June 2014

Ep #12: Achieving Success With Non-Insured Benefits – With Jimmy Parrish

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On this episode of The ShiftShapers Podcast, I am talking to Jimmy Parrish. Jimmy has had a 15-year career in employee benefits focusing exclusively on non-insured plans.  He markets legal and identity theft protection plans to groups and has been among the top 20 producers since he began his practice.

I invited Jimmy to the show to share how he was able to build a successful employee benefits business stay on top of his game for 15 years without ever selling an insured product. In a post-PPACA world, where brokers are diversifying their practices, some are considering adding these plans to their portfolio. Learn how Jimmy approaches the market and how his experience and strategy can help you as well.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How the landscape has changed and created an awareness for the need for legal and identity theft protection plans.
  • What Jimmy does to work with brokers.
  • Where Jimmy’s efforts to educate the public have taken him.
  • Why coverage has been developed to protect employers as well as their employees.
  • How the legal services business has evolved beyond the traditional multi-level marketing arrangement that once characterized the industry.

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Ep #11: Revitalizing The American College – With Dr. Larry Barton

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It is an honor to welcome the Chancellor of the American College of Financial Services Dr. Larry Barton to the show this week. Dr. Barton holds the O. Alfred Granum Chair in Management at the college and is an instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Over the course of his career, Dr. Barton also served as Motorola’s Vice President of Crisis Management and the President of Herald College and DeVry University.

When Dr. Barton first became president in 2003, the college was in crisis. Utilizing his extensive experience, Dr. Barton restructured and honed the college’s focus in order to enhance its presence as a leader in financial education. Tune in to find out what changes Dr. Barton helped make that will ensure that American College will continue to thrive and what the future holds for the seasoned educational institution.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How the college was “running out of runway” when Dr. Barton became president in 2003.
  • What structural and financial challenges Dr. Barton had to face and the hard decisions he had to make when he first became president.
  • How an open, honest and transparent dialogue helped to facilitate and achieve the system-wide transformation that was required.
  • Why benefits professionals need to go beyond an RHU or REBC designation to survive and to best serve their clients’ needs in a post-PPACA environment
  • The programs The American College currently offers, including the new Masters and Doctorate programs.
  • What the college plans for the future  to remain relevant and reach their students in new and exciting ways.

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Ep #10: Shaping the Shift from Commission to Fee-Based Model with John Garven

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This week, I am pleased to bring John Garven on the program. John is the founder and president of Benico, an employee benefit brokerage and consulting firm based in the Chicago area.

I invited John on the show to talk about the shift he made from a traditional commission-based model to his current fee-based practice. John shares the details of his transition, as well as the key elements of a fee-based model. For anyone interested in pursuing this model, John imparts insightful advice that can help your business thrive.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • John’s background in the benefits market.
  • How John made the shift to a fee-based practice.
  • The clients’ reaction to the transition.
  • John’s advice for those thinking about switching over to fee basis.
  • Benico’s pricing breakdown for its deliverables.
  • The reasons behind the strategic partnership between Benico and Benefit Advisors Network.
  • John’s vision for healthcare reform and how it might impact the agency.

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Ep #9: An Innovative Agency Model and an Amazing DI Story! – With Jennifer Borislow

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This week, we are pleased to welcome Jennifer Borislow, the founding principal of Borislow Insurance in Massachusetts. She is an author, industry thought leader and past president of the Million Dollar Round Table.

Borislow Insurance’s client-centric approach primarily focuses on employee benefits, using an innovative 7-discipline, 3-year model with specialized teams in each area to ensure the highest standard of client care.

Listen is as Jennifer shares an incredible story of how she learned the value of disability income insurance, and how it changed her practice forever. Don’t miss this insightful episode!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How of Borislow Insurance came about and how it’s organized.
  • The agency’s unique 7-discipline model.
  • Why Jennifer specialized in disability income.
  • How the agency uses disability income as a differentiator.
  • How Jennifer’s benefits agency positions disability as an integral part of their 3-year approach toward each client firm they serve.
  • Simple, yet powerful tool that has helped Jennifer and her partner, Mark Gaunya, build their essential corporate culture described in their book Inspire to Act.

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