agent Entrepreneur logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Creating Agency Loyalty

There are tried and true ways to instill it while also protecting your agency from competitors and other roadblocks.

by David Ibarra
February 25, 2026
Creating Agency Loyalty

Agencies must help dealers build talent and profit together and speak the dealer’s language in the process.

Pexels/Mikhail Nilov

2 min to read


Over the last 25 years, as my team and I built the Ibarra Business Group Agency into one of the most respected agencies in the Rocky Mountain region, I’ve been asked a familiar question:

How do you build loyalty and protect your agency from constant outside attacks: lower fees, self-managed programs, and empty promises?

Ad Loading...

Those voices never go away.

Purposefully Driven

Loyalty isn’t built by reacting to them. It’s built by defining your agency purpose and executing it with discipline.

The agencies that endure are not in the product business. They are in the “how” business.

Products can be copied. Purpose-driven execution cannot.

The modern-day agency must offer more than insurance products. It must help dealers build talent and profit together—and it must speak the dealer’s language to do it.

Ad Loading...

Instead of discussing quarterly cessions using insurance terminology, we take the cession report and convert it into a profit-and-loss statement. That’s the language dealers live by and how they run their businesses.

Real Evidence

We show a dealer how their insurance company is managed—managed by you, the agent:

  • Total expenses disciplined to approximately 30%
  • Net profitability approaching 70% of premium ceded

When dealers see their insurance business this way, something shifts. They quickly recognize that their insurance business is often more profitable than their dealership.

That’s not positioning. That’s simple math.

Ad Loading...

We reinforce that clarity with a simple then-and-now report—showing per-vehicle retail from the month the dealer joined your agency compared to the current month, along with the inception-to-date increase. Reported this way, the results speak for themselves.

What begins as improvement turns into hundreds of thousands of dollars, and millions over time.

When an agency earns a reputation for helping dealers grow profit, develop talent, and execute with discipline, loyalty becomes unshakable.

Not because of promises but because of proof.

That is how agency loyalty is built and protected for decades, not quarters.

Ad Loading...

David R. Ibarra is chief visionary officer at eLeaderTech and a nationally recognized leadership coach, entrepreneur, speaker and author.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

More Sales

A rear view of a red Hyundai Elantra
Salesby Hannah MitchellAugust 17, 2026

Used Lots Getting the Business

Many consumers are seeking out the units to save money, and the demand – higher in July than normal – is keeping supply limited and prices up.

Read More →
Photo of man's hand holding a square blue piece with a yellow capital P on it, with other letter pieces below on a surface
Salesby Justin B. GasmanAugust 5, 2026

Two Kinds of Agents and the 5 Ps That Separate Them

Follow these key guidelines to distinguish your agency from competitors by adding more value to your dealer clients' businesses.

Read More →
Man climbing ladder in front of mountain landscape.
Salesby Lauren LawrenceAugust 3, 2026

Positive Equity Reaches Record High

Mainstream vehicle owners who bought a car seven years ago are likely to have positive equity when trading in for a new vehicle, according to second-quarter Edmunds data.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
outside shot of two trucks in front of a body of water with a cloudy sky
Salesby Lauren LawrenceJuly 29, 2026

Used Market Stabilizes

The Carfax Used Car Index noted a major drop in used-vehicle price increases in July after several months of hikes.

Read More →
Photo of blue Toyota Prius parked next to a body of water with a city skyline behind it
Salesby Hannah MitchellJuly 24, 2026

July Auto Sales Simmer

Deliveries were up modestly from a year ago despite still-high prices as OEMs offered more incentives and loan rates eased somewhat.

Read More →
Photo of parked cars of various types for sale on a lot
Salesby Hannah MitchellJuly 20, 2026

Used Sales Hit Summer Drag

The vacation season, combined with high prices, has dented deliveries and added to inventories, though supply is still slim enough to keep listings elevated.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Closeup photo of a new white car on a road from the driver's side
Salesby Hannah MitchellJune 26, 2026

June Automotive Boon?

A forecast for this month’s new-vehicle sales tells a familiar 2026 story: Year-over-year comparisons must be made in light of last year’s aberrations.

Read More →
split background green and blue. 2019 to 2025 with car going from starting location to end point. $37,310 and $48,402. Agent Entrepreneur logo
Industryby Lauren LawrenceJune 25, 2026

Affordable New Cars a Thing of the Past

More than one out of five new vehicles sell for more than $60,000, according to Edmunds. That's up 7% compared to prepandemic 2019.

Read More →
Hood of orange Tesla in front of sunrise
Salesby Lauren LawrenceJune 18, 2026

Legacy Automakers Risk Falling Behind

As legacy automakers, mostly in the U.S. and Japan, have revised their 2030 electric-vehicle sales targets and shifted to a hybrid focus, they risk falling behind new market leaders.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Photo of man holding a car key
Salesby Hannah MitchellJune 17, 2026

New Cars a Tad More Affordable

May averages show that combined circumstances gave auto consumers slightly better buying power for the month, though average prices were up year-over-year.

Read More →
Ad Loading...