Phase 1: Running My Own Agency (1986–1989)

In 1986, I was running one of the fastest-growing agencies in town. Growth was great, but time was not my friend. My staff and I were constantly behind, staying late, and hiring more CSRs just to keep up — which eroded profits.

I knew something had to change.

That’s when my fascination with computers turned into a mission. I bought my first computer (a $2,300 “top-of-the-line” machine with a 30 MB hard drive!) and wrote a database program from scratch. I wrote the program to handle policy management, client servicing, marketing, and even commissions.

The database program also had an integrated word processor which opened the doors to so many opportunities for us.

The results were immediate:

• Service letters went out faster — and looked professional.
• Marketing campaigns were produced in a fraction of the time.
• Commissions that used to take three days to calculate now took minutes.
• My CSRs were more productive, and I actually needed fewer of them.
• I was able to let go of all of our typist who were typing up the marketing letters one by one.

For the first time in years, I got home at a decent hour. Automation didn’t just improve my agency — it changed my life.

Phase 2: Consulting & Helping Other Agencies

By 1989, I sold my agency to spend more time with my young family and began consulting. At first, I focused on marketing, helping agencies bring in more leads. But soon I realized many of my clients had the same problem I did: they didn’t have time to work the leads.

The culprit? Inefficient operations and poor --or no-- automation.

So I shifted gears. Instead of just generating leads for agencies, I started helping agencies implement automation systems to help them increase their productivity.

It wasn't long before it wasn't just helping agencies implement a software program into their agency to manage their clients, policies and accounting, but also helping them to use the automation put in place in a far more efficient and productive way. This became the foundation of my consulting — productivity first, marketing second.

And it worked. Over the years, I saw firsthand that nothing increased agency productivity more than the right management system.

Phase 3: 25+ Years in Agency Automation

Over the next 25 years, I worked with hundreds of agencies and represented three different management systems. I mastered each one, trained staff, and created workflow manuals to help agency CSRs process tasks consistently and efficiently.

But I also saw the flaws.

• No system was truly workflow-driven.
• Too many clicks and too much “jumping around” slowed CSRs down.
• Vendors often resisted needed improvements I suggested because their table structures didn’t allow it — short of rewriting the system.

The result? Agencies were capped in how efficient and profitable they could be. Productivity hit a ceiling.

And in our world, productivity = profitability.

Phase 4: Building CP Manager

When the last system I represented was sold, my clients encouraged me to build my own. At first, I resisted — I knew how massive the job would be. But eventually, it became clear: if the systems on the market couldn’t deliver the productivity gains agencies needed, we had no choice but to build one ourselves.

So we started with a blank canvas. Instead of copying existing systems (and their limitations), we re-engineered from the ground up with one guiding principle: create a system that would massively increase an agencies productivity and make it workflow-driven.

The result is CP Manager — a system designed around how agencies actually work, with productivity at its core. It’s the product of 25 years of real-world experience in agency operations, automation, and consulting.

Why This Matters

Most new vendors spend years just learning how agencies operate, and by the time they figure it out, their systems are already too rigid to change. 

With CP Manager, the opposite is true. It’s built on decades of hands-on experience with agencies, systems, and workflows — so from day one, it delivers real productivity gains.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about flashy features.

It’s about how quickly your staff can service clients, process tasks, and keep the agency moving forward. In other words, it's to help CSRs process their day-to-day work in the least amount of time. That’s what drives profitability.

And that’s exactly why we built CP Manager.