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Ryan Calvin (left), Chief Growth Officer of Gibson,and Tim Leman, President and CEO, stand outside the agency's headquarters in South Bend, Indiana.

Marketing

Go team!

Indiana agency's team selling model boosts growth and morale

By Elisabeth Boone, CPCU

Starting with your first tentative swing at a T-ball at age five, through school, college, and your career, you've probably lost count of how many teams you've been on. Soccer team, tennis team, debate team, adult softball team, church fund-raising team, special project team … you get the idea.

Chances are, you've also heard just about every cliché associated with the concept of team, and when the word is mentioned in your workplace, you may feel somewhat less than gung ho.

That was the case at Gibson, an independent agency based in South Bend, Indiana, when top management decided to organize the agency's sales force into what it envisioned as high-performing teams that could execute on its sophisticated four-step risk management process. Called the Gibson Protection System or GPS, the process guides the client through assessment, planning, implementation, and engagement to build a risk management program that supports the client's operational, strategic, and financial objectives.

Established in 1933, Gibson today is among the largest 1% of independent agencies in the country and is one of the top five privately held agencies in Indiana. (Gibson was the Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Month in September 2003.) The agency has 95 employees and is 100% employee owned. In addition to its home office in South Bend, the agency has branches in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Plymouth to serve its market in northern and central Indiana and southwestern Michigan. Total revenue is over $13 million, of which two-thirds is property/casualty with the remaining third comprising employee benefits. P-C volume is 80% commercial and 20% personal lines.

In the commercial arena, Gibson delivers insurance and risk management services to a range of industries and specializes in construction, wholesalers and distributors, municipalities and public entities, manufacturing, food processing, life sciences, wood industries, and the recreational vehicle industry. The agency also writes surety bonds and augments its employee benefits practice with a suite of wellness and human resource management services. (See "The Sweet Spot: Benefits Boost Revenue and Retention" in the July 2008 issue of Rough Notes.)

Ryan Colvin meets with agency producers. The firm's team selling model pairs veteran producers with newer producers and establishes team goals, rather than individual goals.

Rising to challenges

Like all independent agencies, Gibson faces challenges on a number of fronts, says Tim Leman, president and chief executive officer. Among these, he observes, are "remaining independent, perpetuation, scaling technology and systems to the appropriate size for us, helping our clients deal with health care reform, finding ways to grow, and competing successfully in our market."

Like other regions whose economies have a substantial manufacturing base, Leman observes, Gibson's market in northern and central Indiana and southwestern Michigan was especially hard hit by the recession. In the wake of the economic meltdown in 2008, Elkhart, Indiana, became a national poster child for the collapse of industries that manufacture big-ticket consumer items. Roughly half of the recreational vehicles made in the United States are built in Elkhart County; and when the recession hit, demand for RVs all but vanished, leaving thousands of employees out of work and decimating the local economy.

"For us, Elkhart is like a mini-Detroit, where a number of industries have sprung up around the RV makers," Leman explains. Among these are companies that make wheels and tires, suspension systems, windows, shades and blinds, and woods used in RV interiors. "These manufacturers and others support the RV industry and also depend on it, so when the RV market collapsed, it took all these ancillary industries with it," Leman says. "At times during the recession, unemployment here was the highest in the country." Economic conditions in northern Indiana are gradually improving, he notes, but the long recession clearly has left its mark.

"We've had several years of record growth, and the challenge is to help our producers continue to perform at a high level while delivering the Gibson client experience." —Ryan Colvin

Growth engine

Gibson joined Sitkins International in 2011, and the agency's leaders have high praise for the coaching they receive and the results Sitkins helps the agency achieve.

"Our membership is proving to be invaluable in so many different ways," says Ryan Colvin, chief growth officer. "It gives us a structure and framework for implementing the strategic initiatives that Larry Linne and other team members have been instrumental in helping us formulate. We like the fact that we're accountable for executing on what we've agreed to do, and our discussions with Larry are a vital part of our sales management process," Colvin continues. "We've been able to customize many of the Sitkins tools for our market and our producers and what we want to accomplish for our clients."

Not every agency has a chief growth officer, and Colvin is the second Gibson executive to hold that title; the first was Leman. What is a chief growth officer, and what does he or she do?

"We wanted to create an executive-level position that was responsible for growth in our organization," Leman says. "We didn't want to use chief sales officer, because growth is much more than new sales. Some 90% of our revenue each year comes from existing clients. We want to grow both by making new sales and by retaining existing accounts. Growth is also about building and enhancing relationships and delivering the Gibson client experience," he continues. "The position of chief growth officer is a platform for becoming involved in all aspects of the agency operation that are client related: people, resources, products, services, and solutions. I held the position for two years, and Ryan moved into it in 2010."

As chief growth officer, Colvin says, he focuses on both new sales and retention. "I oversee sales for all four of our offices, both P-C and employee benefits. We continue to evolve our go to market strategy, which we have branded as the Gibson Protection System, or GPS." Colvin also works closely with producers and spearheads an ongoing effort to recruit new talent for the sales force.

"It's been a fun ride," he says enthusiastically. "We've had several years of record growth, and the challenge is to help our producers continue to perform at a high level while delivering the Gibson client experience."

Team selling model

To maintain and enhance that high-performance edge, Gibson implemented a team selling model. The agency's approach has been so successful that Leman was asked to make a presentation at the Sitkins International Extreme Networking meeting in New Mexico last October.

"Like most other agencies, we continually look for ways to grow organically so we can remain independent," Colvin says. "It's not easy to recruit in South Bend, Indiana. As we stepped back and looked at our organization, we looked for ways to leverage our unique skill sets as an agency.

"For example, we found that our newer producers were charged up about going out and creating new relationships. Our veteran producers had developed sizable books of business and were less focused on producing large volumes of new business. We decided to create teams with a newer producer and a veteran producer and combine their books so they could leverage each other's skills," Colvin explains.

"Our veteran producers are teaching the newer producers, and everyone is having a great time in the process." —Tim Leman

"In essence, we were looking for a way to make one plus one equal three. We've been extremely fortunate that our model and team structure have allowed us to do just that. We've achieved exponential growth over the last several years, and we're seeing an unprecedented level of enthusiasm among both our veteran and newer producers," Colvin says. "Instead of individual sales goals, we have team goals for the two or three producers who are partnering to grow their book."

Clearly the agency is benefiting from increased production and profits; what's more, Colvin remarks, the team selling model also is benefiting Gibson's clients. "We're able to pay more attention to each client and make sure we're delivering what we've promised. As we continue to expand our definition of risk, our team model allows us to develop and present new strategies for managing risk."

All of Gibson's teams are practice specific, Colvin explains. "We have three teams in property/casualty and two in employee benefits. One P-C team is focused on construction, and we brought our surety practice together with a producer who has built and perpetuated a substantial book of construction business. The veteran producer manages the book and acts as a consultant, and rounding out the team is a newer producer who can go out and drive the new business process for the team."

Citing another advantage of the team selling model, Colvin says, "Our new producers are validating more quickly than they would have on their own, and they're maturing at a faster pace because they're engaged in so many different aspects of the business and helping the team grow. They're not just out there pounding the pavement every day; they're doing a variety of things to support their team and learning along the way.

"If you asked our veteran producers, I think they'd tell you that they're having more fun than they imagined they could have at this stage of their career and that they're enjoying more success," Colvin remarks. "They seem to be energized by having newer producers on their team, and the newer producers would say that they're more engaged in the organization, that they understand what their role is, and that they feel supported at a very high level."

Gibson's team selling model supports the agency's commitment to perpetuation by creating a structure in which veteran and newer producers can draw on each other's strengths and develop new sales talent for the next generation, Leman observes.

"To us, perpetuation has three components: financial, leadership, and talent," he explains. "We launched our employee stock ownership plan in December 2010, and now every employee is an owner. The ESOP is a great team building tool; everyone feels engaged in what we're doing and shares in the rewards, and each of our employees thinks like an owner. The team selling model is allowing us to fill in the gaps in our sales talent," he continues. "Our veteran producers are teaching the newer producers, and everyone is having a great time in the process."

A proud history, employee ownership, and a clear vision for the future are all hallmarks of Gibson. At the forefront of its success in building volume, profits, and morale is the agency's commitment to a team selling model.

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