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Marketing Agency of the Month In the spirit of service! HFA Haywood and Fleming Associates engages the city of Gary, Indiana By Dennis H. Pillsbury
Roosevelt Haywood, III, grew up around the insurance business. Although both his mom and dad came to Gary, Indiana, from the South to work in the mills, his father quickly moved on to the insurance business. “He was one of the pioneers in the insurance business in this area,” Roosevelt says. “I always remember seeing my dad in a shirt and tie with a briefcase. “I knew that I wanted to do something other than work in the mills and always knew that I would go to college,” he continues. He admits, however, that the insurance business was not his first choice. “I saw how hard my dad worked. He worked on Saturdays. On Sundays, he had me come in to the office to help clean up. Working seven days a week wasn’t exactly what I saw as a dream job.” So after graduating from Indiana University in 1973 with a degree in business, Roosevelt went to work for the phone company and found out that he was an entrepreneur who really did not fit in the corporate world. After six years, the phone company suggested to Roosevelt that he might pursue a different career. “I went to work with my dad but found the situation to be more constraining than the phone company. The hours were long and the pay was low.”
Well, if you can’t work for corporate America and you can’t work for your father, then probably the best employer you can find will be the person you see in the mirror every morning. So Roosevelt went into business for himself, setting up Haywood and Fleming Associates in 1984 to sell life insurance for The Equitable, but he quickly diversified into property and casualty so he could better serve the community in which he lived and worked. Greg Fleming, whose name appears on the door, was a good friend of Roosevelt and, although he never became a partner in the firm, the name was there to distinguish Roosevelt’s agency from his father’s. Greg worked at the agency for a while, although he has since left and “is pursuing his dream by helping people with retirement planning,” Roosevelt says. “In the beginning, we were strictly a personal lines agency, writing nonstandard business because it was difficult to get a standard contract at that time. We also began dabbling in small commercial on an excess and surplus lines basis.” And, strangely enough, it turned out that his dream job actually did involve working seven days a week at times or at least being available 24/7.
It’s all about relationships “The most important part of my life is that I am a practicing Christian and truly believe in doing the best and right thing for people,” Roosevelt says. And that philosophy carries through to agency operations in the way the agency does business and in the way everyone at the agency relates to each other, to the agency’s clients, to its insurance company partners, and to the community served by the firm—Gary, Indiana. “This community is what made us,” Roosevelt says, “and we will never abandon our roots here. Even though we have gotten bigger and now have standard markets, we continue to provide coverage to those people who started with us. We’ve been blessed by the support of the community and we will always be there to help anyone who sincerely wants our help. The community is what made us and will continue to make us. We are actively involved in the community on a daily basis. We work with the churches, schools, participate at expos, and sponsor Little League, Biddy Basketball and Pop Warner teams. It’s a win-win where we get to do something good for the community that gets our name out there in front of potential clients.”
Of course, Roosevelt also puts strong emphasis on relationships with the other important community—the insurance community. “I got involved with the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana right from the start and wound up on the agent/company relations committee,” Roosevelt says. “I was discussing my situation (wanting to write more standard lines business) with the other members and one of them spoke up for me with Brent Humes of The Hartford. I had recently gotten my first standard contract with American States in 1994 and, thanks to the recommendation from a friend to a friend, The Hartford followed right after that.” Today, The Hartford is one of the top companies in the firm, providing coverage for the City of Gary, the Sanitary District, and the U.S. Steel Yard baseball stadium, among others. In addition to membership in the Indiana Big “I,” Roosevelt is active in a number of other trade associations. He has served as a governor on the board of the CPCU Society, is on the Advisory Council of the Association of Black Actuaries and was chairman of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA). In that latter capacity, he and the people in his agency helped what was then a fledgling organization put together national conferences in Las Vegas, Chicago and Brooklyn—“And we didn’t miss a beat,” Roosevelt comments. “I have some of the best people in the industry. We have a lot of high-end public sector accounts and the staff is the reason we are able to retain those accounts. They perform beyond expectations every day. When they were helping the NAAIA plan the national conferences, they continued to maintain and grow our book of business.”
It’s also about perseverance Relationships are a key part of the story. However, it also takes perseverance and a knowledge of the industry. “We have great relationships with the members of our community, but that doesn’t mean that they are just going to move their business to us,” Roosevelt points out. “We have to prove ourselves. They have to know that we can do the job for them. We always have prospects in the pipeline that we keep in contact with on a regular basis because we know that works. We communicate with clients and prospects regularly, letting them know what we are doing and what we have to offer. It took me 10 years to land the Gary Sanitary District; five years to get the school system and several years of effort to get involved with the casinos. Don H. Barden, who has been recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year in Black Enterprise magazine, had the first casino riverboat here—the Majestic Star. He was followed quickly by Donald Trump. Mr. Barden eventually purchased Trump’s boat and it became the Majestic Star II. He has made opportunities available to me and at the same time has been very generous with his time. He has twice been a keynote speaker at NAAIA events taking place at the Palmer House in Chicago.
“You have to continue the process of acquisition. You talk to people. You explain what you do and why you do it better than others. I have an advantage in Gary. The residents of the town and the people in the public sector want to do business with a local agent. And, because the town is 85% African American, residents can more easily relate to doing business with someone who is African American, but that doesn’t mean they will, unless we can live up to their due diligence. And we do.” Staying hungry As Roosevelt pointed out earlier, it is the staff that has been largely responsible for the firm’s success. And this year, each of the four staff members will have the opportunity to earn extra rewards for their efforts. Each of the divisions is becoming a profit center, with bonuses being based on the results. Arvella Swayne is in charge of personal lines, an area where Roosevelt believes there is “incredible opportunity for the agency to grow. We’re about 20% personal lines, which is strange for an agency that started out in personal lines, but that’s how it’s evolved. I see personal lines as a real growth opportunity for us.”
Leslie L. Leslie, vice president of marketing and operations, will be going after major commercial lines accounts. “We need to cross over to the private sector,” Roosevelt maintains. “We’re very strong in the public sector, but there is plenty of area for growth in the private sector and we have a track record that should help us convince accounts that we can do the job.” Kiana Player will be reaching out to the small and mid-sized commercial accounts, which is a sizable market segment, as well as handling employee benefits. And Da’Von Jackson, who serves as Roosevelt’s administrative assistant, can’t be paid enough. Roosevelt says that she supports the entire agency and keeps him on track. He has a busy travel schedule and does a lot of advance planning. Da’Von has to make certain there are enough hours in the day for Roosevelt to live up to his commitments. The next big thing And talk about new commitments. “We will be establishing a revenue stream in Chicago,” Roosevelt says, adding, “I’ve joined several organizations in Chicago and I need to be there. I’m in the Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs (ABLE) and we recently met with Governor Rob Blagojevich, who hosted us at the State of Illinois Building to discuss business opportunities. There are only three insurance professionals in ABLE and every member has an insurance need. I go, listen, learn and let people know that I am approachable and available to help with their concerns,” Roosevelt states. “I have already approached fellow insurance professional Shirley Evans-Wofford with the idea of collaborating to get more business by creating a critical mass.
“I always put myself in the position of being an adviser to people who are looking for help with their insurance. It puts people at ease and puts me in the position of consulting rather than selling. I’ve already had several people in the group talk to me about helping them out with a particular insurance situation. Haywood and Fleming Associates will have a branch in Chicago in the near future,” he asserts. He concludes, “We aren’t the biggest but try to be the best and we’re all pulling together in that direction. This approach has created a synergy that has allowed us to compete with larger players in the marketplace.” And, at the same time, it allows Roosevelt to pay back those people who have helped him succeed, to put his principles into action. And for that, he has been recognized by The Indiana University Alumni Association, which presented him with the President’s Award recently in 2005. Roosevelt sums it up: “What I love about this business is relationships.” That says it all. That’s what makes the agency business so great and the reason we are proud to salute Haywood and Fleming Associates as our Marketing Agency of the Month. * |
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