Living the insurance dream- adding value, sharing with others and just plain having fun

I am 110% inspired and rejuvenated. And you know why? I just returned from PIA of Ohio’s Agency Management and Profitability Conference (AMPC). I attended last year (for the first time), but this year I participated as a roundtable discussion panelist. More on that in a minute…..

I have always been impressed by PIA of Ohio’s commitment to education, advocacy and overall support of the agency system. The AMPC makes the commitment real. Everything about the conference is designed to help insurance professionals succeed. The topics, presentations, networking, vendor exhibits. Everything. Here’s a sample of what I attended:

Keynote by Archie Griffin (Yes, THAT Archie Griffin). He was very inspiring.
marketplace hall with insurance-related vendors
“Step Back from the Baggage Claim”- by Jason Barger, author of the book of the same title. Jason’s emphasis was on stepping back to regain focus and living in the present. I bought the book and read it over two evenings. Very powerful stuff.
“How to Sell More Online Using Great People Skills”- actionable, realistic, and very doable strategies to move into the online world while still retaining the “human” side of the transaction.
Marketplace exhibition- a wide variety of vendors tailored to the insurance industry.

But Friday is the day I was really stoked about- the appearance of The Insurance Goddess as a panelist for a roundtable discussion entitled “Using Technology to Move Forward.” What an honor. I was one of three panelists, along with Matt Brown, an award-winning leader, nationally recognized insurance professional, author of The Insurance Xperience and several eBooks, and a popular speaker on personal marketing strategies (www.mattmbrown.com) and Ted Janusz, business adviser on face-to-face social networking, electronic social networking and how to manage ourselves (www.januspresentations.com). Esteemed company indeed. After our intros, the moderator asked a few focused questions, then opened it up to the attendees for their questions.

panelists for roundtable discussion

PIA won’t have evaluation results compiled for a while, but the feedback I overheard was overwhelmingly positive.

I appreciate conferences, but am always most appreciative of the information shared by someone who is “just like me.” It’s not pie in the sky, but real-life advice and tips from someone’s who’s “been there.” That’s gold folks…..

attendees at the roundtable discussion

It’s also hopeful. And I think that was the overwhelming theme of this year’s conference. There is hope in our industry. Yes, you may have to work harder than before, but with your hard work & creativity, you can move forward, be more memorable and beat the status quo.

A huge Thanks to PIA of Ohio for the opportunity and my friend Matt Brown for suggesting to PIA that I be on the panel. I had more fun than anyone will ever know and hope I inspired the participants to not be afraid, but to be joyous and revel in the changes ahead. And above all, be memorable.

having a little fun before the roundtable discussion

I would love any feedback you can give, especially if you attended. Thoughts? What was your take on it? What did you learn that will help you?

As always, thanks for reading.

Ted Janusz

Goddess,

I was talking with one of the attendees after the panel discussion, he said, “As just another insurance salesperson, I have no brand like the Insurance Goddess. I’m glad I don’t work in her town, because with her brand and subsequently delivering on her brand’s promise, she can OWN the insurance business in that town.”

Ted Janusz
- carrie
  
  Ted,
  Thanks for commenting. Yep, my hope is for world domination, but with a big smile 🙂 Hopefully the attendee got some good ideas and wasn’t discouraged. My message was one of hope and even if you don’t have The Insurance Goddess, you CAN own your own brand. You just have to figure out what you want your brand to be, then work it. Thank you for your valuable information as well. I enjoyed sharing the stage with you and learning from you. When you quit learning, you quit living……
Matt Brown

Hey Carrie it was a great time and I’m glad we got to share the panel stage together 🙂 Great ideas on personal branding – thanks for sharing! Ted was brilliant, I really appreciated hearing his insight and feedback on social media in general, awesome time!
- carrie
  
  Matt,
  Thanks for the comment. Yes, it was an amazing opportunity and we do work well together :). I too learned valuable information from you- information I can actually implement to do better. Thank YOU for that. And thank you for pushing the envelope and showing others there is always a way to move forward and prosper. And above all, thanks for being such a good friend, always encouraging & always believing.
Becky Taylor

I would “like” this a hundred times if I could! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
- Anonymous
  
  Becky, Thank you for reading and for the opportunity.
  
  ——– Original Message ——–Subject: [confessionsofaninsurancegoddess] Re: Living the insurancedream- adding value, sharing with others and just plain having funFrom: “Disqus” <>Date: Thu, September 22, 2011 3:19 pmTo: carrie@galvezinsurance.com
  
  Becky Taylor wrote: I would “like” this a hundred times if I could! Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
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