A quick story about finding a good wholesaler.

Maybe year 2 or 3, I got in the door on a contractor account. I was refered to a new wholesaler by my agency’s marketing department.

It wasn’t the guy I normally used. But I wanted to be a team player so I went along.

His numbers came back higher than I expected.

I presented it anyway.

Meanwhile, I sent that broker’s quote to my usual wholesale buddy. He took one look at it and told me it was way out of line. He came back 30% cheaper.

Now, I had to tuck tail and go back to the client after already defending the original numbers.

I’ll give you one guess, what happened next.

I got BOR'd.

A $40K lesson I won’t soon forget.

I’ve rarely used a different one since. And we’ve written a ton of business together.

Every wholesaler will go to market for you. That's their job.

But a good one does so much more:

They educate you on coverage.

They tell you what forms actually say, what exclusions mean, where coverage is given and taken away.

They give you market feedback.

Not just a number, but context. Why the underwriter landed there, what they're nervous about, what could move the needle, and what else they’re seeing in the marketplace.

They coach you on the submission.

What questions to go back and ask the client, what information is missing, what narrative is going to get this risk taken seriously versus ignored.

They go to bat in conversations you'll never hear.

Phone calls with underwriters, back-channel discussions about what it would actually take to get to your client's target.

The difference between a good wholesaler and a bad wholesaler can literally mean millions in revenue to your book. I kid you not.

When you find a good one, you can blow up.

When you find a bad one, you end up defending a quote that's 30% out of line.

Ask me how I know.

A lot of producers I talk to don't think strategically about this.

They take whoever their agency hands them, or they go with whoever showed up at the last lunch-and-learn and seemed friendly enough.

While that’s not the worst place to start, there’s better.

Think about it:

Someone’s already done a lot of the vetting for you. So go ask them.

First, ask top producers internally.

Find the $2M producer at your agency and ask who they use and why. Then ask for them to connect you. A warm introduction from a trusted colleague is worth ten calls to websites.

Second, ask top producers externally.

That network of growth-minded Producers you’ve been building online?

wink wink

Ask who they use.

And a bonus tip if you’re newer.

Find someone on the come-up too.

A wholesaler carrying a $30M book probably won’t have time for a producer at $500k. That's okay. Find someone hungry and growing like yourself.

Once you find one you want to work with, send them a real submission asap.

Nothing like giving someone a live deal to see how they perform. You'll know within the first deal if they're worth their salt.

The proof is always in the pudding.

Here’s a few other things worth knowing:

Don’t submit to multiple wholesalers.

Just like how we try to coach our insureds to choose one agent, we should apply that same logic to wholesale relationships.

Sending the same submission to multiple wholesalers simultaneously is silly.

Unless someone has an exclusive product you’re literally doing the same thing you hate that insureds do to you.

Sure. Check their work from time to time to make sure. But, if they’re providing a market summary, you’re probably okay.

Secondly, don’t blindly trust your deals to marketing.

Maintain a direct relationship even if your agency has a centralized marketing team.

Your marketing person doesn't know what you know about the client. You do.

Reach out to your wholesaler when a submission goes over. Give them context.

That extra five minutes of communication on your end can be all the difference.

Next, don’t send in incomplete submissions.

This is Production 101, but it still needs to be said.

Go talk to any underwriter and they’ll tell you they get incompletes all the time.

Remember, underwriters don't quote applications. They quote stories.

If you're sending a half-filled ACORD that says "please quote" with no narrative, patchy loss runs, and no target premium, you're getting back whatever they feel like giving you.

Target premium especially.

It sounds small but it's consistently overlooked. Even a rough ballpark gives the underwriter something to work with.

Lastly, don't wait until the last minute.

Most rush submissions aren't actually emergencies.

They're usually a producer who sat on a renewal for three months and suddenly realized the effective date is 3 weeks out. That pressure cascades through the whole distribution channel and everyone loses, especially your client.

Cry wolf too many times and that wholesaler gets real hard to get a hold of.

They don’t just cover the market for you.

They'll coach you, guide you, and build with you.

Producers tell me all the time, “it feels like I’m out on an insland by myself.”

A good wholesaler fixes that.

Vet a few. Find the right one. Build the relationship.

Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

And if something feels off on a quote, check it.

I wish I had.

-MS

P.S. If you liked this newsletter, you might like my Producer Playbook. It’s my step-by-step system to building a $1M book from scratch.

Here’s the link.