From The Field Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:05 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2632160 en-us © 2026 From The Field yes 32c91363-fb64-5efb-b64a-6f4c41e12b16 Joe Knuppel and Josh Riekena episodic false Building an Agency can feel like the loneliest job on earth, even when you're surrounded by people.  "From The Field" exists to change that,. 

Hosted by Josh Riekena and Joe Knuppel, this show brings agency owners real conversations and strategies from people who actually live it. We dig into the systems that work, the trends shaping the industry, and the key strategies top performers use to scale and grow.  

But this isn't just the tactics show...it's about the whole picture...the human side of building something. We talk openly about about success and failure, the mental health toll of ownership, and what it actually takes to keep going when things get hard, Because no one builds a great agency completely alone, even if it feels that way some days.  

Welcome to where leadership and agency ownership perspectives meet!   Welcome to the "From The Field" family! 

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) insurance agency, agency growth, lead generation, client retention, sales strategy, financial services, insurance sales, agency owner, business growth, entrepreneur Joe Knuppel and Josh Riekena https://storage.buzzsprout.com/folxkafb5mt1qnog5r8cudolx07h?.jpg From The Field https://www.buzzsprout.com/2632160 "Episode 3: Timeblocking: Don't Let The Day Control You" "Episode 3: Timeblocking: Don't Let The Day Control You" osh and Joe get real about why your calendar is basically a mirror of your priorities — and why "I don't have enough time" is usually a lie you're telling yourself. They dig into Parkinson's Law, the big-rocks-first strategy, why email is quietly wrecking your day, and how ruthless meeting discipline can save you literal hours a week.

Show Notes:

Being an agency owner means you're constantly getting pulled in ten directions — but Josh and Joe argue the real problem isn't time, it's priorities (and distractions). They break down Cal Newport's research on time blocking, the classic "big rocks" jar exercise, and why treating email like a text message is killing your productivity. Plus: the case for building scalable, repeatable systems, why great meetings can transform a team, and why giving yourself a "carrot" at the end of the week matters more than you think.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 – Intro
  • 0:13 – Why Time Blocking Matters (Parkinson's Law)
  • 3:22 – Big Rocks First: Prioritizing Your Calendar
  • 6:53 – Staying Flexible Without Losing Structure
  • 6:53 – Building Repeatable, Scalable Processes
  • 12:26 – Taming Email and Communication
  • 16:43 – To-Do Lists vs. Time Blocking
  • 22:11 – Staffing, Scalability, and Client Expectations
  • 29:06 – The Power of Effective Team Meetings
  • 32:54 – Time as Your Most Valuable Resource
  • 36:33 – Closing Thoughts

Key takeaways:

  • 🪨 Big rocks first. Put your most important stuff on the calendar before the small stuff fills it up — otherwise there's no room left for what matters.
  • 📬 Email isn't a text message. Check it on your schedule, not every time it dings — most "urgent" things resolve themselves if you let them sit an hour.
  • ⏱️ Parkinson's Law is real. Work expands to fill the time you give it — so give tasks less time and watch how fast they get done.
  • 🤝 Meetings done right = trust + productivity. Weekly team check-ins are rare in this industry, but transformative when done consistently.
  • 🥕 Reward yourself. A little "carrot" (Friday afternoon off, anyone?) keeps you motivated to protect your time blocks.
]]> osh and Joe get real about why your calendar is basically a mirror of your priorities — and why "I don't have enough time" is usually a lie you're telling yourself. They dig into Parkinson's Law, the big-rocks-first strategy, why email is quietly wrecking your day, and how ruthless meeting discipline can save you literal hours a week.

Show Notes:

Being an agency owner means you're constantly getting pulled in ten directions — but Josh and Joe argue the real problem isn't time, it's priorities (and distractions). They break down Cal Newport's research on time blocking, the classic "big rocks" jar exercise, and why treating email like a text message is killing your productivity. Plus: the case for building scalable, repeatable systems, why great meetings can transform a team, and why giving yourself a "carrot" at the end of the week matters more than you think.

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 – Intro
  • 0:13 – Why Time Blocking Matters (Parkinson's Law)
  • 3:22 – Big Rocks First: Prioritizing Your Calendar
  • 6:53 – Staying Flexible Without Losing Structure
  • 6:53 – Building Repeatable, Scalable Processes
  • 12:26 – Taming Email and Communication
  • 16:43 – To-Do Lists vs. Time Blocking
  • 22:11 – Staffing, Scalability, and Client Expectations
  • 29:06 – The Power of Effective Team Meetings
  • 32:54 – Time as Your Most Valuable Resource
  • 36:33 – Closing Thoughts

Key takeaways:

  • 🪨 Big rocks first. Put your most important stuff on the calendar before the small stuff fills it up — otherwise there's no room left for what matters.
  • 📬 Email isn't a text message. Check it on your schedule, not every time it dings — most "urgent" things resolve themselves if you let them sit an hour.
  • ⏱️ Parkinson's Law is real. Work expands to fill the time you give it — so give tasks less time and watch how fast they get done.
  • 🤝 Meetings done right = trust + productivity. Weekly team check-ins are rare in this industry, but transformative when done consistently.
  • 🥕 Reward yourself. A little "carrot" (Friday afternoon off, anyone?) keeps you motivated to protect your time blocks.
]]> Joe Knuppel and Josh Riekena Buzzsprout-19668360 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0500 2237 1 3 full false "Episode 2: Maybe It's Not The Rate: The Real Reason You're Losing "Disloyal" Clients" "Episode 2: Maybe It's Not The Rate: The Real Reason You're Losing "Disloyal" Clients"
Think your clients are ditching you for a cheaper rate? Think again. Joe and Josh dig into why "disloyal" clients might actually be a mirror pointed right back at you — and they're not holding back.
They kick things off with some brutal stats: acquiring a new client costs 7-9x more than keeping one, and referred clients stick around WAY longer than everyone else. So why does it feel like loyalty is dead? Josh drops his now-famous "burning furniture to stay warm" line about agencies cutting their way into irrelevance post-COVID, and things get real about how AI is exposing agents who never brought much value in the first place (and supercharging the ones who do).
Then it's confession time — Joe and Josh get into the small, dumb things agencies skip that quietly wreck client relationships: not calling after a claim, treating annual reviews like a checkbox, never saying an actual "thank you." Josh shares his "client concierge" system inspired by luxury hotel service, and they close it out with a gut-check on accountability: maybe the real reason clients leave isn't the rate — it's you.
Chapters

  • 0:00 — Introduction
  • 0:35 — The Real Cost of Client Retention
  • 3:13 — Burning Furniture to Stay Warm
  • 6:56 — AI's Impact on Client Loyalty
  • 12:37 — Why Clients Really Leave
  • 15:58 — Building Loyalty Through Small Gestures
  • 21:25 — Retention Strategies That Backfire
  • 22:36 — Accountability and the Mirror


]]>
Think your clients are ditching you for a cheaper rate? Think again. Joe and Josh dig into why "disloyal" clients might actually be a mirror pointed right back at you — and they're not holding back.
They kick things off with some brutal stats: acquiring a new client costs 7-9x more than keeping one, and referred clients stick around WAY longer than everyone else. So why does it feel like loyalty is dead? Josh drops his now-famous "burning furniture to stay warm" line about agencies cutting their way into irrelevance post-COVID, and things get real about how AI is exposing agents who never brought much value in the first place (and supercharging the ones who do).
Then it's confession time — Joe and Josh get into the small, dumb things agencies skip that quietly wreck client relationships: not calling after a claim, treating annual reviews like a checkbox, never saying an actual "thank you." Josh shares his "client concierge" system inspired by luxury hotel service, and they close it out with a gut-check on accountability: maybe the real reason clients leave isn't the rate — it's you.
Chapters

  • 0:00 — Introduction
  • 0:35 — The Real Cost of Client Retention
  • 3:13 — Burning Furniture to Stay Warm
  • 6:56 — AI's Impact on Client Loyalty
  • 12:37 — Why Clients Really Leave
  • 15:58 — Building Loyalty Through Small Gestures
  • 21:25 — Retention Strategies That Backfire
  • 22:36 — Accountability and the Mirror


]]> Joe Knuppel and Josh Riekena Buzzsprout-19668210 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 05:00:00 -0500 1533 1 2 full false "Episode 1: The 4 Reasons You Avoid Client Reviews And The Major Cost" "Episode 1: The 4 Reasons You Avoid Client Reviews And The Major Cost"
Josh and Joe rip apart the "old school" client annual review and rebuild it into something agents actually want to run — and clients actually want to sit through. Spoiler: it's not about the hour-and-a-half death march. It's a tight 20-30 minute checkup, a system for scheduling it on autopilot, and a hard truth about why some agents keep dodging it (hint: it's not the client).
Timestamps:

  • 0:13 — Kickoff. Joe explains why he and Josh started the pod and why their 20-year friendship makes for good debate fuel.
  • 2:27 — The annual review's bad rap. Everyone remembers the brutal 90-minute "knowledge vomit" review — here's why that reputation is deserved but the concept isn't.
  • 4:30 — Can you really do it in 30 minutes? Yes. Josh breaks down the math on prep time vs. face time, and why clients crave the shorter version.
  • 1:39 — The retention math nobody talks about. Joe drops leadership-side data: clients don't leave because agents call too much — they leave because agents disappear.
  • 8:07 — New agents vs. veterans. Different excuses, same result. Why new agents are actually in the best seat, and why "I've never done it before" doesn't cut it for veterans either.
  • 15:07 — The onboarding system that fixes everything. Josh's alphabet-based review cadence (yes, the old-school Corz Garden trick) and how to set expectations from day one.
  • 21:32 — The real reason agents avoid reviews. Joe's theory: it's not laziness, it's a quiet belief that they don't have enough value to bring to the table.
  • 25:46 — Get better, fast. AI-powered mock reviews, the "5-5-5" training method, and squeezing years of reps into a single week.
  • 27:44 — Sit on their side of the desk. Ditching the "sell mode" mindset for genuine curiosity — plus a killer story about a 90/10 talk-ratio lesson learned the hard way.
  • 33:22 — Wrap-up. The tree-planting metaphor, a call for listener questions, and why "just get started" beats waiting for the perfect system.

Drop your questions in the comments — Josh and Joe are already planning a follow-up on running reviews with a team. 🌱



]]>
Josh and Joe rip apart the "old school" client annual review and rebuild it into something agents actually want to run — and clients actually want to sit through. Spoiler: it's not about the hour-and-a-half death march. It's a tight 20-30 minute checkup, a system for scheduling it on autopilot, and a hard truth about why some agents keep dodging it (hint: it's not the client).
Timestamps:

  • 0:13 — Kickoff. Joe explains why he and Josh started the pod and why their 20-year friendship makes for good debate fuel.
  • 2:27 — The annual review's bad rap. Everyone remembers the brutal 90-minute "knowledge vomit" review — here's why that reputation is deserved but the concept isn't.
  • 4:30 — Can you really do it in 30 minutes? Yes. Josh breaks down the math on prep time vs. face time, and why clients crave the shorter version.
  • 1:39 — The retention math nobody talks about. Joe drops leadership-side data: clients don't leave because agents call too much — they leave because agents disappear.
  • 8:07 — New agents vs. veterans. Different excuses, same result. Why new agents are actually in the best seat, and why "I've never done it before" doesn't cut it for veterans either.
  • 15:07 — The onboarding system that fixes everything. Josh's alphabet-based review cadence (yes, the old-school Corz Garden trick) and how to set expectations from day one.
  • 21:32 — The real reason agents avoid reviews. Joe's theory: it's not laziness, it's a quiet belief that they don't have enough value to bring to the table.
  • 25:46 — Get better, fast. AI-powered mock reviews, the "5-5-5" training method, and squeezing years of reps into a single week.
  • 27:44 — Sit on their side of the desk. Ditching the "sell mode" mindset for genuine curiosity — plus a killer story about a 90/10 talk-ratio lesson learned the hard way.
  • 33:22 — Wrap-up. The tree-planting metaphor, a call for listener questions, and why "just get started" beats waiting for the perfect system.

Drop your questions in the comments — Josh and Joe are already planning a follow-up on running reviews with a team. 🌱



]]> Joe Knuppel and Josh Riekena Buzzsprout-19668032 Tue, 18 Aug 2026 18:00:00 -0500 2105 1 1 full false