BenefitsPRO Expo preview: Fear of the unknown is costing you

I wouldn’t describe any of the brokers I know as fearful people, but when you are hired to be the expert, you can only specialize in so many spaces.

Why do we avoid the things we know we should do? Is it self-doubt, a lack of resources, not perceiving value, or is it just that it often involves something outside of our comfort level? In 2019, I had a huge opportunity to keep one of my largest past clients. I had just left a carrier after 14 years and I was now on my own entrepreneurial journey, ready to be the agnostic enhanced/voluntary benefit specialist that brokers would love to work with.

I had a great relationship with the client and had worked well with their broker for many years. During the past several renewals, talk of changing carriers had come up. I now had the products and resources they were asking for, so after several months of preparing and gathering the courage to pick up the phone, I finally made the call. Now was my time! Then I heard the words that taught me a tough lesson: “Sorry Jack, you’re just a little too late.”