The Wild Growth Story of a Tiny Oregon Agency Dominating 20+ States

How do you turn a tiny, rural, PC-10 agency into a multi-niche growth machine that closes six-figure accounts without traditional producers? In this episode, Michael Jans sits down with Cheri Martinen, Managing Partner of Bancorp Insurance, to unpack how her family’s small Oregon agency has grown 6–7x while being surrounded by national forest on three sides. You’ll hear how Cheri’s parents: Started by cross-selling their existing book Stumbled into their first contractor niche Then built out a portfolio of highly profitable specialties—from wildland firefighters to special water districts and Medicare Today, Bancorp operates in 20+ states, runs a marketing-driven model, and closes big commercial accounts from inbound demand—no door-knocking producers. Cheri also breaks down her modern marketing stack: Consistent blogging and SEO YouTube shorts and multi-platform social Hulu ads and geo-targeting around senior centers Email + voicemail + direct mail campaigns Automated renewal and cross-sell workflows supported by in-house staff and VAs And we wrap with Cheri’s angle on AI and visibility: “At this point, we’re getting leads from ChatGPT. So if you’re not getting leads from ChatGPT, you don’t have enough content out there yet.” In this episode, you’ll learn: How a rural “middle of nowhere” agency made geography irrelevant with smart niche strategy The contractor campaign that turned a hard-market disruption into a growth surge How Bancorp built and scaled niches in wildland firefighters and water districts What a marketing-driven growth model looks like when you close six-figure accounts without a traditional producer force Real examples of integrated campaigns (email, voicemail, streaming, geo-targeting) that keep the pipeline full How Cheri thinks about AI, content, and why agencies must “test the waters before it’s too late” If you’re an independent agency owner wondering how to grow faster, niche deeper, and use modern marketing (and AI) to win big accounts, this conversation is a practical blueprint.