2022 Hall of Fame Inductee Brad Meinhart

Representative | South Central Illinois Agency | Market 5

Growing up as a kid on a farm near Effingham, Illinois, I wasn’t impressed with most insurance salespeople. It seemed like they would just show up unannounced and wouldn’t leave until my dad wrote them a check for some sort of policy they wanted to sell.

When I started as a rep in 1990, I learned that wasn’t how COUNTRY treated people. We focus on building relationships and asking the right questions to understand clients’ goals and the risks they face. Then, we talk about solutions to help them reach those goals and mitigate those risks. It’s always about the clients, and what they need to feel financially secure and protected.

Unfortunately, as a younger rep, I was too much like the baseball pitcher in the movie Bull Durham, who had a million-dollar arm, but a 10-cent brain. When I struggled during my first 10 years with COUNTRY, it was because my 10-cent brain made me stubborn.

I thought my way was the best way, even when I wasn’t getting the results I needed. I learned sticking to a mediocre process, no matter how much you may like it, is the surest way to be unproductive.

We can all get stuck in our ways from time to time. But if what you’re doing doesn’t hit the scoreboard and get the right results, then it isn’t the best way. It’s time to swallow your pride, listen to other viewpoints and try new things.

When you think you have it all figured out, that’s a great time to remember to be a good student. Watch and listen to other successful reps. See what they’re doing. Adopt ideas that will work for you and the way you relate to clients. When you spend your time helping clients improve their lives, you’ll go home every night feeling like you made a real difference in your community.

Advice to Representatives

• Know what you’re good at, and where you can deliver the most value for clients and spend your time doing that. Delegate all other tasks.

• Surround yourself with a quality team who can take some busy work off your plate so you can work directly with clients to find the right solutions that help them achieve their goals.

• Don’t be satisfied with being busy. Anyone can fill their day with work they shouldn’t be doing. It’s more important to make sure the work you’re doing is productive. It’s not the number of hours you work, it’s what you do with them that matters.

Advice to Representatives

• Build a team of good people as early as possible.

• Stay away from negativity and focus on achieving your personal goals.

• Find a mentor. Partnering is the best way to learn quickly. Earning partial commissions on a sale is better than having no sale at all.

• If you’re starting your career, meet routinely with other newer reps and hold each other accountable for achieving your shared goals.