5 nuggets of wisdom from our Broker of the Year finalists
For those who were unable to join us at this year's Broker Expo, here are some pieces of advice our honorees wish they had gotten when they were younger.
This year’s five Broker of the Year finalists recently took the stage at the BenefitsPRO Broker Expo in Atlanta before our 2023 winner was announced. Finalists Jenni Bickerstaff of AHT Insurance; Bryce Heinbaugh of IEN Risk Management Consultants; Nancy Giacolone of Olympic Crest Insurance, Inc; Dan LaBroad of Ovation Health & Life Services; and Brian Uhlig of Alera Group, shared their thoughts on everything from how the pandemic changed the industry and the major issues facing health care and benefits to the advice they wish someone had given them when they were younger.
Following the discussion, Paul Wilson introduced our latest Broker of the Year: Nancy Giacolone.
For those who were unable to join us, we offer up a piece of advice that each of the panelists wishes they had known when they were younger:
“Don’t wait to do something,” Bickerstaff said, referencing a tattoo belonging to 2022 U.S. Masters Amateur winner Sam Bennett. “If you pull that thread a little more… so often when we’re younger, we’re waiting for someone to tell us what to do, to educate us. Don’t wait. Go out and do it.”
“Never be afraid to continue to ask lots of questions of your vendor partners,” Uligh said. “Our whole health care system is really a mess. You’re thinking all of us older folks have all the answers, but we’re learning every day. Feel comfortable asking questions and challenging your vendor-partners. You’re really doing a disservice to your clients if you don’t ask questions.”
“Get out of your bubble, make sure you put yourself an opportunity for growth,” advised Giacolone. “Go to events, talk to people from different parts of the country. There are plenty of opportunities to network virtually and continue to grow.”
“Find mentors and people to learn from,” added LaBroad. “I swam alone the first decade of my career, then got into Nelson Griswald’s events, met people like Ben Conner, Mike Hill. Having those people to go to learn from really made a big difference.”
“Always do the right thing,” Heinbaugh said. “It means a lot in this industry. Stop chasing the new, shiny object. We want to grasp onto something that sounds lovely, but asking those harder questions, you’ll find that it might not work. One question that I would consider asking, jumping off Brian, don’t be afraid to ask these vendors, who owns you, what does your equity look like?”