Fallon Insurance Agency is a fully remote insurance agency. Leland Fallon runs it from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with agents spread across the United States, and it has been 90 to 95% remote from the start. For Leland, remote isn't a compromise. It's a hiring advantage.
"When you go remote, you have far more options for staff than in-house only. It's like fishing. If you go to a little pond, you only catch a small amount of fish. If you go to the ocean, you catch bigger fish, and different types of fish. Remote gets you better candidates at a price that works for the business."
Handled right, he sees it as a growth edge.
"If your agency wants to grow, it's an edge, because you have that wider pool. You can add producers all over the country. In-house, your office is only so big."
The catch, Leland is quick to say, is that a remote agency needs different systems, starting with visibility.
"If you treat a remote team like an in-house team, you're going to lose. A remote team needs more reporting, because you can't always see them. In-house, you walk to a desk and your presence is felt. Remotely, your presence is online. If you don't have the right systems, how do you know they're actually doing the job?"
Cosmos gave him that visibility in a form his agents actually use. He had tried Discord before, and it didn't stick.
"One of the great things about Cosmos is the sales floor. It mutes everybody but keeps cameras on, so it's like their own office. Just like in-house, everybody can see each other, but you don't hear each other. They get the work done, they see each other working, but you don't hear them on the phones. I used Discord before, but it was inconvenient and my agents fumbled with it. With Cosmos it's just easier: they go to the sales floor, and everybody's there."
The result is accountability without constant monitoring.
"I can hop into the sales floor and see everybody's at their desk, working. I don't have to worry about it."
The second thing Cosmos changed was how Leland trains and monitors his team. Instead of dialling into a phone system, he watches the floor.
"When my agents are on a call, they move to a desk and screen-share, so a newer agent can listen to that call live and see what they're doing. I can see who's on a live call, walk over, and listen or help. I give feedback during the call or right after. It's a lot easier than having to dial into a phone system."
For an industry that runs on phone calls, that live coaching is the difference between an agent who closes and one who doesn't.
"People in our industry need a lot of coaching to make sure they're closing the deals. With Cosmos, a team lead can do those one-on-ones with live coaching while the agent is on a call, just like if they were sitting next to them. The only difference is it's on camera."
Ask Leland where most of the value sits, though, and it isn't the monitoring. It's the thing that keeps good people from quitting.
"The number one reason most remote teams don't work is people miss the office and truly feel alone. What Cosmos does is it means they're not on the island alone. They see each other every day, all day, just like an office. Honestly, just not being alone on the island is a good 60% of the value."
He connects that straight to the numbers.
"When people feel alone, they get distracted, they're on Instagram or Facebook trying to get that connection back, and they make a hundred calls when everyone else made two hundred. Eventually they underperform, or they leave to find an office job. Turnover costs us a lot: training, leads, even unemployment claims. Retention matters, and this helps us keep people."
He was a sceptic on trust, which is exactly why the trial mattered.
"I'll be honest, I don't trust people remotely until they earn it, and I'm in insurance, this isn't data entry you can pause to do laundry. Cosmos gave a trial, which let me test it first, and that's a big deal because I don't like to waste money. By about day two, I knew this is where we'd stay. The cost is affordable compared to other programs, and the value is there. Trying it out was the most important part."
Leland Fallon
Founder - Fallon Insurance Agency
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