The Industry Grows Weeds. Winners Grow Shepherd Trees.

What if scaling your insurance business didn’t require 50 state licenses, endless windshield time, or chasing cold leads across a map? We make the case for going deep instead of wide—planting roots in one local market so trust compounds, operations get leaner, and your name becomes the instant answer when someone thinks Medicare, life insurance, or small business benefits.

We trace the journey from scattered prospecting to focused presence, sharing how narrowing the territory turned six degrees of separation into two. You’ll hear how a “shepherd tree” strategy—deep roots, steady growth—translates into real wins: referrals from clients who know you beyond the policy, introductions at community events, and carrier reps who respond because the relationship is real. We break down the nuts and bolts of local efficiency too: mastering quoting zones and networks, reading rate cycles before they hit, and documenting personal details in a CRM so every touchpoint feels tailored even as your team scales.

Then we dig into omnipresence without burnout. We outline a practical, customizable approach to showing up where your best clients already are—online, offline, and face to face—so your brand is seen often and recognized instantly. We talk about influencing carriers with clean documentation, choosing focus over distraction, and protecting the only resource you can’t earn back: time. If growth feels thin or fragile, this playbook helps you become resilient to market shifts and regulatory shocks by anchoring your business in real relationships and local knowledge.

If this helped you rethink your strategy, subscribe, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review. Tell us: which neighborhood or niche will you own this year?

Transcript

Why Local Beats Multi‑State

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the Invisible Agent Podcast, the show for insurance agents ready to go from unknown to unstoppable, where visibility, strategy, and real-world execution meet. Hosted by Dave Cheatham and Mike Sorensen.

Lessons From Early Windshield Time

Deep Roots: The Shepherd Tree

Relationships That Drive Referrals

CRM As A Trust Engine

Market Nuance And Local Efficiency

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Welcome to the Invisible Agent, going from unknown to unstoppable, episode 5. Bloom where you're planted, the power of local. Is your insurance business like a shepherd tree? It should be. In a world where everyone is telling you to get multiple state licenses, work multiple states, we're saying you don't have to. Today we're going to cover the why you should be local instead of multiple states. See, it goes even beyond just multiple states. It's actually where you're actually marketing, where you're doing the work. When I was uh out there doing work, I was uh in especially in the Medicare space, but even started when I first got going, right? I was told to get a list of the first 250 people, my family, my friends, which are all over the country, by the way, but which would have cost me an arm and a leg to get licensed in all those states. But beyond that, I didn't want to go after family and friends. I wanted to do marketing. I wanted to have people call me. I wanted to do certain things differently. So I went out there and I started doing marketing, and it was still way all over the map. It was all in Illinois, but it was all over the map. When I got in the Medicare space, I realized that I was doing it wrong. You see, I was traveling from Lake Michigan all the way to the Iowa border, from the Wisconsin border, almost all the way down to Springfield. And the windshield time was horrendous. Where did I get the leads, follow-up, all these things were just getting too burdensome? So I changed how I did marketing and I did almost everything over the phone. Even in the day that we didn't have the app apps, the online presence, all these things that we could do today from the enrollment, the quote and enroll software, all those things. I was doing things online as much as I could. But at that time, when I started over 20 years ago, some of those did not exist. So we had other ways of doing it. Then came the evolution of what we have today. And we see new quote and enroll software, which even then was great, but I was still I limited my area. But even then, remembering networks, remembering pricing from Chicago to Rockford were two totally different quoting zones. We had some med subcarriers that had three or four different quoting zones. And then if I really wanted to sell life insurance, it was still all over the map with driving and and the windshield time and everything else. So I really honed in and had my best year ever when I honed into a local marketing. See, I really started to bloom where I was planted. Why people get to know me. I got to know them, I got to know medical networks, I started getting referrals from companies, a bunch of different reasons. Ultimately, did that happen? Really, kind of for three reasons. So I want to talk about why relationships matter, the efficiencies in your business, and the omnipresent. Bloom where you're planter. Let's talk about that shepherd tree. You know, some people go, Dave, why the shepherd tree? Well, the shepherd tree is this reason. What some people don't know, it's really in Africa is really where we see it. Um, but it has the deepest root system out of all the trees. And it only grows to be about 33 feet tall, but it produces, and that's a powerful thing. You see, the deeper your root system, the stronger your business is gonna be. Why? Because relationships matter. You see, the more I'm around in one area, the more people get to see me, and the more I get to know people. And I was able to build that the relationship. Some of them are just with HR people, some of them are business owners, some are just local individuals doing different things. When you have a commonality, and all of a sudden that six degrees of separation becomes three degrees of separation or two degrees of separation becomes a more powerful aspect. You see, when I'm able to build those relationships and deepen those relationships, I found that my referrals blossomed. And for me caring for them and taking care of them, they know that they can stop in by me or I could stop in by them. When I really did this, I was still driving around, seeing people in the houses or in the Paneras or McDonald's or wherever else that I was able to get Wi-Fi. It changed eventually that I did it from my office. However, that relationship, them knowing that I was there, I was really taken aback and I received a phone call. And the phone call kind of went like this. Hey Dave, I I was just looking at some different things and I was wondering what internet service I should go with. I was like, what? In my head, I was like, what wait, why, why why are you asking me what internet service I should have? That was a little, I was taken back by that. Not long after that, hey Dave, I need a new roof. Do you know a roofer that I should use? Hey, Dave, I have. I need. Can you help me? And it wasn't on the insurance products necessarily. So now be careful as you refer people out that that's not what this is about. It's not that if you do this, you're gonna be able to refer more people. That that's not the point. The point comes in the trust because the relationship matters. They trust me. Not long ago, I was on a conversation with a client that I've had for a while, and it's one of the first times that I've not necessarily seen them face to face. And I had to explain to the family members why I was not able to help them in the same way. And they totally understood, but they heard my name. I was talked about. In fact, I met some of the family members. See, I had a client that had a birthday celebration and invited me to that birthday celebration. And the person said, Hey, before I die, yeah, I have the money that for the funeral and all that, but I want a celebration of life that's when I'm living and celebrate with my friends. So three years before they turned a certain age, they wanted to throw this big birthday party. And so I talked to them, and every once in a while they would call me up and go, hey, Dave, where would you do this? How about this? And so I just gave them ideas and it was kind of helping in the process. And I received the invite to go to that birthday party. And I then received a phone call. Dave, you're coming to my birthday party, right? My celebration of life? I go, I think so, but I'm not positive. I, you know, it was from my wife and I. And I said, I don't know if my wife can make it. She goes, Well, I want you both there, but the only reason she shouldn't be there is if she's traveling. You know ahead of time, make sure you don't travel. I want you there. So uh as it turned out, my wife and I were both able to go to the birthday party and uh we were there and I I knew some people because there were some people there where also my clients or I talked to and met with. But during that time, my client came up to me and my I was by my wife, and and he said, uh, darling, if you don't mind, I'm gonna take him for a while. I'll bring him right back, I promise. And she took me around to every single person that was there and introduced me. And afterwards, I asked, you know, I was like, you don't need to do this. Why are you doing this? This is your celebration of life. She's like, I want to introduce you. You've helped me in so many ways in my that I want this to be a part of giving back. And she thought that me being able to be introduced as her insurance agent that helped her with things that all the individuals in there might not need my services right then and there, but eventually. As it turns out, another individual was there that I talked to later on. And it was a daughter of another one of my clients. And so on the phone during the annual enrollment period, the person said, said, I don't know if we met, but I know that my client spoke of you and has spoken of you very highly over all these years. And so again, I had to be very careful when we talked because of HIPAA and things like that. But uh, but eventually we were able to get to the point that uh we were able to do that. We had consent and I was able to help that individual, the client. But the daughter said, said, you know, that relationship truly matters to our family. And I want to thank you for being there all this time. You see, that relationship got deeper and deeper because of the time I was able to spend with the person, not just over the phone, but one-on-one, belly to belly, eyeball to eyeball, at different events at different times. If I was in all these different states, I wouldn't be able to do that. So not just only that relationships matter, but the depth of that relationship. Hopefully you have a really good CRM. I'm not here to pitch a CRM, but I don't care if you're just starting in the business. I tell people immediately, not only should they have their business incorporated and all those other things, but immediately start with a CRM. It's a small investment to do your business the right way. And that CRM contact relationship manager, that's the key, right? Relationship management. We document things in there that are very important. Now, I would say I have a really good memory. And I'm I'm speaking from experience because when I start started this business, I didn't do a CRM. I had a spreadsheet. And what I realized was as I got staff and I had other people help me and other things, even though I knew the people and I can work with them, there's certain things I knew about them that my my staff did not. So my staff couldn't say, hey, this is a fake name. I don't know that I'm just saying uh Mary Lake. I love I love hiking and I love being in nature. So I just looked at a picture in my wall. There's a lake. And so hello, Mary Lake. If you it's a real person out there, it's not you, but hey, Mary Lake, welcome to, you know, thank you for for calling us. Give, you know, how can we help you? And hey, it looks like you just went on vacation. How was it? Or hey, you know, Dave's looking at going to Africa. It looks like you've been to Africa. Was it enjoyable? Deepening the relationship, not just with me, but with my company. For me, maybe some of you don't have the best memories or the best ideas of how to connect. I'll tell you what, we're able to connect that way. When people come to my office, they look at the pictures that I've taken of my hiking in nature because that's what I love. One of the things I love. I'm my artist photography, right? And so they see him and they go, Oh, did you take those pictures? Yes. Not only does the relationship matter for your clients, but also your centers of influence. We have an individual that came to my office and looked at one of my pictures and said, Oh, I was there. I know exactly where that was. And they told me exactly where it was in Yellowstone. And they're like, Yeah, we tried to get a picture there, but it was so busy we couldn't get one. And we talked about that experience because that shared experience deepens those relationships. So all I did was I planted and I allowed the marketing and the prospecting and my business to truly bloom and flourish. So not only does it help when we're doing that, but we also get the efficiencies in your business. What do I mean by that? Yeah, we have great technology today, and we use technology today on seeing many things, but market changes, carrier changes. In Illinois, we just had a D-SNP that came into the market in a long time. And seeing that change, what about all those people that were dual eligible? And oh, wait, there's different qualifications that are for these plans. And well, that's great, but how about the networks? Well, I knew some of the networks. We we had one carrier that didn't have all the contracts on the dual plan, on that D-SNP plan, right? But they were getting them. And not only that, but then there's all those other nuances. Not only do we have the market change that way, but there's other parts of the market that changes. I know the rate increases that are going to happen in Illinois pretty well. Why? Because I'm a student of the industry. If I have to learn 50 states, which we're licensed in all 50 states, we write business in over half of the different states within our within our organization. But I cannot know every market individually like the back of my hand. And I don't need to. We help agents all the time across the country. We don't need to know every little market change. But if you're planted, you'll get to know those market changes and when it happens before they necessarily happen. Carrier changes. I don't know about you, but we just had some things that changed pretty dramatically around us on the Medicare side, but it doesn't end there. How about the property and casualty? Property and casualty in some areas change dramatically. Carriers pull out for different reasons. California, all those fires, look at all the plans that are carriers that are fighting and what's going on. Look at Florida after hurricanes in other states when it talks about life insurance, right? That might not be as local from a carrier change, but when I am planted and I'm here and I'm spending the time locally, I get to know the reps, which is another part. It's a relationship. Again, the relationship matters. So I'm sitting here and I have a relationship with a carrier. And that carrier and I, we get along well. One year we write a lot of business for them. Another year they're not our top, but they know that we write business. Not because we tell people to write their business, but because the relationships we have. I remember sitting down with a carrier rep one time and they asked why we I didn't write much of their business. And this happened a couple of times with this one I'm telling in particular. And I mentioned to them why. And they're like, will you help us prove that and show it? I said, yeah. So I documented everything I could by protecting PHI and HIPAA and everything else. And they went and they got plans changed. They helped in the process. It wasn't just me, but I had a bunch of agents and we documented and documented and documented. And just slowly but surely their plan got better. Not only that, but it deepened the relationship and they said, okay, where we can do well, where is that, Dave? But I knew the market. Because I knew the market, I was able to say, okay, let's do marketing in this area. Because I know if we do marketing in this area, we have a better chance of writing your plan than if we market over in this area. I would rather be efficient in my business. So I don't want the windshield time as much as possible. I want to be able to have those connections, that relationships that matter, that I know when I talk to the person that I'm going to be able to answer my phone call. How many of you playing telephone tag or now email tag or text tag with a carrier rep or a center of influence or something like that? Those get to be old and they become outdated, meaning really outdated. Like there's been a person I've been trying to reach for over four months and I can't reach them, right? They don't return phone calls, they don't return emails, they don't return texts. They're still in the business, they're still there. And all of a sudden I get a text or an email or a phone call out of nowhere and go, Dave, I've been seeing this and I'm sorry, I just got back to you. And I'm like, well, obviously the relationship we have must not be strong enough, but it's with everybody where another carrier I know well, and all of a sudden they respond, right? So I also have a reputation. And if I something happens, a carrier will call and go, Dave, this is out of character. What happened? Right. And we talk, or somebody says something about us that's not true, and carriers are defending us because that relationship. But the efficiency in my business is better because of us being local and me able to be blooming and growing and planting right here. And I'm going deeper and deeper and deeper. So when a change comes, it doesn't topple over my tree or blow my house down. Those are just small pieces that efficiencies in your business matter. And being local affects and helps the efficiencies of your business. I don't know about you. It's an insurance business. And I tell everyone, hey, success is what you want it to be, how you define success. I define success for me. We have agents that define success for them. Whatever they define success is, as long as it has integrity and morals and ethics, I'm okay with it, right? But success to one person is different than the other. I haven't met too many people as they get in this business that I've not heard them say, hey, I need to be more efficient in my business. And that's the reality because if you're efficient in your business, eventually you will control your business and your business won't control you. And then one of the other most important things about being local is that omnipresent. So I talk about being the Medicare celebrity in your area. I don't know about you, but one of the shows that I watched, and this is a little bit dating myself in the 80s, right? Was Cheers. And uh, you know, I I'd love to be the person that when I walked in, they would go, Norm, right? The idea is they would see me and they would think I'm that person. I'm the Medicare celebrity, I'm the life insurance person, I'm the person that helps small businesses, I'm the whatever it is that your title is or what you do and who you help would know you for what you do just by being present. But they see us all over the place. In fact, uh, we do some of the marketing and how we teach some of the marketing. We found that one of the individuals, they said to one of our agents, we see you all over the place. Like, do you ever sleep? Do you ever take a rest? We see you online, we see you at events, we see you in the mail, we see you all over the place. And they are because they follow our methodology. We have a very, very clear methodology depending on how people market. And there's not one marketing tactic. Don't get me wrong, we customize marketing for insurance agents to grow an insurance business. But we want the omnipresent for you to be seen wherever you possibly can so that when they see you, be it online or offline, they know exactly what you do. And when they think of what you do, they think of you. That I cannot speak enough about that omnipresent and the powerfulness of that, but I only have so much resources. I can always make more money. I say that, but really you can't. Because there'd be a point in your life that you can't make more money. But there's one thing that I can never get back, and that's time. Until they come up with time travel backwards, I can't get that back. And believe me, there's times I wish that I can go back and know what I know today, right? Not because I would change any of the way, because that's how it gave me my knowledge, but I want that knowledge, I want that experience, I want all those skills that I have today going back over 22 years ago. Because if I do that and did that, I would have been doing blooming where I'm planted. And I would have that omnipresence because I would have been able to grow faster and more efficiently than I did. I'd be able to help and serve people easier, right? So one of my um, one of the people I follow on marketing would talk about, you know, you you attract the the right people and you repel the people you don't want to work with. And it's not necessarily the people that I don't want to work with, it's the people that I can't serve at the highest level. And I want to be able to help the person at the highest level. So, what do I mean by that? There's no use. So, about our this one. I receive every once in a while phone calls. And the phone call goes, hello, Dave. I'm calling because we're looking for a commercial loan. We don't do commercial loans. Because they see Family Financial Solutions Group, they think we do loans. I don't know why, but we don't do securities. And yet we have people that say think that we do securities. We don't market that. And our marketing actually kind of detracts from that. But our marketing did focus on certain areas. So today, right, who do we help? Family Financial Solutions Group serves our clients that we have, but we serve insurance agents that want to grow insurance businesses. Be it an entrepreneur that wants to get in the business or an insurance agent that is in the business currently, specifically in the Medicare and life with small businesses, right? We can do a lot of different things. I'm not a property and casualty agency. We do not do that. I do not focus DI, disability insurance. We can do it. And we've done group disability, we've done other disability, I've done it. But that's not a core competency. It's not something we focus on from a marketing standpoint. But our small businesses, absolutely, we did disability insurance for them because I think is needed. We did long-term care for them because I think it's needed. We had other products that we used. We did not sell, we were not pushing a product when we were doing the marketing. We were going after solutions to their problems. And when I'm omnipresent, I have a stronger base, I have a stronger foundation, a deeper root system, so that my business is not going to topple over if there's a change. Some people go, Dave, you know, we had major changes this year in the Medicare space. Yeah, we did. But you know what? Let's say Medicare out of it. We had major changes in 2020 and 2021, not just to Medicare, but to all of the insurance business every insurance business that I know of had major shifts. We weathered that storm. And in fact, we wrote more business at that time than we did the years prior because we had a strong foundation, a strong root system. Our agents thrived during that time. They didn't fold over the people that followed us. So I'm going to really, really, really recommend before you go into all these states, but you don't need to, really, really plant local. There's nothing like having a conversation with an individual and knowing where they're at. I'm going to leave you on this. It's not the insurance world. It's something dealing with marketing. An individual called me. I was on the phone. I was talking to them. And they mentioned, I said, oh yeah, I'm going to Addison, Illinois. And they mentioned, hey, have you tried so-and-so restaurant? And I said, no, but I know exactly where you're talking about. And they said, prior to this, I was in the construction industry and I would eat, I was there for 30 days and I had breakfast at that restaurant every single day because it was opened early. And it was a connection point, right? Because that relationship, they were trying to build the relationship. When you're marketing all over the place, you can't make some of those connections. You can't build that omnipresence. You're going to lose some of the efficiencies in your business. And I believe no matter what anyone says, your relationships are deeper the closer you are to people. So I look forward to helping you. I hope that this is gives you some ideas and maybe things that you might want to do in building your business. So I'm not going to tell you that you can't market in other states. You can. But if you're starting out and if you're having issues growing your business, really, think about blooming where you're planted and not trying to farm 50 states. Listen, we don't pay for any kind of marketing to promote this podcast. It only grows if you find value in this. Share it. Keep following us as we show insurance business owners how to go from unknown to unstoppable. Thank you for listening, and we'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 21:16

We do not do any paid marketing to promote this podcast. It only grows if you find value in this and share it. Keep following as we show insurance business owners how to go from unknown to unstoppable. Thank you for listening, and we will see you next week.