Drive to Success

Networking breakfast for attendees

Coffee networking event

Jeff Ryan, NAIFA-MD president

State of the Economy – What’s Happening Around the World and at Home

Join us for a game-changing presentation where you will learn the top 5 economic drivers and how they are impacting the nation’s economy. How best can we prepare our clients? An in-depth analysis of major factors shaping economic outcomes, including interest rates, global conflict, wage dynamics, business confidence, and demographics.

Choose from one of the three sessions below.

Michael Shaw, Esq, The Shaw Law Group

With the average age of insurance agency owners reaching the early 60s, there are huge opportunities for developing a succession plan. Most agencies do not have an outline for handling emergency crisis when a health situation occurs. Research is proving that 60% of businesses will transition their ownership in the 5-10 years, but less than 30% will handle it successfully. Why? Are you prepared to acquire new lines of business? What do you need to discover before acquisition? Should you partner with a Certified Exit Planning Advisor? What are the benefits/pitfalls? When is the best time to start considering a path toward success or selling? What is the benefit to maintaining ownership in minority or majority deals? How to arm yourself to have better, more productive conversations with your business owners.

Who are those folks on the P&C side of things? What are the benefits of partnering with them, to grow my own lines of business? What does a P&C firm see as critical value to a partnership with a life insurance agency? Hear different perspectives from 3 business owners about how you can widen your sphere of influence and, ultimately, increase revenues!

Sponsored by Independent Insurance Agents of MD

Glenn Arrington, NAIFA-MD Treasurer, Group Benefit Strategies, Bel Air
Christopher Farmer, NAIFA-MD Board of Directors, Integral Benefits, Baltimore

Join industry leaders Christopher Farmer and Glenn Arrington as they dive into the latest legislation shaping the Medicare and ACA landscape. This session will break down how these changes impact agents, clients, and communities; and provide strategies to stay ahead in an evolving market.

Allison Susko, AssetMap

Take Your Agency to the Next Level – Using Technology and Tools to Increase ProfitsSession Description: Learn what specific technology tools agency owners are using most effectively, and why. How does one build a client service model approved by your compliance officers? What are the realities of using artificial intelligence tools as it relates to compliance with your broker/dealer? Hear how one NAIFA member is using an AI tool called Synthesis to create a customer service avatar for use in live sessions with clients.

Choose from one of the three sessions below.

Brian J. Haney CLTC CFS CIS CFBS LACP LUTCF CAE

Framing business identity and marketing.
1. How to approach marketing with sustainability in mind.
2. You need to create your own business engine that allows the owner to step away from it.
3. Be so unique with your high brand that you don't need to spend money on marketing because the brand is so well recognized.

Operations/People
1. If you walked into Shark Tank and presented your business to them, would they invest in it?
2. If someone wanted to buy what you built, are systems and processes turn-key and ready to go?
3. How do you all operate effectively, and buy into the overall experience deliverable?
4. Create a system to build your business independent of the people running it.

Kevin Eberly, Regional VP, Hartford Funds

Elite Financial Professionals Share Secrets to Acquiring Affluent Clients
Most financial professionals work hard at pursuing affluent client prospects, but few are successful. It’s not for a lack of trying, so what’s the problem? Elite financial professionals have cracked the code!
Through extensive research, Oechsli, a thought leader on affluent client acquisition, discovered the street-tested strategies elite financial professionals consistently use to win clients with assets of $1MM or above. Now, Oechsli is sharing these secrets with you.
High-Impact Activities to Attract Affluent Client Prospects
Every firm has a different definition for affluent, emerging affluent, and ultra-high-net-worth. Think in terms of your ideal client, which is probably alot like your top-25 existing clients. One primary driver that sets elite professionals apart is performing high-impact activities on a consistent basis. They don’t get bogged down by busy work, invest excessive time and money creating extravagant marketing material they hope will do the work for them, or wait for the perfect time to prospect. (The perfect time doesn’t exist.)
Nor do they make excuses to avoid doing difficult things. Instead, elite financial professionals get out of their comfort zone to seek or create opportunities to get face-to-face with affluent clients.
Top three activities that had the greatest impact
Oechsli found that, when executed consistently, these had the greatest impact on affluent client acquisition.
1. Getting Personal Introductions
2. Increasing Referrals from Professional Alliances
3. Hosting Intimate Client Events
This session provides the strategies, and how to execute them, to help you operate like an elite financial professional and achieve similar results.

Christopher Farmer, NAIFA-MD Board of Directors, Integral Benefits, Baltimore

Build Additional Lines of Business Into Your Agency – How Much Revenue and Growth Can You Expect?

Lunch. Awards, Legislative Update Panel
Panelists:
NAIFA – Diane Boyle, SVP, Government Relations
NAIFA-MD Lobbyist – Brett Lininger, Esq. (local perspective of legislation in MD)
IIAMD Lobbyist – Jay Duke (local perspective of P&C legislation in MD)