NAIFA's Advisor Today September/October 2020 Edition

FOUR UNDER 40

NAIFA’s Advisor Today Editor-in-Chief

Ayo Mseka amseka@naifa.org

703-770-8204

NAIFA

Kevin Mayeux, CAE CEO kmayeux@naifa.org

703-770-8101

Michael Gerber COO & General Counsel mgerber@naifa.org

703-770-8190

Diane Boyle SVP, Government Relations dboyle@naifa.org

703-770-8252

John Boyle, CAE VP, Professional Credentials jboyle@naifa.org

703-770-8267

Suzanne Carawan VP, Marketing & Communications scarawan@naifa.org

703-770-8402

Judi Carsrud

AVP, Government Relations

703-770-8155 jcarsrud@naifa.org

Jennifer Cassidy VP, Finance jcassidy@naifa.org

703-770-8125

Alaina Faiello VP, Professional Development afaiello@naifa.org

703-770-8225

Corey Mathews, CAE VP, Member & Chapter Services cmathews@naifa.org

703-770-8404

Phu Ngo VP, Technology pngo@naifa.org

703-770-8130

Brian Steiner VP, Business Development & Strategic Partnerships bsteiner@naifa.org

703-770-8220

Gary Sanders Counsel and VP, Government Relations gsanders@naifa.org

703-770-8192

Trustees

Mark Acre, LUTCF mark.acre@onesourcegroup.net

Wes Booker, LUTCF wes.booker@horacemann.com

Dennis Cuccinelli, LACP dennis@dcuccinelli.com

Connie Golleher, CLTC, LUTCF connie@gollehergroup.com

Stephen Good, LUTCF, CLTC, CFBS stephen.good@yahoo.com

Win Havir, CPCU, CLF, LUTCF, FSS, AIC, LACP Winona.Havir@horacemann.com

Delvin Joyce, CLU, CHFC delvin.joyce@prudential.com

Meghann Mckenna, , CLU, CHFC, CLTC meghann@mckenna-financial.com

Steve Saladino, LUTCF, LACP saladino@verizon.net

Beth Snyder-Jones, CIC beth.snyder-jones@stateauto.com

John Wheeler, Jr., CFP, CLU, ChFC, CRPC, LUTCF, LACP jwwcfp@aol.com

Brian Wilson brian.wilson@mutualofomaha.com

NAIFA SERVICE CORPORATION

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

President

Kevin Mayeux, CAE

Secretary

Cammie Scott, MSIE, ChHC, REBC, RHU, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, LUTCF, CLTC CK Harp & Associates

Treasurer

Brock Jolly, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, CASL, RICP Veritas Financial LLC

Directors

David Beaty, IAR, ChFC, CLU, LACP, LUTCF Heartland Financial Services, Ltd.

Susan Wier, CFP, ChFC, RCP First American Trust

EDITORIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Laurie A. Adams, CFP, CLU, LACP, LUTCF Country Insurance & Financial Services

Brian Ashe, CLU

Brian Ashe and Associates, Ltd.

Frank Bearden, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC

Frank C. Bearden, Ph.D., Consulting

Greg Gagne, ChFC, LUTCF Affinity Investment Group, LLC

Lisa Horowitz, CLU, ChFC LifeCycles

Ike Trotter, CLU, CASL, ChFC

Ike Trotter Agency, LLC

NAIFA OFFICERS

President Cammie Scott, LUTCF, REBC, RHU, CLTC, ChHC, MSIE, SHRM-SCP, SPHR CK Harp & Associates cammiescott@ckharp.com

President-Elect

Thomas O. Michel, LACP Michel Financial Group tmichel@michelfinancial.com

Secretary

Lawrence Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP Fortis Lux Financial lHolzberg@fortislux.com

Treasurer

Brock Jolly, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, CASL, RICP Veritas Financial LLC bjolly@vfwealth.com

Immediate Past President

Jill Judd, LUTCF, FSS State Farm jill.judd.jyt0@statefarm.com

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux, CAE kmayeux@naifa.org

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NAIFA’s Advisor Today (ISSN 1529-823X) is published bi-monthly by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Service Corporation, 2901 Telestar Court, Falls Church, VA 22042-1205. Telephone: 703-770-8100. ©2020 National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Service Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Moving Forward

By Ayo Mseka

When COVID-19 made its appearance about six months ago, agents and advisors were forced to modify their thought processes, operations and business practices to counter the negative effects of the pandemic, which seemed to have come from nowhere.

During this period, many of them learned some powerful lessons, which they are now applying to enhance and strengthen their financial practices. Among the “lessons learned”:

• The need to be nimble and agile. They had to learn how to get things done quickly and well. To do this, they streamlined processes and decision-making, empowered frontline employees and adopted new technologies. Being nimble, adaptable and agile is now a prerequisite for meeting the changes that seem to be occurring on a daily basis.

• The need to adopt or dramatically expand their use of digital solutions. This is now an essential skillset for prospecting for new clients, building client acquisition strategies and efficiently providing products and services. Forward-thinking advisors have quickly learned that moves to adopt digital technologies often correlate with value creation for their organizations.

• The need to speed up communications with clients and centers of influence. Many advisors are turning to automated text and social media campaigns, phone calls, email messages and online meetings to make up for the restraints caused by social distancing.

• The need to focus more on business-continuity planning. As a result of COVID-19, many advisors are paying more attention to continuity planning because they know that their organizations must now be prepared for worst-case

scenarios in which some of their employees may not be available because of a quarantine, illness or worse.

• The need to maintain high levels of productivity for remote employees. This is critical because many work-from-home employees can be easily distracted and need to be inspired, involved and engaged.

As you apply these lessons to the areas of your practice that need improvement, you should also remember these “words of wisdom,” courtesy of some of the industry experts we have spoken with in recent weeks:

• Nothing is as constant as change, and those who adapt and respond quickly to change usually come out ahead.

• Even as we adapt and change, we must remember that there is no playbook to teach us or experts to follow. As a result, we need to try new things and learn along the way.

ADVISOR TODAY : HELPING YOU ALONG THE WAY

As you incorporate these lessons, Advisor Today will be by your side, offering you the tips and techniques you need to move ahead in a rapidly changing world.

This issue is a prime example. From the article on conducting effective online meetings to high-tech tips for managing a successful Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign, this issue is chock-full of the information you need to move past COVID-19 and build a sustainable practice that benefits you — and the clients you serve.

Good luck on your journey to success!

Performance + Purpose Is Coming to a Screen Near You

Get ready for a conference that will be unparalleled in our history.

By Kevin Mayeux, CAE

The Performance + Purpose Conference is an annual highlight for our association. It’s an opportunity for insurance and financial professionals to come together, learn, be inspired and celebrate a profession and an industry that guides more than 90 million American families along the path to financial security and prosperity. This year’s P+P will be no exception, even if it’s not exactly what we may be used to.

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced us to shift gears and adapt to our new reality. It is unfortunate that we won’t be gathering in Boston next month. It’s a great city with a strong NAIFA presence. As the location where our association was founded 130 years ago, it plays a starring role in NAIFA’s history.

We are fortunate, though, that NAIFA is a nimble, modern professional association able to continue moving forward and providing a high-quality member experience no matter what challenges we face. I am confident that despite COVID-19, NAIFA’s 2020 Performance + Purpose conference will prove to be a resounding success.

From Oct. 6 to Oct. 8, we will host a P+P that will be engaging, educational and inspirational.

P+P GOES VIRTUAL

The pandemic has made it impractical and potentially dangerous to hold an in-person meeting this year, but it has also driven us to reimagine what P+P can be.

Thanks to amazing technology and video platforms combined with the creativity and resourcefulness of staff and member volunteers, NAIFA will host a virtual P+P event, Oct. 6-8, which will be exciting, engaging, educational and inspirational. We look forward to a virtual 2020 P+P event that will be unparalleled in our industry and hope you will be a part of it.

Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. When COVID-19 forced us to cancel our annual Congressional Conference and replace it with the online NAIFA Nation Impact Week, we were able to break all our previous virtual

event attendance records. We attracted 5,000 registrants for sessions on Leadership, Diversity, and Political Advocacy. The reviews came back overwhelmingly positive. Our NAIFA Town Halls and webinar series drew similarly large numbers.

These events allowed NAIFA members and colleagues who are not yet members to come together as an industry. They provided motivation and sales ideas from industry super stars, best practices for connecting with clients and prospects during the pandemic, crucial legislative and regulatory updates, and an amazing presentation by Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful from TV’s Shark Tank . All of these offer a small preview of what you can expect from the virtual P+P.

THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE

By going virtual, we see an even greater opportunity to extend NAIFA’s reach beyond our core of usual conference attendees. This means even more insurance and financial services professionals have access to our keynote speakers, educational workshops, breakout sessions and networking events. It lets us expand our message to a larger audience and allows more people to experience the benefits of NAIFA membership.

COVID-19 has forced everyone to rethink the way we do business and how we interact with friends, family, colleagues and clients.

Many of the lessons we are learning and practices we are adopting will stick with us even after threat of the pandemic has passed. I am confident that eventually, we will once more enjoy the fellowship of face-to-face meetings and in-person conferences.

But we will also ride the momentum we are building now. NAIFA will offer more virtual events. When we are able, we will bring you hybrid events, like the pre-COVID-19 NAIFA Live meetings, that welcome both in-person and virtual attendees, as well as smaller “watch parties.”

For 130 years, NAIFA has been the only professional association for insurance and financial professionals of all practice specialties who serve all market segments. We will continue using technology, ingenuity and our desire to serve

our members better by providing valuable programming, networking and advocacy support, how and where you want it. Our big tent continues to grow bigger.

Details about the virtual P+P and registration information are available on NAIFA’s website at www.naifa.org. I look forward to joining you at this amazing virtual event.

Kevin Mayeux, CAE, is CEO of NAIFA. He may be reached at kmayeux@naifa.org.

NAIFA’s Code of Ethics Has No Exclusivity Code

This article considers a few of the obligations in the NAIFA Code of Ethics and how they may be affected by inclusion.

By Frank Bearden, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC

If we review the NAIFA Code of Ethics, we will notice a single important point in both the Preamble and the Obligations: Our code has no exclusivity code. This means that we have no restricted focus on clients or financial services professionals based on racial or ethnic origin.

Since 2017, NAIFA has sponsored a Diversity Champion Award to “recognize the value of our differences and advocate for all members of our community.” We have embraced “inclusion for all, including those that experience discrimination or underrepresentation” (tdc.naifa.org/ diversitychampion).

THE EFFECT OF INCLUSION ON ETHICS

Recognizing this as an important part of our mission, how does it shape our ethics? Let’s consider a few of our obligations in the NAIFA Code of Ethics and how they may be affected by inclusion.

“To work diligently to satisfy the needs of my client by acting in their best interest.”

This obligation provides our focus to clients: to carefully consider their insurance and financial needs and act in their best interest. The obligation holds, irrespective of a client’s racial or ethnic origins, providing a wide market of persons who may need our services.

When we are seeking additions to our existing clients, we should readily describe and offer our services to persons who may have needs we can serve from any backgrounds. These include those whose backgrounds may be different from our own.

“To present, accurately and honestly, all facts essential to my clients’ financial decisions.”

This obligation tells us to share in an accurate and thorough manner the facts needed for our clients to make important financial decisions.

How might this relate to inclusion? As with all of the obligations in the NAIFA Code of Ethics, we should provide no less effort to consider all factors material to a client’s financial decisions, based on the client’s racial or ethnic background.

CARRYING OUT OUR SERVICES TO CLIENTS

The last two obligations we will consider also relate to how we should carry out our service to our clients. We’ll look at both of these together.

“To render timely and proper service to my clients and ultimately their beneficiaries.”

“To conduct all business dealings in a manner that would reflect favorably on NAIFA and my profession.”

When we consider how we should carry out our professional obligations to our clients and their

beneficiaries, the obligations tell us that our service should be done in a timely and proper manner, which reflects favorably on NAIFA and our profession. Implied in such service is that it be rendered inclusively, without regard to the client’s racial or ethnic origin.

As a closing point, we might remember that the spirit of our code also relates to those financial advisors, planners and agents who are not members but could benefit from association with NAIFA.

Practically, this means that when we meet a new financial professional, we should encourage such a person to explore the resources that NAIFA affiliation may provide.

This would extend to sharing our online resources, opportunities to join online meetings and presentations, and face to face opportunities for engagement, with the invitation to join our fine organization.

This invitation, like the carrying out the obligations of our Code of Ethics, should be done inclusively.

Since 2017, NAIFA has sponsored a Diversity Champion Award to “recognize the value of our differences and advocate for all members of our community.”

Frank C. Bearden, Ph.D., CLU, ChFC, is with Frank C. Bearden, LLC. Contact him at fbearden@outlook.com or at 210-724-1958.

FOUR UNDER FORTY

Because so many financial advisors don’t make it past their first few years in the business, it is always heartening to read stories of triumph about young advisors. This article shines the spotlight on the recipients of this year’s Four Under Forty awards and the strategies they used to accelerate their journey to success.

JOYCE YOO

For Joyce Yoo, it’s all about using her knowledge to help clients achieve their goals.

By Ayo Mseka

When COVID-19 struck a few months ago and forced many people and businesses to put their lives on hold, 36-year-old Joyce Yoo did not take a break. Instead, she contacted all of her clients and asked them how they were doing and if they needed help. This penchant for caring for others is at the heart of everything Yoo does and is mainly responsible for her meteoric rise to the top.

Yoo joined New York Life Insurance Company in 2009. For her, this was a good time to be in the financial services industry to help clients emerge from the financial crisis. In fact, when she interviewed at New York Life, “the meeting was all about helping people,” she said. “That’s how it all started.”

Over the years, Yoo has made helping her clients a top priority, and this strategy has produced some pretty impressive results. Today, she is the executive partner of San Francisco-based Wisely Financial Strategies and Insurance Solutions, which provides clients with a wide range of advanced financial services, including estate planning, compensation planning and asset protection.

THE ROAD TO THE TOP

Yoo’s focus on helping her clients has helped her move quickly on her path to success. For example, although the calls she made to her clients right after COVID-19 struck were simply to find out how they were doing, they did result in several referrals. “I was not looking for business,”

she said. “But my older clients, in particular, were grateful to have someone to talk to.”

Something else that has helped Yoo move ahead is her love of learning. For example, she attends a tax seminar every year to learn about the latest tax changes that might help her clients. “I believe that by constantly learning, I can help my clients with more of their financial problems,” she said.

To grow her practice, she also does what she calls “focused prospecting.” Since she is an introvert by nature, she focuses her prospecting efforts on the people she wants to attract as clients.

In addition, she is a member of study groups that have successful advisors, and she is able to learn from them. “I know who I can call on in my network for advice, motivation and support,” she said.

Something else that has helped propel her to the top is her decision to live by this maxim: Never be comfortable with where you are in your career. If you are, you will not challenge yourself, and you will not reach your full potential.

“It’s Not About Me!”

Yoo’s parents.

Joyce Yoo

NAIFA’S ROLE IN HER SUCCESS

And then there is NAIFA, which Yoo became a member of as soon as she joined the industry. For her, it makes total sense to be a NAIFA member. By supporting the association, you are supporting the industry and helping increase the chances that you will stay in business and continue to build your career, she said.

In addition, she is a Court of the Table member of the MDRT and has achieved recognition as part of New York Life’s Chairman’s, President’s, and Executive Councils.

When Yoo is not giving her all to helping her clients succeed, she is busy supporting several charitable and civic organizations, including World Vision. In addition, she leads a Bible study group of New York Life agents and supports organizations that help at-risk children. “I really try to turn off completely when I’m off work,” she said. “Spending time away from the business actually gives me time to think. Strangely, because I give myself room to turn off, great ideas will come to mind when I’m relaxing.”

Her NAIFA membership also gives her access to a wide range of professional-development resources, including Advisor Today. “I love reading Advisor Today because it gives me different perspectives on how to grow my business,” she said. In fact, she frequently uses an Advisor Today article about term vs whole life insurance when meeting with her clients.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Over the years, Yoo has received many honors and accolades, thanks to her high level of professional success. She is currently a member of Nautilus Group Plus, a highly selective group of skilled professionals limited to the top 30 members of The Nautilus Group, and a member of the Nautilus Next Generation Committee. The Nautilus Group is a membership-based resource accessible to an elite group of insurance and financial industry leaders who are firmly committed to a team planning concept.

LOOKING AHEAD

By all accounts, Yoo is an advisor who has moved ahead by working hard, always seeking opportunities to enhance her education, and doing what she likes to do the most: help her clients solve their financial problems. In fact, some of the proudest moments of her career have occurred when she has been able to tell her clients that they have managed to reach an important goal.

Perhaps this is why, when asked where she plans to be in her career five years from now, she mentioned no desire to embark on a different route. Instead, she said, “I will be doing the same things, but doing them differently. I will always have the same desire to learn more so I can better serve my clients.”

With such a laser-like focus on learning and helping clients, all signs are pointing to a future that holds more years of success for Yoo.

SAM SONES, LUTCF “I Love What I Do for a Living”

By Ayo Mseka

Growing up, 36-year old Sam Sones, LUTCF, idolized his dad and wanted to pursue a career in business, just like he did. But after working at an insurance agency, Sones fell in love with insurance and has stayed in the industry ever since.

But before he made it to insurance, Sones took a detour: He did an internship at Smith Barney/Citibank. Although he liked working there, it was not enough to keep him there, and he yearned for something else.

Wanting to stay close to home and do something different, he accepted a position at an insurance agency in 2006. There, he gained a lot of experience in insurance and ended up loving it. “It showed me that I can be local and still make a good living,” he said.

“I believe that by constantly learning, I can help my clients with more of their financial problems.”—Joyce Yoo

The driving force behind Sam Sones’ success is the passion he has for his profession.

Sones and his wife.

Sam Sones

From there, Sones moved to Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company/MS Farm Bureau Insurance Company in Brookhaven, Mississippi. At Southern Farm, Sones and his team specialize in a wide range of insurance and financial planning products, including property and casualty, home and auto insurance, life insurance, annuities, and Roth IRAs.

In just 12 years, Sones has built a successful practice, which has earned him many accolades, honors and awards. He is an 11-year qualifier for the prestigious Southern Farm Bureau Round Table, which represents the top incentive in the company based on life insurance production yearly. He is a two-time MFP Mississippi Agent of the Year, based on all insurance lines, a multi-year NAIFA Quality Award Winner, and a multi-year NAIFA Multiline Award Winner.

In the last two years, he has also produced $35 million and $41 million, respectively, in personal life insurance volume.

uses it every day. “I make my living by doing the little things that many people do not want to do,” he said.

THE VALUE OF BELONGING TO NAIFA

Another critical component of Sones’ success is his NAIFA membership. He joined NAIFA in 2008, when all agents at Farm Bureau were expected to join the association. “As soon as you joined the company, you were asked to join NAIFA, and you did. You joined NAIFA by default — and that is a good thing,” he said.

Joining NAIFA is a good thing because, according to Sones, the association is the backdrop for the financial services industry. “If something comes up that might harm our industry, NAIFA is there to speak up for us,” he said.

NAIFA’s continuing education programs have also helped Sones move his career forward. His LUTCF designation, for example, enhances his reputation with clients and prospects. And during his LILI classes, he was able to network with other NAIFA members and sharpen his leadership skills.

AWAY FROM THE OFFICE

SUCCESS STRATEGIES

When asked the reasons for this high level of production, Sones’ answers are quick and to the point:

• It all boils down to how much you love what you do, he said. If you serve people and serve them well, you will succeed. If you enjoy what you do and you do it well, you will find success. “Southern Farm Bureau is a great fit for me because it gives me the opportunity to do what I love,” he added.

• You need to go all in. “Give it all you’ve got,” he said, or “you will not achieve the maximum that you can achieve.”

• Don’t be afraid to do business in a personal way. He sends personalized greeting cards to all of his clients, gives them his cell phone number and is in constant touch with them.

• Take the time to find out the real needs of your clients and make this your primary objective, he stressed. “If you can agree with the client about his or her need, then there is a high possibility that you will make a sale.” And even if you don’t make a sale, taking the time to discover your prospect’s need helps build meaningful relationships, which often lead to sales.

• Keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate what you are saying to the client. Lay out options in simple terms and communicate them simply.

• Be organized. You must figure out a way to be organized because a lack of organization is a major barrier to growth, he said. For at least 10 years, he has used a system that organizes all of his prospecting activity — and he faithfully

Like many hard-working producers, Sones knows the value of maintaining a healthy work-life balance. To relax and unwind each day, he does not have to go far: He simply goes home and “becomes a dad” to his four children, who are all under the age of eight.

He also loves to spend time with his wife, Brittany, whom he describes as “the best person I know. My job would have been more difficult without her, and in fact, her job is the real job.”

And he loves to travel and makes it a point to go to the beach every year. In addition, his faith is very important to him — he is active in his church and serves as an active deacon there.

This faith is perhaps what enables him to look for the positive in everything. For example, when COVID-19 first struck and almost everything was shut down, he did not lose faith. Instead, he saw the time as a “quiet production period” during which he held Zoom meetings with clients and co-workers, sent out numerous email messages, and made good use of the telephone, which he describes as “an agent’s best friend.”

He also bought a high-quality wireless printer, and observing all social-distancing rules, conducted client meetings in his yard. “No client turned down my request for a meeting,” he said. “I made a lot of sales in my yard. COVID19 taught me that you can still do what you want to do if you are creative and can think outside the box.”

“If you enjoy what you do and you do it well, you will achieve success.” –Sam Sones

RICK DEMKO, LUTCF, LACP

Rick Demko Chose Insurance, Life Insurance Chose Him

Life insurance took main stage for Demko after a case early in his career gave him a new focus.

By Mark Briscoe

Rick Demko, LUTCF, LACP, thought he had his career path settled years ago as a multiline agent in St. Louis. But that was before life insurance chose him.

Demko, 39, put a lot of thought into what he wanted to do for a living. He did research, interviewed producers in the field and gave his future career path intense consideration. All of which led him to begin his career as a State Farm agent offering home, auto, life and all of the company’s different lines.

“That’s what I wanted,” he said. “I wanted to be able to sponsor the local soccer team at the high school. I wanted everyone to know who I was. I loved the idea that whoever walked in, I could help them in some way.”

Then, due to a case early in his career he was unable to write, life insurance took main stage and Demko knew he had a new career focus. “I chose insurance,” he said, “but life insurance chose me.”

“It’s one of those sad stories that I often explain as my ‘why’ when I teach new agents,” he explained. “I had to reflect very deeply about what I could have done better, though I don’t think there’s anything else I could have done. But it would have made a multi-generational difference for a young family. And at that point, I knew I was a life insurance guy.”

through extremely difficult circumstances. “Some producers are a little shocked when I tell them I’ve paid around 100 death claims,” Demko said. “That seems like a very large number. I’ve heard people talk about assets that they have under management and the number of clients that they’re able to have. I talk about death claims. The reason is that those are real dollars that I’ve seen help a lot of different families.”

DRAWING ON INDUSTRY STALWARTS

Demko has brought hundreds of producers into the industry and provided them with mentoring and training. For new agents to find success, he believes, they should draw on the expertise of industry veterans.

“Our industry is really a game of survival,” he said. “For the guys who’ve been around a long time, there’s a reason why they’ve been around a long time, so it would be silly not to tap into that knowledge and experience.”

In 2013, Demko founded the Guardian Group, a brokerage now based in Houston with agents in 23 states from Florida to California. The group is a boutique firm providing consumers with life insurance products for supplemental retirement income, legacy planning and final expenses. Demko and his agents also handle referrals of cases other producers may have trouble placing because they have different practice specialties, lack access to products or come up against underwriting issues.

Demko takes great pride in helping his clients and providing great service, often when those clients are going

That’s what Demko was able to do earlier in his career, thanks to NAIFA, which he joined in 2015. “When I was in St. Louis, I was fairly well connected,” he said. “In Houston, it’s a very large market, and I didn’t know anybody, so I needed to surround myself with other professionals. Instead of floundering through my own career, I decided to benchmark with folks who had already done what I’m trying to do. And NAIFA was really the gateway for me to do that.”

He is now the president of NAIFA’s Houston chapter and is active in NAIFA’s political advocacy initiatives, both in Texas and on the national level. “I would not be in this business if it were not for NAIFA,” he said. “It’s just too tough of a business [to do it on your own].”

“I would not be in this business if it were not for NAIFA. It’s just too tough of a business [to do it on your own].”—Rick Demko

Rick Demko, principal of The Guardian Group, says he is proud to serve as president of NAIFA-Houston.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

Demko’s commitment to service extends to his community, where he volunteers with the Spring, Texas, fire department and is active in the local Rotary Club. These pursuits have also helped him in his career.

“Being at a pretty high level within my industry and then getting my butt kicked and being humbled again in the fire department has made me better in all areas,” he said. “And I joined Rotary because I wanted to be a better producer, but I got involved and engaged and learned how to serve. As a by-product, Rotary has paid me back more than I feel like I can serve it.”

FINDING WHERE YOU BELONG

Looking forward, Demko says he is always exploring different options and “looking for tires to kick.” As his practice has thrived and he has received more referrals, he has taken on a growing number of higher-premium cases. But he says he won’t abandon his roots, what he calls the “little check — big check” cases, where his clients pay the little checks, and in their time of need, he presents them with a big check.

“If you can really, truly master one side of the business and you enjoy it and you’re providing a high level of service, maybe that’s where you belong,” he said. It’s no wonder life insurance chose him.

ANDY BARTLING, FIC, LACP Community Ties Bring Success to This Advisor

Andy Bartling’s extensive work in his community has enabled him to dramatically grow his business.

By Mark Briscoe

For A ndy Bartling, FIC, LACP, 34, involvement in his community began as a necessity and evolved into a passion.

As a college intern for Modern Woodmen, Bartling reconsidered his plans to become an accountant, overcame youthful bouts with shyness, and discovered his career calling as an insurance and financial services professional.

“It was through that internship that I realized that I really liked the human interaction,” he said. “My favorite part of the day was when clients came in to see me, and I realized that’s exactly what this career is.”

Upon graduation, he became a Modern Woodmen producer full-time in Rapid City, South Dakota. And while he enjoyed the human interaction, it wasn’t always easy to find clients to interact with.

“I knew a bunch of broke college kids who had either no want or no budget for what we do,” he said. “I knew I

needed to meet more people and I needed to meet the right people. For quite a few years, I really focused on networking. I tried to get really involved in my community, whether it was through our fraternal programs that we have with Modern Woodmen or networking through the Chamber of Commerce.”

RELATIONSHIPS THE RIGHT WAY

Networking, for Bartling, is not just about making connections. He feels it is important to build genuine, meaningful relationships.

Andy Bartling with his NAIFA Leadership in Life Institute graduating class.

“I saw other people who I felt did it wrong,” he said. “They’re just glad-handing or they’d say, ‘Hi, I’m Andy. Here’s my business card. This is what I do.’ You’d see those people at a networking event one time and they’d never come back because they didn’t get anything from it.”

The relationships Bartling builds run much deeper. They have led to both personal enrichment and career success.

“I got married a few years ago and there were a lot of people at my wedding that, if it weren’t for this career, I would have never met,” Bartling said. “Those relationships that you build just naturally progress to opportunities for those people to become clients. The community involvement has really led to my ability to grow my business quite dramatically.”

As an insurance and financial services professional so keyed in on involvement, it’s not surprising Bartling has been very active in NAIFA since he joined in 2009. He has held several local and state leadership positions and is currently the president-elect for NAIFA-South Dakota.

“NAIFA has helped my career a lot,” he said. “It didn’t take me very long, going to just a few NAIFA meetings, to figure out, hey there are a bunch of really smart people here that have been successful for a very long time, and if I want to make it in this career, these are the types of people I need to hang around.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING GENUINE

Professionally, Bartling enjoys working with clients who are as varied as the people he meets in his community outreach, from young families to retirees to small business owners. His practice offers them individually tailored service, creating unique financial plans including life insurance, health insurance, retirement planning and investment components.

A NECESSITY BECOMES A PASSION

Today, Bartling’s Modern Woodmen practice is thriving, but he hasn’t backed off on his community ties. He remains active in the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce and serves on its advisory board. He is a past chapter president, a current member of Business Network International and a board member for the Elevate Rapid City public/private economic development partnership.

Bartling also participates in six local chapters of fraternal organizations, organizing and running the chapters, along with his wife Katie, and helping with their community charity events. He works with the Lions Club to raise funds for Black Hills Works, a social services organization, and is a sponsor of Rapid City’s annual Guns-n-Hoses blood drive that encourages the public to give blood through a donation challenge issued to local firefighters and police officers.

He approaches client relationships the same way he does networking. He avoids the superficial in favor of meaningful bonds.

“People can tell if you’re being genuine very quickly,” Bartling said. “As long as you’re doing the right thing and you have their best interests in mind, you’re going to have success. Because then it’s just a matter of getting in front of enough people.”

And that’s no problem for a professional with a passion for networking and community involvement, even if, in the end, it’s not just about business, but also about doing the right thing.

“I heard somebody say one time, ‘Community involvement is the rent we pay for the space we occupy in our communities.’ And that has always struck me,” Bartling said. “It’s something I’ve always remembered, so I guess I’m just trying to keep my rent paid.”

“The relationships that you build naturally progress to opportunities for those people to become clients.” –Andy Bartling

ELECTION 2020

NAIFA presents nominees for election of secretary and trustees.

NAIFA members will soon elect their new leadership. Cammie Scott, SHRM-SCP, MSIE , REBC, RHU, LUTCF, CLTC , SPHR, will become NAIFA’s immediate past president, and Tom Michel, LACP, will become the president of the association.

As directed by the NAIFA bylaws, the Committee on Governance has announced a single nominee for each available position of Secretary and Trustee.

SECRETARY

BRYON HOLZ, LACP, CHFC, LUTCF, CASL, CLU

Bryon Holz, LACP, ChFC, LUTCF, CASL, CLU, is with Bryon Holz and Associates in Brandon, Florida. He has been in the financial services industry since 1983.

He earned a B.A. degree in business (Presidential Scholar) from the University of Tampa. His areas of specialty include retirement and legacy planning, life insurance, and annuities and investments.

Holz has served NAIFA in many capacities, including as the Member Value Communication Committee/Brand Awareness Team (BAT) leader (2020), national trustee (2015-2019) and lead trustee (2018-2019).

In addition, he has served on the Communications Committee, the Government Relations Committee, the LILI Subcommittee and the YAT Committee. He has been NAIFA-FL president and NAIFA-Tampa president (Bobo Award). He is a charter member of NAIFA’s Congressional Council and a PAC Emissary Club member.

Active on the membership front, Holz has made presentations at many organizations, including New York Life, Principal, Prudential and Ohio National. He received

NAIFA-Florida’s Pinnacle Award for having recruited dozens of new members.

Holz is also a LILI graduate, a two-time LILI moderator and a member of the development team for NAIFA’s LACP certification. He is a 20-plus years NAIFA Quality Award recipient and a Life, Qualifying, Court of the Table MDRT member.

He has won numerous company awards and honors, including attendance at dozens of top producer conferences and honor clubs and a more than 10-year Achiever’s Council member.

Holz is a firm believer in giving back to his community. He is a board member of Instruments of Change (music programs for disadvantaged children), a parish council president, is active in various liturgical ministries, is a Men’s Fellowship Group moderator, and a Personal Finance Ministry moderator at St. Vincent DePaul Outreach Ministry, Nativity Catholic Church.

Holz has been a speaker at many conferences, including the MDRT Global Meeting and NAIFA-Florida Sales Symposium. He has been the featured speaker at numerous NAIFA state and local meetings, including those in Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Tampa and Miami-Dade.

Holz’s greatest strengths include building and strengthening relationships, encouraging the best in others, and seeking unity while embracing diversity.

TRUSTEE WES BOOKER, LUTCF

Wes Booker, LUTCF, was only three years old when his father died. After graduating from White Hall High School, he played football for the University of Central Arkansas Bears, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Upon graduation, Booker joined Farm Bureau Insurance Company, and in 2002, within months of joining the company, he had broken a myriad of life insurance sales records and had won numerous awards. Today, he is the CEO of the Wes Booker Agency, The Horace Mann Companies, in Maumelle, Arkansas. He has won the NAIFA National Sales Achievement Award two years in a row and the NAIFA National Multiline Sales Award.

In addition to winning many awards and accolades, Booker is an active NAIFA volunteer and a member of the association’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. This task force created the NAIFA Diversity Champion Award, which

recognizes the exceptional efforts of NAIFA members who seek to promote the full and equal participation of diverse people in the insurance and financial advising industries.

Booker also founded a professional minor league football team for late bloomers, known as the Central Arkansas Rhinos. As head coach and general manager, he used this team to provide good players with an opportunity to play football longer and to be seen by the arena league and the National Football League.

In addition, Booker is a football official. After officiating at the high school level, he was invited to officiate in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. In 2013, he was inducted into the White Hall Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2017, he was inducted into Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (1991 UCA Bears National Champion Football).

Booker is also a mentor, a motivational speaker and author of several books, including Field Presence: It’s Not Enough Just to Play the Game. In this inspirational book, he details his struggles to overcome failure, his journey to influence others and his rise to success. He also serves on many boards and volunteers in whatever capacity he is needed.

TRUSTEE

APRILYN CHAVEZ GEISSLER, LACP

Aprilyn Chavez Geissler, LACP, is the First Executive Vice President at Gateway Insurance and Financial Advisors. Her areas of specialty include property and casualty, financial services, life insurance, disability insurance, long-term-care insurance, and employee benefits. She has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico, and she has licenses in life and health insurance, as well as in property and casualty insurance. She is an LACP and served on the LACP Test Writing Group in 2018.

She was the 2019 recipient of NAIFA’s National Diversity Champion Award, a LILI graduate, and an Advisor 2020 moderator.

Geissler is an active NAIFA volunteer. A former NAIFA trustee, she is passionate about the association because it has contributed to her personal growth and professional success. She has attended numerous Congressional

Conferences and several NAIFA-NM Day on the Hill events and is a PAC contributor.

Geissler’s volunteerism also extends to NAIFA membership. She serves on the Membership Committee and has reached out to new members to welcome them and get them engaged in NAIFA programs. She has made membership presentations to Farmers district and state meetings, working with the company to sign up new members.

Geissler believes that she can bring relevant ideas and changes to NAIFA through communication advancements, membership strategies and outreach through her many industry connections.

She is a recipient of many awards, including the Central New Mexico Robert Burke Financial Professional of the Year in 2008. She was also an MDRT Qualifier in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

In addition, Geissler is heavily involved in various civic organizations, including Women to Be, Teamworks and Crossroads of New Mexico. She was also asked to be a speaker for Hispanic and Native American women in her community.

TRUSTEE DENNIS CUCCINELLI, LACP

Dennis Cuccinelli, LACP, began his career with New England Financial where he was a conference qualifier for numerous years as a producer, business specialist, brokerage manager and DI specialist.

Currently, he is a selfemployed employee benefits consultant. He has managed the employee benefits division of general agencies associated with New England Financial and Penn Mutual.

Cuccinelli uses his knowledge and experience to help insurance producers and employers better understand the health insurance products they use for themselves, sell to their clients and offer their employees.

Cuccinelli is the past-president of NAIFA-NJ. He is on NAIFA’s Government Relations, APIC and IFAPAC committees. He is one of NAIFA’s leading new member recruiters and is active in state and local IFAPAC fundraising endeavors.

He has promoted increased responsibility among insurance producers in New Jersey via changes to the New Jersey insurance regulations and is the catalyst for a bill that became law in 2011. He has testified before the New Jersey Assembly Banking and Insurance Committee in support of stronger producer compliance regulations.

Cuccinelli received Life Happens’ realLIFEstories Award and is the recipient of the Central Jersey Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ Life Underwriter of the Year Award and the New Jersey Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ Underwriter of the Year Award. He is also a recipient of NEF’s Edward E. Phillips Outstanding Citizenship Award.

TRUSTEE DOUGLAS MASSEY, LUTCF,

CLU, CHFC, FSS, CRES

Douglas Massey, LUTCF, CLU, ChFC, CRES, FSS, is a registered representative with OFG Financial Services, Inc., where he has been since 1992. His practice specialties include retirement planning and life insurance. His company’s focus is on nearretirees and retirees. It also does a significant amount of business in the non-profit and 403(b) market.

Massey is on the IFAPAC Committee, was on the NAIFA-TX board of directors from 2008-2014 and was president of NAIFA-TX from 2012-2013.

In his 33 years as a NAIFA member, Massey has served in numerous leadership roles, including as board member and president of a small association and chair of a major national committee.

He has attended every NAIFA Congressional Conference since the meeting’s inception and has attended every NAIFA-TX Legislative Day since 1991. He is one of the key contacts for Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and Rep. Michael Conaway.

Massey is an IFAPAC Defender (monthly contributor), as well as a contributor at several events each year.

Over the years, he has recruited and sponsored many NAIFA members and has encouraged past members. He has moderated LUTCF and FSS classes and is a LILI graduate.

Massey has been a speaker at NAIFA-AR and NAIFA-NM conferences. He was a member of the National Tax Deferred Savings Association for 20 years and is a former life member of MDRT and Court of the Table.

Massey and his wife, Margay, have three daughters. They spend most of their summers at their lake house, which is only seven miles away from their home. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church, San Angelo, Texas, and is a former board member of Lake Nasworthy Homeowners Association.

TRUSTEE BRIAN WILSON

Brian L. Wilson is a Senior Director at Mutual of Omaha Financial

Prior to that, he was manager/ partner with the MassMutual Midwest/WestPoint Financial Group. In this capacity, he recruited, trained and retained new advisors, performed an advisory role for personal clients, built personal business through referral-based networks and taught a duplicatable process to other advisors.

Before joining MassMutual, Wilson owned or held seniorlevel positions at several agencies, including Kentucky Farm Bureau, Neace Lukens and Allstate Insurance Company.

Wilson’s practice specialties include insurance and financial advisory services and investment directed services. He also has expertise in training advisors on building a successful business model and developing leadership within an organization.

Wilson was NAIFA-Ky’s President from June 2008 to June 2009, and he is a member of NAIFA’s National Member Benefits Committee and the Incoming NAIFA-Ky President. He has been a NAIFA-Ky LILI Chair since 2013.

He is an IFAPAC contributor and has made multiple presentations about legislative concerns to local and state organizations. He is actively involved in membership activities for NAIFA. He has made many agency presentations and has had numerous conversations about the benefits of NAIFA.

He is a LILI graduate, moderator and mentor. He is also a speaker at NAIFA’s local and state association meetings, as well as a YAT mentor.

Wilson is involved in many community organizations. He serves as a chamber ambassador, a middle school girls softball coach and an Upward basketball coach. He also serves as a deacon in his church, and he and his wife, Kelly, have four daughters.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

To successfully leverage this promotional campaign, educate clients and prospects, expand online options and be more active on social media.

By Ayo Mseka

COVID-19 has underscored the need for many Americans to review their life insurance needs and seriously consider the purchase of life insurance. With today’s numerous uncertainties, insurance is being seen as a way for millions of families to provide some level of protection against the unknown.

This appreciation for more protection is occurring at a time when life insurance ownership in the U.S. has declined significantly. According to the 2020 Insurance

Barometer Study, over the past decade, U.S. life insurance ownership has fallen nine percentage points to 54%. Researchers attribute this drop to a broad decline in employer-paid group life insurance benefits over the past 10 years.

Despite this drop, the intent to purchase life insurance is at an all-time high, with 36% of Americans saying they intend to purchase life coverage in the next 12 months, according to the survey.

“While we are encouraged by the increased interest to purchase life insurance coverage and believe the COVID19 pandemic may also bolster the perceived need for life coverage and increase purchase intent, our past research shows just a fraction of people actually follow through and buy the coverage they need,” said Alison Salka, Ph.D., senior vice president and head of LIMRA research.

The preference for online purchasing has doubled from 17% in 2011 to 29% in 2020.

LEVERAGING THE LIFE INSURANCE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN

So, what can agents do to acquire more clients during the life insurance campaign now and beyond? The first step they might want to consider is understanding the reasons why so many Americans do not own life insurance.

One thing that deters consumers is their perception of the cost of life insurance, according to the survey. Since the study began, consumers have consistently overestimated the cost of life insurance. The study shows that more than half of all Americans estimate the cost of a term life insurance policy at more than three times the actual cost. Younger Americans are likely to estimate the cost to be as much as five times the actual cost.

EDUCATE CONSUMERS

“Educating consumers about the value and importance of life insurance — while also providing them information about the true cost of purchasing coverage — will help get more consumers to buy the coverage they say they need,” said Faisa Stafford, LUTCF, president and CEO of Life Happens.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how precarious life can be and how important life insurance can protect against the unknowns,” she added. “The study finds 16% of consumers — 41 million Americans — say they need life insurance coverage but don’t have it. It’s our job to help consumers protect their families and businesses’ financial future, and life insurance is one of the greatest ways to do this.”

EXPAND ONLINE OPTIONS

Historically, the majority of Americans have preferred to purchase life insurance in-person from an agent or advisor. As use of technology has become more ubiquitous and people have grown accustomed to conducting more transactions online, this trend has shifted. In 2011, 64% of consumers said they preferred to buy in-person; by 2020, just 41% felt this way. It is not surprising that the preference for online purchasing has doubled from 17% in 2011 to 29% in 2020.

“Over the past several years, life insurers have expanded their simplified and automated underwriting practices to make it easier and more cost effective to buy life insurance online,” Salka noted. “In recent months as we

were practicing social distancing, our research showed an increase of online applications, illustrating the importance of this option to buy coverage.”

THE NEED FOR SIMPLIFIED UNDERWRITING

The study also shows that half of all Americans are more likely to buy life insurance if simplified underwriting is used. The top reasons consumers give for wanting to use simplified underwriting are:

• It is fast and easy – 66%

• It is unbiased and objective – 66%

• It provides transparent explanations of risks and pricing – 58%

• It prevents the need for medical exams, blood and urine samples – 56%

• It prevents the need to see a doctor – 55%

INCREASE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

While in-person sales have declined, the use of social media has substantially increased. Almost half of the consumers surveyed say they have used social media to gather information on financial topics, companies or advisors. Facebook and YouTube are the most used sites mentioned by social media users.

In fact, just from 2019 to 2020, use of both Facebook and YouTube for financial topics has doubled. The number of consumers looking for an advisor is also growing, with 1 in 4 consumers saying they use social media for this purpose.

Just under two thirds (62%) of those using social media sites for finance-related topics are using them to read other people’s reviews and comments on their agent(s). Almost as many are looking for information on products and services (59%).

“Leveraging social media is now indispensable for financial professionals to market themselves and engage with consumers — especially with younger generations and during this time where financial professionals aren’t able to meet face-to-face with clients,” Stafford commented. “Forty-five percent of consumers who use social media leverage the tool to keep in touch with their agent or advisor.”

GET HELP FROM LIFE HAPPENS

In addition to taking these steps, you can reach more prospects during this important campaign by using Life Happens’ marketing-automation tool, Pro V3.

This platform provides prewritten print materials such as flyers, as well as digital assets such as social media graphics, emails and more, to allow agents and advisors to easily deploy them for client prospecting and retention. It makes

Leveraging social media is now indispensable for financial professionals to market themselves and engage with consumers.

it easy for agents and advisors to have a professional digital and physical footprint while spending little or no time in undertaking marketing campaigns.

“The big improvement in the Life Happens Pro V3 is that compliance is built in,” said Nate McGrath, AVP of Strategy and Product at Life Happens. “One of our previous challenges was that our agents/advisors wanted to use our materials, but were prevented from doing so because they were not compliant approved. The third generation of the platform changes all of that, and we can now better serve the vast majority of insurance agents and advisors.”

In addition to Pro V3, Life Happens has created a Virtual Tool kit (https://lifehappenspro.org/virtual-successtoolkit), which offers best practices for working remotely, webinars and tips and techniques for successful digital marketing.

For more information, visit www.lifehappens.org.

The 2020 Insurance Barometer Study tracks the financial perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of consumers in the United States, with an emphasis on life insurance. In January 2020, LIMRA and Life Happens engaged an online panel to survey adult consumers who are financial decision makers in their households. The survey generated over 2,000 responses.

LIMRA is a worldwide research, consulting and professional development organization that connects people to data, thought leadership, solutions, and each other. For more information, visit www.limra.com

Moving Beyond Accumulation Strategies

Having more conversations with clients can help them close existing gaps and protect their retirement assets.

By Ayo Mseka

As Americans evaluate their finances during these challenging times, many financial professionals may be missing opportunities to shift conversations with them.

The 2020 Retirement Risk Readiness Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America surveyed three categories of Americans to get different perspectives on retirement: pre-retirees (those 10 years or more from retirement); near-retirees (those within 10 years of retirement); and those who are already retired. The findings reveal gaps in conversations with financial professionals that can help clients protect their retirement assets from some of the risks that can derail savings strategies.

Although people who have already retired are fairly confident about how long their money will last, six in 10 non-retirees said running out of money before they die is one of their biggest concerns.

But unfortunately, just over a quarter (27%) of nonretirees who work with a financial professional have discussed this aspect of longevity risk and less than 15% have shared their concerns that they won’t have enough money to do the things they want in retirement.

As it pertains to saving for retirement, many non-retirees seem to understand steps they need to take but aren’t following through. More than half (55%) of non-retirees said they are worried they won’t have enough saved for retirement and nearly one-third (31%) say they are way too far behind on retirement goals to be able to catch up in time.

Yet only 12% said setting long-term financial goals is their top priority and merely 6% identified developing a formal plan with a financial professional as their top priority.

“These responses show there may be a reluctance or lack of opportunity for clients to share the concerns they worry about most in the conversations they are having with their

financial professionals,” said Kelly LaVigne, Vice President of Consumer Insights, Allianz Life. “Financial professionals may need to be more proactive in discussing these issues and find ways to make clients share more openly so we can develop appropriate solutions.”

We need to ask ourselves how we can move conversations about retirement beyond accumulation strategies to protecting a client’s savings from retirement risk.

IMPACT OF MARKET VOLATILITY

Americans also have significant anxiety about the effects market volatility can have on their retirement savings. Even prior to this current period of extreme market volatility, both retired and non-retired people noted market risk as a top concern, with nearly half (49%) of all respondents identifying a stock market drop as the greatest threat to their retirement income.

Despite this fear of a market downturn that could damage their accounts, less than 30% of Americans who work with a financial professional said they had discussed risks to their retirement arising from market drops, including only 22% of those within 10 years of retirement.

“Although market volatility is top of mind right now, it seems surprising that discussions about volatility and ways to mitigate that risk don’t happen with regularity,” LaVinge noted. “It’s important that we continue to discuss different options for protecting against market volatility with clients, even during times when markets are performing well.”

ADDRESSING THE RISING COST OF LIVING

Inflation is also a key concern, with nearly half (48%) of Americans viewing inflation as a threat to their ability to afford basic expenses in retirement. More than half (59%) also said they are worried that the rising cost of living will prevent them from enjoying their retirement, with the greatest concern (67%) coming from those 10 years or more from retirement (versus 59% for near-retirees and 40% for retirees).

Yet, among those who work with a financial professional, only around two in 10 are having discussions about the impact of inflation and how it can prevent them from enjoying their retirement.

BEYOND ACCUMULATION STRATEGIES

“Simply put, we need to ask ourselves as financial professionals how we can move conversations about retirement beyond accumulation strategies to focus more on how to protect a client’s hard-earned savings from retirement risks that may jeopardize their financial future,” added LaVigne. “It’s crucial that we acknowledge the different challenges that are keeping clients up at night and build these risk-based discussions into the regular planning process.”

Allianz Life conducted an online survey, the 2020 Retirement Risk Readiness Study, in January 2020 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 individuals age 25+ in the contiguous USA with an annual household income of $50k+ (single) / $75k+ (married/ partnered) OR investable assets of $150k.

Taking Care of Existing Clients

Here’s how to revitalize your existing client relationships and put them back on a growth track.

By Andrew Sobel

While you are looking for new clients, what’s happening to your existing clients? If you’re not romancing them with the same fervor, your relationships will slowly go stale.

To realize the full potential of your existing client base, you must first understand why good relationships go bad. Here are a few issues that can weaken or harm a seemingly healthy relationship:

• Low energy. You no longer have the same energy and enthusiasm for the client that you used to, and you stop going the extra mile.

• Reactivity (not proactivity). You get used to the client giving you more business, and you stop being a proactive agenda setter who actively challenges the client and brings new ideas and perspectives to them.

• Slowness to respond to industry events.

• Insufficient communication. You communicate less and less, leading to a perception of reduced value.

• Atavism. In the sales process, you take a big-picture view with prospects, exploring their agenda for key priorities and

discussing their aspirations. But during the actual delivery of the work, you become an “expert for hire.” You talk only about operational execution and project milestones — no more big-picture discussions!

• Lack of feedback. You stop caring about what your client thinks of the relationship and stop asking for their feedback.

• Poor actual or perceived quality of work. When communications are poor and expectations are not properly understood, your client can come to believe that a job that is actually objectively well done is not up to snuff.

REVITALIZING YOUR RELATIONSHIPS

If any of the above looks familiar, here are some strategies for revitalizing your existing relationships and putting them back on a growth track:

• Treat all old clients like new clients. You have to bring the same enthusiasm, new ideas, effort and excitement to the 100th meeting with your clients that you demonstrated in the first meeting when you were wooing them.

• Ask yourself: What would my competitors do to try to win this client’s business? This is not a rhetorical question

because in fact, your competitors are regularly trying to win a greater share of your client’s business. Think through what their strategies might be and examine which of those actions you should be taking yourself.

You need to bring fresh points of view, insights, and ideas to your long-standing clients on a regular basis.

• Be like the Beatles and evolve your songs. The Beatles built a global fan base and sold over 1.4 billion records by constantly evolving their music. They retained existing fans and continually added new ones. Each successive record was a significant evolution in their music. You don’t want to sing ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ year after year to your clients! You need to bring fresh points of view, insights and ideas to your long-standing clients on a regular basis.

• Add talent to the team. This is especially pertinent if you work with a firm. Continuity of relationship managers is essential, but it’s also good to occasionally move some team members from a client relationship and add new talent. This is good for your staff and the client because it can bring fresh thinking to the engagement.

• Add value in new ways. Is there a well-known academic or industry expert whose ideas would be relevant to your client? Can you use collaboration technologies to better connect with your client? Can you do a better job of helping your client on a personal level? For example, can you provide

a sounding board about their career or expand their network by making valuable introductions?

• Do a relationship review with the client. This is a chance to better understand their view of the relationship; to get a renewed sense of their emerging priorities and goals; and to add value by having a big-picture, agenda-setting conversation.

• Make an unexpected investment in your clients. For example, clients are always interested in developing their people. What can you offer to help transfer skills and capabilities to your client’s organization? Is it a lunchtime seminar on a topic of current interest or a custom webpage or web portal you set up to help them access your most relevant content?

• Get an objective party to review the relationship with you. Familiarity doesn’t have to breed neglect, but it can certainly engender myopia. Ask an experienced colleague, who is not involved in the relationship, to sit in on a planning and review session. They won’t be wedded to the same assumptions you are basing your thinking on and may offer a fresh perspective.

Andrew Sobel is author of It Starts With Clients: Your 100-Day Plan to Build Lifelong Relationships and Revenue (www.andrewsobel.com/clientgrowth) and creator of the eLearning masterclasses Building Your Clients For Life and Building Relationships That Matter.

Trends and the Evolution of Technology in Life Insurance

These trends are driving new and more efficient ways of doing business.

By Dan Pierson

The insurance industry is undergoing a major digital and technological transformation, and the life insurance sector is in danger of being left behind.

The life insurance industry hasn’t kept the same pace of digital adoption as other financial and insurance sectors. This is due in part to the highly complex and regulated nature of the business where advisors work with multiple carriers, all with different rules, file processes and digital tools, and a lack of standardization among platforms. Additionally, the industry is facing a shortage of human intellectual capital. According to Accenture, only 2% of US university alumni plan to enter the insurance industry.

We’re seeing fewer graduates, who bring fresh new ideas with them, entering life insurance compared to other financial services sectors. Meanwhile, the larger insurance industry is seeing record levels of investment in technology. In 2019, global insurance investment hit $6.37 billion, a 63%, year-over-year increase in funding, according to data from Willis Towers Watson.

And a recent McKinsey report says the average cost of technology increased from 2012 to 2017 in property, casualty and life insurance. Meanwhile, nine out of 10 insurance companies say they’re struggling to develop the technology infrastructure they need, blaming legacy software and the sheer magnitude of their IT systems.

TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY

While the insurance industry grapples with the demand to keep pace in the age of digital disruption, I want to discuss the dramatic shifts that have already taken place, thanks to technology.

Here are the biggest technology trends that have brought us where we are today and continue to drive new and more efficient ways of doing business:

The coronavirus pandemic has only heightened our awareness of how much can be done online.

• Mass adoption of email — This seems rather obvious, but it can’t be understated how the adoption of email dramatically sped up communication between all stakeholders. Until the mid-90s, businesses relied entirely upon fax machines and snail mail to deliver reams of paperwork. Instead of spending hours calling advisors or carriers, we were suddenly able to instantly share information directly with the push of a button.

• Mobile first — In today’s age, brokers expect instantaneous results from interaction: namely, quotes and the ability to convert — even faster than through email. The coronavirus pandemic has only heightened our awareness of how much can be done online. We have seen a shift toward secure mobile platforms where advisors, brokers and carriers have real-time communication tools and access to secure databases of information anywhere and at any time.

• Data visualization and reporting — Through the advent of modern software, advisors are able to use data visualization tools to better illustrate the products they’re selling. Before the adoption of the personal computer and business software, advisors worked with one carrier and carried around a rate book. Advisors couldn’t manipulate the numbers into a complex spreadsheet until the technology caught up. Fast forward to today, and you have all new interactive, personalized, dynamic spreadsheets and reporting available.

• Machine learning/AI — Machine learning has the greatest potential of all the trends to improve nearly every process in our industry. The adoption of machine learning and algorithmic processes has already fundamentally changed the way advisors see their role in the industry in just the last few years. Carriers now use statistical algorithms to underwrite, and machine learning will continue to speed up the automation of basic tasks. Of course, AI isn’t fully mature yet, and a human touch is still required, but companies that fail to evolve with this technology will find themselves left behind.

In the past months, very few could have predicted how much, and how quickly, we would need to reevaluate our relationship with tech to meet the demand of advisors and clients alike. Those advisors who continue to embrace the technological shifts in the industry and find ways to bring value to their customers will find new opportunities and thrive in this tech-driven world.

Dan Pierson is an insurance industry veteran who ran several insurance businesses, eventually selling a nationally recognized insurance agency. He started LegacyShield to help advisors grow and digitize their business.

Get to the Point or Pay the Price!

The ability to deliver concise messages that land, resonate and inspire is a valuable skill.

By Joseph McCormack

The price of poor communication can be steep. Potential investors get turned off and fund another organization. Prospects are unmoved by your sales pitch, and you lose potential customers. Or, employees misunderstand their performance reviews and don’t improve.

These serious problems can easily be solved, and it usually involves your saying less, not more. Being able to deliver clear, concise messages that land, resonate and inspire is a crucial leadership skill.

DELIVERING CLEAR AND CONCISE MESSAGES

As part of my “Just Say No to Noise” campaign, I suggest leaders banish all that extra language and get intentional about conveying clear, concise and brief messages.

Here are some tactics to try:

• Beware of TMI (too much information) and TMP (too many people). The more critical your message is, the more concise it must be. A long-winded, meandering message given to a huge room full of people dilutes your message and decreases its urgency. It also eliminates ownership of follow-up items.

It’s far better to hold a series of short meetings, each focusing on a single topic. Include only those people who need to understand that single topic.

• KISS: Keep it super simple. Yes, you could produce a 50- or 60-slide PowerPoint presentation and feel good about your message. But you will be far more impactful if you whittle your message down to its core and present five to eight memorable slides. This is effective because it forces you to understand what you are communicating and then relay only the bare essentials.

You will be far more impactful if you whittle your message down to its core.

• Stick to a single message and repeat it liberally. In marketing, the “Rule of Seven” says that a prospect needs to see or hear your marketing message at least seven times before they take action. The number seven isn’t written in stone, but the concept remains: Reinforce.

• Cut the jargon. When people use “corporate speak,” they’re usually trying to project knowledge and authority, but really, they’re training others to ignore them. Instead of filling your

presentations with the “empty calories” of jargon, deliver a clear message with real meaning.

• Follow the Napoleon principle. Derek Wheeler, Chief of Staff at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, explains that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte would communicate a battle plan to his military personnel. After the generals left the room, Napoleon would ask a corporal (one of the lowest ranked people in the room) if he had understood the battle plan. If the corporal was unable to explain the plan, Napoleon would scrap it and start over. The takeaway: Make sure that at least one listener (and preferably all of them) understands what you’re trying to communicate.

• Use “headlining” to get your message across upfront. Whether you’re giving a presentation or sending an email message, lead with your most important idea. This prevents people from burying the point or missing it entirely. Headlining gets people’s attention right away and can help them keep the remainder of your message in the appropriate context.

Joseph McCormack is the author of NOISE: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus. He is the Founder and Managing Director of The BRIEF Lab, an organization that teaches professionals, military leaders and entrepreneurs how to think and communicate clearly. To learn more, visit www.noisethebook.com and www. thebrieflab.com

Conducting Online Client Meetings During COVID-19

During these meetings, address the larger emotional needs and anxieties of your clients.

By Tiffany A. Markarian

Let us begin this article by acknowledging that we are running our business during a pandemic, and it has gone on far longer than expected. Advisors and financial professionals are using every means possible to stay connected with clients, and that is a good thing. The one thing we cannot forget during a pandemic, however, is that we are still responsible for delivering an exceptional client experience.

Maintaining your client experience during a pandemic requires more than simply switching from in-person meetings to online meetings. It also requires a dvisors to step up the gas on addressing the larger emotional needs and anxieties clients are feeling.

THE MAIN GOAL DURING ONLINE MEETINGS

Clients define an advisor’s value not just in terms of financial performance. They also define value in terms of the advisor’s ability to help them navigate fears, uncertainties, anxiety and emotional stress. Too many advisors focus on what I like to call the “Ps” during online

meetings. They focus on their processes, products, planning systems, performance, portfolio management, or professional bio. If clients define an advisor’s value in emotional terms, then the main goal during online meetings is to get the client or prospect to connect emotionally.

THE RIGHT PRACTICES FOR ONLINE MEETINGS

When you engage a client or prospect during an online meeting, before you review your agenda, ask a few key questions upfront that will get the client to connect emotionally. This lets the client know you care about their well-being.

STEP ONE: ASK THE RIGHT OPENING QUESTIONS

Ask the client, “How are you keeping your sanity through all this?” OR “What are you doing to stay sane through all of this?”

This is important because the client will share how they are creatively passing their time or what concerns are

keeping them up at night. They may share what hobbies they have picked up or what they are doing in their business to keep things stable. It is a far better opening question than the customary, “How’s it going?” Which is a non-starter. You will learn more about the client’s personal state of mind.

Prospects and clients spend their time taking care of everyone else — whether homeschooling, worrying about aging parents, taking care of employees, worrying about their family’s health, etc. You want to be the person who is there for them by providing an open and safe place where they can talk about things that are uncomfortable.

Prospects and clients want to know they will be OK and that you are there, working on their behalf.

STEP TWO: DEMONSTRATE WHAT YOU ARE DOING ON THE CLIENT’S BEHALF

An online meeting is an opportunity to review the performance of your client’s accounts and provide your

perspective. While these are helpful, you also need to make sure you are specifically stating what you are doing on the client’s behalf behind the scenes.

Always remember, the client or prospect engages with you for a reason. They share their goals and objectives with you. Focus on these goals and objectives and how you are positioning every financial move to support these objectives for the long-term. Prospects and clients want to know they will be ok and that you are there working on their behalf.

Objectives are emotional. If you can restate a client’s objectives back to them, it gets them off their current stress and lets them know they are in the right place with you. It gives them a great sense of comfort.

Tiffany Markarian has been helping wealth advisors and insurance professionals advance their business momentum since 1995. She is a frequent author for industry journals and a keynote speaker at numerous industry conferences. She is the founder of Advantus Marketing, LLC and can be reached at (617) 312-0591, tiffany@ advantusmarketing.com or on Twitter @AdvantusMktg.

Most Investors Are Satisfied with Advisor Experience

While 2020 brought unforeseen challenges, investors are broadly satisfied with their advisor relationships.

By Ayo Mseka

By measures of trustworthiness, dedicated relationships and personalized advice, advisors are meeting investor standards. This is according to the SIFMA-Cerulli Individual Investor research project. The SIFMA-commissioned research, Individual Investors’ Use of Financial Advisors conducted by Cerulli Associates, explores the relationship between individual investors, defined as households with $100,000 to $1 million of investable assets, and their financial advisors.

As financial advisors’ value propositions are put to the test through heightened levels of market volatility, new research issued by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and Cerulli Associates finds they are increasingly “worth the cost.”

The SIFMA-Cerulli Individual Investor research project found over three-quarters of individual investors report using and relying heavily on a professional financial advisor for financial advice, especially as it relates to ensuring a comfortable standard of living in retirement.

According to the research, 33 million U.S. households with between $100,000 and $1 million in investable assets currently hold $6.5 trillion with securities firms, with an average relationship size of $135,000. In total, these investors account for more than 26% of the U.S. population and control over $11 trillion, or nearly 23% of investable assets in the U.S.

While 2020 has brought unforeseen challenges to advisors, investors are broadly satisfied with their advisor relationships, the survey notes.

More than three-quarters (77%) of investors believe their advisor is worth the cost, while just 4% indicate their cost exceeds the value they are receiving. This is an enviable ratio in any business relationship, according to the survey.

The ability to successfully navigate investors through periods of market stress will bode well for long-term asset growth.

“Investor satisfaction is largely derived through an advisor’s ability to build strong client relationships,” said Scott Smith, Director at Cerulli. “Investors want to know they have a pair of safe hands to guide them through the good and the bad. An advisor’s ability to provide a personalized approach built upon trust and dedication is critical to maintaining investor confidence.”

The ability to successfully navigate investors through periods of market stress will bode well for long-term asset growth. The study finds that 38% of individual investors believe they will need more advice in the future.

SERVING MORE INVESTORS

To address this future need, advisors are broadening their financial planning services and leveraging technology tools that enable personalization and scale.

“Our expectation is that financial planning services will increase as investments become commoditized and technology increases the importance of more personalized services,” Smith said.

He urges advisors to balance high-tech with hightouch, citing the importance of human interaction. “Digital engagement allows for scaling of basic services, and more time for personal interaction, but automation

is a complement to — not a replacement for — humans. Technology simply cannot replace the emotional aspects of wealth management,” he concluded.

HELPING CLIENTS SECURE A SOUND FINANCIAL FUTURE

Here are some of the ways in which advisors help individual investors, according to the survey:

• ”We help investors identify, prioritize and pursue financial goals. Clients don’t know where to start — we do.”

• “We help prepare them for what might go wrong.”

• “Our goal is to demystify and simplify the path to clients’ financial goals.”

• “We ask clients, ‘What are you doing to be ready for tomorrow?’ Then, we provide human-centered complete wealth management.”

• “We navigate challenging times for clients and help them feel understood.”

• “We help investors balance today and the future.”

• We are “super focused on making sure that we get tech right.”

• “We can’t replace that human centered connection, but it [technology] can be a bridge for an advisor to have a deeper relationship.”

COVID-19’s Impact on Employee Benefits

Hospital indemnity, critical illness and major medical plans are the most likely to have seen a boost in perceived importance.

By LIMRA

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many operational changes to U.S. businesses. It has also drawn attention to the importance of many types of financial protection, which may increase employers’ interest in offering certain benefits. A LIMRA survey provides insights into recent changes to employers’ business practices, their interest in modifying benefits packages, their enrollment strategies and their relationships with carriers.

About 25% of employers say COVID-19 has made them more interested in making changes to their insurance benefit programs within the next 18 months, according to the survey. While approximately 4% of employers have already dropped an insurance benefit as a result of COVID19 and 16% are considering doing so, 40% of employers say the coronavirus outbreak has affected their views of the importance of benefits, and these are almost universally shifted toward viewing benefits as more important now than they were before. Large companies and those most concerned about COVID-19 are the most likely to say their opinions have changed.

Benefits that are directly related to healthcare, such as hospital indemnity, critical illness and major medical plans, are the most likely to have experienced a boost in perceived importance.

“We’ve also seen increased interest in some supplemental non-insurance benefits — particularly telehealth services, mental health benefits and employee assistance programs,” said Kimberly Landry, Assistant Research Director, Workplace Benefits research at LIMRA.

Some employers that do not already offer supplemental benefits say they have become interested in adding them because of the pandemic.

40% of employers say the coronavirus outbreak has affected their views of the importance of benefits.

CHANGES BROUGHT ON BY REMOTE WORK

The pandemic not only changed employers’ perceptions about the importance of benefits, it also shifted their stance on remote working. Almost 4 in 5 employers say they currently have at least some of their staff working remotely. More than two-thirds of these employers think a portion of their workforce will continue to work remotely at least some of the time after the pandemic has ended.

As companies re-evaluate their remote-working policies, they may have an increased need for electronic enrollment platforms and other services that make it easier to offer benefits to remote workers.

Overall, the study finds the majority of employers are highly satisfied with the support they have received from their insurance benefit carriers during the COVID-19 outbreak.

It also revealed the most important types of support employers want from their insurance carriers:

1. Helping them communicate with employees about the pandemic

2. Keeping them informed about relevant legislative changes

3. Offering more online self-service options for employees.

LIMRA is a worldwide research, consulting and professional development organization that connects people to data, thought leadership, solutions, and each other. For more information, visit www.limra.com.

Study Finds Financial Literacy Gap Among African Americans

Education is key in mapping out a pathway to higher levels of financial literacy.

By Ayo Mseka

Late last year, the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB) released a report documenting particularly low levels of financial literacy among African American adults.

The New Insights from the Personal Finance (P-Fin) Index Financial Literacy and Wellness among African Americans reports that African Americans answered 38% of the P-Fin Index questions correctly, compared with 55% for whites, indicating a significant financial literacy gap.

African American financial literacy was highest in the functional area of borrowing, with 47% of these questions answered correctly, on average, and lowest in the area of insuring, with 32% of questions answered correctly.

African American financial literacy is lower than that of whites in all but one functional knowledge area.

African American and white respondents scored similarly in the area of comprehending risk.

There is a strong link between financial literacy and financial wellness among African Americans. Those who are more financially literate are more likely to plan and save for retirement, to have non-retirement savings and to better manage their debt; they are also less likely to be financially fragile.

“African Americans make up 13% of the U.S. population and constitute a critical segment of our economy. Yet financial literacy gaps exist across this demographic group regardless of gender, age, income level or degree of education,” said Stephanie Bell-Rose, head of the TIAA Institute. “It is imperative that we continue to shed light on this challenge in order to better map a course for financial success.”

“Our research finds that African Americans tend to exhibit lower financial well-being than the U.S. white population. Given the strong link between financial literacy and financial well-being, increased financial knowledge can lead to improved financial capability and behaviors,” said Annamaria Lusardi, academic director of GFLEC and Denit Trust endowed chair of economics and accountancy

at GWSB. “Increasing efforts to promote research-based financial education in school and the workplace is one key solution for promoting financial well-being among African Americans.”

Research-based financial education in schools and the workplace is one key solution for promoting the financial well-being of African Americans.

“This important research and data set underscore the centrality of financial decision making in modern America,” said Cy Richardson, Senior Vice President for Programs, National Urban League. “The convergence of financial, credit and debt management provides headwinds for us all — yet structurally speaking the African American community has little margin for error compared to other groups and must continue to demonstrate progress on the critical measures and knowledge that is necessary to make financially responsible decisions — decisions that are integral to our everyday lives and existence.”

INCREASING FINANCIAL LITERACY

As an advisor, there are several steps you can take to enhance your clients’ or prospects’ financial literacy levels — no matter their demographic background. First,

you can visit NAIFA’s financial security website, www. financialsecurity.org, which offers some helpful hints on increasing financial literacy among all Americans.

The Life Happens site at www.lifehappens.org is also a treasure trove of information on basic financial concepts, products and services your prospects and clients can use to enhance their financial-literacy skills.

The TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index (P-Fin Index) provides a comprehensive barometer of U.S. adults’ readiness to make sound financial decisions. It is unique in its capacity to examine financial literacy across eight common financial activities: earning, consuming, saving, investing, borrowing, insuring, understanding risk and gathering information.

The report, with new insights on financial literacy levels of the African-American population, was authored by Paul Yakoboski, Senior Economist at the TIAA Institute; Annamaria Lusardi, Academic Director at GFLEC, GWSB; and Andrea Hasler, Assistant Research Professor in Financial Literacy at GFLEC, GWSB.

NAIFA Member Profile: Win Havir, CPCU, LACP, CLF, LUTCF, FSS, AIC

This NAIFA Trustee is using her time and talent to give back to NAIFA and her community.

By Ayo Mseka

Spend some time with NAIFA Trustee Win Havir and you will quickly discover her dedication to her career, to NAIFA and to her community.

Havir joined the insurance and financial services industry in 1986. She had a unique career path with State Farm Insurance, serving in both fire and casualty and auto claims. She moved on to agency field leadership and retired after 30 years of service.

Today, she is Executive Vice President of Business Development for Educators Insurance Resources Services Inc. in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she represents The Horace Mann Companies. Her charge, she proudly notes, is to ensure an excellent experience for all of her clients — from needs assessment to the delivery of high-quality products and outstanding follow-up service.

“I enjoy developing relationship-based creative outreach strategies to attract and retain clients in the educational community,” she said. “I also assist in seeking out and sourcing new clients by developing networks and identifying relevant resources for sales and business development in the educational field.”

THE MANY BENEFITS OF NAIFA

Havir displays this same level of enthusiasm for NAIFA, which she learned about from a friend while working at State Farm. “She felt strongly that there were many benefits to belonging,” she said. “It was a place where I could learn from the best in the industry and be better positioned to serve my clients.” That friend offered to take her to a meeting, and Havir joined NAIFA shortly afterward.

“Membership comes with an obligation to serve others whether you are a formal or an informal leader in the organization,” she said, as she describes the many benefits of NAIFA. “One of the benefits of being a NAIFA member is the ability to serve in a capacity that utilizes your strengths and abilities.”

Havir is using her strengths and abilities to serve NAIFA in many capacities. Apart from being a NAIFA trustee, she is also a member of the association’s Diversity Task Force, which helps bring awareness, growth and development to the cultural competencies that foster innovation and improve success both personally and professionally.

the benefits of being a NAIFA member is the ability to serve in a capacity that utilizes your strengths and abilities.”

–

Her initial role, she said, was to help grow membership and create practical resources and tools for leaders of diverse and inclusive workforces and to gain a better understanding of how to serve multicultural communities.

“My involvement in the task force gives me the opportunity to pay it forward by encouraging others to think and see life from different perspectives,” she said. “This lifts all of us up and makes us all better people. Diversity of thought allows us to see things in a different light, supporting greater understanding for mutually beneficial outcomes. One of my greatest passions is mentoring girls and women of color. By fostering an environment of support, they can dream big and live their passion.”

“One of

Win Havir

When asked why she does so much to help lift others up, her answer is quick and to the point: “I have a unique and diverse cultural background,” she said. “My father came to the United States as an immigrant from China after being released from a prisoner of war camp. My mother is from Hawaii. I remember as a young child experiencing times when my family struggled financially and emotionally to become acculturated and to assimilate into the American culture. My father always supported education and learning. He told us that education was the one thing that no one could ever take away from us.”

Havir must have inherited her father’s love for education — today, she has earned an MA degree, as well as several industry designations, including the LUTCF, LACP, FSS, the CPCU, CLF and the AIC.

Always striving to learn more, she is also a proud graduate of LILI, NAIFA’s highly-sought-after, leadershipdevelopment program. “A key tenet from LILI revolves around Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People statement: Seek first to understand, then to be understood,” she said. “Listen with the heart of a servant leader. Sometimes in the crazy busy day-to-day world, we need to reflect, and self-awareness can be one of the most challenging concepts.”

GIVING BACK

When she is not helping her clients achieve their financial goals or volunteering for NAIFA, Havir is active in various civic and community organizations. She is a member of the National Advisory Board for Asian Upward by Elevate.

“My entire life, my family has taught me to give back to others in service to our community,” she said. “My family also set the example by giving back to those who helped us acculturate and assimilate into the American culture. From the time I was a young child, I belonged to multiple service and civic organizations in my community, including Optimist International, Soroptimist International, Eastern Star and Alpha Omicron Pi.” Havir is also a charter member of the Twin Cities Chapter of Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS).

Havir’s long and storied career has given her many attributes worth emulating. When asked what advice she would like to share with other NAIFA members, she had this to say: “Passion sparks the fuel and feeds the fire inside all of us. If you don’t love, I mean truly love what you do, it is just a job that pays you money. Life is about constantly changing, evolving and moving forward. Find the internal spark that is already within you, the one that brings you joy and fulfillment.“

The Transformative Experience That is LILI

Find out how NAIFA’s leadership-development program has transformed the lives of three members.

By Brendan Bernat

Leading through a time of uncertainty tests one’s character and resources. Those who are prepared maintain hope and inspire others. As Stephen Covey wrote: “Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition such as lifting weights we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.”

For 20 years, NAIFA’s Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) has been building leaders who effectively manage the opportunities and adversities of life.

As we celebrate the 20 th anniversary of LILI, we celebrate the over 3,000 LILI graduates and their resilience during uncertain times.

Over the years, the LILI curriculum has evolved to include content based on emotional intelligence and business planning. However, a key component remains the concept of principle-centered leadership, principles that serve as LILI graduates’ compass and rudder during the most difficult times.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of LILI, we celebrate the over 3,000 LILI graduates and their resilience during uncertain times.

A few of those graduates recently shared how LILI has impacted their lives. Deborah Coulter graduated from LILI in 2007. “It was a life changing experience for me, both personally and professionally,” she said. “It completely changed the way I looked at my business

and my relationships. I went on to moderate for several years and served on the national LILI Sub-committee. The friends I’ve made and the contacts all over the country are priceless. To see the changes in students’ lives serving as a moderator was by far the most rewarding of it all.”

For Sara Karweick, “the LILI class was an eye opener personally and professionally. It was an intense six-month course that really made you reflect on yourself in many ways. That year my production was slumping a bit. This class brought perspective and focus to get back on track.”

Jeremy Tyler found LILI to be transformative in terms of his thinking, personally and professionally. “The process made me think differently about how I was going about many things in my life. As I went through the course, I began to realize that I was in business for the wrong reasons and with the wrong people. After LILI I realigned my business and personal life to set myself up for happiness, not constant frustration. By doing this, I became more successful. I guess one could say LILI showed me how to be happy, which in turn makes

For more information on the transformative experience that is NAIFA’s Leadership in Life Institute, contact Brendan Bernat at bbernat@naifa.org

NAIFA Chapter Profile — NAIFA-Massachusetts

NAIFA-Massachusetts is using advocacy and professional development to enhance the value it provides to its members.

By Ayo Mseka

NAIFA chapters are working hard to deliver a meaningful membership experience to their members. In a recent interview, Josh O’Gara, CLU, ChFC, CFP, President of NAIFA-MA and owner of O’Gara Financial Group, shared some of the chapter’s programs and initiatives.

Advisor Today: Briefly describe NAIFA-Massachusetts and its mission.

Josh O’Gara: We currently have 420 members. NAIFA was formed in Massachusetts, and we have a long history of advocating on behalf of our members to maintain a positive legislative environment for our industry.

In addition to advocacy, as the industry is in a constant state of change, our mission is to deliver a meaningful experience for all our members, which makes them feel like they are part of our community.

AT: What are some of the most recent political advocacy initiatives undertaken by NAIFA-MA?

O’Gara: In January, we had our most important test of our advocacy capabilities in years. With a fiduciary regulation proposed from the Secretary of State, there was no legislative process involved. We had to mobilize all of our advocacy capacity as we worked to help the secretary’s office understand some of the negative ramifications of the new rule.

From meetings with different companies’ advocacy teams, countless calls with our lobbyist, attending industry coalition conference calls, attending hearings at the State House, and calling on clients to testify (we were the only organization that had consumers testify at the hearing), we demonstrated how effective grassroots advocacy efforts can be, and the secretary ultimately made significant changes to the regulation, which made it much more workable.

AT: Describe a few of the programs you offer to enhance your members’ professional-development.

O’Gara: Last year, we began to focus on professional development with a CLTC class that attracted almost 30 attendees. As COVID-19 reared its ugly head, we quickly adapted to continue to provide value to our members. Conveniently, we had brought on a social media specialist in February to manage our social media content. This became a vital communication tool to keep our members updated with everything going on. We instituted board updates every other Monday, with open forum discussions for any member who wants to discuss outstanding issues or concerns. We also began emphasizing online programming.

AT: Describe a few of these online initiatives.

O’Gara: Our most recent effort has been the “Quick Bytes” seminars, which we hold in conjunction with Rhode Island and Connecticut. The seminars have been well attended, typically attracting between 15-20 members. We have also been promoting the NAIFA Town Hall and NAIFA Live events throughout the year.

AT: Because of COVID-19, most meetings and events are now being held virtually. What experiences have you had so far in transitioning to online events?

O’Gara: We have transitioned completely to online events. Most recently, we had Dr. Jerry Teplitz present for our members in June about how to manage these stressful times through neuroplasticity.

AT: Is there anything else you would like readers to know about NAIFA-MA?

O’Gara: One of the things we are most proud of is our new partnership with a non-profit agency called Family Movement. The organization goes into homeless shelters in Boston to help women get back on their feet and on the road to home ownership.

We began a pilot program in January and even through all of the trials of the last few months, we were able to continue the program and wrap up our initial six-month program in June. We partnered with four families in the pilot program, and the hope is to have at least three of them eligible for a down payment assistance program by the end of the year! The goal is to have another five families enroll in the program by October and continue to grow from there.

Social media became a vital communication tool to keep our members updated with everything going on.

Revisiting the Human Life Value Concept

This concept uses a mathematical approach to determine the amount of life insurance a household income earner needs to adequately protect their family.

By Ike S. Trotter, CLU, ChFC, RICP, AEP

As we participate in the Life Insurance Awareness campaign this September, it is important to revisit the concept of Human Life Value, which recognizes the “dollar value” of one’s lifetime contributions to his or her family. As an insurance agent, you can use this concept to help your prospects determine how much life insurance they need to adequately protect their families and loved ones.

It is widely known that Americans need more life insurance. Survey after survey of American households backs up this fact. For instance, according to a MetLife study released a few years ago, 39% of Americans had no form of life insurance at all. And even those with life insurance had enough coverage to provide for only 2.1 times the annual income of a loved one.

Two-thirds of surviving spouses describe this shortage as having a “major” or “devastating” impact on their families’ financial well-being. Even five years after a loss, 42% of surviving spouses said their financial situation was dire and growing worse.

THE HUMAN LIFE VALUE CONCEPT

Recently, while straightening up bookcases in my office, I found some textbooks authored by Solomon Huebner, Ph. D. Dr. Huebner created the concept of Human Life Value, which he taught extensively during the first half of the 20th century.

What’s more important in life for a family than to protect the person who brings bread to the table?

Through his teachings, Dr. Huebner pioneered the dialogue about responsible economic protection as a key component of one’s overall financial well-being. His ideas were considered quite innovative for his time in bringing mathematical recognition of the “dollar value” of one’s lifetime contributions to his or her family.

Over the years, many of his concepts have been applied to American life. One key example is the judicial system,

which recognized the Human Life Value approach as an appropriate means of measuring the overall economic value — especially in settlements concerning wrongful death lawsuits.

The concept behind Human Life Value is that insuring someone’s life is similar to insuring other forms of “tangible” assets. For example, your home is normally insured for its replacement value. Should it be destroyed by a fire, a natural disaster or any other covered event, you would expect the home to be re-built to its condition prior to the loss.

Similarly, human life value emphasizes the insurance of one’s life for its replacement value, fully recognizing that the primary purpose of life insurance is to adequately protect a family from the economic loss suffered by the death of a breadwinner.

Human Life Value uses a mathematical approach in determining one’s actual financial contribution to a family. It starts by multiplying one’s annual income (or if one is self-employed, one’s expected earnings) by the number of expected working years to retirement. This value is then added to the cost of fringe benefits that may be provided by an employer.

Next, you add the estimated costs of services one performs around the house, such as cleaning, cooking, housework and mowing the lawn. The last part of this mathematical process subtracts the cost of personal consumption as well as taxes to be paid. And, with all

financial estimates involving a given number of years, you factor into this equation what financial analysts call the “time value of money.”

From this, we can see that a 40-year-old person earning $50,000 per year would have a potential Human Life Value of close to $1.2 million over his lifetime of working. Even taking into consideration the time value of money, this person’s family would need to be protected for at least $600,000 in order for him to be adequately insured for the potential loss of his income.

It has been said that a life insurance purchase is made for those you love or for those you owe. In persuading your prospects to buy life insurance, let them know that purchasing the proper amount of protection should be more than shopping for the cheapest coverage for the shortest duration of time. On the contrary, the purchase of adequate life insurance is one of the most important financial decisions a family will ever make.

As Dr. Huebner would ask: What’s more important in life for a family than to protect the person who brings bread to the table?

Information provided in this article is general in nature and not intended as specific financial advice.

Ike S. Trotter, CLU, ChFC, RICP, AEP, is a well-recognized career professional and a 45-year member of NAIFA. He operates his own planning and risk management firm, IKE TROTTER AGENCY, LLC, in Greenville, MS.

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Personal Excellence

Talent Development CENTER

The Talent Development Center brings together resources focused on personal performance. From prospecting to personal branding, from professional development to gaining new credentials or designations, to sales ideas to keep you inspired, the Talent Development Center houses content and produces events that focus on helping you be the very best you can be. The Center also houses the work of NAIFA’s Diversity & Inclusion Task Force and is the home of the Young Advisors Team and awards programs.

Practice Excellence

The Business Performance Center focuses on everything you need to do to run an exceptional practice. From when to hire help to expanding your book of business through expanding your offerings, the Business Performance Center will house the content and hold informational events to help your business succeed. It is also home to the Advanced Practice Symposium which is an educational event produced in partnership with the Society of Financial Service Professionals.

bpc.naifa.org

Subject Matter Excellence

The Limited & Extended Care Planning Center is our first subject matter-specific Center focused on long-term care. The Center’s focus is to raise awareness of the broad array of options available to today’s financial planners when working with clients, as well as to raise consumer awareness about the need for a sound plan. The Center holds events for both financial advisors and consumers and is possible through the support of our partnerships with key companies in the long-term care industry.

Y[OUR] WORK MATTERS

DAVE RESSEGUIE

Have you ever felt like a sales person who is bothering people by trying to get them to do something? #headtrash

There’s so much wrong with that statement, and in this powerful session, your conviction will rebuild that y[OUR] work does, in fact, matter! And, given the recent events in 2020, your work has never been more valuable than it is today.

POWER THE POSSIBLE

Join

Nation and learn from industry speakers.

Each day will feature a keynote and breakout sessions of your choosing. You won’t want to miss this idea-packed and interactive virtual conference!

* schedule to come

Former NFL player turned financial planner, Delvin Joyce shares seven lessons that he learned through athletics that helped him to successfully transition into the financial services industry. Sticktoitiveness will provide insights on overcoming adversity, creating a personal brand and goal setting. In addition, Delvin will provide his recommended reading list to further your development.