“The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.” – Cindy Donaldson.

Episode 7:

In this 7^th episode of Agents Influence, host Jason Cass interviews Cindy Donaldson, the founder of Red Barn Consulting, a world class marketing team based in New Hartford, Connecticut. Cindy shares her backstory and the ups and downs she has gone through establishing businesses, the importance of establishing a solid company culture that is productive, and how to increase productivity in your business.

Show Notes:

• September 13-15^th 2018 in Las Vegas is AI Lab, formally known as Grow Lab. Go to AILab18.com is where only 100 people can register.
• .Cindy is an iPhone and Apple user all the way.
• The last business application Cindy downloaded was Active Campaign for email marketing.
• Losing and failing is a way to learn and improve.
• .Cindy is a big picture person who did some PR work for a while, married, and realized she was a sales person. She ended up in the top 1% in sales at the company she was at.
• She started a company buying wholesale and sold retail, but lost a half a million dollars. She rebounded and learned from it and started a full-service marketing company with Timex as a client for printing.
• Cindy branded an insurance company that hired her in the role of Director in Sales and Marketing for a six-figure income, full benefits and five weeks of vacation. She worked there for five years.
• .Cindy then started Red Barn Consulting, and has been running it for about five years.
• There are no bad employees, just people placed in the wrong positions.
• When employees are unhappy, that is going to lead to unhappy customers.
• Hire talented people who also fit in naturally with the company culture.
• Check out AdvisorEvolved.com for websites.
• Gray areas just don’t fly. Clarify everything with your partners.
• Double down on your strengths and outsource your weaknesses.
• Mentorship is extremely important to develop talent.
• There is a huge generation cap in the industry.
• Millennials really understand the need for a positive company culture.
• Books to read: “You Best Year Ever,” “Crushing It,” “The Tipping Point,” and books by Malcolm Gladwell.

3 Key Points:

1. The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.
2. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you are, especially lawyers, accountants, and financial planners.
3. Gray areas just don’t fly. Clarify everything with your partners.

Tweetable Quotes:

–    “I think success is a mindset…you just keep your eye on the prize.” – Cindy Donaldson.

–    “The operations, the culture of the company, all of that really needs to get worked on before you get to marketing and sales.” – Cindy Donaldson.

–    “Your culture runs your office. That’s just the way that it is.” – Jason Cass.

–    “If you have an unhappy employee, that trickles down to that customer experience.” – Cindy Donaldson.

Resources:

• Insurance Agency Intelligence – Website for Insurance Agency Intelligence.
• AILAb18.com – Website for AI Lab brain share event.
• Cindy Donaldson – LinkedIn for Cindy Donaldson.
• Red Barn Consulting – Website for Red Barn Consulting.
• Advisor Evolved – Website for Advisor Evolved.

Jason Cass

Jason Cass is a thought leader, speaker, agency owner and champion for the independent insurance industry. He is the founder of Agency Intelligence (AI), a place where insurance agents and agency owners can connect, share knowledge and work together to improve their agencies and move the industry forward.

Jason hosts two major insurance podcast series, Agent’s Influence and Agency Intelligence where he talks with those that influence the insurance industry and connects with independent insurance agents all over the country. He is also the author of the Amazon Bestselling book, Customer Service is Just Foreplay, and is working on his second book titled, The Great Separator.