Editorial Copy for The Excellerator Vol. 5 No. 2
Editorial Copy for The Excellerator Vol. 5 No. 2
Introduction by James E. Schoenherr, FLMI
Vice President, Marketing
Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services, Inc.
We believe that if we come to you -- in the field -- together we will build profitable relationships, producing well in excess of what any of us could achieve on our own
General agents are middlemen. By definition. Period.
This makes some people in our industry uncomfortable. Why should carriers pay intermediaries just to distribute brochures and collect applications? Why should producers pass through this checkpoint -- even at no charge -- when they could go directly to the carriers?
The answers are, if all general agents did was shuffle paper and wave traffic through the intersection, there would be no good reason for the carriers or producers to use them. But the extent to which the GAs present a bona fide additional resource in the process of selling is the extent to which they survive, prosper and improve the industry for everybody.
The successful general agency must offer value by simultaneously evolving, growing and improving. Competition demands it. As in any predatory hierarchy, some participants are -- or become -- better suited to struggle than others. Here are some measures for determining where the players rank:
A very basic general agency
An above–average general agency masters all of this, plus
The exceptional GA is constantly raising the bar. The exceptional GA provides not only the defining services of an employee benefits distributor, but
Centerstone unarguably progressed to above-average some years ago. (In the California market, where general agents are plentiful, sophisticated and relentlessly competitive, you either progress or disappear.) Now, we work hard on a daily basis to deserve the rank of exceptional. How? If the only validation of a GA is the value it adds for brokers and carriers in the sales process, the distinction of exceptional is earned only by doing these things exceptionally.
In this article, we discuss the singular level of added value we offer producers -- the elements Centerstone brings to the table, making selling easier, more results-probable, and more profitable than it would be in our absence. The latest of these (in case it has not become very apparent) is our all-out push into field services.
To fully understand Centerstone’s progression to the field, consider some other recent milestones:
Still, these accomplishments beg the questions: “Centerstone, what have you done for us lately? Where to now, in making selling even easier and more profitable?”
A signature line in one of Hollywood’s most compelling story of the power of the will was “If you build it, they will come.” “It” referred to a magical baseball diamond to be cut from the farmers’ field, in the belief that some of the game’s historical legends would be irresistibly attracted to come and play.
Centerstone is taking on equal-but-opposite approach. We believe that if we come to you -- in the field -- together we will build profitable relationships, producing well in excess of what any of us could achieve on our own. Subjective claims of superiority aside, the only valid, objective measures of whether this approach works are simple and based entirely on you, the producers. These are:
then we are succeeding on fundamental levels. And all other factors being equal, we believe a key to achieving these goals is by meeting you more than half–way--- in the field.
Many carriers and GAs use field representatives. Centerstone’s own executive sales managers have served in this role, to the extent time would allow, for years. Some producers have always viewed field reps as superior “relationship builders,” offering more face–to-face familiarity than is possible for even the best GA’s in-office technicians. As noted earlier, however, today’s industry is marked by a more sophisticated and aggressive general agency community. They have retooled the idea of a field force as yet another “unique selling point” in distinguishing themselves; rolling out broker sales reps is the chic thing for a GA to do this season.
Centerstone, however, is not merely rolling out bodies. In keeping with our heritage, we are determined to set the industry standard for field representation. System-wide, we have already mobilized 16 Broker Sales Executives (with more on the way) to service producers, shoulder-to-shoulder with our Executive Sales Managers. With this division of sales professionals in the field, Centerstone is positioned to accommodate the expansive needs of our diverse agent base.
Our field personnel are what you’d have to call “On”: on-call experts, on whom you can depend on for answers, on-site. If you want, they will be with you: for orientation to Centerstone’s systems and portfolio; throughout the sales process; then through the growth and renewal of the business. You define the degree of relationship best meeting your needs. We will be as hands on -- or off -- as you require.
What is the difference, then, between a carrier rep and a Centerstone field rep? Presuming an identical talent level, the carrier rep can still present only that carrier’s product. On the other hand, the Centerstone rep presents the spectrum of carrier and product solutions to meet virtually any client need. No one carrier is right for every client every time, but with the industry’s most encompassing portfolio, a Centerstone field rep is in a superior position to be “right” more often.
If the validation of a GA is the value it adds for producers and carriers in the sales process, the distinction of “exceptional” is earned only by doing these things exceptionally.
Are there distinctions between our field corps and any other GA’s reps? Only Centerstone’s experts are armed with the Confusion-Free Proposal, the standard by which every other employee benefits presentation system is measured. Our reps also pack exclusive health care reform materials for the employer and a free P.O.P with every major medical sale. And again, there is that superior portfolio and the legions of reps ready to present it. Yes, we would say there are definite distinctions between Centerstone field reps and those of other GA’s. And these worthy competitors are increasingly in agreement.
Producers rely on Centerstone for readily accessible carrier knowledge and product expertise, but not every case requires field presence. Not every producer needs or wants personnel presentations or enrollment assistance.
In fact, Centerstone grew into one of the nation’s largest employee benefit GA’s by providing knowledge and expertise “the old fashioned way,” through phone, fax, mail, and the professional talent and skill of our in-house sales force -- our Broker Sales Representatives. Like their newer field counterparts, the BSRs are territory-specific employee benefits professionals with the training and tools to process your sales requirements, through conclusion, ordinarily without either of you having to leave the office.
Each BSR is now teamed with a member of our field staff to provide seamless service on all your business, but any in–office Centerstone sales rep can help you at any time on any problem. The result? Phones are unfailingly answered by knowledgeable professionals.
Mail, deliveries, and faxes are processed on receipt. Questions get fast, accurate answers. Proposals and new cases are escorted through the system, often within hours. Special requests receive special attention. Your business gets done as if someone’s job depends on it, because, to each and every Centerstone employee, it does.
In the foreseeable future, the underwriting functions of every major carrier will be on-line for their sales force -- a tremendous technological advantage for those general agencies able to handle it. Post sale-administrative processes will be much faster, more accurate and of better all-around service to producers and their clients. However, only GA’s with significant organization and technological brawn will be able to assess and manage the new features to their full potential.
Senior Underwriting Specialists
Angelica Romero
Arden Simmons- Gould
Diane Despatis
Rosie Martinez
With a focused, cross-trained central underwriting unit, Centerstone is already among the prepared. We have installed toll-free phone and fax capabilities, allowing brokers and our sales force to communicate instantly, directly and cost-free with our contingent of underwriting agents. The consequences have been predictably faster turnaround times, better rates and more satisfied clients.
Increasingly, the incomes of producers (and general agents) will become directly dependent on finding new economies in administration and operations. As our entire industry comes under closer scrutiny for its expenditures, look for Centerstone to hold the line with more innovations like Underwriting Central.
What does “The Denver Office” or the “Anaheim Service Region” really mean?
Where, exactly is this “field” we’re so proud to be in to? Who are these sales and service personnel we’re so excited about? Are Centerstone systems and philosophies cookie-cutter, right out of the home office manual, or do they acknowledge the tendencies and respond to the needs of each market?
In the next several pages, we answer these and other questions about each Centerstone sales office. The answers come from our own sales professionals, expressing personnel sentiments and sales philosophies.
While names and faces periodically change in any vital, dynamic organization like Centerstone, and while our philosophies are designed to accommodate diverse demands of our many markets, Centerstone itself is a constant, over time and throughout our corporate service regions:
There’s the litany. Here are the Centerstone performers who bring it to life.