Editor's note: Benefits Selling's Broker of the Year finalists will be revealed Monday-Friday this week. Meet our third finalist.
Manhattan, Kansas, known locally as the Little Apple, is a small city with small-town values. And Darrell Phillips, owner of DPI Benefits, shares those values.
That's one reason why he's thrived in an evolving industry so many brokers find challenging — but Phillips insists he's only one part of the team he's built, and the team should enjoy any accolades collected.
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"We have 100 percent client retention over five years," he says. "And it's because we have such a great team of people here. Our client services manager is like a psychic; she reads my mind, and she really does truly, personally care about these clients — and her staff then develops that same conscientiousness."
Phillips entered the insurance industry in his early 20s, when his wife was pregnant with their first child and he worked as a welder.
"I remember driving to work one day," he says. "I pulled up to this stoplight, and I'm driving my old beater car, wearing old, nasty blue jeans and a flannel shirt. And it's dark; it's about six in the morning. And sitting next to me is a guy about my age in a nice shirt and tie, driving a brand new car. And I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm getting ready to have a baby. I need to find a better job than what I have."
With that in mind, Phillips bought himself a life insurance policy — and the agent who sold it to him told his manager about the young man looking for something better; the manager then recruited Phillips. What kept him there and made him successful was his ability to build trust with clients and vendors.
"This job has so much riding on it," he notes. "Your clients rely on you so much. Everything's dependent on you being right and consistent and truthful. And when you do that consistently over time, you develop this incredible relationship of trust and reliability. That's been our critical success factor, just doing that day after day after day."
Phillips and his staff make a point to see their clients face-to-face on a regular basis, traveling around the state in order to make sure everyone is happy with their offerings or to help with any changes or issues.
"One of our clients had their human resources director retire," Phillips says. "And this is not a big client — it's a good client, we do everything there, and they're not getting fragmented services. I literally had my client services manager get in the car. She went down and spent an entire day with the new director, getting her up to speed on the various benefit plans.
"Yes, we have administrative booklets that the new director could go through, and it's got everything you need for each of the benefit plans — but when you sit down and look at that, it's overwhelming," he adds. "Especially for someone going into a new job. But going down there and sitting with that lady, talking through the nuances and the details, gave us a brand-new relationship."
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Photo: Darrell Phillips loves spending time with his granddaughter when he's not helping clients. By Ryan Nicholson
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