My New Year's resolution is threefold: 1.

Profitability doesn't come from acquiring business, but from retaining happy customers and the benefits of the revenue stream they create.

For two decades, industry voluntary sales increased year after year, driven by new brokers entering the business. But seven or eight years ago, that came to an end as more brokers changed their selling strategies.

Kareim Cade is president and CEO of Great Lakes Benefit Group, located in Southfield, Michigan.