NAILBA Perspectives - October 2016 - 38

member profiles Team TBA (not pictured: Karen Felton and Ann Knox) More about John Felton A University of Tennessee graduate, John first entered the life insurance industry as a Marketing Specialist for Manhattan Life Insurance Company in Cincinnati. After a company merger, he joined Tennessee Brokerage Agency (TBA) in Knoxville as Marketing Manager. John served in various positions at TBA until he became President of the firm in 1996, a position he still enjoys today. John has served on many local and state insurance association boards as well as local civic and social organizations. He is a current Board Member of LifeMark Partners, former President of NAIFATennessee, past Chairman of NAILBA, former Board Member of LIFE Foundation, past President of the NAIFA-Knoxville, and past President of TYGERS, a second-generation brokerage agency study group. John carries NASD Series 7 and 63 securities licenses and is life/ health licensed in 50 states. Favorite movie: Smokey and the Bandit Recommended reading: "Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant," by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne Family: Wife Johnna and four children, Hannah (15), Kate (15), Sadie (12), and Jack (10) Favorite vacation spot: Pawleys Island, South Carolina Hobbies: Golf and tennis, spending time with his family, and watching his kids play sports 38 perspectives OCTOBER 2016 employees. I want to be there for them if they need me. We have employees who have been here 15, 20, and 25 years. We consider ourselves a team. We're Team TBA, and that's important. Nobody here works for me; we all work together. If they're committed to me, I'm committed to them. What is the best advice you would offer someone new to this industry? For a new BGA: Don't try to compete on price, product, or compensation. You can't control the first two, and someone is always going to pay more than you, so you're going to lose there as well. Instead, focus on building relationships with the advisors who will build your business. A lot of advisors will leave you for an extra five percent-I would go find the ones who won't. For the young advisor: This is what my dad told me when I first started: Take care of the customer first, and the sales will come. Don't lead with solutions, lead with questions. Carrier that wants to be in brokerage: Know your customer, know your market. I've seen a lot of carriers that try to market a product that they love but advisors hate. Understand what's sold in brokerage before you come into it. Carriers already in brokerage: Understand the applications that come to you didn't happen by chance. The BGAs are the main reason the independent market has grown. We always hear of carriers that are going direct, and it seems like they're forgetting the people who helped build their distribution. BGAs aren't the only distribution for most carriers, but I'd suspect we're the most profitable.

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