2020 Broker of the Year finalist: Donny Woo
Donny Woo doesn't back down from big-name competitors: “Whatever they have, I have too. And I can do it better."
For Woo, such changes simply represent opportunities. “If you have a will, there’s always a way,” he says. “I don’t believe in excuses; if there’s a challenge ahead of me, I just keep digging until I find the solution.”
Woo started out as a life insurance salesman at age 22. “I didn’t know how to sell; I didn’t know anything,” he says. “I struggled, but stuck to it and made it happen.”
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That sense of perseverance has been part of Woo’s success, which now includes having his own agency, Combined, that offers a range of services: employee benefits, P&C, life insurance and consulting. Combined employees around 30 people, and while much of Woo’s time is taken up with management and training, he still finds time for sales. And when it comes to both sales and service to clients, he says the industry has seen big changes, especially when it comes to communication.
“How people buy today is totally different than before,” Woo says. “People are constantly looking for information, so our goal is to get information out fast. It builds credibility and has helped our business grow. With the COVID-19 crisis, our HR team worked diligently to get information out and we did our webinar right away. Clients know they can count on us when they need information.”
Despite the wave of acquisitions and mergers in the brokerage industry, Woo takes pride in remaining independent. And he is confident he can compete with the big names in the market. “Whatever they have, I have too. And I can do it better, because I have a better process,” he says. “At the end of the day, we’re still selling insurance, but it’s how we help our clients that matters—they know they can count on us when they have problems.”
In considering his company’s strengths, Woo emphasizes training and communication. “I don’t see a lot of companies investing in sales training,” he says. “I think training is so crucial to the success of an agency.”
Combined started out working with mainly small employers, but Woo says his firm now works with clients of all sizes. He notes that the needs of clients differ with the size of their workforce. “It doesn’t matter if they’re small or large, they’re always worried about the cost,” he says. “But smaller employers are more cost-driven. Once a company is larger than 20 employees, it can be a little more strategic; they’re in the growth mode so they want to provide more in benefits. When they’re over 50 employees, they need to make sure they’re in compliance with all the regulations. They’re also often more willing to adopt new technology.
“Larger employees are also thinking about building a good culture and finding employee engagement,” he adds. “As a broker, we can provide advice and also use technology to help them achieve their goals.”
Woo has dealt with plenty of regulatory requirements, but he’s not sure the upcoming election will result in the kind of dramatic changes that some fear.
“I think things will stay status quo for a while,” he says. “If a Democrat wins the presidency, they probably will continue with the Obamacare system. If a Republican wins the presidency, I think they will just leave it as it is for a while. Even if Medicare for All is passed one day, it will affect the employee benefits world tremendously, but it’s not the end of the world. Brokers today should start to cross-sell other products and services and evolve with this ever-changing market.”
His home state is also known for its diversity, and Woo notes that his agency is very diverse itself. “I’m very proud of the staff that we have at Combined,” he says. “We have employees from different ethnicities and age groups. Everyone respects and enjoys each other’s company. Our common goal is to deliver the best service to our customers.
“With that being said, I would like to see more diversity in the insurance industry as a whole, on both the carrier side and brokerage side.”
Woo says that his 30 years working in a melting-pot state have underscored the common needs of companies and business leaders. “I found out that although companies are from different backgrounds, they all have same aspirations,” he says. “They all want to succeed in life, but they also are experiencing the same type of challenges as other companies out there.”
In recent years, Woo has also experienced the merger and acquisition rage firsthand; he has been approached by larger firms, but says he’s not interested in that step at this time. “I have a boutique shop, but I can compete with any agency out there, big or small,” he says. “I’ve been a top broker with bigger carriers, I’ve won awards, but I’ve thrown those plaques away. Those are just numbers. The employees that I have today, the agency I have today, the clients—to me that’s the biggest accomplishment.”