The Business of Selling Insurance | John Carlson

Everyone needs insurance. Almost nobody gets excited about buying it. In this episode of Outside the Sale*, I sit down with *John Carlson of Core Insurance to learn what the business of actually selling insurance looks like. John works across both *personal and commercial insurance*, covering everything from home, auto and flood to businesses and investment properties. We break down how an independent insurance agency works, how brokers shop multiple carriers, and why having an actual agent can provide value beyond simply finding the lowest price. John also has an interesting path into sales. He never considered himself a natural salesperson and initially avoided sales and commission-based work. But after he and his wife had their second child, they wanted to find a way for her to stay home. A conversation with his pastor led him to look for a career with more upside—and the very next day he saw an insurance agency looking for an agent. Three years later, he says he loves it. We talk about building a book of business, cold calling versus referrals, cross-selling, renewals, personal versus commercial insurance, commissions, prospecting, and how John balances the reality that almost everyone is a potential customer without treating every person he meets like a prospect. We also get into the difficult side of the business: rising insurance rates, carriers leaving markets, explaining premium increases to longtime customers, and why saving money isn't always worth sacrificing the coverage you'll need when something actually goes wrong. And sometimes serving the customer means being willing to *lose the sale*. John talks about situations where he'll tell someone to shop elsewhere when he believes Core simply can't offer them the best option. The Business of Selling Insurance | John Carlson This is Outside the Sale — conversations about what people sell, how they sell it, and everything that happens outside the sale. Connect with John & Core Insurance Core Insurance: https://coreinsurancela.com/ Email: mailto:john@coreinsurancela.com Core Insurance currently serves *Louisiana, Texas and Florida*.