Broker on the street: Attendees' favorite parts of the 2023 Broker Expo

The 2023 BenefitsPRO Broker Expo in Atlanta was packed with fun, networking and plenty of educational and motivational content. Over the course of the three days, we asked attendees to share some of their favorite parts and key takeaways. Here are their thoughts:

“You can’t have an atomic habit until you have the habit to start with.”

— Jen Berman, CEO, MZQ Consulting, #1 Takeaway from Day 1, from Kevin Trokey’s “Attainable Habits That Drive Sales Success” Session.

“Video content is so effective because it combines movement, sound, text and videos. You can pack a lot more information than just text. One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.”

— Al Schiebel, CEO and founder, Schiebel & Associates, on something he learned while preparing for his session, “Prospecting for New Business: What’s Working for Top Brokers?”

“First and foremost, I love it. I’m super thankful to actually be here. Second, I’m elated to be able to stand here amongst my peers and to a degree ‘compete.’ A lot of us are in sales, so we’re competitive. To be able to compete and come out on top, it has a sense of fulfillment, which is really important, but also I’m really excited to already be ready to go next year.”

— Paul H Flowers, Jr., of Fountain Health, on winning this year’s Fast and Furious competition (which comes with free registration to next year’s Expo).

“It’s a good venue. The keynote speaker [Molly Bloom] was outstanding … She did an exceptionally good job because people don’t set out to become insurance brokers … We have all started somewhere … What she had to say probably resonated with just about all of us … keeping your head clear. Don’t let voices talk you down. You’re bigger than that. Yes, she made a huge mistake, but sometimes there’s redemption in life.”

— Richard Sutter, employee benefits consultant & broker liaison, Sutter & Company

“My biggest takeaway of the day is how many amazing people there are in the industry who really have their clients’ best interests at heart … We are all collectively trying to find better ways to educate the customers, the employers, about employee benefits … This morning we talked a lot about health care and that it hasn’t changed that much, but there is also innovation that we are trying to bring forward. That was really on everybody’s mind – in this market, to continue to educate HR and employers and employees.”

— Christine Heutinck, Regional VP, Sales, Maxor National Pharmacy Services

“I truly enjoyed the keynote [Molly Bloom] this morning on taking risks. That’s exactly what I’m doing with starting a brokerage firm … There’s so much access to all these vendors because with getting started, there are so many aspects of managing the business … it’s a nice cross section of that information all in one place since I’m completely new to this part of the industry … So the keynote spoke to the position I’m in right now, which is taking a calculated risk. She talked about being as engaging as possible, as genuine as possible with your clients. We’re all doing the same thing but I have to have something to differentiate me that makes a difference.”

— Alana Major, Principal, Avanti Insurance Brokers

“I like the sessions here because they’re short – 45 minutes. It’s really a lot of really good information in a short amount of time. I got a lot out of it … I like the flow of this convention. It’s easy to hop in and out of sessions or take a break if you need one, because these can be really long days. You’re getting a lot in a short amount of time … Molly [Bloom] was amazing and I was able to participate without having to raise my hand. I can just send my questions and they pop up on the screen. I had never seen that before … Molly talks a lot about her motivation and she talks about her struggles and how she overcame her struggles … about personal growth, being a better person.”

— Corinne Willis, Senior Benefit Advocate, Intrepid Benefits

My favorite thing that I heard today was from Molly Bloom’s keynote speech this morning. She said that it’s important to make people feel seen, heard, and remembered and I think that’s one of the greatest things we can do in this community.

— Nancy Giacolone, president/owner, Olympic Crest Insurance

My take away was from Joel Daniels, and he said that he was a recovering people pleaser and he had to start being selective with who he allows into his book and he specifically wants to find people who are a cultural fit for their agency.

— Wendy Keneipp, partner, Q4intelligence