NAILBA Perspectives - October 2016 - 36

member profiles Tennessee Brokerage Agency (TBA) John W. Felton IV Based in Knoxville, Tennessee Brokerage Agency (TBA) has been a NAILBA member since 1985. John W. Felton IV, President, provided input for this article. About the Agency Tennessee Brokerage Agency (TBA) was founded in 1959 by the late Col. John William "Bill" Felton III. With a genuine passion for the insurance industry, Bill was a true mentor to financial advisors and their clients, and he enjoyed helping others understand the value of insurance. Bill served on numerous boards and was a prominent member of a variety of community organizations, including the Rotary Club of Knoxville, where he was awarded Rotarian of the Year. A devoted patriot, Bill also founded the East Tennessee Veteran's Memorial to honor courageous men and women who served, loved, and died for their country. Bill's son, John W. Felton IV, took over as President of TBA in 1996. Since Bill's passing in 2011, John and TBA's dedicated support team continue to carry on the agency's long-standing legacy of serving others. TBA's expert staff goes above and beyond to help producers protect their clients' lives, families, and businesses. A leading insurance brokerage firm for nearly 60 years now, TBA is renowned for solving hard-to-place cases and bringing confidence and accuracy to the insurance process. TBA is licensed to conduct business in all 50 states. What makes your agency unique? How is it different from others offering the same services? In the early 2000s, we did a lot of email marketing. We attracted a lot of advisors, and that gave us a national presence. Since then, 36 perspectives OCTOBER 2016 we've changed our service model to elevate the advisor experience for our most loyal producers. At one point, we had a lot of different producers in a lot of places. Now, we still have producers in different states, but we're more of a boutique agency. In other words, we're a smaller shop with a national presence. What type of customer are you trying to attract? We're trying to attract advisors who are loyal. Where do you see your agency in the next 3 to 5 years? In one word: evolving. The changes come a lot faster now than they did when I came to work with my dad in '89. You have to be ready to make adjustments internally to meet the changes. That's another benefit of being a small agency. We don't have a lot of hierarchy to deal with, so we can make changes pretty quickly. In three years, we're not going to look the same as we do today. We're going to have to evolve. What's that going to look like, I'm not sure yet. How does being a NAILBA member benefit you and your business? It's the single best thing we've done. Everything we've been able to do comes from the relationships we've built with the carriers, vendors, and other members of NAILBA. Every year, I have to question which associations are worth the cost and which I'm going to join again. I can promise, I've never questioned NAILBA. It is just such a value for us. It used to be that I'd go to the meetings to learn more, but now I go for the relationships. That's the most important part of NAILBA. What attracted you the life insurance industry? I started working with my dad in 1986 when I was still in college. I would come in and run quotes and handle other odd jobs. I didn't really want to sell insurance; I wanted to work in the brokerage business. What attracted to me to the business is that I like helping people. You're helping advisors make a sale, and you're helping a client get coverage they might have thought they couldn't afford. I like helping people, so that's why I like this business. What are you the most optimistic about the future of our industry? I don't think the government is going to be able to take care of everybody. They try, but it doesn't seem to work. So there's always going to be a need for life insurance. How it's going to be distributed and sold and who's going to be selling it, that part is going to change. But I think there's always going to be a need for life insurance. So I'm optimistic that life insurance won't go away. The distribution of it may change, but the need won't. What inspires you? Commitment. If an advisor is kind enough to give us a chance to work with him or her, I'm inspired to do the best we can to help them succeed. The same goes for our

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