Today's brokers are facing even more challenges. Shifts occurring in the market are pushing them to change the way they have done business traditionally. The effects of PPACA on customers have created an increased demand on brokers for information and guidance. Another change: A more competitive landscape. Technology giants have taken the market by storm, threatening the very existence of brokers.

One of the strongest displays of this threat is Zenefits, whose business model aims to undermine the value of independent brokers. By publishing a list of competing agencies and brokers from every state on the company website, Zenefits is positioning itself as an alternative to the broker community. More than competition for brokers, Zenefits is changing how the game is played.

In addition, the buyers are changing. Many are doing their own research, their own administration and have higher expectations for what a broker should deliver. Forget competing on price; brokers must instead become a buyer's trusted advisor. Simply selling insurance won't do, so brokers are faced with a choice: adapt to the new buyer or lose the business.

And yet within that choice lies opportunity, according to O'Brien. Brokers who are able to adapt to the buyer will be better positioned to compete, win and retain business, he says. Also, due to PPACA, brokers are seeing their roles expanded as clients look to them for answers. Instead of a challenge, O'Brien says it is opportunity knocking.

"It's a wonderful time to be a broker," he says.  "Those who can see past the market challenges and find the opportunity hidden in each challenge will thrive."

That includes actually competing with technology that threatens to squeeze them out of the employee benefits arena. Even so, O'Brien says brokers who are investing more effort into building and maintaining client relationships can grow a stronger, more meaningful business.

It's a well-directed effort: Results from Zywave's annual survey of their brokers' clients shows that a high percentage of clients want to communicate with their broker monthly, and a good percentage want to have a conversation with their broker weekly. It's an added demand that has brokers introducing into their business model the very thing that is putting the pressure on their old business model—technology.

That's exactly where O'Brien believes Zywave can be a broker's best friend.

O'Brien and his team believe a product suite of high-impact tools that features analytics, agency management, communication and client resource portals help the broker community compete. In fact, it was the thinking behind the company's formation.

Innovating from need

O'Brien started his career as a large group health producer for Frank Haack and Associates in 1992. A year later, Hillary Clinton introduced her version of health care reform. "We were a P&C agency with a rapidly growing benefits operation," he said. "The Hillary Clinton thing was a bit of a wake-up call. Suddenly, we were asking ourselves what the role of the broker was going to be."

He and his company president put their heads together and realized data was the differentiator. That conversation led to development of the first data analytics tool for brokers, which O'Brien began using himself. As a result, his book of business grew and he broke sales records — an uncommon occurrence in such a soft market.

The broker community took notice. When O'Brien shared his results, he says plenty of colleagues wanted to know more. Hence, Zywave was born. Since then, Zywave has been making a significant impact in the industry and growing through innovation, something O'Brien says many tech companies stop doing once they mature.

Such growth comes from keeping the focus on the core buyer: the broker. The goal is simply to help brokers compete, he said. Brokers, added O'Brien, need their technology provider to stay on top of changes that affect how they serve their customers, but vendors aren't always willing to do that. "We can't rest. We won't. It's been the cornerstone of our growth, and it's the reason we're in business."

And business is booming: within five years, the number of customers using Zywave solutions has grown from under 1,000 agencies to over 3,800. In company-supplied case studies, customers are reporting higher retention rates and increased sales within a few months of implementation and execution.

Such results are encouraging, especially given what the company says is a huge pain point for the broker community. Joaquin Santos, senior vice president of sales for Zywave, says "Brokers are under attack from so many directions, whether it's technology giants that attempt to circumvent their role or the added pressures from PPACA complexities. Commissions are decreasing and clients are wanting more. Without a technology partner, it's a rough ride," Santos says.

The choice of technology partners matters greatly, too. With the exponential change caused by PPACA, "their world has been flipped upside-down," says Santos. "They can't do all these things by themselves. If a broker doesn't go with a technology partner that can give them the proper resources to execute everything, they might lose their client."

In order to avoid that, O'Brien says brokers must now differentiate instead of simply selling a product. "It's up to the insurance broker to put up a moat around insurance clients. They can't do it by saying 'We've been in business for 100 years.' Nor can you say 'It's our people and our service.' What you have to create is that amazing client experience."

All of the tools are secondary, says O'Brien. Strange words coming from the man who sells the technology. "We are a technology firm, but when it comes to brokers, it's about the people and the processes," he said. "Technology should be the platform; what the broker does with it is what makes the difference."

When leveraged right, he says the technology can be the change brokers need. "It is more fun to walk in and say 'Given your needs, here's how we can help.' That's how you differentiate yourself — listening to the needs, then opening your presentation and saying 'Let me tell you how we're going to deliver for you."

It's what he thinks will excite brokers again. "I believe it's time to have fun again as an industry," O'Brien said. "It isn't that difficult to make the leap, but you have to make the leap."