PRODUCER-RELATED ISSUES
Agents who support community causes can reap
personal as well as professional benefits
By Michael J. Weinberg
The community recognition, the insurance business that it generates, and the sense of accomplishment that we enjoy from our individual and agency [community] involvement, are priceless.
Some years ago, our agency was fortunate to be named Rough Notes magazine's "Marketing Agency of the Month." As expected, I received many calls and letters of congratulations. But the call that meant the most to me came from Rough Notes reader Ed Manning of Atlanta, Georgia.
Ed is successful both as an agency owner and as a well-rounded producer of all lines of insurance, including life and group, and property/casualty insurance. Ed had given me my first job in the P-C business when I lived in Georgia. Because Ed had been my earliest mentor, his call was especially nostalgic for me.
Recently I spoke with Ed again while trying to solve a problem for a mutual friend. That conversation led me to remember the earliest and most valuable lessons that Ed taught me and the tremendous effect that they had on my career.
When I first met Ed, we were both presidents of our respective chapters of a national civic organization. I fondly recall the many hours we spent discussing that organization and driving together to the national convention in Washington, D.C. But what I remember best is the introduction that Ed gave me to what I now refer to as Civic Marketing. Ed taught me by example about getting involved within one's community, and I will never forget those lessons.
It's a well-known axiom in this business that there are only two ways to succeed. You either have to "cold-call" on a lot of people or you have to know a lot of people--and cold-calling is ultimately a "burn out" route. It's also a well-known axiom in life that people should put back into their community all that they can to repay what they have taken.
Ed taught me the value of "putting back" and what it can mean to a career. First, I would never recommend involving yourself in any charity or civic group unless: 1) you are truly committed to the cause and 2) you will are willing to give freely of both your time and your money to that organization. No group needs names on a letterhead; every group needs hard workers and money to accomplish its mission.
Over the years, any success that I have enjoyed has come as a result of the many people whom I have been fortunate enough to meet within our community. And many of those relationships came from the organizations that I have been involved with.
As I said before, to successfully benefit from organizational involvement, you must put the needs of the organization first. Business from those relationships will not come to you because you had an opportunity to meet and ask many new people for their insurance business. Rather, it will come naturally if you work hard and give freely, and others see your involvement, get to know you and want someone like you on their team at work. If you do the right things, business will come to you without actively soliciting it.
Over the years, I have been involved in virtually every major organization in our community, and in most I have served on the board and as an officer. I am proud of my involvement because I know that it has allowed my agency, my family and me to give a lot back to this community that we all love and appreciate. But I am also proud when I get a phone call from a fellow volunteer who says, "Michael, I loved the manner in which you handled that last project for our board and I'd like to make an appointment for you to handle all of my company's insurance and employee benefits." It's like being a teenager at a school dance and having the head cheerleader walk over and ask you to dance!
In our agency, we stress civic involvement and strongly encourage our employees, managers and staff to become as involved as possible. We allow our employees and managers to be involved in civic groups during the work day. And, of course, we support their initiatives financially to the fullest extent possible.
Each year at Christmas, our employees designate a charity and/or needy families we want to help. The employees give freely of their money, which we as an agency supplement. The rewards from this involvement and knowing that we made someone's holiday a little better are immeasurable. I knew that we as a management team had truly succeeded when, several years ago, our employees bought bicycles for underprivileged members of the local Boys and Girls Clubs with the funds that they would have used to buy gifts for my partners and me. I don't think that my partners and I ever had a greater of feeling success as managers than when we were presented with a certificate documenting that gift in our honor.
Attend a function of any major charity or professional organization in our county and you will likely find that our agency has touched that group in some manner during its existence. Attend a charity marathon or walkathon and it is likely that we are supporting one or more participants.
Can I quantify in dollars and cents what all of this means to our agency? No, I can't even come close, and I am even sure that there is a direct payback as often as not. But what I do know is that the goodwill that we generate never goes unnoticed. I constantly receive comments that someone went to a local theatre presentation and read in the program about our participation or that they met one of our agents at a local charity function. Do we believe deep down that we receive a great return on our investment? You bet we do. The community recognition, the insurance business that it generates, and the sense of accomplishment that we enjoy from our individual and agency involvement, are priceless.
A few years after the article about our agency appeared in Rough Notes, I had an opportunity to visit with Ed Manning and his partner. Not surprising, Ed and his partner were both still actively involved in their community, and among their largest accounts were the very same not-for-profit organizations to whom they so generously gave of their time and money. I was happy to see that Ed was still an ardent believer in those values that he held so dear when I met him; and more important, I was grateful for what Ed instilled in me. Thanks, Ed. *
The author
Michael J. Weinberg, nationally known columnist, speaker and seminar leader, is the managing director of Gateway Insurance Agency where he spearheads the agency's marketing/
sales and automation efforts. He invites reader participation and feedback through his e-mail address (mweinberg@gatewayins.com).