As Smart Choice® celebrated its 25th year in business, the nation’s fastest-growing agency network marked yet another year of record-setting growth.

Oh God, thought Maria, holding the phone at arm’s length, it’s another one of those obnoxious salespeople. Don’t they know what “no” means?

Will 2020 bring challenges? Absolutely! Will we have to work harder than we did in 2019? Absolutely. Fortunately, I know that this new year will bring this family of agents, territory managers, and Smart Choice employees together to meet and conquer anything thrown our way.

Twenty-five years. It seems like yesterday, and also a lifetime ago that I was struggling to establish a small start-up company, in hopes of helping other independent agents like myself. Starting a new business is a huge leap of faith. What made everything worth it to me was knowing that I was starting a business that’s intent was to make other business owners’ lives a little easier.

These days, digital engagement is a key part of marketing your agency and serving your customers. Millennials especially use digital channels to find and engage with agents. Here are a few practical ways independent agents can reach more millennial customers online.

The new day is dawning on my sales career, decided Andy. As he drove to work, basking in the afterglow of the outstanding sales training seminar he had attended the day before, he couldn’t wait to start. The entire training seminar was on making new contacts. Andy was careful to remember it was no longer called “cold calling,” it was “making new contacts.” He had underlined that spot in the training manual. You have to have a new attitude, he said to himself.

Fourth quarter is an excellent time to start planning your long-term and short-term goals for your agency. Perhaps your agency is positioned to experience exponential growth in the next 12 months. Or, maybe you’re hoping to retire soon and need a plan for selling your agency. Whatever your goal is, your State Director is here to help you.

As we round the corner into the last quarter of the year, it’s important to reflect on your goals for 2019 and how much progress you’ve made. Are you where you would like to be yet? If not, the good news is, you still have a few months to get there. It’s also a great time to begin planning for next year, and adjusting your goals based on how successful your current year has been.