The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2 - 29

FINDING YOUR NORTH STAR
As an early innovator in the digital insurance
space, constant evolution and stick-to-it-iveness
were important factors in staying relevant.
Playing the long game has proven to be
extremely beneficial in becoming an important
player in the Ontario broker channel.
Dario credits his success as a business
owner to his goals and values-building strong
relationships with clients, partners and team
members, knowing the business and saying no.
The latter point being widely known advice from
Warren Buffet, on what separates successful
people from the crowd-that two-letter word.
No. Saying no to almost everything allows you
to stay focused and on the fast track to resultsdriven
success.
" We stay grounded by sticking to our values.
We come from the perspective that it's all about
the client, but we can't be on our A-game for
our clients without nurturing the team. That's
a primary focus for us-our values underpin
everything that we do. We developed this
acronym-ROCK IT-and we do stay true to
these every day. "
THE DREAM TEAM
Dario firmly believes that putting your effort
into hiring well and getting the right people with
attitudes that mesh with your brand values is
critical to achieving success.
" Finding people who can cover my blind spots
and complement my areas of weakness was
very important to me. My management team is
designed in a specific way to bring to light each
of our team members' specific talents. Clear
ownership has allowed us to formalize process
and heighten our success and move forward. "
On his quest to further the brokerage Dario
hired Noel Austin as his Chief Operating Officer
at isure in 2016. The duo had known each other
for years, having gone to school together and
remaining friends since.
" We'd reached the maximum level of growth
that we could with our existing structure and with
that we needed to continue to evolve and that's
where Noel and his expertise comes in. Between
the two of us, Noel focuses on the internal and
digital operations, and I focus on strategy and
marketing. Having Noel in this internal facing role
has allowed us to up the ante in several ways
within our brokerage-formalizing processes and
work that we're doing. The industry is constantly
evolving, and so are we. Our current structure,
gives me a way to ensure that we are moving
forward internally with our operations and staff. "
Going further than just hiring the right people,
the isure team invests in every team members'
skills and knowledge. They have a structured
training platform that assists in getting new
team members licensed and in a role in a matter
of months. The first of two formalized training
programs is isureU, a personal lines broker
training program that covers the most basic to
the most complicated areas of the business.
The second, is a recently launched commercial
training program called the 905. Both learning
platforms provide new and seasoned team
members the opportunity to plot a career path,
set goals and stick with it for months and years
to come.
" We ask our team to prioritize two things when
speaking to clients: make it friendlier and easier.
If you do that, we're going to get our share of
wins. Being clear and getting your team moving
in one direction. Those are the two things we can
control. "
Dario stresses the importance of professional
management-the idea that you need to have
the right team, the right processes, and the right
mix in place so that as an owner you can work on
the business, not in it.
DARIO'S ADVICE
1
PLAY THE LONG GAME:
Stay focused on your goals and don't
get distracted
2
INVEST IN YOURSELF:
Don't expect others to invest in you if
you aren't willing to do the same
3
NO ONE IS ENTITLED TO SUCCESS:
You need to work for it and earn it
4
YOUR REPUTATION MATTERS:
In an industry like insurance, your
reputation will follow you everywhere,
so it better be a good one
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 2
SUE 1
29
The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ontario Broker - Volume 22, Issue 2
