Evolved Broker Podcast

My guest today is the CEO of ResourcePro. When he joined they had about 25 employees, 125k in revenue, and 4 clients. They have more than 6,000 employees, over $100M in revenue, and they provide outsourcing solutions to hundreds of insurance firms across the country.

Dan Epstein may be one of my most interesting guests to date. He grew up in England, served in the Israeli army, got his MBA from Columbia, became a stand-up comedian, and eventually found ResourcePro and grew it to become the premier operations provider in the industry.

We discussed:

·       Growing up in the UK

·       Some wild military stories

·       Moving to the US

·       ResourcePro

·       And his Advice for Scaling a Massive Company

My guest today runs the #1 Sales & Marketing conference in the insurance industry. He is a sales trainer, speaker, entrepreneur, and has one of the largest social media followings for anyone in our industry. At 30 years old, he owns five insurance-based companies grossing over $8M in annual sales. His name is Cody Askins and if you haven’t heard of him already, I guarantee you will soon.

Cody’s sole mission is to help every insurance agent in the world by providing applicable, hands-on skills and training to insurance agents and agencies worldwide. He accomplishes this through free weekly videos, training classes, and private coaching. If you are ready to get hyped on sales and strategies to build wealth, you will love this conversation.

Cody and I discussed:

· The 8% Nation Conference

· Sales Tactics

· Digital marketing

· Keys to growing your online presence

Rick Lindsey is CEO of one of the most unique insurance companies in the industry. They specialize in writing some of the riskiest things you can think of… from exotic animals, to avalanche control, to acrobatic yoga and entertainer liability, they are not afraid to provide insurance. You might think that by writing these wild classes of business that they are not profitable, and this could not be farther from the truth. Their combined ratio is 72% which is about 30 points better than the industry average.

He grew Prime from seven employees to over 200 and now writes about $300 million in premium/year. Beyond insurance, Rick was a hockey star that trained with the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” USA Hockey Team. Rick has an incredibly unique view on the industry – so I think this will be an entertaining episode for everybody in the insurance business.

Rick and I discussed:

·       His personal background & hockey career

·       His experience as an entrepreneur

·       Prime Insurance

·       Rick’s thoughts on the future of the industry

Sean Brady Jr. is an incredible example of perseverance, dedication, and grit both IN the insurance world and OUTSIDE the insurance world.

He played on the Duke Lacrosse team the year after three players were falsely accused of rape. While experiencing the residual stigma associated with the criminal accusations, Sean and Duke won an NCAA Lacrosse Championship in 2010.

Another scandal rocked Duke athletics that same year when a viral PowerPoint was released by a Duke student that revealed intimate details of her sexual interactions with multiple Duke student-athletes. Sean was included in the PowerPoint, but instead of dwelling on a blemished reputation, he doubled down on lacrosse – signing with a major league lacrosse team and winning a championship in 2015.

After reaching the pinnacle of pro lacrosse, Sean retired from the sport to enter the world of business with his dad at Brady Risk in Long Island, NY. Sean developed a strong niche in the hospitality space, then COVID-19 hit his clients, his income, and his value proposition extremely hard. Sean fought hard to pivot, develop new niches, and establish new revenue streams, coming out of the pandemic in a better position than he was in before.

Sean and I discussed:

·       The Duke Lacrosse scandal and his experience dealing with the fallout

·       His resolve to persevere through the release of the viral PowerPoint

·       Winning NCAA & professional lacrosse championships

·       Growing Brady Risk Management

·       Successfully fighting through COVID-19 by developing new niches

My guest today is Tony Quartaro, and he is the Executive Advisor at a firm called the Culture Index. Now, you may not have heard of Tony or the Culture Index but his team has helped me take gigantic strides with my own business that I never even dreamed were possible.

If you are growing a team or looking to hire great people for your business, you know that finding the right people for specific roles within your company is SUPER hard.

              • You have to consistently maintain a pipeline of quality candidates

              • You have to waste A TON of time on really bad interviews

              • Even if someone interviews great, they could be a bad fit

We discuss:

              • Why normal hiring processes fail

              • How to build a team full of superstars

              • The ideal sales personality

              • Personality testing & dating

And so much more. As always, thank you for listening, and keep evolving!

Dame Inga Beale was the first female CEO of Lloyd’s of London in its 335-year history. She is a Dame, which is the female equivalent of a Knight, and received that honor for her services to the UK economy during her time as CEO.

Lloyd’s of London, for those that don’t know, is the oldest insurance market in the world and has around $40 billion in GWP.

Inga was instrumental in modernizing Lloyd's by moving it from a paper-based environment to an electronic trading environment. She is also openly bi-sexual and is a powerful advocate for diversity and inclusion.

As you can imagine, she has an incredible story, and she serves as a shining role model for progress and achievement in the industry.

We discussed:

• Her path to becoming CEO

• Being named a Dame

• Opening up about sexuality at work

• Improving diversity and inclusion in the insurance industry

• Advice for aspiring CEOS

• And much more.

On this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the most dynamic individuals in the insurance industry.

At 35 years old, Trevor Baldwin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Baldwin Risk Partners. Baldwin Risk Partners is the first agency in over 15 years to take a piece of their firm public. At the time of their IPO, insurance journal noted their valuation at $908 million dollars.

They now have more than 800 employees nationwide, over 500,000 clients, and they are on a mission to be one of the top 10 largest insurance agencies in the country.

We discuss:

-What it’s like taking a company public

-What you do with $230,000,000

-Being the CEO of a unicorn at 35-years-old

-Philosophies on growing a small agency

-How BRP defines company culture

Check out BRP online: https://baldwinriskpartners.com/

Follow Pat on Instagram: @patbcostello

https://www.evolvedbrokerpodcast.com/

My guests today teach the most famous and popular course offered in the Stanford MBA program. This course is called Interpersonal Dynamics and my guests today are Carole Robin and David Bradford. Their class teaches students HOW TO BUILD EXCEPTIONAL relationships. They are releasing a book called Connect in February that breaks down the classes’ major lessons. In my opinion there isn’t a more important book for the insurance industry because as I have said before, WE ARE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BUSINESS. I am honored because I was able to read the book and speak with them prior to its release. We go through the major takeaways that you can apply to relationships with your prospects, your clients, your co-workers, your family, and even your significant other.

This book is recommended by some of the most influential people in the world. It has received endorsements from Reid Hoffman, the Co-Founder of LinkedIn, Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post and the CEO of Thrive Global, and Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and author of the book Principles - to name a few!

In life, there are few things more rewarding than having a relationship with someone that you can truly call exceptional. It’s one of the primary keys to happiness and I promise that you will be able to take what you hear today and apply it in your personal and professional life immediately.

We discuss:

-How building relationships can be similar to climbing a mountain

-The 15% Rule

-Why shyness holds us back

-The power of sharing feelings rather than experiences

-Why saying “I feel like…” can be unproductive

-Vulnerable leadership

-Sympathy vs. Empathy

-And finally, helping others without giving unsolicited advice

Follow Pat on Instagram: @patbcostello

https://www.evolvedbrokerpodcast.com/

My guest today is the leader and owner of the one of the oldest publications in the United States. His company’s newsletters were originally delivered on horseback and they were the innovator behind many of the tools the insurance industry uses today.

You may have seen their magazine covers hanging in the entry way of agencies across the country. My guest today is Walt Gdowski the CEO and owner of Rough Notes Magazine. Rough Notes celebrated their 143-year anniversary on November 10th.

Walt has incredible insight into the impact of Insurtech on the industry and the secrets of the most successful insurance agencies.

He was the driving force behind quadrupling Roughnotes revenue in under 5 years. Walt and I discussed:

•      The incredible history of Rough Notes

•      Walt’s personal background including his love for flying WW2 planes

•      And finally, his thoughts on the future of the industry

Learn more about Walt and Rough Notes: http://roughnotes.com/

Follow Pat on Instagram: @patbcostello

https://www.evolvedbrokerpodcast.com/

My guest today is Chris Paradiso. Chris is one of the most passionate and dynamic agency owners in the insurance industry today. Within his 22 years as a licensed Insurance agent, Chris’s unwavering dedication to exemplary customer service has led him to build and grow his own agency to the 25+ employees that it is today. Established in 2006, Paradiso Insurance recently won Safeco and Liberty Mutual’s National Agent for the Future Award in 2019 and is currently licensed in 37 states with plans to be licensed in all 50 within the near future. Paradiso Insurance’s Parcel Delivery Division is currently the second largest in the country for insuring FedEx Independent Contractors and has recently grown to include Amazon DSPs and LSPs as well. Chris’s clear vision has helped direct other insurance agencies to push the envelope and find their own success as well through his coaching work with Paradiso Presents.

Chris can always be found researching the next best thing in the insurance world and is seen as a digital pioneer in an industry that is behind the times as far as digital technology and automation. Through his work with Aureus Analytics, Chris is paving the way for insurance agencies everywhere to be able to provide better, more accurate data on their customer base which will lead to better customer service as well as a better bottom line. A family man at heart, Chris Paradiso leads his team with these fundamental principles: family is everything and if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

We discuss:

• The importance of a strong digital content calendar

• Using current events to boost your digital footprint

• Why you should have a videographer at all of your company events

• Winning industry awards and using that publicity to maximize engagement

• How to become a #1 agency on Google

Learn more about Paradiso Insurance: https://www.paradisoinsurance.com/

Follow Pat on Instagram: @patbcostello

https://www.evolvedbrokerpodcast.com/