Top brokers share the secret sauce that sets them apart

A recent session at the BenefitsPRO Broker Expo in Atlanta advertised the “golden nugget” of how top benefits advisors set them apart. But that nugget is actually somewhat of a mislead: top brokers DON’T set themselves apart; they surround themselves with a strong supporting cast of partners and teammates.

This theme was pervasive throughout a session moderated by Ben Conner, CEO of Conner Insurance. In their discussion, panelists attributed their success not to their individual efforts, but to a strong culture of collaboration and processes that support the team and its work.

“There are two of us that are Type A older women and two that are younger and more process-oriented,” said Allison De Paoli of her firm, Altiqe. “It took a while for us to make the two more comfortable with putting a pause on us, a lot of ‘How are you doing?’ and ‘What do you think?’ and getting them comfortable to ask questions. We all have a good respect for each other and let those conversations happen.”

Mike Hill, founder of Total Control Health Plans, is the one who brings that element to his team, and his clients. “My personal and professional superpower is asking questions,” he said. “I was that guy who said, ‘But wait a minute…’ ‘Hold on a second, that doesn’t make sense.’ If you don’t speak up, we’re all going to sit around and not accomplish anything.”

Ed Ligonde, the 2021 BenefitsPRO Broker of the Year, took this quest for openness to the next level, recently bringing his geographically dispersed Nielsen Benefits Group team together for a summit.

“One thing that was important for me was to have this safe place to extract that knowledge from smart people,” he said. “I kicked it off by talking about the things that make me vulnerable, the things I suck at, and asked for advice. I didn’t get any at first, but then I said, ‘The better I get, the better we get.’ Then it started trickling out.”

Conner was also quick to admit that his success was really a reflection of his team. “I wish I would have known that I’m not that important,” he said, recounting the premature birth of his daughter several years ago on October 1 — the first day of Q4 and the start of open enrollment season — and the two months she spent in the hospital.

“I was not present,” he said. “But what I saw was a great team step up and do the job without me.”

One element that the panelists all mentioned as a key to the success of their teams and businesses is having the right processes in place. Since launching in 2018, Hill’s agency, for instance, is closing in on $1 million in business and working to add a producer that will bring in even more. we’re knocking on the door of $1m, we’re working to bring another producer in who’s looking at about a half million book of business.

“We’ve done this before with processes,” Hill said. “It’s brain damage in trying not only to get processes implemented and stick to them yourself but make sure everyone else is sticking to them. Processes help you go on vacation stress-free and help your coworkers do the same, And they stop things from falling through the cracks.”

“We’re working so hard on processes and workflows,” Ligonde agreed. “When we let too much time go by and let a process go, it reduces consistency and that’s when we start getting gaps in workflows. Over the last year, consistency has truly helped our team sing in harmony both professionally and personally.”

Speaking of team harmony, panelists also shared a definition of “team” that extends beyond just those employees on their payrolls. “We do things in a pretty non-traditional way,” De Paoli said. “It’s really important, if you are going to do that, to vet your vendors not only for competency but partnership. Sometimes you need to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘I just need you to fix this.’”

“We call them our brothers and sisters in the business,” Ligonde agreed. “We try to treat them the same as our clients and ourselves. I come from a culture in the past where all you do is berate your vendors until they get you what you want. It’s an ugly situation. When you treat people with respect, you get respect back.”

That philosophy is also what inspired Conner Insurance to roll out partner feedback questionnaires, similar to ones already used with their clients. “We wanted to have the same relationship with our partners,” Conner said. “We ask them the same thing: where are we falling short, how can we improve to make sure we’re being great partners?”