Eat That Frog: How Independent Insurance Agencies Win the Day by Doing the Hard Things First

A few years ago, our Jenesis team book club read Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy—and I’ll be honest, it’s one of those books that sounds simple… until you actually try to live it.

The core idea?
Do the hardest, most important task first.

That’s it. That’s the “frog.”

And if you’re running or growing an independent insurance agency, you already know… there’s always a frog sitting on your desk.

The question is: are you eating it—or avoiding it?

Let’s talk about how this simple principle can transform your agency, your team, and your growth trajectory.

Why “Eating the Frog” Matters More in Today’s Insurance Agency

In your agency, it’s easy to stay busy without actually moving forward.

You answer emails.
You handle service work.
You sit in meetings.
You tweak things in your insurance agency management system.

And suddenly it’s 5:00… and the most important thing you needed to do never got done.

That’s where this concept becomes powerful.

As Brian Tracy said,
“If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.”

In agency terms…
If you have to do something uncomfortable, complex, or strategic—do it first, before the day gets away from you.

Because growth doesn’t come from easy tasks.
It comes from the uncomfortable ones.

The Frogs Sitting in Your Agency Right Now

Let’s make this practical.

Here are some common “frogs” for independent insurance agencies:

1. Following up with high-value prospects who didn’t close
2. Calling past clients to ask for referrals
3. Asking for Google reviews from happy clients
4. Cleaning up messy data inside your insurance agency CRM
5. Building a real marketing plan instead of “winging it”
6. Training your team on processes instead of fixing everything yourself
7. Having tough conversations with underperforming agents
8. Reviewing financials and making strategic decisions

None of these are fun.

All of them are game-changers.

How to Apply “Eat That Frog” Inside Your Agency

Let’s break this down into something you can actually implement starting tomorrow morning.

1. Identify Your #1 Frog Every Day

Before your day starts, ask:

“What is the ONE thing that would move my agency forward the most today?”

Not the easiest thing.
Not the fastest thing.

The most important thing.

For many agency owners, that frog is often tied to growth:

• Sales activity
• Marketing strategy
• Team leadership
• Systems improvement

Write it down. Make it visible.

Then commit to doing it first.

2. Block Time Like It Actually Matters

If your calendar doesn’t reflect your priorities, your priorities don’t stand a chance.

Block 60–90 minutes in the morning for your frog.

No email.
No Slack.
No “quick questions.”

Just focused work.

Think of it like this… if you were flying a plane (which I’ve done a little of), you wouldn’t ignore your most critical instrument because someone asked a quick question. You’d stay locked in.

Your agency deserves that same level of focus.

3. Stop Confusing Activity with Progress

Insurance agencies are busy places.

But busy doesn’t equal growth.

You can:

• Answer 100 emails
• Handle 50 service requests
• Sit in 3 meetings

…and still not grow your agency one bit.

Eating the frog forces you to focus on outcomes, not activity.

Ask yourself:

“Did I move the business forward today—or just stay busy?”

What This Looks Like in a Growing Agency

Let me give you a quick story.

We’ll use one of our recurring characters—Jenna.

Jenna runs a growing independent insurance agency. She’s got a solid team, a good book of business, and a desire to scale.

But she feels stuck.

Every day is full. Every day is busy.
But growth has plateaued.

After applying the “Eat That Frog” mindset, she made one change:

She committed to starting every morning with one uncomfortable action.

1. Day one: Called 5 past clients and asked for referrals
2. Day two: Recorded a short video for social media
3. Day three: Cleaned up her pipeline inside her CRM
4. Day four: Built a simple email marketing campaign

Within a few weeks:

• Her pipeline was clearer
• Her marketing was more consistent
• Her confidence grew

And most importantly… momentum returned.

That’s what eating the frog does.

It creates momentum.

Where This Connects to Your Systems and Tools

This is where your technology either helps you—or holds you back.

A cloud-based insurance management system, your CRM, and your marketing tools should support your “frog,” not distract from it.

For example:

• Your insurance agency CRM should make follow-up easy, not overwhelming
• Your marketing tools should simplify campaigns, not complicate them
• Your systems should give you clarity on what matters most

This is one reason we’ve always focused on helping agencies streamline operations and improve efficiency—not just with the AMS, but across the full ecosystem of tools that support growth.

Because when your systems are clean and clear, it’s easier to see—and eat—the right frog.

A Quick Movie (and Song) Thought

You remember in Rocky when he’s training early in the morning while everyone else is sleeping?

That’s frog-eating.

Or if you’re more of a music person…
“Eye of the Tiger” doesn’t hit the same if he sleeps in and checks emails first.

The champions do the hard things first.

Encouragement for the Journey

Let me encourage you for a moment.

You don’t need to overhaul your entire agency this week.

You don’t need a perfect plan.

You just need to eat one frog.

One call.
One decision.
One uncomfortable action.

As Brian Tracy reminds us, discipline compounds.

And from a faith perspective, this lines up beautifully with stewardship.

You’ve been given a business, a team, and an opportunity.
Handling the hard things first is one way we honor that responsibility.

Progress is built in small, consistent steps.

Your Challenge

Tomorrow morning, before anything else…

1. Identify your frog
2. Block time for it
3. Do it before checking email

That’s it.

Do that consistently, and you won’t just feel more productive—you’ll build a stronger, more valuable, more scalable agency.

And over time, you’ll look back and realize…

The frogs you avoided were the very things that would have grown your agency the fastest.

So let’s go.

Eat the frog.

Ready to streamline your systems so you can focus on what matters? Contact JenesisSoftware to schedule a demo today.