Lori Fearon is a benefits consultant with PayneWest Insurance, a top-40 nationally ranked insurance agency that is fiercely independent. Lori and her team focus on building employee benefit programs that are data-driven, innovative and transparent.

Paul Wilson: How did you get your start in the benefits industry?

Right after I graduated, I went to work as an administrative social worker, but there were many changes in our government and various programs at the time, so I began to think the future didn't look bright in that area. I answered a call and was recruited into Farmers Insurance. I started my own agency and worked in life insurance but realized I didn't want to be the person who hired and managed staff and paid the bills and all that. I really wanted to work with people and be on the front line. I was then recruited to our agency.

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Our benefits group initially consisted of two people. For a year, we were the only two salespeople in the state of Montana for New West Health. She focused on the life insurance side so I was pretty much the person doing the health side. I didn't have an account manager, so I had to do everything from sales to implementation. I learned everything, from start to finish, by doing that for four years.

PW: How has the industry and your role changed?

Oh my gosh, it's like night and day. In many respects, the job was so much easier back then; it was so much easier to be successful. But now, moving into self-funding is the natural progression. In the beginning, everyone should start out learning about fully insured and how the principles of insurance work, but it gets a little boring, quite frankly. I didn't feel like I was bringing value.

We made a commitment to meet with all of our clients to educate them, and we explained why we're no longer going to spreadsheet and how we would bring more value and differentiate ourselves. Benefits are a tool, so we went back to why benefits even exist in the first place. We took baby steps, and then bigger and bigger steps.

PW: What are some of the highlights/challenges of working in a rural area?

The benefit is that we know everyone. We have access to hospital CEOs and CFOs and even the carriers; we have strong relationships. We also know the members of the C-suites of all our clients. I have no problem calling a hospital CEO and scheduling a meeting with a client. We're often on local boards together, we see them on the golf course, we go to the same charity events. That's the way it should be. Everyone's job is important, but everyone should also be accessible and approachable. I do think we have that advantage in Montana.

As far as challenges, we're so small and everyone plays so closely together that it can sometimes be harder to be abrupt or strong, because this is someone you like and maybe you know their kids. That can make it hard to look at them and say, "This is a business decision, and if you can't accommodate us, we're going to have to take our business elsewhere."

PW: What are the hardest/most rewarding parts of being an innovator?

Being part of a group like Health Rosetta has taught me that even though I live and work in Montana, we have actually been pretty innovative and forward-thinking.

I think being an educator is a key part of it. Yes, we work in sales, but our real job is educating and helping people understand this complex industry, from the C-suite to HR to the end-user who doesn't understand what a deductible is. If I had to identify our competitive edge, even over really large houses, we are great educators.

I've also learned that you have to be nimble and willing to be vulnerable. And that doesn't always feel very good. I often say, "Geez, I've been in this business for 20 years and it seems that every time I come to work, I know less, because it's all changing so quickly."

You need to be willing to pick up the phone, call another broker and say, "Hey, I see what you're doing, I'm reading your posts and we're not doing that. How did you get there?" I'm probably never going to be the person who splashes something on LinkedIn every day, but I will pick up the phone and say, "Hey, I'm really interested in this. Can we work together?' Put your ego aside, bring your humility and do what makes sense for your client.

PW: How receptive are clients and prospects to these new ideas and strategies?

Montana is an interesting mix of tech, entrepreneurial startups and others who are often very willing to get creative. However, when the rubber meets the road, they also don't always want to deal with a ton of noise. So I always try to work off of a three- to five-year plan. I tell them, "I know what will happen in year one, I feel very confident about year two but I don't know what will happen in year five. But I can promise you that I'll always educate you about what's happening and then we'll have a real conversation about it." It's important to talk through the pros and cons and then move toward thoughtful implementation.

I can't stress enough that we do it collaboratively. It's us and our clients, but it's also our partner carriers and TPAs. A couple of years ago, an advisor brought in reference-based pricing and ELAP, but they forgot to educate, forgot to talk about the noise. They didn't consider that we live in a really rural area, or that the eight hospitals might get on the phone, have a conversation and put your name up on the wall. I'm not saying it's not a great idea; I love it. But in this case, they tried to shove it down the hospital administrators' throats and forgot that we live in a really small community. It was a bad deal.

Our clients' willingness to accept some of these ideas might not be as strong as it is in other areas, but I'd rather sit down with that hospital CEO and say, "Can we please get to 200 percent of Medicare and have that PPO protection at a fair price? I just want it to be fair; I value you as my partner and neighbor and I just want it to be fair and transparent."

PW: Can you talk a bit about your career as a female in the industry?

When I started working here, I was the only female producer. I was lucky because my commercial lines colleagues embraced me and treated me really well. It was great from that perspective.

As far as carriers and male competitors, they weren't so nice. In many cases, people are kind to you and you're kind of the darling until you take their business. It was pretty scary, to be honest. I had people who I thought were friends call and say, "Hey, there's only three people in this game and they're all men. You're not one of them." So it was hard. It's so much easier now.

PW: What about prospects and clients?

There are still companies where we say, "We need a dude in the room." We know that we are not going to win it because we are female. It still happens. Four producers in our organization have $1.5 million to $2 million books of business and they're all women. But there are still clients and prospects where we just know that even though we'll do a better job, they won't hire us unless we have a male partner. It's gotten a million times better, but it does still happen.

PW: What are your favorite things about your job?

I love the flexibility and creativity that's allowed in our world. I also love working with my team and at the end of the day, knowing that we're smart, and that we always do what's in the best interest of our clients and colleagues. People need us. It's never boring. I love coming to work. I don't see myself looking toward retirement. They make us have an exit plan, but I can't wait to see what the next 10 or 15 years bring.

PW: Where do you look for inspiration?

We lead a pretty faith-based life and we have a really big circle of friends. So friends, family and faith are really my go-tos. You have to rely on your team, learn to let your ego go and trust those around you. And then you have to be willing to say, "I'm really tired. I'm disheartened. I need some time to reflect." That can be kind of scary to admit, but you do it, take the time you need and you ask for help.

PW: Finish this sentence: The key to success in this industry going forward is…

To realize that all successful people have one thing in common: relentless hard work and motivation to always serve, do what is right, and do it with humility and passion.

Read more from our Face of Change series: 

• It's personal: A Q&A with Colleen Blum
• The cutting edge: A Q&A with Allison Butler
• Get control: A Q&A with Chris Wolpert