How to Build a Sales Machine Inside Your Agency

Jun 2, 2025

Most agents think their next breakthrough is one new tactic or strategy away. It’s not.
It’s in the machine you build around your people, your process, and your time.

I just revisited one of my favorite books—The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes—and if you apply even half of it to your agency, you’ll scale faster, sell smarter, and sleep better at night.

Here’s how it translates directly to you:

1. Discipline > Hacks

Stop chasing silver bullets. Pick 3–5 core sales processes (onboarding, outbound, bundling, follow-up) and train your team until they master them. No shortcuts. Just reps.

2. Time is Your Most Valuable Policy

Your calendar shows what you value.
Block off time daily for coaching, outbound activity, and deep work. Don’t let other people hijack your schedule.

3. Train Weekly or Fall Behind

The agents winning right now? They train like pros. Every week.
The reps who fall off? They wing it.
Invest 30 minutes per week in skill development, role plays, and objection handling.

4. Build Your Dream 100 List

Identify the 100 people in your market (referral partners, clients, influencers) who could transform your business—and drip on them consistently. Don’t stop after one reach-out.

5. Educate, Don’t Pitch

Stop quoting. Start teaching.
When you educate clients on risks, gaps, and how insurance actually works—you build trust, not resistance.

6. Craft Your Core Story

Your team should be able to explain—clearly and emotionally—why you do what you do, and why it matters. This story is what makes people buy you, not just the policy.

7. Systemize Every Step

The best agencies operate like franchises. They don’t rely on a few “heroes.”
They run on scripts, trackers, and repeatable systems.

8. Hire Like a Pro

If your hiring process doesn’t include sales simulations, objection drills, or coachability tests—you’re guessing. One A-player can outperform three B-players.

9. Follow Up Like a Machine

Most sales happen after the 5th contact—but most reps quit after 2.
Create a system that follows up for weeks with a mix of calls, texts, emails, and added value.

Bottom line?

You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

The good news? You don’t have to build all of this alone.

That’s exactly what we do at Ignite Agency Training—help State Farm agents install the training, coaching, and systems that turn producers into pros and teams into machines.

Let’s scale smarter.

– Zach Sabin
Founder, Ignite Agency Training