Fort Lauderdale, FLA. — As I walked around the halls of the 2016 Benefits Selling Expo, I was struck by a few things. One was the energy running through the building. If you go to enough conferences, you start to recognize the shell-shocked faces of trade show veterans.

But instead, I saw animated conversations, lots of networking and plenty of groups exchanging cards and cell phone numbers. And you know what else I saw? Broker after broker talking on phones – to clients. Now, far be it for me to advocate skipping out on breakout sessions, but you know what? Good for them. It's one thing to talk a good game and quite another to live it. And these people were living it. At the end of the day, it's vitally important that we continue to learn and evolve as an industry, which is a lot of what this show is all about. But it was inspiring to see that when it comes down to it, the client is always first.

And you know what else has impressed me about attendees so far? (Well, besides the fact that so many passed Jim Carroll's texting test during the opening keynote, that is.) I was impressed with how those in this industry are starting to react to change.