In this episode, James talks with Don Polczynski, President and Partner of RD Advisory Group, and Roe Polczynski, Founding Partner of RD Advisory Group. To learn more about RD Advisory Group, visit https://rdadvisorygroup.com/. Visit our website to join our email list, get the scoop on our LIVE coaching calls and never miss an episode: https://www.agencyfreedom.com Connect with Agency Freedom Podcast on Facebook at the Agency Freedom Podcast group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/agencyfreedom Email us at [email protected] with ideas, questions, complaints or your favorite grilling recipe. Episode Highlights: James explains that the goal of this episode is to provide context and practical insight into the topic of strategic planning and annual reviews. (2:30) Roe discusses how they would advise someone to begin getting their minds around the strategic planning and review process. (4:16) Roe and Don discuss the first stage in the process of developing a strategic plan. (9:18) Roe shares that Agency CFO utlizes the Big I Best Practices Study to benchmark their agencies against their peers. (19:09) Don discusses what an agency owner should do if they have never created a financial plan to determine where travel expenditures, employee benefits expenses, and dues and subscriptions go. (20:15) According to Roe, producer compensation should be done right from the start since it is difficult to adjust producer compensation after it has started. (29:15) Don shares that the annual Big I Best Practices Study recommends paying producers 33% of what they produce. Don shares that he believes that the insurance industry's greatest weakness is prospect pipeline management. (34:48) James recaps the importance of knowing your numbers, categorizing the money that you are spending, making wise selections with your tech stack, and getting a handle on your funnel. (47:39) James shares that the Agency CFO program has been fantastic for his agency. (53:46) Key Quotes: “If you put yourself on the market, whatever market value is, you should pay yourself out. Plus, at the end of the day, at the end of the year, your agency should show a 25% profit margin.” - Don Polczynski “Here's another pro tip - producer compensation. You’ve got to get that right from the onset. I am not about absolutes. This is one of those absolute moments. It is impossible to change producer comp after the fact.” - Roe Polczynski “What do we not excel at as an industry? Prospect pipeline management.” - Don Polczynski Resources mentioned: Big I Best Practices Study

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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