Can Independent Agencies Thrive in a Competitive Market? with Pam Schlotzhauer

We always say we are here to engage, educate and empower our broker community because you can't know everything about everything. You don't know what you don't know.

Shift your mindset.

Hey.

Hey. Welcome back to the Accelerate your insurance sales podcast. I am here with Pamela Schlotzauer, director.

Of membership, director of partner recruitment recruitment.

At United Benefit Advisors uva. We are at the conference here in Westminster, Colorado. But I wanted to use this episode, you know, as a chance to bring you on, talk about, you know, some of the things you are working on at UVA for the folks that actually, let's start here. For the folks who have no clue what, why don't you give a background of UVA United Benefit Advisors and its mission in health insurance?

Well, we're an organization set up differently than some of the associations that are in the space where our partners own United Benefit Advisors. So I think we're around 23 years.

In our longevity and we look for partners that are independent, growing and want to get engaged, want to learn from one another that they're after that intellectual capital, wanting to know what others are doing in other areas and want to also project a bigger space than they might be able to, you know, project just being their own individual independent firm sitting in a state somewhere. They have national presence.

Yeah, I remember when I went to again came out here to Colorado, I worked for Colken Bell, who was a member at the time before they kind of acquired. How about your background? What led you? How did you get in the industry? That's a question I love to ask everybody because most of us did not get any invite side.

Yeah, I was on the investment side and I had actually a UBA partner tell me that I should sell group health insurance. And I said, why would I do that? I know nothing about health insurance. But long story short, I went down that road. I got my license, I started my own agency in 2009 and I grew that for about five years and that was leading right into 2014 when the Affordable Care act came to fruition. So I knew I needed to do something. I needed to either invest a lot more money into my business and let it have it grow or I needed to merge with another partner. So I did that, grew that for another five years. That agency ended up getting sold to Alera Group, which was not.

Part of my plan or what I wanted. So we separated. I actually went to work for an enrollment company for a little while and then Covid hit and I was sitting at home like everyone else and had another agency reach out to me and asked if I would join their benefits department. So I was there for a little while when this opportunity came up and I knew of uva. I knew what it meant, I understood why it existed and I wanted to.

Be part of it. Yeah. And you guys have how many members today?

Right now we have around121.121 agencies and over 2000 brokers.

Something that I think is important to. For others to hear. You don't own these agencies? No, these are just members of.

It's a truly collaborative group. Yeah. We don't impose any captivity. You know, we don't ask them for cuts of their commissions. They pay a membership fee to be part of uva.

When you're looking for new partners, what are some of the traits you're looking for in employee. First of all, this is for employee benefit agents, not. There's agencies here that also.

They have PNC or they have wealth divisions.

What are you looking for? What are some of the ideal traits you're looking for in thought?

Thought leaders, people that are doing things differently, want to be different and don't really feel like they need to be exclusive. They want to learn from others. They want to share their knowledge. They want to help other independents because we're really trying to stay competitive against the Nationals and not one another. I think our partnership is amazing how much they help each other grow and learn and work on opportunities together that they may not have had, you know, been able to go after or capture on their own. So I really look for someone that has an abundance mentality, curious in nature, want to grow their practice, have been growing and, you know, kind of sky's the limit for them.

I like that you said that, because even in our programs that we provide two agencies, that's a big component. No matter where you come from. You have to have that abundant mindset if you're not willing to share. And I've been in plenty of groups in this industry that get awkward.

Oh, yeah.

Don't want to share, don't want to open up the kimono. It's hard to create any kind of.

Value for anybody.

And I remember being a UVA member, a lot of great partnerships are unexpected partnerships that came out of these conferences like you guys host here in Colorado. What are some. I'm curious of your take, because we talked about, you know, these are independent agencies and mergers and acquisitions continue to be.

Yes.

Massive part of what's going on in this industry. Now we're seeing the big spy, the big Right, the algorithm Buys a shared partner Brown. And Brown buys risk strategy. Mark McLennan buys McGriff. What are some of the things you're doing if it can be prevented at all, to help the organization stay independent?

Collective buying power. The deals that we're able to negotiate for our preferred bonus programs. Just at this conference, we're rolling out some AI that is going to be a collective purchase for us, for all of our agencies to buy in and utilize that. It's going be a game changer for a lot of them.

I'm curious if you don't mind, like, what part, what areas of running an agency are you hearing? Feedback that we need more AI to help us thrive or be more with.

The quoting with understanding. For groups that are under 100, feeling like you're handcuffed and not having negotiating power, this tool will allow you to gain some of that.

That's great. That's great. Yeah. AI, I don't think you can go long right now with that conversation.

Yeah. Well, our speaker yesterday was amazing. For sake. So he was. He was great. I think a lot of people are scratching the surface and understanding that they have to step into that.

This isn't a nice day.

Yeah, right.

Yeah.

And their friends, you know, I think the UBA partners. There's friendships formed here. And who wouldn't say to you, hey, you have to get on this. You're going to fall behind.

Well, it's interesting. I just got done reading a book. The book who not how talks about scaling a business. And before you ask yourself, how do we do this? Ask yourself, who can we go get to? Yes. But I think it's as if the game has changed a little bit with AI now. Because if we don't call it a who, let's kind of come back to how.

Yeah.

Because growing an agency has never been easier because it's to scale. You don't actually have to go hire people.

Right.

It might be just a tool AI can do.

Yeah.

Like one of the things I tell a lot of our clients. Producers have to start considering what the future of selling is going to look like. They paid a lot of money in.

Yeah.

But if AI can start generating more appointments, you're less valuable.

Yeah. So you have to educate yourself.

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That'S one of the things we always say. We are here to engage, educate and empower our broker community because you can't know everything about everything. You don't know what you don't know. So here, this, these conferences I think are really exceptional. The way we put them on with the small roundtable discussions, the breakout sessions. We ask our partnership, what do you want to learn about? What do you want to hear about? That's why, you know, the AI conversations started here years ago with us having sessions and panel discussions. And now we're finally at that point where we could bring a tool in and collectively help our brokers.

It's really two days of mastermind.

Yeah.

For executives. What I love about what you guys are doing as well is like, if you don't mind giving a little feedback, we had Andrea sitting right here a couple minutes ago. But you also put on, you have academies inside with you, like the new producer, correct? Talk a little bit about that.

Yeah, well, you are, you're a star. You're a star.

Yeah, well, you were, I think you were a highly rated session in our producer Academy. So kudos to you. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was great. We host an account manager academy, the producer Academy, and then two levels of collaboration. Not collaboration, compliance. And those are always very well attended. You know, people are hiring folks in their agencies that don't have any experience and they don't always have the bandwidth to train them or help them to understand what all they need to know. Even compliance. Compliance professionals that attend our academies and those sessions say it's very helpful for them. Compliance, as we know, you know, you have to be all in if you're going to guide your, your groups in a correct manner.

I agree. I was going to ask you, we talked about AI compliance continues to be top of mind. What are some of the hottest topics you're hearing from your members as far as, hey, we need more information or more help on this.

Yeah, well, we partner with KTalk Rock. They are our compliance help desk, which has been such a great resource for us. There's no limit as to how many times our partners can access that tool and they're going to them for ERISA questions, fmla, state specific guidance. Very helpful. And they come back with an answer that's not just a legislative cut and paste. They give them language that you could literally take that email and forward that right onto your client. And then you look like you get the credibility because you're able to answer their question in a manner that they can understand. And you know that's. That's a liability anymore. Your broker. Those groups are looking at their broker not just for their group health plan, their legal advice, HR advice. You know, they want to partner. They want their broker to be able to guide them and partner with them and not just come at renewal time and say, here's your 20% good luck. You know, it's so much more than that.

Well, and speaking of resources and tools, I know when I was a member, it's been quite a few years now. One of the tools that many of the members leverage every year was that annual employee benefits survey. Survey. I have to believe that's still a big resource.

We are not doing that anymore. This was the first year we did not provide that. We entered into a relationship with employer.

Oh yeah.

So we have both Milliman and Employer for our benchmarking capabilities. So that cost, we had to transfer that cost.

Understood. Because I remember the amount of work. Yeah. Every agency had to put in to make that.

Yeah.

Survey.

And I know Andrea, who was sitting here, she was, she was the one that really had to do a lot of that heavy lifting with that great example.

Right. Instead of us doing this every year, making it the huge lift, we got a resource like employer now who can. Yeah. Provide.

Where do you see as you look ahead? We're about to enter renewal season. We're reporting this on September 15th. If you guys look into next year as an industry again, targeting, you're always looking for new agency partners. Where do you see this in schools?

I think that the independents that remain and there are more out there than you would think. They're looking for places to connect. They want that collaboration. They want to make sure that they aren't missing anything, you know, be able to see around the corners that they might have. And there's a trend where I'm seeing some of the agency owners that have, you know, been acquired coming back out, you know, once they went over that bridge, coming back out into the industry and starting their. Their own shops again because they feel like I've seen both angles. I know that I can come back and do this better than I did it previously. Regardless of where they want to grow it to. And some of them are a little amazed when they start. They think, well, maybe I'll just start with a few clients. And then all sudden they get that taste and they see it starting to grow and they're like, I think I would like to do this again a second time.

Well, and I think what's important, and this might be a little different for growth folks because they've been down this path before. But I see an industry trend too, where somebody goes out on their finger and what they quickly realize, oh, there's a whole part of this business called running the business.

Yes.

You can't just sell insurance.

Right?

Running the business.

Yeah.

And I think that's where organizations like UVA become such a great resource, is the operational side of what it means to scale. And I think, I think there's a big opportunity right now for independent agencies because as the big firms continue to buy the big firms and they chase that number one spot on the largest organizations in the industry, I think more and more businesses are going to start to navigate that.

Yes, we want an independent market. And I say that as someone who I work. We work with natural firms.

They still want the relationship. They want someone that they can call and be able to talk to about their issues or problems or things that they need to address that they might not have that, you know, with that national firm. So I think it's important too to seek out consultants and help and other people that can help them with growing that agency because it's just so hard to do it. Whether you're getting that here or whether you're, you know, having a private. I think everyone needs a private mentor and consultant. You know, I've had a sales coach probably for the last seven years.

I was on a call this morning.

Yeah. So I think it's a must have. And they just help keep you straight. You know, I think I always say this. My biggest enemy is between my own ears and I have to take out that head trash, you know, and focus on what I know I can do and accomplish and what I can. You know, I'm naturally curious. So doing this job is a little bit easier for me. I couldn't do it without the amazing team that I have. My coordinator on our recruitment team is just fabulous. She thinks in a way that I do not. And she keeps me on track in a lot of different ways that are helpful to me. And that just goes to show that, you know, collaboration is, I think, for, if, for the right mindset is, can always be helpful. It's not a threat.

It's an African proverb. You want to go fast, go alone if you want to go far.

Exactly. Yeah.

And do you think I'm curious, because you did own your age, an agency at one time, has that helped you as you have conversations with potential people?

100%.

Why you need an organization.

Yeah, 100%.

If somebody's listening and they own an agency, benefits agency, you guys have, you know, and they're asking themselves, do I qualify? Am I a fit for an organization or membership like you do, what should they do?

They would want to have at least a half a million in employee benefits revenue on an annual basis.

They could have just one or two employees.

We prefer they have two producers. But in the right situation, we're really looking for the right fit culturally. Someone that has a good reputation, does things the right way, works for their clients.

And wants to grow. You know, we don't want someone that just wants to come in for the preferred bonus arrangements, you know, and, you know, maybe they look glamorous on paper, but you really want to have someone that's going to be engaged. We ask, you know, for some participation. We ask there to be someone at each one of our conferences. We have committees, we have collaboration groups. We have a dashboard page where we have community conversations going. Every day we ask that you contribute. If you know an answer to something, you know, jump in and help your. Your fellow UVA partners.

I know when I was a producer at Bobadel, one of the things I think was one of the two of the biggest resources from UVA collaborators. I still talk with some of the guys I met back in 2014. And the other piece was, you know, I was going after bigger business here in Colorado, and so I needed those resources to make us look bigger.

Yes.

And I know that UVA resources were definitely. Yeah, I think that, you know, that would be the spell I'd give any agency out there. If you are that independent EV for trying to go upstream more. Having an organization like UBA is super helpful.

Add the legal. Add the benchmarking. Yeah. Add the collaboration, because you got to.

Play the game a little bit of having the resources that everybody else has, but instead of trying to go get them on your own, why not access a resource like.

Yeah, it's a wash. I mean, you probably. A lot of our partners look at UVA as a revenue generator and not.

An expense because it pays. Yeah. So what would be. Pam, somebody is listening. I want to know more about uba. What would be the easiest way to get in touch with Visa at that company.

We have a join UVA link on our public facing website. You can click on that doesn't commit you to anything that will come right to me so that I can reach back out, have a conversation. I usually set up a 15 to 30 minute conversation, just see if we're a good fit for one another. I do not make the decision of who gets partnered here. I take agencies that are interested through an application process. We put them in front of our partnership committee which has one member from each of our nine regions across the US and then they are the ones that make a recommendation to our board of directors to grant a partnership. So it's not my decision, but usually.

Start with somebody's wondering are there geographical boundaries? Like what if one of my competitors is already a member of. You guys maintain certain geographical.

Not anymore. We definitely, yes, we definitely have certain areas of the country that we feel are saturated. Atlanta, Phoenix, Chicago. But if it's for the right firm, we'll always have the conversation. And you never know when someone's going to get acquired and the space is going to open up. So if you're interested, it never hurts to start the conversation.

Well, I'm going to ask the most selfish, important question.

Okay.

I'm giving a keynote talk here in about four hours. Yeah, I need to be prepared for.

I think this is a great crowd. I think you're going to be very well received. I know like I said, our producer Academy had rated you as a top rated speaker. Yes, yes. They'll, they'll be have their own separate table so you can, you'll have a little cheering section. And I think that this, I love the open mindedness here. I think a lot of people have the wrong view of our industry that might not be in this industry, that it's old and it's stale. Male pale and stale I think is what they call it. If you come here you will see that that is not the case.

Yeah.

And I think you'll do a great job today.

Well, I want to thank you for taking the time I wanted to have you on because again, being a former value, the organizational fraud I worked for at the time, I know what Producers Academy did for some of my peers, including myself. And so you're listening in right now. You have, you don't have to be just an employee benefits agency, but if you sell employee benefits and you're looking for an organization to help give you those resources and tools to go upstream, collaborate with others who are playing at a level you're playing with to help you continue challenging as well it out. So Pam, thank you, thank you.

This is my first podcast so I think I can check that box.

Yeah thank you Andy Else have a good week. Have a good weekend and we'll chat with you on the fixite.

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