I was talking to my buddy JasonCass (Chairman of the National Young Agents of IIABA andOwner of JDCInsurance) the other day to exchange ideas aboutmarketing and sales and how we each can leverage technology moreefficiently to effectively dominate our respective markets.

I brainstorm with a couple of young agents throughout thecountry, whether by phone, Skype, email and social media. Therehave been more than a few truly incredible and inspirational ideasthat took their first breaths during one of these mastermindsessions. In every mastermind session, no matter whom I'm talkingto, no matter what medium we're using to communicate and no matterwhere that other person is located in the country—the conversationalways turns to future of the insurance industry.

Where do we see it going?

What will the landscape look like in 5, 10, 20 years?

How will we be selling?

But most importantly, how will wecommunicate?

Before we answer that question let's get back to my conversationwith Jason Cass. See I'm a big fan of Jason Cass. Likemyself, he's fueled by emotion and the desire to advance anindustry we both love (Believe it or not that industry isinsurance).

So Jason and I finally got to the “How will we communicate?”question and he said something I thought was very profound. Hesaid, “Ryan… Young agents aren't pushing the insurance industryforward into an era of new technology. They're pulling the oldtimers along kicking and screaming.”

You Are Holding Us Back

Think about that for a second. American culture hasfundamentally shifted in how it communicates. We are no longerempowered as gatekeepers of industry specific knowledge that isbewildering to the consuming public. Insurance consumers can Googlesearch everything they want to know. They don't need us to find theinformation.

Now this is where things get sexy… insurance consumersneed us to use that information!

Insurance consumers WANT to communicate withtheir insurance providers by a different method than they did 10years ago. The vast majority of insurance professionalsWANT to continue communicating the way they alwayshave. Because that is way they've always done it.

Hey you, “Old Way” salesperson: You're holding ourindustry back.

We all want to complain about direct writers. Have you stoppedand thought about the reasons that direct writers do so well? Couldit have anything to do with the fact that they communicate on theclient's terms? Do you think that insurance consumers prefer to dobusiness with a faceless voice a thousand miles away? Or do youthink insurance consumers would jump at the chance to do businesswith a local provider that could communicate in a medium of theclient's preference?

The answers to those questions are as follows:

• No you haven't
• Yes it does
• No they don't
• Yes they would

Read this and get straight: If You Work in Insurance, This Should Be the OnlyArticle You Read on the Future of Social Media.

“Let's do some awesome things”…Read on formore!

Thank Goodness for Young Agents

This is why it's such an exciting time to be a young insuranceagent. Because we don't need old timers, we need Jason Cass,MattBrown, BrentKelly, Nicole Waerzeggers, and all the other amazinglytalented and bold young insurance professionals dying to take ourindustry to the Internet.

We're waiting for old timers to get out of our ways so we canharness the tools given to us by technology. The insurance industryneeds pioneers and innovators… we need crazy SOBs that are willingto make many uncomfortable to help all be more successful. So Icall out to all young insurance professionals: It is our burden tocarrier this proud industry forward. Let us unite throughsocial media and share ideas on success.

My name is Ryan Hanley. I'm a young insurance agent for TheMurray Group Insurance Services located in Albany, N.Y., and I'vejust smacked you across the face with my gauntlet.

If you're not scared…Pick it up and let's do awesome things.