A warm welcome to our new regional sales leaders

As Independent Producers of America (IPA) continues to expand nationwide, we have a wonderful opportunity to reach new states and serve more small business owners. I am very happy to welcome six new regional sales leaders to our team.

I would like to congratulate Doug Lewin on his promotion from divisional sales leader to regional sales leader in the northeast Florida area.

The addition of James Creasy means we have a regional sales leader back in Virginia and can serve small business owners in the central part of the state. I would like to thank James for joining our team and working with Bob Wingate.

We’ve also expanded in Texas. John Amann will form the Texas triangle with Marc Juele and Larry Medcalf, giving IPA the opportunity to better serve the self-employed in the great state of Texas.

Two of my former colleagues have also joined our team—Barry Jacoby in southwest Florida and Carlos Gamiz in southeast Florida. I look forward to serving with them again and know they will work hard to protect small business owners in south Florida.

I would also like to welcome Roxanne and Mitch Huggins back to the IPA team. Roxanne will return as a regional sales leader, while Mitch will be a divisional sales leader. They will work with Dan DeNeui and serve the Kansas and eastern Nebraska territory.

Join me in welcoming the new members of our team.

Until Next Time,

D-

Independent Producers of America (IPA)

The benefits of working with Independent Producers of America

Every week we welcome new agents to our team. I enjoy watching our organization develop and grow as new people join and contribute. Even during this difficult economy our young company continues to thrive and prosper.

We live the American dream of being self-employed entrepreneurs. I believe this freedom is one of the best advantages of working with Independent Producers of America. We set our own hours, work locally and control our earning potential. We offer the opportunity to be self-employed without the need to buy into a franchise. Many franchises require thousands of dollars up front and yearly dues. We do not.

One reason for IPA’s success is that we combine self-employment with a great support system. We have an incredible training platform developed by Sondra Bradley, who also teaches training webinars to keep our entire team current. Regional sales leaders and divisional sales leaders provide the backbone of support for the local team. On the national level, the home office offers a variety of services including application processing, accounting and weekly updates.

Because IPA is made up of self-employed entrepreneurs, we understand the needs of the small business owners that make up the market that we serve. Our portfolio includes products that serve this niche—and that we believe in. We have partnered with companies like ABBA and AEGON to offer products that achieve this standard.

Of course, the most important thing about working with any company is the people. We are very lucky that our team is includes highly motivated, successful and ethical people. As I am sure everyone has heard me say at one time or another: “The Golden Rule is still the best rule.”  Because we offer a life career, we foster a family atmosphere and try to have a fun and productive environment. Our contests and bonuses throughout the year are designed to encourage prosperity for everyone.

I am open to guest blogs. Drop me an e-mail, if you would like to contribute an entry.

Mark your calendars! Sondra’s webinar on February 9 at 8 p.m. EST focuses on the new benefits added to your ABBA Packages.

Until Next Time,

D-

Independent Producers of America (IPA)

Check out our team!

What a great week for the Independent Producers of America (IPA) team!

Congratulations to Julie P. of the Heafey Team for being the top producer for the week of January 29, 2010, and the top producer for the second time this year.

I would also like to extend my congratulations to Richard M. of the Jones Team for your promotion to Senior Agent in the first three months that you have been with IPA. Nice work!

I am so happy to see our partnership with AEGON/Stonebridge is already producing results. Rhonda P. of the Juele Team, Andrea C. of the Heafey Team and Sarah M. of the Winn Team submitted the first applications.

I would also like to recognize our new agents who have submitted their first health business:  Phyllis B of the Medcalf Team, Blanchetta R. of the Winn Team, Penn B. and Haley F. of the Heafey Team. Joel D. and Barbara K. of the Smithers Team also submitted their first new business.

Congratulations to each of you, and I am happy to have you as part of our team!

As you know we have a fun and rewarding contest called 100K in 100 Days, and I challenge each and every one of you to excel in this contest.

Congratulations to everyone! Thank you for all your hard work.

Until Next Time,

D-

Independent Producers of America (IPA)

Building sales by building relationships

During the 2010 Leaders kickoff, James Sackos made a presentation highlighting the relationship between a happy sales team and successful sales. Team building is an essential component to any healthy work relationship.

During his presentation, James outlined the responsibilities that the divisional sales leaders (DSLs) have to new agents. Because each agent has a different level of familiarity with sales and being self-employed, we need to be flexible with our training schedules. James also outlined the responsibilities that regional sales leaders have to the agents within their region. He stressed that meetings need to be relevant and fun.

James also included the checklists that he and his team give to new agents to help them through their first few months after joining the IPA team. One of the benefits of working with Independent Producers of America is the support system in place to help new agents transition to being self-employed entrepreneurs. Because most of the IPA team started in this business as self-employed agents, we understand the support that new agents need. We’ve been there.

He emphasized that setting goals and then recognizing and rewarding achievements really helped team members to stay motivated and feel like a part of the team. Rewards he mentioned included a day at the lake, lotto tickets and balloon pops. Other teams enthusiastically acknowledged that their RSLs also employed such tactics to bring a fun, but professional, atmosphere to their team meetings.

In the fall Sondra Bradley organized a beach party for the home office in Tampa and their families. Just as James talked about in his presentation, Sondra wanted to get all of us out for a day of fun and socializing away from the office.

Until Next Time,

D-

Independent Producers of America (IPA)

With change comes progress

2010 marks a year of great change through new partnerships for Independent Producers of America (IPA). IPA and our endorsed association, America’s Business Benefit Association (ABBA), have flourished from years of successful partnership. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we are partnering with AEGON and Stonebridge to add life insurance to our portfolio of benefits. And now we have another alliance that will allow us to further enhance our offerings to those we serve!

During the 2010 Leaders kickoff, IPA President Rick Pertile introduced Wendell Schanz from My Business Wallet, Joe Sansonetti from My American Access and Neil Gholson the president of ABBA to unveil their new partnership with IPA.

Jon Sansonetti gave a passionate introduction to My American Access and My Business Wallet. ABBA members will have the opportunity to enroll into My Business Wallet through the ABBA Web site.

My Business Wallet memberships offer small businesses access to more than 35 programs including: a cash advance program, virtual MD online, patient advocate program, computer repair services and wellness program.

These additions to our product lineup will complement and enrich our portfolio, and the successful relationships we have forged will pave the way for 2010 to be the best year so far for Independent Producers of America and our partners.

I also wanted to extend my personal thank you to ABBA for sponsoring our opening reception for the Leaders kickoff.

Until next time,

D-

Independent Producers of America

IPA receives Kindness Award

Last week Independent Producers of America received the Kindness Award from Thonotosassa Elementary, a local elementary school. The home office sent a few small gifts, including a Game Boy and some movies on DVD, to a little boy named Lloyd who has been fighting a difficult illness. Lloyd fights hard, and it made us feel good to brighten his day.

We felt humbled when we received the Kindness Award signed by his principal, Michele Gregory and his counselor, Aimee Addison. Thank you. The award hangs proudly in our conference room.

We keep Lloyd in our hearts.

Until next time,

D

Independent Producers of America

Sondra Bradley’s fabulous training platform – R.E.A.C.H.

Coming Soon! Sondra Bradley’s training platform, R.E.A.C.H., will go live. Is everyone as excited about the new training platform as I am?

Once the platform goes live, the goal is for every agent to pass with at least an 80 percent score and every leader to pass with a 90 percent score. The R.E.A.C.H. component will require about 35 to 40 hours. There’s also an optional, but highly recommended, sales and marketing component.

Section R. of R.E.A.C.H. covers our companies, contracts, niche market and representation.

Section E. contains the bulk of the training by detailing the plans we offer, including the new Practical Solutions Plan.

Section A. is the “how to” component and covers everything from underwriting to medical claims review.

Section C. could stand for “cash,” and discusses the ABCs—advances, bonuses and commissions.

Section H. covers fun aspects of working with IPA, including the ability to earn trips like the 2010 family cruise in Canada.

With our new training platform, we will have the most satisfied clients.

And a reminder! Sondra Bradley’s webinar on Tuesday, February 2 at 8:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) will detail the Stonebridge Life Products.

It’s been exciting to see the e-mail notes that keep flowing in. Kip Goodwin wrote:

THANK YOU all for a fantastic weekend!  I can’t imagine how much time and preparation goes into putting on a conference like the VIP Leaders Kick-off—but it was very well done, professional to the finest detail!  What a great way to start what will no doubt . . . be a record-setting year!

It was nice to finally put a name with a face for the first time for many of our Tampa team!  And, it’s always great to be with our leadership team—Rick, Dave, Sondra!

Joe in Nebraska sent a short note my way:

Thanks for a very informative and inspirational conference. I look forward to a great 2010.

I believe with this training platform in place, we will have a fantastic 2010.

Until Next Time,

D-

Independent Producers of America

Partnerships pave the way for IPA’s future

During the Very Impactful Products session of IPA’s Leaders kickoff, I introduced Fred Walker and Christi Ficek from AEGON.  They presented the Stonebridge Life Plan to the IPA team, which will allow us to offer life insurance plans up to $100,000 to serve our clients’ needs.  This life component will complement our portfolio and can be used in conjunction with the ABBA benefit membership.

Although I believe most clients understand the value of having insurance for the family bread winner, Fred also highlighted the value of having the partner who stays home with the children insured.  A family needs to be able to preserve their way of life whether it is monetary or for less tangible reasons such as being able to have someone stay home with the children.

I appreciate the feedback I have been receiving. Carol Venn wrote:

Thank you for the opportunity to be part of your team.

In my past lives I have attended many leaders meeting and I can honestly say that this one was the very BEST!

Everyone who spoke gave quality and practical information that we can take home with us and put into play.

I would also like to thank AEGON and Stonebridge for sponsoring our reception on Friday evening.

Until next time,

D-

Independent Producers of America

We want your vote!

The National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) is building its annual list of “favorite companies to work with.” We at The IHC Group encourage you to vote for your favorite companies.

Check out the survey here and vote today!

IPA and ABBA donate $5,000 to Haiti

On Fri., Jan. 22 during the Leaders kickoff seminar, Independent Producers of America’s (IPA) President Rick Pertile introduced Neil Gholson, the new President of American Business Benefits Association (ABBA).  Neil had important news to share with the IPA team: ABBA had a small surplus in funds, and Neil asked if we would like to donate those funds to the relief effort in Haiti.  The room exploded into applause as people voiced their agreement.

Neil asked if we thought $100 would be enough. The group called back, “No!”

“How about $500?”

People held up their thumbs and called, “Higher!”

“A thousand,” Neil drove the bidding up.

By the time he reached $2,500, Neil had his audience whipped the room into a frenzy, and we broke into applause.

Then on behalf of the entire IPA team Rick Pertile stepped up next to Neil and personally matched thegenerous ABBA donation for a total of $5000 for the Haiti relief effort.

What a great way to introduce the next session on Team Work and Team Building by James Sackos.

The IPA Family believes that we should help families on a personal as well as a global level.

A bit closer to home, one member of the IPA home office, Kazumi Edwards, has a direct connection to the Haiti relief efforts.  Her husband, Travis Edwards is a load master for the Coast Guard.  His team has been delivering supplies and bringing people back from Haiti since the disastrous earthquake happened over a week ago.

I am very proud of America’s efforts to help the people of Haiti, and I am happy to be part of a team that comes together to donate $5,000 for food and supplies to help the Haitians during this critical time of need.

Until next time,

D-
Independent Producers of America