment Problem.
Are your people working hard, but not always working together? In this episode, Brent Kelly continues the four-step process for building a Best Version Possible agency: Clarify → Align → Execute → Optimize. After last week's conversation about clarity, Brent explains why the next step is…
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Are You Solving the Wrong Problem?
What if the most expensive problem in your agency isn’t the one you’re currently solving? Agency leaders are constantly taking action, but more activity doesn’t always mean more progress. Before adding people, technology, leads or another initiative, you need clarity around what actually matters...
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Be the One: The Leadership Mindset That Changes Everything | Karl Sherrill
What does it really take to become a better leader? In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly is joined by Karl Sherrill, Chief Development Officer at Highstreet Partners, for a conversation about leadership, self-awareness, accountability, and execution. Karl shares why great...
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What Does the Best Version Possible of Your Agency Look Like?
Exceptional insurance agencies don't become exceptional by accident. They become exceptional by consistently practicing the right disciplines. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly explores a question that Roger Sitkins first posed years ago: What does the best version possible...
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AI + Human Connection: The New Advantage for Agencies
AI is changing the insurance industry, but the biggest opportunity isn't replacing people, it's helping people become better. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly sits down with Eric Witges, CEO of FSB Insurance Agency, to discuss how his agency is using AI to improve...
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How Leaders Create Capacity, Not Just Results
Most agency leaders think their biggest growth challenges are external. Recruiting. Market conditions. Competition. Carrier relationships. But what if the biggest limitation is actually your leadership capacity? In this episode, Brent Kelly explains why great leaders don't simply create results,...
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Your Agency Doesn't Have a Growth Problem (It Has an Alignment Problem)
What if the biggest thing holding your agency back isn't talent, effort, or opportunity? What if it's alignment? In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly challenges one of the most common assumptions in the insurance industry: that growth problems are solved by hiring more...
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Your Team Is Borrowing Confidence From You
Confidence isn’t something leaders have, it’s something they create. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly shares why confidence is one of the most contagious forces inside an insurance agency, and how your team is taking its cues from you every single day. Brent breaks down…
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What Are You Tolerating That Your Future Agency Can't Afford?
Most agency leaders don't wake up and decide to become average. Instead, average happens slowly, through tolerated behaviors, avoided conversations, weakened standards, and leadership drift. In this episode, Brent Kelly explains why the biggest threat to agency growth isn't usually talent,...
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Beyond Outsourcing: Building High-Performing Teams with Virtual Assistants
Most agency owners know they need help, but hiring the right people feels harder than ever. In this episode, Brent sits down with Valerie Bowden, founder of CRDLE, to discuss why African virtual assistants are becoming one of the biggest untapped opportunities for growing businesses. Valerie…
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Context Creates Results
Why do some agencies thrive in difficult markets while others struggle under the same conditions? In this solo episode, Brent Kelly explores one of the most powerful leadership concepts agency leaders often overlook: context. The way you interpret market conditions, staffing challenges, and...
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The Psychology Blocking Producer Performance with Connie Kadansky
Agency leaders often focus on activity, accountability, and results, but what if the real issue is happening beneath the surface? In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly sits down with sales call reluctance expert and master certified coach Connie Kadansky to unpack the…
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Average Is Full: The New Standard for Elite Agencies
Most insurance agencies are doing pretty good. But according to Roger Sitkins, that’s exactly the danger. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly and Roger Sitkins unpack the idea that “average is full” and why agencies that settle for average growth, average accountability, and...
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Control the Controllables: How Elite Agencies Create Predictable Performance
On this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly dives into one of the most important leadership disciplines for agency growth: controlling the controllables. Too many agency leaders get consumed by external chaos like staffing challenges, market disruption, carrier pressure, and economic...
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From Commodity to Consultant: How to Win by Solving Real Problems with Dustin Boss of Emerge Apps
Most insurance agents say they’re different. Few can actually prove it. In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly sits down with Dustin Boss, co-founder of Emerge Apps, to break down how elite agencies are shifting from transactional selling to true risk advisory, and why that…
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The Player Coach Trap
Most agencies assume their best producer should become their sales leader. It sounds logical, but it can also be one of the biggest growth constraints in your agency. In this episode of The Agent Leader, Brent Kelly explores the reality of the player-coach model and why it often works early, but...
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Turn the Crank on Employee Engagment with Sadie Bauman
What actually turns the crank on employee engagement? Right now, only 31% of employees are fully engaged at work, and more than half are simply going through the motions. For agency leaders, that represents both a challenge and a massive opportunity. In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast,...
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What’s Dragging Your Agency Down?
Most agencies don’t slow down because they’re failing, they slow down because of hidden drag. In this episode, Brent Kelly breaks down what’s really dragging your agency down, even if you’re growing, profitable, and doing “all the right things.” The reality? Growth often hides inefficiencies...
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Leadership, Grit, and Growth: Chris Paradiso on What It Really Takes to Succeed
What does it really take to become a high-performing agency leader? In this episode, Brent Kelly sits down with Chris Paradiso to explore the habits, mindset, and leadership principles that drive long-term success. From the power of relationships and accountability to the role of discipline and...
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Why Producers Fail
Why do producers fail? Most agency leaders assume the answer is lack of discipline, motivation, or talent. But after working with thousands of producers across hundreds of agencies, Brent Kelly has found a different truth: Most producers don’t fail because of talent. They fail because the system...
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Plateau or Progress? Why Agencies Get Stuck at the Next Level
As an agency leader, one of the most frustrating moments is when your agency is doing well, but growth suddenly feels harder than it should. You have good people. The agency is profitable. Clients are happy. Yet something feels stuck. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly...
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Culture Before Process: Why Most Agency Changes Fail
Most insurance agency leaders roll out change the same way: create a new process, announce it to the team, and expect results. And then? Resistance. Workarounds. Passive compliance. Frustration. In this episode, Brent Kelly breaks down why process-first transformation almost always fails, and…
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Skill Stacking and the Curiosity Advantage with Brett Young
Most agencies try to grow through more activity, more producers, or better tech. But in this Agent Leader episode, Brent Kelly sits down with Brett Young, President and CEO at Erb & Young, to unpack how he went from selling policies to building a multi-state agency driven by culture, leadership,...
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Signal vs. Noise
Most insurance agencies aren’t lacking effort—they’re lacking clarity. In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly breaks down the difference between signal vs. noise and why agency leaders must send clear, consistent messages to create momentum, accountability, and growth. You’ll...
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Be Your Own CEO: NFL Veteran Marques Ogden on Resilience & Elite Performance
What separates average performers from elite leaders? Mindset under pressure. In this powerful episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly sits down with former NFL player turned speaker and coach Marques Ogden to unpack the beliefs, behaviors, and disciplines that drive high performance.…
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Standards Over Intentions: Discipline That Drives Predictable Growth
What truly separates high-performing organizations from those that stay stuck? It’s not effort. It’s not intentions. It’s standards. In this episode, Brent Kelly breaks down why leadership standards, not goals or good intentions, are the foundation of culture, behavior, and results. You’ll learn:...
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Stop Complaining About What You Allow: Raising Standards in Your Agency
As an independent insurance agency leader, the standards you enforce—or ignore—shape everything: culture, performance, accountability, and results. In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly challenges agency owners and leadership teams to confront a tough truth: what you tolerate…
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Busy Isn’t Productive: A Case for Agency Alignment
Why are so many insurance agencies constantly busy—but still frustrated with progress? In this episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly dives into one of the most critical (and misunderstood) drivers of agency success: true team alignment. Drawing insights from high-performing agency...
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Growth Is Optional. Leadership Is Not.
What if your agency’s biggest growth constraint isn’t the market, staffing, or strategy—but leadership assumptions? In this relaunch episode of the Agent Leader Podcast, Brent Kelly returns with a powerful message for independent insurance agency owners and leadership teams: growth without...
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How Are Your Clients Keeping Score? Winning Retention & Referrals the Right Way
Are renewals enough to prove you’re winning with clients? In this episode, Brent Kelly reveals a simple 3-step process to define, document, and deliver on client expectations — the key to higher retention, stronger relationships, and more referrals. Learn how top agencies track success, why your...
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Captives Uncovered with Warren Cleveland
Are you an independent insurance agent or agency leader looking for a smarter way to grow your business, retain more profit, and better serve your clients? In this episode, host Brent Kelly sits down with Warren Cleveland, CEO of Captive Coalition, to uncover the untapped potential of captive...
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The #1 Metric for Insurance Agency Success
Most insurance agency leaders focus on revenue, retention, and growth—but there’s one overlooked metric that could transform your agency’s future: Revenue Per Relationship. In this episode, Brent Kelly breaks down why this powerful measurement matters more than ever and how it reveals the true...
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Why Not You? A Wake Up Call for Agency Leaders
Why not you? In this powerful solo episode, Brent Kelly challenges insurance agency leaders to confront the one thing holding them back: their mindset. Drawing inspiration from the final chapter of Best Version Possible, Brent unpacks the core differences between good agencies and great ones....
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From Stuck to Soaring: Transformative Strategies for Insurance Agencies
What’s Holding Your Agency Back? If you’re still managing people, profit, and performance the old way, you may be capping your agency’s potential without realizing it. In the latest episode of The Agent Leader , Brent Kelly is joined by Roger Sitkins for an inspiring conversation about what it...
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AI and Insurance: From Hype to How with Steve Anderson
Renowned insurance technology expert Steve Anderson, co-founder of Catalyit and author of The Bezos Letters, joins us to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming the insurance industry. Drawing lessons from the internet boom of the late ’90s, Steve shares how today’s agencies can move...
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Beyond the Policy: Transforming Insurance from Commodity to Connection
Is your agency stuck selling insurance as just another commodity? In this powerful episode, Brent Kelly reveals how to shift that perception through meaningful communication and client connection. Learn how to differentiate your agency by going beyond the overused promises of "great service" and...
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Row Together, Grow Together: Agency Alignment Secrets with Kari Glennon
Is your agency rowing in the same direction—or just spinning in circles? In this episode, senior consultant Kari Glennon joins Brent Kelly to break down the real reasons insurance agencies struggle with internal misalignment—and what to do about it. From duplicated efforts to pricing uncertainty,...
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From Chaos to Clarity: Turn Workplace Distractions into Peak Productivity
Feeling pulled in every direction in your agency? In this episode, Brent Kelly shares how to flip daily distractions into your biggest productivity wins. Inspired by Cal Newport’s Deep Work and Darren Hardy’s Insane Productivity, Brent offers practical strategies for creating focus zones, setting...
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Building a Thriving Insurance Agency: Insights from Bravera Leaders
In this episode, Brent Kelly sits down with two dynamic leaders from Bravera Insurance, Brennan Quintus and Tess Pergande, to uncover the key drivers behind their agency’s success. From fostering a strong team culture to leveraging open communication and strategic leadership, they share…
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Unlocking the Hidden Millions in Your Agency
Is your insurance agency leaving money on the table? In this power-packed episode, Brent Kelly reveals how to maximize your agency’s valuation by mastering the people side of the business. Discover the critical leadership shifts that drive real growth. Brent explores how to break free from a...
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Simplify to Succeed: Joe Calloway’s Strategies for Maximum Impact
What if simplicity was the key to becoming a stronger leader? In this episode of The Agent Leader Podcast, renowned author and speaker Joe Calloway shares his journey from a Tennessee farm to captivating audiences at iconic venues like the Staples Center. With a talent for breaking down complex...
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Beyond the Comfort Zone: Jeff Schulz on Onboarding, Growth & Leadership
Join us for a motivating episode of The Agent Leader Podcast as we sit down with Jeff Schulz from J. Krug & Associates to explore his journey from fraternity connections to leadership in the commercial lines division. Jeff’s story highlights the power of continuous learning, industry…
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Closing the Performance Gap: The KPIs That Drive Agency Growth
Discover how to bridge performance gaps and drive unprecedented success in your insurance agency with insights from Roger Sitkins, founder and CEO of the Sitkins Group. In this episode, we break down the transformative power of key performance indicators (KPIs) and introduce the Performance Gap...
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The Power of Standards Over Goals
In this episode of the Agent Leader, Brent Kelly dives into the transformative power of setting standards over merely chasing goals in insurance agency leadership. Drawing inspiration from James Clear's "Atomic Habits," Brent explores how establishing consistent standards can turn your…
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Producing Agency Excellence with Dan Elliott
Discover the Secrets to Consistency and Balance in Insurance Sales In this episode, Brent Kelly sits down with Dan Elliott, managing partner of the Diebold Agency and a fourth-generation leader, to uncover how he steers his family-run business toward multi-location success. Drawing from his…
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Elevate Your Leadership Game with Jill Wagner Kelly
Jill Wagner Kelly, the Chief Distribution Officer at Grange Insurance, shares her profound insights from over 30 years in the insurance industry on this episode of The Agent Leader. Jill's journey from a personal lines underwriter to an executive leader is filled with pivotal moments and…
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About this show
The podcast for independent insurance agency leaders and their teams to learn practical strategies and behaviors to become their best version possible. Hosted by Sitkins Group President, Brent Kelly, The Agent Leader Podcast provides agencies with leadership, sales, and self-development methods that actually get results. With our focus on a total-team approach to improving independent insurance agencies, we dive into sales, service, and leadership teams.Leadership is not a title. Leadership is influence. Become a better leader and gain influence with your clients, team, and community.
Hosted by
Brent Kelly--The Agent Leader Podcast
Categories