Empowering African American agents to remain in the game

During a webinar hosted recently by the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), three seasoned insurance agency owners shared their thoughts on what it took to build and maintain a successful agency.

One of the panelists was Abram Freeman, owner of Freeman Insurance Agency. Freeman joined the insurance industry after he lost his job as a manager at a warehouse. His father was in the insurance industry and encouraged him to join the industry. He first volunteered at a major insurance firm and left to start his own agency.

The path to insurance was a bit different for the second presenter, Phyllis Brumfield, owner/agent of the Brumfield Insurance Agency. Brumfield joined the industry intentionally—she wanted to become an agent to help her community understand insurance.

“By being in insurance,” she said, “you can live your passion, create your own goals and educate others about insurance. It is all about giving back.” Although many people think that insurance is boring, she believes that it is actually “beautiful and fun,” and urged the audience to educate their communities about it.

The third panelist, Dale Sharpe Jenkins, principal owner of The Jenkins Agency Inc., got into insurance because she thought “it looked like a good path.” When she worked as a construction underwriter, she wrote insurance policies for both large and small contractors and gave them good rates, but did not see a single black client come through the program. She left the organization and decided to start her own company.

A major reason the presenters decided to join the insurance industry was to serve their communities. For example, Freeman said that he is committed to giving something back to his community. When he noticed that many black people were dying in accidents, he decided to start a driving school. In addition, he conducts classes on insurance for members of his community.

“We are an integral part of our community,“ he emphasized. Through his efforts, he has seen people go from homeless to OK. “You can change people’s lives,” he said.

Challenges along the way

Becoming successful is a daunting task at best for many advisors, and the panelists were no exception. Jenkins said that during the early years of her agency, she had to wear many hats—accounting, answering the phones, dealing with insurance carriers, etc.

“You do everything,” she said. Then as the business grew, the company had to deal with new challenges, such as hiring staff, etc.

Brumfield was not quite satisfied with her ads—she wanted them to feature people who looked like her and she needed content that was reflective of her community.

Freeman went through some trying times, as well. Earlier in his career when he determined it was time for him to grow, he accepted an offer as a district manager from a company that wanted to diversify. He hired lots of people and became successful. But things did not work out and he was “invited to leave.” He moved back to Dallas and within a year, he was doing quite well.

Words of wisdom

When asked for advice on navigating the soft and hard times in the business, Jenkins said that markets become soft or hard because of circumstances beyond anyone’s control. The best way to guard against this is to carefully nurture and build meaningful relationships with clients over time. A major part of success in the business is high client retention, she added. So, her agency treats its clients with care, respect, and a high degree of professionalism. Jenkins and her firm have also developed a high level of trust with their clients. In addition, she said, agents who are looking for success should diversify as much as they can.

The advice from Freeman was pretty straightforward: Start by developing a good business plan to help you plan your business. In addition, he is everywhere in his community, and is always marketing himself so that even when times are down, people are still calling him.

Lessons learned

Throughout their years in the business, the presenters have learned some powerful lessons, which they shared with the audience. Among them: Agents should develop solid relationships with members of their community, diversify their practices as much as possible, support one another, develop a stick-to-it mentality, and always remember that nothing works as well as “pressing the flesh.”
Advice for budding agents

Toward the end of the presentation, the panelists shared the following words of advice for the students attending the webinar:

Build a better mousetrap and people will make a beaten path to your door.
Realize that insurance is broader and richer than you think.
Learn how to sell yourself.
Think of insurance as lucrative, wealth-building, and fun, and remember to enjoy the ride.

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial services industry. She formerly served as editor-in-chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at amseka@INNfeedback.com. 

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