In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck interview Jeromy Huerta, President at Heritage Insurance Inc. Jeromy talks about his career in the insurance industry and how he got into the insurance business. He also shares his knowledge and expertise on how to acquire agencies, and make them grow.
Episode Highlights:
David introduces Jeromy Huerta. (1:29)
Jeromy shares his background and his career in the insurance industry. (3:26)
How does the restaurant stay open if they have one customer every two months? (3:59)
Jeromy shares that his love and passion for sports didn't leave him and because of that, he ended up playing at a junior college community, in Washington. (5:38)
How did Jeromy get to where he is now, in insurance? (13:53)
Jeromy shares that Heritage has started to expand in other states and what’s great about it is that he could hire people from other states. (16:44)
What kind of niches is Jeromy working on? (18:33)
Jeromy mentions that he just acquired another agency a month ago in Phoenix. (21:38)
How did Jeromy end up in Phoenix and Washington, while the other agency he recently acquired is in Arizona? (22:41)
How does Jeromy go about integrating it into what he has now? (26:10)
How often does Jeromy have to go back and refer to the paperwork? (29:10)
Jeromy mentions that it took him three years to switch the branding in the Scottsdale location because it was a classic insurance company. (29:58)
What's the average age of these agencies? (31:15)
David shares that currently, most of the mainstreet agencies have good appointments with carriers that are difficult to get appointed. (32:05)
Jeromy shares a story about a deal that he was closing in Washington. (32:40)
How does Jeromy go about funding? (37:13)
Jeromy explains SBA loans. (38:09)
David shares a little bit of his guerrilla warfare, from a marketing standpoint. (44:39)
David shares that part of their industry that he likes, more than anything else is that the longer it takes him and the more strategic he has to be to get a deal done, the better. (49:00)
What has Jeromy learned from the first acquisition that he made, through where he is today? (50:20)
What advice would Jeromy give to agency owners that are looking to the acquisition game? (50:31)
Jeromy shares that he learned that it’s essential to evaluate and ask all the questions beforehand of the setup of the agency, and find out everything that you need to know about the daily operations. (51:17)
Tweetable Quotes:
“I played and I had a chance to play longer but, it's kind of like how my mind sees things better but the body just isn't the same.” - Jeromy Huerta
“We’re working now to refine how we go after those people, the psychology of those people where they’re shopping, what messages are they wanting to hear, and what's going to bring them in.” - Jeromy Huerta
“We had things in place, we just needed some direction, and I don't care if I know everything, I don't want to know everything. I'm going to find people that are better than me.” - Jeromy Huerta
Resources Mentioned:
David Carothers LinkedIn
Kyle Houck LinkedIn
Florida Risk Partners
The Extra 2 Minutes
Jeromy Huerta LinkedIn
Heritage Insurance Inc.
