The Broker's Voice: Nancy Giacolone - President, Olympic Crest Insurance

All right, welcome back to this week's edition of the Broker's Voice. I am excited this week to have a true female powerhouse in our industry. She is a veteran, a very successful veteran in the industry. And we're going to talk about a very cool topic, something that's near and dear to her heart, which is leaving a legacy. But before we get into that, I do want to make a quick announcement, quick plug for our sponsor agency Annex. Listen, if you are an insurance agency right now and you know your website needs a tweak, it needs an upgrade, do yourself a favor, contact Steve Conka and his team over at the agency annex. They will literally build you a website that will become an extra sales weapon for you. So go check them out, connect with them today. Get that done. Because, hey, websites are a powerful place to leave your message. So the ideal prospects are finding you and you don't have to do all the work. All right, let's get into this week's Broker's Voice interview. I am excited to Bring on a 2020 EBA Top Women in advising. She has had a successful insurance practice in the Pacific Northwest for quite some time. I am excited to bring on none other than Nancy Giacalone from Olympic.

Very good, Andy.

Great Northwest. How are you today, Nancy?

I'm great. How are you?

If the reason we're laughing is I completely botched the last name when we were chatting offline. So, Nancy, you have had one successful career here in the health insurance field. And as you and I have talked about offline, let's be honest, we don't have enough female influencers in our industry right now. But before we get there, we're going to talk about that. I want to, just for the few people in our industry who know or don't know who you are, tell us a little bit about you, the practice you have up in the Tacoma area.

Yeah, so I am the founder and sole owner of Olympic Crest Insurance. We're a boutique employee benefit agency, happened to be located in Gig Harbor, Washington. So considering the fact that most people are not going to know where that is, I'm about 40 minutes southwest of Seattle, a beautiful little community right on the Puget Sound. And we specialize in helping businesses from small to mid size. So we work with employers up to about 500 employees. We also work with individuals and Medicare beneficiaries.

That's awesome. And you've had the agency for 25, 35 years. 25 years.

Well, I've been in the industry 35. I will have owned my own agency for 25 in April.

That's awesome. And so, you know, one reason I wanted to have you on the Broker's Voice is you said something to me offline that really I just think is absolutely awesome. That is one of your big goals this year moving forward is to start leaving a legacy in the industry. Before I got so many questions I could ask with that, let's just start. What does legacy mean to you?

Well, legacy means. To me, it means I want to create a lasting difference in this industry, not only for the consumers, but also the professionals that are in this industry. And if I'm going to take it a step further, especially for young female professionals, I want to help them learn how to make a difference in this industry, and I want to give them some tools and support that was not available when I was coming up.

Awesome. And by the way, yeah, Covid rules. I didn't even have my microphone on, so I probably sound different right now. Okay, so that is, you know, I guess where I want to go with that question is I couldn't agree whether it's females, minorities, you name it. We. Let's be honest. This has been an industry made up of, you know, I'm just going to say it. A bunch of white dudes who are about Average age of 56, 57 years old. How do we get more females, more minorities? How can we be out there promoting to get more involved with this industry? Nancy, do you have an idea, a solution?

I don't know that I have a solution, but I know that we need to make a concentrated effort on it, and we need to go to where those people are. You know, you summed it up perfectly. I always say this is an industry of old white dudes. And, you know, and it's never changed. Here we are 35 years later, and it still feels like an industry of old white dudes. We need to do a better job of explaining everything that's available in this industry, the educational opportunities, the networking opportunities, the financial opportunities, so that people really understand what the employee benefits industry is all about. For the most. For the most part, if you ask any broker, did they go to school to get into insurance, the answer is going to be no. Most people got into it by accident, including myself, so there's not. I don't think there's enough awareness around it. And so we need to start going to where people are, helping them understand the opportunities available and then mentoring the living daylights out of them. Because you just can't say, okay, you're hired. Go sell some insurance. Doesn't work that way.

Yeah, I couldn't agree more. You know, what you said, I think if somebody asked me, how many in the industry am I aware of that went to college for that major? I can probably go, you know, on one hand, how many people actually were in a risk management or insurance style of major? And so we all just ended up, some somehow ended up in the business. And I think right out of the gate, one thing I saw, and it's kind of the premise of where my coaching started, was we just don't have training, right? We get in this business, nobody trains us, let alone again, mentoring. I love what you said about mentorship where we're just kind of left to our own right. We're sold on this promise that if we stick around long enough, we'll make good money and go get them and no one's really holding our hand. And I think to your point, you know, I love the fact you're trying to create that legacy, especially with female insurance professionals, because, you know, I've seen too many come in, not get the help, and before you know it, they're gone. In fact, this was a male, male advisor, but a young gentleman that I've been talking to, he's barely 25, 26 year old. He's, he didn't even last a year in the industry. Now he's selling medical equipment because he got in the agency he worked for, provided zero support. It was just kind of go make it happen. And he's already, you know, he's already worn out a little less than 12 months in. It's just sad to see that. So when it comes to the industry right Now, Nancy, obviously 2020, 2021 has created some changes, let's call it permanent changes. Are there any specific areas where you see drastic change coming to our industry in the next five to 10 years?

Well, so many really. And you know, being in an industry, there's a lot of talk around it, but people outside of the industry might not be as aware of it. And I think one of the biggest areas has to do with transparency. And that's a big word, but it covers a lot of areas. It needs, there's going to be, there needs to be transparency with how brokers are compensated, how we need to be very transparent with our clients and we need more transparency with providers. So in other words, if you go to the doctor's office, I need to know how much that's going to cost. I have never walked onto a car lot, said, I'll take that one, driven away and then waited for a bill to show up, you know, a month later.

Yeah.

With no idea, no price range, no idea how much that's going to cost. So we need transparency there. We need transparency in drug pricing as well. And then finally with our insurance carriers, they do serve an important role, but they need to be transparent in what truly are their margins, how much something should cost, how much they're willing to pay, what experience looks like. So we need to really pull the covers back on our industry from A to Z. Yeah.

I've always felt it so amazing how much we make in this industry to create less bad results for our clients. Right.

Lack of transparency has so much to do with that. One other big change I'd love to have you talk about, cause it's where my heart goes to, is how brokers are grabbing the attention of their ideal prospects. I think a lot of it changed in 2020. Right. The people who are relied on live networking, going to events, being a part of associations, they were hit pretty hard because their strategy was thrown for a loop. And one thing you do so well is social media. How do you view. And let's just go even more hyper targeted LinkedIn. Right. Because that's the platform. How do you view LinkedIn as a source of business opportunity for you?

Well, I was a little bit more fortunate than most because I really started getting consistent with posting on LinkedIn a couple years ago. So. So I didn't start in 2020, I started before that. And it has really been a discipline. So it is literally the first thing I do every morning. I have a theme for each day of the week and it's loose, but it helps me have focus about what I want to post about and the form that I want to post in. And so my whole idea behind that was to create a brand that I was a trusted advisor. I was somebody you could go to if you had questions or you needed more information about the industry. And it is a very painfully slow process as you can hack that process. No, you just have to stick with it because it is really that consistency and you can't really count on the. It's not like other platforms where you get the popularity hit. This is something where people see you and you never know that they've seen you. And so it really is, again, making sure that you're always bringing value and.

Really value to the entire community.

Yeah. And I want you to share an example because I love what you said. You know, if you're going there for the quick win, like stop, because that's not going to happen. But you talked about brand. In fact, I got into a conversation with somebody on LinkedIn who basically said, I am so sick of these people talking about personal brands. And I said, I think you're misleading what a personal brand is. I think people, when I hear personal brand, they think like, pro athlete. They've got these logos and stuff. No, no. When you open your mouth, you're sharing your brand. And every interaction you have, you are sharing your brand. So one thing I love that you do is every week you have some. You post content around health and wellness for the people listening in, the other advisors who may be absolutely struggling on how to use LinkedIn. Why do you do that?

Well, I do it because it really goes to the core of my beliefs around the healthcare system. So we talked about the brokers being accountable, we talked about the doctors being accountable, the pharmacies being accountable, the insurance companies being accountable, but we have to be accountable as well. And I think that one of the themes is health starts at home. There is nothing more powerful we can do for our health than what we put in our mouths. And so it's really important. And I think if we leave that piece out of the conversation, we're missing the boat. Is there any direct financial reward for me doing that? Absolutely not. Because I don't sell a health and wellness brand. I sell something that goes along with that. But don't think we can ignore that. And that's been one of the things that's always been somewhat frustrating to me over the years when I would go to, as we called it, the old white dudes conventions, and I would see how people were taking care of themselves, and it was a poor representation of the industry. So I feel it's really important to. To provide good, quality content that's not just direct to my industry, but peripheral as well.

Two things there that I absolutely cannot agree with more. Number one.

I've always felt, being an advisor, that if I'm going to go deliver a 20% increase to my client and tell them the reason they're getting that is because they have an unhealthy group, I better damn well be a healthy individual to have the credibility to say that. Exactly. Because if I'm showing up and I'm not looking like a bill of health and I'm going to tell you, you're not healthy. You know, I always struggle with that. And that might sound vain, I get it, but I'm like, it's our obligation to be the beacons of health. If we're going to be in this industry. The other thing I love what you do there, Nancy, is you're also sharing the personal side of yourself. And I think this is the piece most misses. You're letting people get to know Nancy. You're bringing value to your prospects, but you're also letting them get to know Nancy. And that's what social media is for. You're opening that door to create more likability and trust quicker than what so many advisors are doing right now, trying to call cold call people that have no clue who they are.

I couldn't agree more. I mean, you know how it is. If you meet somebody that you have seen consistently on social media, you feel like you already know them and you instead of starting at zero from trust, you're starting at maybe 10. But it definitely moves you ahead of anybody that does not have a presence.

Bingo. Let's wrap up here. Moving forward, it's you and I are talking on was it February 8, 2021.

As we look forward, what would be your lasting. Okay, let's talk about legacy. What would be your lasting piece of advice for advisors today? The advisors who are trying to have success in 2021, what would you tell them today that you might not have told them 10 years ago?

Well, I do think it's very important to have a personal brand. I think it's very important to be active and engaged on social media.

With intent. Not just to be on there or for vanity, but with intent. And I think it's important to find ways to set yourself apart and be as knowledgeable as you possibly can be. All the other stuff isn't going to count if, when you start, when you actually finally open your mouth, if there's not, if there's not knowledge and value behind that. So those would be the three pronged approach I would suggest.

So. Well said. I think a lot go on LinkedIn for the dopamine hit and they post content that peers and buddies comment and like on, but it's not actually doing the job they want it to do, which is connect with.

So if somebody wanted to reach out to Nancy, whether you know that that female professional insurance professional is looking for some mentorship, what are, what are some of the easiest ways to get a hold of you?

Well, you're always welcome to message me directly here on LinkedIn, Nancy Giacoloni, you can email me nancympiccrust.com or also visit my website. And anybody that just even wants to chat about anything that would help them professionally, I'm always available.

Awesome. Well, if you're listening in right now. And you are in the insurance industry. Do yourself a favor, please go. At a minimum, follow Nancy on LinkedIn. She does an outstanding job. If you're a female insurance advisor, connect with Nancy. Reach out. This is somebody you need to be modeling and looking up to. So, Nancy, one last time, thank you for the time you gave today for Broker's Voice.

Thanks, Andy. I enjoyed it.

And for everybody else out there, you know what happens when clarity and confidence collide. Massive action happens. Go make it happen today.