NAILBA Perspectives - July 2016 - (Page 9)

ceo insights Perspectives is published for the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies 11325 Random Hills Road, Suite 110 Fairfax, VA 22030 (703) 383-3081 www.nailba.org NAILBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS George C. Van Dusen IV Chairman James Sorebo Chair-Elect I Really Wish NAILBA Would Jeffrey D. Mooers Secretary/Treasurer David Long Immediate Past Chairman Joseph Bosnack Brittany Cross Jason E. Lea, CFP Seixas Milner III Ben Nevejans Myra Palmer NAILBA EDITORIAL ADVISORY PANEL Scott Blumberg Michael Cohen, CLU JACK CHIASSON, CAE NAILBA CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Christi M. Daughenbaugh Sheri Leaders John McWilliams Melinda S. Meyer Jeffrey D. Mooers Lori Payne Laurie B. Prevette Thomas Riekse, Jr., ChFC, CEBS Michael Tessler NAILBA STAFF Jack Chiasson, CAE Chief Executive Officer Kathy Allison Director, Membership and the Foundation Susan D. Haning, CEM, CMP Director, Business Development Susan Klemmer Deputy Chief Executive Officer Meredith Maslich Administrative Coordinator Sarah O'Hanley, CEM Manager, Exhibits, Sponsorships and Advertising Annette M. Suriani, CMP Manager, Meetings and Education John Tong Director, Administration and Operations Editor: Susan Klemmer sklemmer@nailba.org Advertising: Susan Haning, CEM, CMP shaning@nailba.org Design and Production: Blue House www.bluehouse.us Creative Director: Elinor van Dyck elinor@bluehouse.us Designer: Jessica Feirtag I hope all is well with you- and with your business during this interesting time in the insurance industry! I have been hearing a lot about value lately, and it has gotten me thinking, so let's talk about that for a while. I'll start, as I often do, with a bunch of questions to keep in your head while you read the rest of this piece. What value do you-personally- bring to your community or your network? Are you the one that people look to when they need help with something, a shoulder to cry on, or a resource for input on solving a problem? Are you the one they can count on? And with regard to your business- are you the source for reliable information? Is your word "gold?" Do you regularly under-promise and overdeliver? By "you," of course, I mean your agency and everyone that works there. As the experts often remind us, YOU are your brand. Does your brand have value? And let's not forget about NAILBA. What value does NAILBA play in your daily business life? Does NAILBA offer you the things that you need and want from your professional organization? If we say we will do something, do we? You will notice (I hope) that in all of these aspects of your life, the questions are remarkably the same. That's mostly because no matter how differently you look at these questions, and your answers to them, they really ARE the same. It really does not matter which aspect you are considering. The mark of a successful brokerage general agency (or really ANY business) is that you provide value to your customer. How often do you think about what your "value proposition" really is? Do you make it easier for your customer (regardless of who that is) to get what they need from a BGA? THAT'S value. If it's not easy-or at least easier than the guy down the street offers-then you might have a value problem. I can't tell you if you do or not-that's up to you, and I suspect that you already know the answer to that question. The same reasoning applies, of course, to your community-your church, your school, your club, your network. NAILBA regularly asks itself that question-are we providing value to our members in return for their membership dollars? All too often, the best answer that your leaders can come up with is "we think so." So here comes the real challenge. YOU HAVE TO TELL US! I challenge each one of you to email me (jchiasson@nailba.org) with TWO things. First, tell me one thing that we do that provides you value for your membership dues. Is it the Annual Meeting and all that it brings? Is it the ASNG (do I need to tell you what that is?)? Is it the availability of the NAILBA Network (our relatively new online community-open ONLY to NAILBA members.) Is it the NAILBA E&O Program (which, I shouldn't need to remind you, also provides value to the agents who write business through you!)? The second thing-and perhaps more important of the two-is to tell me one thing that we DON'T currently do that would bring you greater value for your dues dollars. Say this to yourself: "I really wish NAILBA would _______"-and tell me how you would fill in the blank. (Please note that I cannot promise you that everything you send me will get done immediately!) What I suspect will happen is that there will be enough similar responses that your leadership will be able to easily identify places where we are missing the mark. I'll report back to you next time to let you know how the response was, and I promise to tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly. If there aren't any responses, I'll tell you that, too! Just in closing, please don't forget that NAILBA 35 will be here before you know it. Make sure that you have registered AND made a hotel reservation-we all know that the hotel rooms go fast! Remember, too, that in response to your feedback, we have gone back to a schedule that looks much more like it did a few years ago. We've added MANY more opportunities to attend workshops, and we've moved the Mooers Award Dinner back to Friday night. Hope to see you in Dallas! www.nailba.org 9 http://www.nailba.org http://www.bluehouse.us http://www.nailba.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - July 2016

NAILBA Perspectives - July 2016
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
Mooers Award Nominations
Cyber Liability/Cyber Security
NAILBA 35 Program Preview
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Life Happens
Member Profile
Agency Successor Networking Group
Calendar of Events
Brokerage in Motion
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - July 2016