Most agencies think growth happens in Q2.
It doesn’t.
It happens right now.
Late January. Early February.
This is the moment where January’s intentions either turn into systems…
or quietly collapse into wishful thinking.
By the time March shows up, the damage is already baked in.
If you want real growth, this is the window where agencies need to stop doing and start diagnosing.
This is where LARA comes in.
LARA isn’t a buzzword.
It’s a lens.
It stands for:
Lead flow
Activity
Revenue
Accountability
Most agencies only look at one or two of these.
Strong agencies look at all four at the same time.
Late January and early February is when LARA tells you the truth.
Not the motivational truth.
The operational truth.
Let’s break down what agencies should be looking for right now.
January often lies.
A lot of January leads are leftovers.
Renewals spilling over.
December inquiries finally answering the phone.
Old quotes reactivating.
That’s not lead flow.
That’s residue.
What to look for right now:
• Are new leads entering the pipeline every week?
• Are they coming from intentional sources or random luck?
• Can you point to a repeatable action that created them?
If leads slow down in early February, that’s not “seasonal.”
That’s a system problem.
Reality check:
If you stop marketing today and leads disappear in two weeks, you don’t have lead flow. You have momentum debt.
Most agencies track outcomes.
Very few track behavior.
January usually feels busy.
February exposes whether the right work is actually happening.
What to look for:
• Daily outbound activity per producer
• Follow-up attempts per lead
• Quote-to-follow-up ratios
• Speed-to-contact
If activity drops as soon as January energy fades, revenue will follow.
Hard truth:
You can’t out-motivate poor activity standards.
If activity isn’t visible, consistent, and tracked, it’s optional.
And optional never scales.
Revenue in February is rarely the problem.
It’s the symptom.
Late January revenue tells you:
• If your lead quality is strong
• If your follow-up is working
• If your team is confident in their conversations
What to examine now:
• Close rate trends from January leads
• Average premium compared to last quarter
• Time-to-bind
If revenue is flat, don’t panic.
Trace it backward through L and A first.
Rule:
Never “fix” revenue directly.
Fix what creates it.
This is where most agencies quietly stall.
If January required constant reminders, follow-ups, and pressure from leadership…
February will expose it fast.
What to look for:
• Are expectations written or implied?
• Do team members know their numbers without asking?
• Are missed standards addressed or ignored?
Accountability isn’t confrontation.
It’s clarity plus consistency.
If the agency only performs when you’re watching, growth is capped.
Here’s the simplest test you can run right now:
Ask yourself:
• Do I know my weekly lead numbers without checking reports?
• Can my team tell me their activity targets from memory?
• Are we fixing problems weekly or reacting monthly?
• Would this agency still perform if I stepped back for 30 days?
If those answers feel uncomfortable, good.
That’s February doing its job.
Agencies that grow don’t wait for “busy season.”
They use February to:
• Tighten lead sources
• Lock activity standards
• Diagnose revenue gaps early
• Install accountability before problems compound
LARA keeps you from guessing.
It shows you exactly where growth is leaking.
Not later.
Now.
March and April amplify whatever February builds.
Chaos scales fast.
So does clarity.
If you want this year to grow instead of grind, don’t ask,
“How do we sell more?”
Ask:
• Do we have reliable lead flow?
• Are the right activities happening daily?
• Is revenue telling us the truth?
• Is accountability baked in or enforced?
That’s LARA.
And late January to early February is when agencies decide
whether they’re building momentum…
or just running harder in the same direction.