John Love is a director of AH&T Technology Brokers, a business unit of AH&T of Leesburg, Virginia--the 1997 Rough Notes Marketing Agency of the Year. Operating in a fast-paced environment, Love works long hours early in the week and tapers off toward the weekend.
You're 33 years old, a serious, goal-oriented independent producer with a highly successful career and a principal in the well-known regional agency where you've worked since 1989. Between October of 1997 and October of 1998, you booked combined property/casualty and life/health commission of $712,000. Monday nights find you at the office well past midnight. You're also married, with three children age 5 and under. Obviously, you're a workaholic who toils at the office nights and weekends, seeing your wife and kids only as you're rushing out the door each morning...or are you?
If your name is John Love and you're the director of a specialized business unit at your Virginia agency, you fit the above profile--except that you know the difference (and draw the line) between working hard and being a workaholic. You meticulously plan your schedule to make the most of each working hour--and to allow plenty of time for family, church, and leisure activities. In fact, you seem to have it all: warm, loving family...challenging, rewarding career...rich spiritual life. How do you do it?
From loan officer to agent
Like many successful independent producers, Love didn't set his sights on a career in insurance. He put himself through undergraduate and graduate school at James Madison University, where he earned a master's degree in public administration in 1988. "I knew some of the things I wanted in a career, but not which industry could best provide them," Love observes. "I had some degree of self-confidence but had not envisioned myself as a salesman." He accepted a job as a mortgage banking loan officer trainee for a major regional bank and after six months became a loan officer in Leesburg, Virginia. While holding that position, Love arranged refinance loans for some employees of Armfield, Harrison & Thomas Inc., a respected local insurance agency that will be familiar to many readers as the Rough Notes 1997 Marketing Agency of the Year. The employees mentioned him to the then-chairman (now retired) of AH&T, who recruited Love to join the agency.
"My first reaction was, 'Insurance? No way!'" Love recalls. "I had the image of a life insurance salesman bugging people in elevators. Still, I respected the principals at AH&T enough to let them explain further." As he listened, Love says, he learned a lot he hadn't known about career opportunities in insurance. "The attractive aspects that led me to AH&T were:
* the technical and professional challenges of a career in property/casualty insurance
* a system where I could keep clients for a long time and develop meaningful professional and personal relationships
* the opportunity to control my own success and, overall, my destiny (I found working for a large organization required too much nonproductive work and schmoozing to get recognized.)
* the offer of ownership if I produced at a high level and showed management skills."
Love joined AH&T in 1989 as a producer. "After passing the P&C licensing exam, I followed a loosely structured training program that involved a lot of mentoring and learning as I went," Love explains. "I was not forced to pursue any particular niche or production area, and by the end of the year I began to get a feel for the types of clients I liked working with; the sizes of accounts and types of problems I could solve; and the pace of prospecting and proposal preparation I could handle." At the same time, he notes, "the mid-Atlantic technology industry was really gathering steam. I saw that the high-tech niche was one in which there were no established agents, and many senior producers just didn't understand the technology products and services of our local companies."
Seizing the initiative
Love wasted no time stepping into the breach. "By the end of 1991 I was working exclusively on high-tech prospects, and my success really took off," he recalls. "I teamed with another of our partners, David Schaeffer, and we began winning a lot of new accounts by learning the technical aspects of insuring property and computer equipment, including in-transit exposures, understanding electronics errors and omissions forms, and the best classifications for the workers compensation and general liability exposures of high-tech clients."
John uses technology to track both his work time and leisure time. He averages 50-55 hours of work per week and he's home for his children's bedtime an average of 18 times a month.
In 1995 Love achieved two key goals: He completed the requirements for his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation, and he became a principal in the agency and was named director of AH&T Technology Brokers, a "priority business unit" (or PBU) that focuses on meeting the specialized needs of the agency's high-tech clients. "The business model of a PBU is something David and I worked on a lot together, and it seems to have worked quite well, because our production and retention rates are above industry averages," Love observes.
The Love family includes John; his wife, Jamie; and their children (left to right) Connor, age 3; Hayley, 5; and Brooke, 1.
A question of balance
Learning the insurance business...mastering sales skills...becoming familiar with the complex exposures of high-tech firms...studying for CPCU exams...and being a full partner in the rearing of three children age 5 and under--how does John Love manage this delicate balancing act, and why does he sound so happy and proud when talking about both his family and his insurance career?
First of all, it helps that John and his wife, Jamie, have known each other more than half their lives. You guessed it: they were high school sweethearts. "We started dating when we were 16 and married at 24," Love says. "Jamie was a successful loan officer before I went into banking, and she was responsible for getting me my interview for the job. When she retired to have Hayley (the couple's first child, now 5) and begin her second career as a household manager, she was making more money than I was in insurance!" he exclaims, adding, "This had allowed us to save quite a bit and cushion the effect of losing her income." In addition to Hayley, John and Jamie are the parents of Connor, 3, and Brooke, 1.
When you and your spouse have known each other since high school, you're pretty familiar with each other's preferences and bugaboos. "Because we've been together for so long (17 years and counting), we know each other's likes and dislikes, so we try to balance our activities to meet each other's needs," Love says. "We try to go to the Caribbean for a week every spring without the kids to sail and scuba dive. We have friends and family in the area and balance our weekends visiting them. We try not to be gone the whole weekend, because if we were, by Sunday night we'd be exhausted."
And exhausted is exactly what John Love doesn't want to be on Monday, because that's his long day at the office. "I work every Monday from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 or 12:00 p.m. I occasionally work until 2:00 or 3:00 the next morning, but I no longer do this more than one night a week," Love says. What's the advantage of putting in such a long day at the beginning of the week? "This way, I set the pace for my week, and when Friday comes, I'm not burned out."
Building on strengths
As a young agent with a growing family, what are some of the challenges Love faces in balancing work and family? How is he dealing with those challenges--without getting burned out?
"Sales in any industry can be very stressful--especially in insurance, with the long lead times," Love comments. "I have a basic pattern I've developed to fit my personal strengths." First, "I try to average between 50 and 55 hours of work a week. During my busy times of May and June, December and January, I'll be closer to 55 to 60 hours a week, so I don't feel guilty if I cut back in a slower time. My first three years I frequently worked Saturdays in the office, but I almost never do that anymore. I don't worry if my day starts early or late; I simply know if I can work 10 to 12 hours that day, I'll get something done and I can continue the next day."
That's a lot of hours at work. But a look at Love's calendar shows another side to the story. "The average number of nights a month I'm home for the kids' bedtime is 18," Love says. "My wife and I have two dates a month. Over a year, we usually have two three-day weekends and two one-week vacations. And we attend church or Bible study five times a month."
Time management: art and science
Ambitious and focused, Love knows that efficient time management is the key to both business success and personal satisfaction. In setting up his schedule, he allocates his time to the activities he knows are most productive. "Each month, I try to average:
* four networking events
* six to eight new business/prospect appointments
* meetings with certain larger clients (with others I meet quarterly)
* two meetings or fewer with insurance company representatives
* four to six lunches with clients or prospects and referral sources (in the summer this may be a golf outing)."
Not surprisingly, the word "downtime" has no place in Love's vocabulary. "I do heavy reading on insurance technical issues and in technology industry trade journals," he says. "I eat lunch at my desk and read, and I also read at home, and work on my laptop after the kids have gone to bed." And when he's in the car, he doesn't just drive. "I use my car phone to conduct business so I don't waste time en route to and from appointments." Love also is judicious in his use of the World Wide Web. "I use the Internet for research and education and e-mail links to staff and clients. I've never played a game on my computer, and I don't visit Web sites that aren't useful for business," he declares.
Other time-management aids Love uses are a Daytimer, a Lotus Notes calendar, and e-mail. "I ask others in the office to set appointments for me in the calendar, and I check it several times a day," he explains. "I print the calendar out several times a month and bring it home to Jamie with highlights on any evening events or out-of-town trips. She gives me notes on family events to schedule in my calendar. I write everything in my Daytimer, and I carry it with me everywhere."
"Good producers make enough money to generate solid retirement income without agency ownership...Consider passing up the pressures of ownership and enjoying your career--and family--more."
Deliberate and meticulous, Love makes full use of his agency's support staff to perform tasks that wouldn't make the best use of his time. "I review clients' portfolios periodically and e-mail thoughts, questions, and instructions to our service and support staff as needed," he says. "Before I do anything, I ask myself, 'Is this something a support person can do for me?' I think it's important to be willing to do any task, large or small, but a producer is most valuable to his or her agency when selling, not doing data entry." Love believes strongly in establishing clear lines of communication to help himself and others achieve their business goals. "I communicate to clients, CSAs, support staff, insurer representatives--anyone I work with--what I'm trying to accomplish and how I plan to do it," he says.
Making every minute count
Equally as important as allocating adequate time to important tasks, Love believes, is being able to identify and avoid activities that don't produce results. He keeps an eagle eye out for the common time-wasters many people engage in without even thinking about them. "I use e-mail and voice mail as much as possible. I find it helps me avoid extraneous conversations. I'm good at presentations, so I want to be 'selling' as frequently as possible," he says. "I also try to avoid:
* too many internal meetings (and I can't stand meetings that last more than an hour)
* networking events if it's just a bunch of other salespeople
* insurance company events. I'll try to meet with company reps two or three times a year at our office, but I just don't think my time is as well spent with carrier marketing reps as opposed to potential clients. I can be the nicest, most popular guy in the world, but that doesn't matter if I don't have business to bring them. Underwriters are people just like me who want to do their job and see their families, so I don't think they mind if all I do is discuss business with them.
* attending meetings with producers who work for my competitors. They're usually nice, likable people, and I don't want to lose my edge competing against 'Stan' because I just met him last week and thought he was a great guy.
* volunteering for committees that have regular meetings. If you need me to do something, tell me, and I'll let you know if I can, but don't have weekly meetings about things we 'should' be doing.
* taking out-of-town trips or attending long conferences. This keeps me more accessible to my clients and lets me be home at night with my family.
* pursuing prospects I don't understand or like. I'm perfectly comfortable with the fact that not everyone will like me; and conversely, I wouldn't want everyone I meet as a client."
A word from the family
What does Love think his wife and children would say about the way he balances work and family? "They know that whether I see them for 10 minutes or 10 hours on any given day, I love them intensely," he responds. "We attend church together, and I believe that family must be considered more important than anything, or eventually you'll lose everything worthwhile." He acknowledges his family's concern about his demanding schedule. "They worry that I work too much, but our agency is having so much success that it's not like drudgery with no reward. My wife and I have a couple of dates each month, and as the kids get older I schedule more one-on-one time with each. I love putting them to bed and reading stories; it's very relaxing for me. Planning ahead allows me time to schedule time for their school events, recitals, parties, etc. My schedule varies each week, but my priorities don't. So one week I'll be home four weeknights for bedtime and the next week only two, but it evens out every month."
Words of advice
What suggestions does Love have for other young agents who, like him, need to spend time building their careers and at the same time want to be full participants in family life? Here's what he recommends:
* Accept that you are in charge of your own success and pick an organization that will give you the freedom and support to make your own way.
* Study the strengths of your agency and the economy and pick an area of specialization.
* Stay with the niche you chose unless there's a dramatic change in its characteristics. In other words, don't worry if you have a few competitors; you'll still win some, and eventually you'll win more than your share. The second and third years of this business are the hardest, and that's when a new producer needs to gut it out and stick to his or her plan. Failure is never "everyone else's" fault. On the other hand, accept that you won't win them all. If you have a success ratio of proposals to wins of less than 20% for more than a year, you may indeed need to change your focus.
* Don't listen to or socialize with negative people or down-on-their-luck veterans. Your greatest strength can come from believing you are right, whether or not you are. This is a very tough balance, and it's one of the reasons I believe you need to have your own spiritual life in order--so you can be confident without being arrogant.
* Don't waste your time socializing and partying on weekdays. I like to have fun, but the reality is that happy hour becomes happy night, and you'll never get a thing done.
* Pick some activity as your stress reliever--exercise, music, gardening, reading--and don't be ashamed of your need to unwind. If you have a family, they'd rather have 30 minutes with a happy parent than two hours with a grump.
* Your agency's owner will affect your mental well-being. Never be afraid to leave your current place of employment and seek one with trustworthy principals. If an owner consistently makes a producer feel as if the owner is responsible for the producer's success, that producer should make plans to leave, almost without regard for the repercussions. The best producers are successful regardless of who owns the agency and, conversely, very few owners can turn an unsuccessful producer into a star.
* Don't get trapped into thinking equity is everything. If you have a healthy family and have built a good book of business, consider forgoing the strains of agency ownership. This may sound strange, but the reality is that good producers make enough money to generate solid retirement income without agency ownership. If you are an owner, while you're waiting for your equity "golden egg" to mature, you'll have more headaches than you can imagine. Consider passing up the pressures of ownership and enjoying your career--and family--more.
Can a young, ambitious producer with a growing family really "have it all"? It's possible--especially when, like John Love, you know your priorities and use your talents and energy to keep them in balance. *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1999