11. Dan Hiett: Leading Your Clients By Example

Hey. Hey. Welcome back to the Broker's Voice. I am super excited to have Dan Hyatt join me with Hyatt Consulting and Insurance in the beautiful metroplex of Galesburg, Illinois. Dan, thanks for joining.

Oh, thanks for having me, Andy. Very glad to be here.

Yeah, no, I'm excited for this conversation. Again, the reason I wanted to have you on, you've started to do some really good work on LinkedIn after being very hesitant about it about a year or so ago. So I would definitely want to talk about that journey. But before we get there, first question I love to ask everybody in our industry, Dan, is most of us did not get here by design. How did you find yourself in the health insurance industry?

Well, actually, I'm going to date myself. Back in the late 80s, I had a choice to make. I could either go to work at the local hammer factory or go to work for Prudential Insurance.

Like literally making hammers.

Literally making hammers, yeah. And Prudential called me first.

So if not for that, I'd probably be all beat up for making hammers for 40 years, 30 years or whatever. So just by chance, like a lot.

Of people that's interesting is that Hammer, is that company still exist?

It is, it is, yeah. They make like hammers for Stanley Company and.

Okay.

Yeah.

It's so funny when you think about some of the manufacturing that exists, right. That like some of the things we never think about this actually started being manufactured at a plant like hammers, you don't think about a hammer manufacturing company.

Well, listen, I feel very fortunate that that kind of accidentally happened.

That's a twist of fate.

It is, yeah.

Absolutely. Well, so you've been in the industry for quite a while.

Yeah.

Knowing what you know now you know and what you're doing today with clients and looking back, you know, 30 some years ago, where have you seen some of the biggest evolutions? Or maybe what. What would be the advice you would give Dan Hyatt, just getting in the industry?

Probably, if I had an overarching piece of advice for a young guy in.

The business.

Never take success for granted and never be complacent, even when you're successful.

I think about this now and it's like, I think the reason I do some things well now is I've made so many mistakes in the past over 30 years.

I made all the mistakes there are to make and I know what to do not to do those anymore. Right. And I know the effect those effects, those mistakes make or have. So I guess that would be the biggest Thing for a young guy or a young Dan is, you know, don't get cocky, don't get complacent, stay humble, stay hungry.

And just enjoy the business and do the right thing.

And I think you're a shining example of stay hungry and stay humble. You're right. I think a lot of. I know I got sold on this when I was getting in the industry 20 years ago, was, hey, first, by, by year three, here's what the average broker makes and, and you just stick around long enough and you're going to have financial success. You're going to be able to do this, this and this. No one really tells you, though, that you have to stay hungry. Yeah, it's going to be hard at the beginning. And so that, that's great advice.

Yeah, it's, you know, it's really easy to get complacent and it's a big mistake. So, yeah, I try to be humble and stay hungry and aggressive.

Yeah, no, that's exactly it. You know, let's talk about this for a second. One thing I love about what you're doing, you know, is you have really started to show up consistently on LinkedIn.

Right.

And I know at the beginning it was a challenge, right? You were very hesitant. Let's start there.

Okay.

When, when you and I started connecting and I said, dan, you need to start showing up on LinkedIn more. You had started seeing some of your peers in the Galesburg market, Chris Buyer, Chris Bowling, do the, you know, show up. What was going through your mind? Where, what was the hesitancy you had on putting yourself out there?

The main thing was, could I be consistent enough to make it worth the investment? Could I follow up with what you taught consistently enough to make it worth. Worth the investment? And finally I decided that the investment would make me be consistent.

It would kind of force me to, hey, I spent a fair amount of money with Andy and I need to make it worth it. The only way to make it worth it is to be consistent with effort afterwards. Right.

So when you started the consistency, talk about that. Like, the first week you said, okay, I'm going to do this. I'm going to start putting stuff out on LinkedIn. I'm start creating content. How often did you start showing up at the beginning?

Once or twice a week, probably.

So you started simple.

It started, yeah, baby steps. And I started basically with just things I encountered the week before. I started telling stories about. I still do that today. I'm not as structured as, like, CB Squared. Those guys, they're more structured and look like they have things planned out. I kind of put on there what I've encountered, maybe even yesterday with a client or prospect. So I'm just sharing stories.

About customer successes and challenges as I encounter them, and I encounter a lot of things. So the content has been fairly easy because I'm just telling stories I've dealt with over the last few days or weeks.

But the power behind that, Dan, is this. People forget some of the most monotonous things that happen in our daily lives can be some of the most resonating types of content to post because everybody else is going through the same thing.

Yeah, sure, sure. An example is, you know, I had a prospect tell me I hate insurance.

I'm like, hey, that'd be a great thing to put on LinkedIn. And sure enough, it's got more views than anything I've posted in a while that people can relate to that.

Right?

We as advisors, we hear that all the time. Well, I'm here to try to make you not hate it, make the process better. So it's not something to hate, but something to embrace and use.

But there was power in that, though, because you shared an actual conversation you had with somebody that said, dan, I hate this stuff because we know probably 80% of our prospects also hate this stuff. So you just hit a wide, a broad spectrum of our pro. Your prospect base with that kind of post. That's what. And it. I'm guarantee it resonated with them.

Right, right, it did. And like I said, I got more views on that than anything I posted in a few weeks.

Talk about this, because I think one thing you did is one thing you've done which really.

I believe, set in motion that you are going all in on this, is you went and had professional photos taken.

Yeah.

And you had them taken. Not only just you in the office, you out and about, but you had them taken also around a passion you have.

Right.

So talk about that a little bit, how you've started. I'll let you share it. But how you started using one of your hobbies, your passions, and, and started incorporating it into your LinkedIn content.

Yeah, I mean, that was very helpful. And again, that was something you advised. Right. And struggled with how to connect it to anything going on in my life. And first of all.

The professional photograph idea was I've known a professional photographer in the community here for ages and I've used him before and he's really good. And I'm like, hey, you know, I'd like to throw some business. This guy's way and then I'm talking to you about and I see what you're doing. You know, obviously you have a lot of great professional photographs that you put on LinkedIn. I'm like, I'm gonna look like Andy. That's good stuff. So I talked to this guy and I also connected it. I'm a big CrossFit kind of fanatic, I guess you could say.

By the way, can I pause, Dan?

Yeah.

I'm going to put you on the spot. I hope I don't embarrass you. How old are you?

I just, I'll turn 60 this year.

Turn 60. I want you to share this, if you will, when you're in heavy crossfit mode. What, what's your body fat?

9%.

Guys, we're talking 60 year old man crossfitting with a 9% body fat. Are you kidding me? That's awesome, Dan. So talk about how you started incorporating the CrossFit into this.

Well, there's a common thread, right. It's hard work, passion, okay. And accountability. Really.

That's what I love about the CrossFit stuff from working out in general, fitness in general is it's hard work. I have a passion for it and it's connected to what I do in business. I try to connect. Goes back to that. Not taking things for granted, being humble. Always be passionate about it. Always work hard. And hard work pays off. You don't get the 9% body fat if you don't do it. You gotta do the work.

So it's about work, it's about passion.

And things I love to do. And I love the insurance business, believe it or not, after all these years. I love my clients prospects and it just connected well with what I'm doing in business. So it was great advice that you gave. I encourage anybody who talks to you. Find a connection to something you're passionate about in your personal life and connect it to business. And it makes everything better.

Right.

It makes it all make more sense to you and to your prospects and clients.

I think that's, that's the power of it right there is, you know, you've taken a personal hobby, a passion woven business and life's lessons around it.

Yeah.

And that's the content, in my opinion, that it resonates the most with your audience. Now talk about a couple things I have questions around because it might be a broker listening in saying, okay, I want to do this. What is this look like? Yeah, if you're willing to share it. Was it that expensive to get your photos done?

I. I think I did three sessions with, like, business casual clothes and in my office and then one session in the CrossFit gym. And I think it cost. It cost me less than $600.

Yeah, but now you've been using those photos for months.

Yeah, Yeah, I have been using them for months. I'm thinking about doing a couple more sessions with him because it's, It's a great investment just to freshen up the photos, so. Oh, yeah. Find somebody that's a good photographer and let them capture you in your. In your setting, in your life, who you are, and it makes a huge difference.

I think it's a. It's a huge investment, in my opinion. Yeah, it's a huge. And it's a great investment. It's not that expensive. And the point is.

You gotta take that.

Nope.

Okay. It's a huge investment. Or I miss. It's not that huge. A big of an investment. But at the same time, like, you have a set of photos to use now that you've used repeatedly. Right. But here's the thing. The social media audience has a short memory.

Sure.

So if you take a photo that you posted today and a month later post it again, no one's gonna remember. But now you've got the foundation of content, the. The pictures for your content that you can use for months going forward.

It's a great step to take, and it made it a lot easier to post knowing I had that content, those photos to post with my content. So.

And talk. I wanted you to talk about this a little because even when you started, you're like, hey, I'm not getting much engagement. What's going, you know, should I even be doing this? But I think over time, you have slowly started. Started seeing the connection, the resonation. And you shared with me recently that some of this content has really led to some good referral sources.

Yeah. Yeah.

Talk about that for a second.

Yeah. I mean, I think some of my clients have seen it probably more than prospects, and the client reinforces things with the clients that make them more comfortable referring.

Prospects to me. I've kind of gotten a niche in finance, financial institutions, and those bank presidents have seen my stuff on LinkedIn and, and referred me to other bank presidents who also see my stuff on LinkedIn. And so it's kind of snowballed and helped me build a referral system and just reinforce everything I do with those prospects and clients. So I don't know, it's hard for me to gauge directly have I won any business because of LinkedIn has anybody contacted me because of LinkedIn, but it sure reinforces things with. With folks that they feel comfortable referring me to other people that I'm sure it's had a very positive effect.

Well, and here's an unintended consequence. You may not even realize your peers, Right. That you're trying to attract. Your prospects, excuse me, are probably roughly your same age, right? They're presidents, CEOs, CFOs.

Right.

Seeing your content, especially the CrossFit content, that might be inspiring to them, they're like, man, Dan is in that kind of shape at our age. I need to, I need to start focusing on it myself.

Yeah, yeah. That's one of the reasons I did it. And I've even started a Fitness Friday segment on LinkedIn to kind of focus on that.

So I'll post here shortly. Fitness Friday post on mobility. You know, older guys gotta be worried about their mobility, so this week's course is about mobility. But, yeah, I'm hoping, I'm hoping that that does inspire people. And they're like, hey, I'm gonna do business with that guy because he's got it together, right?

Absolutely. That, that, to me, that's, again, an unintended consequence of that. I know not every post you put out there is about CrossFit, but when you see a guy your age getting after it, still don't think for a second your prospects aren't seeing it saying, man, if that guy does that in the gym, he going to do for our account?

That's. That's my hope.

Yeah, no, that's exactly what happens. So let's go into a little bit of a lightning round, Dan. Let's, let's let the audience get to know Dan. Hi. A little bit. If Dan Hyatt were not a benefit advisor, what's he doing today?

Oh, gosh, I probably own a gym.

I. I would say that's a very, very reasonable answer.

I almost, I almost bought a gym.

10 years ago.

Oh, nice, nice.

It didn't happen.

And. But yeah, if I were to talk to some of your friends, your peers, what would they say your superpower is?

Oh, resilience, I suppose.

I think just over the years, I've been pretty resilient.

You know, we can't control things that happen to us. I know it's a cliche, but we can control how we respond to the things that happen to us.

So.

So I think resilience, probably.

I couldn't agree more. That resilience and consistency are the ones that speak to my heart. Because to Me, that's the secret ingredient to success today. So I love that answer.

If you could take one vacation, where are you going?

I'm jealous of you, man. I love Colorado.

You're not going to be jealous today. It's cold, snowy, windy. Yeah. I wouldn't be so jealous today.

I'm a big fan of.

The valley that Salida sits in. Salida and Buena Vista and Leadville, that valley through there.

More fourteeners in that valley than anywhere else in Colorado, and.

I love that area. I love the hike. Rafting the Colorado or rafting the Arkansas River. Right.

I think Amy and I went to Buena Vista in October, and I think that's a hidden gem. Oh, I think it's. It's a cool town. It's got some great restaurants. Got the Arkansas river right there. Got the. The Collegiate Peaks, which are all fourteeners. 14, 000 foot peaks right there. Yeah, it is a death. I definitely feel like in our state, it's an underappreciated valley also, by the way, technically, gets the most sunshine in Colorado.

Yeah, I. That's one of the reasons I like it is it's. It's not overrun with people like Estes Park. I love Estes Park.

Right.

Just overrun with tourists. You go to Buena Vista, Leadville, Salida, It's a little more laid back, and it's right on the Arkansas River. It's the Collegiate Peaks there. I've hiked up a little bit, up Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado. Not all the way at the top, but. Yeah, that's.

That's my vacation.

Yeah, it's a beautiful spot for sure. Two more questions. I was just at the Ascend conference. A lot of people there trying to make some positive change for the industry. If there was one thing you could change about the health insurance industry, what would it be?

Oh, gosh, that's. It's. I. The first thing.

Let me. How about. How about I spin the question? There were an employer listening, and they say, dan, I know my health insurance plan's a mess, but we don't even know where to start. What advice would you give them?

I think the first thing I would do and the first thing. I've gotten a couple of new clients lately, and I've found that their employees understand nothing about their health plan. Okay, so we can fix the health plan, but if we don't communicate it to the employee, the user, it's a worthless fix. So I would say spend more time. Spend more time investing in educating your employees on the system, on how to Use the system.

I agree. You can't fix your cost until the employees understand how to use it.

Make them better consumers of healthcare and everything gets better. There's a lot of technicalities we talk about about how to structure the health plan and make it better, but the first thing that comes to my mind is, hey, make your employee better consumers healthcare.

Agreed. Absolutely agree. Last question.

What is one thing the listeners in listeners to this episode? Almost no one that's watching or listening knows about Dan Hyatt. What's one thing almost no one listening knows about Dan Hyatt?

I actually love to sing. I've sung in choirs. Yeah, yeah.

I won't, I won't force you to break out in song right now.

No, no. But yeah, that's one thing I love to do. I took voice lessons for a while, private voice lessons.

So ah, gosh, maybe I'm a real well rounded guy after all these years. I like music, I like CrossFit, I like to sing.

So yeah, that's probably a lot. Something a lot of people don't know.

Is Dan, I think we have phase two of your, your next LinkedIn content. Maybe we need some more. We now do now need to start seeing some melodies come from you.

You know, I've seen some guys you work with that do music stuff and they're better than me. So maybe we'll, I'll think about it.

Well, if there's a, if there's an employer listening in, Dan, that wants to reach out to you and connect with you or a broker, maybe that's inspired by what you're doing with your content. What is the easiest way to get a hold of you?

Daniettinsurance.com is my web, is my email.

And that's H I e t t.

Insurance.Com danhightinsurance.com My LinkedIn page has all my. That's probably my first point of content. I'm, I'm upgrading my website, which you've advised me to do. So that's in the works. But probably the LinkedIn page is a great connection point in my email.

Awesome. Well Dan, I want to tell you like I'm proud of you because knowing where you started, where you were hesitant to even get on LinkedIn, and knowing where you are today, consistently showing up good photos, good stories, good copyright. You are, you are. You are a shining example of putting in the work, my friend. So one thank you for doing that because you should be proud of that.

You're welcome. Hey, I was kind of a mess when I first met you. And you helped send me down the right path, and hopefully it's. Hopefully it's working well.

And everybody else that's listening in. Take Dan's words of wisdom. He was right where you are. He was hesitant. He didn't know where to start, and now he's shown up every day. So when you get that clarity of what the game plan is, it creates that confidence. When you get the confidence, you take massive action. Dan, you're doing that. Everybody else, it's time for you to do the same. So, Dan, thank you.

You're welcome.

Thanks for having us. Go make it happen. Have a good weekend.

Thank you.