Wow, another BGNLive (BGNL) has come and gone.  While I’m sure that everyone who attended has their own opinion, I felt that this was the most productive and enjoyable session to date.

I started the conference by reminding everyone that BGNL is primarily about two things; learning and networking.  For those who haven’t attended a BGNL, this is not your typical “mini vacation” type of conference.  There is real work involved.  Homework assignments were sent out ahead of time with the expectation that everyone comes prepared to work - for their own benefit, the benefit of everyone back home, as well as the benefit of everyone in the room at BGNL.

Prepare and work they did.  I don’t recall ever getting to spend three days with such an engaged group.  They took every section, every assignment, and every chance to role play and have group discussions very seriously.  They didn’t just sit and listen to ideas, they shared their own.  They didn’t show up just to brag about what they have already accomplished, they took an honest assessment and identified all of the areas of improvement still ahead of them. 

The work was long and the breaks (at times) were short.  But there was an energy that seemed to keep the group focused and forging ahead.  My hope is that everyone left having learned something new about themselves and how they will find even greater success.  It’s safe to say that I learned as much as anyone. Our members work hard, try new ideas, and are creative and enthusiastic about what they do – any they’re willing to share those ideas to help everyone in the group improve.

As hard as this group worked during the day, they played just as hard each evening.  Don’t get the wrong impression of what I mean here - I mean that they truly enjoyed spending the down time together, the networking part of the conference. Not only do they respect one another as business professionals, but they genuinely enjoy one another as people. I had the pleasure of watching long time friends have a bit of a reunion and watched new friendships being formed.  You could see it in the level of animated conversation taking place over dinner and a cocktail, and you could hear it in the good-natured joking that would take place the following day.

As I reminded everyone at the end of the conference, there is plenty of hard work still ahead.  However, they know what hard work looks like.  After all, they each spent three days learning, assessing their current situation, and planning for their next level of success.  Of course, the equation wouldn’t be balanced without the challenge to keep the networking/friendships active (if only virtually) until the next BGNL.

Yes, this group worked hard preparing for and participating in this conference.  But what I witnessed was clear evidence that when you enjoy what you do, it hardly feels like work.

@kevintrokey

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2011 was an incredibly busy and blazing fast year for us. Or it sure feels that way! We have been very involved with creating and training, and time seems to be defined by each of those mile markers along the way. We’ve learned a lot of great lessons and continue to incorporate each of them back into training, resources, and blog posts – where you’ll find our experiences and lessons diligently documented!

We started out the year launching our new sales system and digging into training sessions throughout the spring. Then there were on-site strategic planning sessions we conducted with individual agencies. That definitely kept us moving and thinking a lot about agency business models and the need to evolve that model. We rounded out the first half of the year with our networking conference, BGNLive.

From the conference we had several takeaways to develop for the remainder of the year. That included additional training and vetting new strategic partners. Another big project was getting an internal social networking site up and running for agencies to discuss ideas and share files & best practices with one another.

While we’ve learned many things along the way, here are a few key summarized lessons that we met again and again this past year which have been invaluable:

• Set your mind to it, create a plan, and commit to getting it done. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
• Making public commitment statements to your clients/community is a great motivator to keep going even when it’s difficult.
• Listening to clients’ struggles provides great opportunity to develop new/improved solutions/offerings.
• Asking for accountability is an amazing way to get things accomplished.
• Repetition, repetition, repetition. One time and one method of communication is not enough to learn something new or change thinking and behaviors.

Coming Up Next

As we move into 2012, we are looking to go deeper and get more specific on training, both at the network level and within each agency. Another area that will receive increased attention will be driving more interactive agency networking as a means for faster and more effective implementation.

We have our sights set on transforming agencies into independently thriving businesses regardless of the outcome of the various economic and healthcare challenges we face. You can be sure that we’ll continue to take every opportunity to learn and incorporate those lessons back into what we do every day to make our member agencies and brokerages more successful.

Thanks for a great year and here’s to another one to come!

Photo by Dharmit Shah.

@wendykeneipp

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Driving member growth and profitability through training and coaching is the aim for employee benefits agency consulting firm, Benefits Growth Network.

April 7, 2010 – St. Louis, MO – Communicating a consistent message throughout the entire organization can be challenging for many companies. Even when participating in specialized training programs, the training and communication are often focused on just a few people. In that case, the benefits of the training are not distributed and realized throughout the whole company, lessening the potential impact the training could provide.

Benefits Growth Network provides its benefits agency members with coaching and training which focuses on the implementation of profit building strategies. Each member receives one-on-one coaching, and in addition, BGN offers webinar sessions to include the entire agency or department.

The webinars are focused on the growth and development of employee benefits agencies or the benefits departments within a multi-lines agency. The topics are based around timely information which connects with the whole organization and provides an immediate impact on the way a department, or the individuals within the department, functions.

Kevin Trokey, President and Coach says, “Our goal is to challenge the current thinking of the agency, help stretch them beyond their existing ways, and ultimately make them more successful at what they do.” Trokey feels that by focusing on a consistent approach to agency operations and the sales process, BGN is able to help increase the agency confidence which, in turn, allows them to have much more predictable growth.

Topics include:
• Personal Branding to Define your Role and Value with the Client
• Using Communication to Create Client Value
• Sales System as a Differentiator
• Connecting with Executives
• Creating New Ways of Delivering Client Value
• Solutions as a Competitive Advantage

For more information about the Benefits Growth Network program offerings, please visit www.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com.

About Benefits Growth Network
Benefits Growth Network, based out of St. Louis, MO, is an international membership-based consulting firm specializing in growth strategies for independently owned employee benefits agencies and brokerages. Through the exclusive Benefits Growth System™, members get individualized planning, coaching, training, use of proprietary systems and access to a network of thriving benefits agencies. For more information about Benefits Growth Network, visit www.benefitsgrowthnetwork.com.