Bryan Fontenot, AII, CRIS
Corporate Account Executive, Brown & Brown ofLouisiana
Years at company:2
College: University of Louisiana atLafayette, 2007
Organizations: Big I, CACRC(Capital Area Corporate Recycling Council), Forum35 (Baton Rougeyoung professional society), Maxwell Football Club, That Man isYou!

Read Bryan’s previous nGI Q&A

How can employers recruit young talent?

Employers have various channels that they can access youngtalent through. I classify these channels into two categories:direct and indirect. Directly, companies can reach out toprospective employees through job fairs at colleges/communitycolleges or through using a recruiting service. They can alsoindirectly reach out to talent through existing employees’networks, social media and online job postings. Regardless of theapproach, employers must focus on identifying long term teammatesand develop cohesive strategies with those teammates to ensure thatthey are both focused on quality and long-term relationships.

Similarly, how can employers retain youngtalent?

I believe that the most important thing for employers to do isto continually discuss expectations and career goals with theiremployees, as well as stress the importance of the work/lifebalance. Our organization has done a fantastic job with this onboth the local and national level. I’m fortunate to be able toreview goals and objectives, as well as discuss my careerdevelopment, with both my manager and my mentor and it has been atestament to how much our organization values its young talent.

Who do you look toward as a mentor in thisindustry?

I am fortunate to have two mentors within the industry - RyanBeavers and Gary Schrock, both of our Houston, TX office. Ryan isthe profit center leader of the office and earned “Rookie of theYear” honors as the top new agent in our organization several yearsago. Gary is the sales manager of the office, and was recentlychosen “Mentor of the Year.” Both have offered tremendousencouragement when I've had successes, but more importantly theyhave been there to guide me through the failures. They also hold meaccountable and remind me of the importance of hard work each andevery day.

What are your future goals in thisindustry?

I am most passionate about working with and developing youngagents in order to help them achieve their goals and to become moresuccessful in the industry. Because of this, I would love totransition into a sales manager role in thefuture.

What are your main priorities as a young agent(work/life balance, charity, support, legislative issues,etc.?)

Work/life balance is the most important priority for me. I haveseen the toll that the rigors of the job can take on an individual,and as a result I have worked very hard to make certain that I donot have to confront those same challenges. I feel that I owe itnot only to my family and myself, but also to my clients. My goalis to make certain that they get excellent service from me each andevery day; in order to do that, it is imperative that I maintain ahealthy work/life balance.

How do you balance work and personal life?

When I became an agent, my manager sat with me and expressed theimportance of “unplugging” and of taking time away from work. Inorder to do this, I have focused on employing a work strategy thatmaximizes my time. For example, I find that between 7 AM to 9 AM, Ican work relatively uninterrupted as the majority of business callsand meetings that I have are scheduled after those times. For me,it all comes down to being efficient and keeping the take home workto a minimum. For those times that we do have dinner meetings orevents, I am always up front with my family and friends about thosecommitments. I am also fortunate to have a great support staff athome that understands that often times, my hours are outside ofnormal business hours.

How does your office reflect how you work?

I try to keep my office extremely organized, as I learned at anearly age from my father that time truly is money. I also haveseveral visual aids (dry-erase boards, a wall calendar, stickynotes, print outs of my sales year to date) so that each day, I canwalk in and see what is on the agenda, and also how close I am tomy overall objectives. I use most of the remaining free space towrite motivational quotes. I am a firm believer that if you createa positive work environment, you will generate positive results.

What is an important lesson you learned when joining aprofessional working environment?

The most important lesson I learned is to utilize each availablemoment wisely and to not procrastinate! I started in the industryalmost 6 years ago as a catastrophe claims adjuster, and a largeportion of my time was spent traveling (both in the air and on theroad). If I had a 2 hour layover, I would use that time in theairport to respond to emails and catch up on paperwork. If I had anappointment cancel, I would spend that down time preparing for thenext inspection or to call other clients and offer to see them morequickly. By doing this, I was able to start each day fresh, andwith minimal to no leakage from the day before. It also helped mewhen I wanted to enjoy my time away from work!

What do you see when Gen Y/Millennials struggle within aprofessional environment? What advice do you have?

I feel that in recent years, Gen Y/Millenials have become almosttoo dependent on technology. Recently, I sat in a waiting room, and8 out of 10 people were typing away on their phones. It’s importantnot only in our profession, but in any profession, for us to beeffective communicators, and to learn to read both verbal andnonverbal cues during conversation. Emailing and text messaging donot offer those same opportunities. I recommend taking time eachday to disconnect. Put your phones or computers away for an hour ortwo a day. Talk to a stranger. I’ve forced myself to do thesame, and it’s been a great experience forme.

Where do you hope to take your career? What directionwould you like your career to go?

Thirty years from now, I want people to be able to say that I’vebeen successful by working hard and by doing the right things. Ifeel that with increasing success, that there is also an increasedsocial responsibility. My ultimate goal is to be able to continueto assist my clients with the same passion and intensity that Ihave now, and to also take on an even larger philanthropic role inthe community.

Have you ever experienced any “generation gap” issueswith your carriers in terms of personal interaction or the productsthey offer?

I feel that our carrier partners have done a tremendous job inadapting to the next generation of clients and agents. Most nowoffer aids like webinars and apps that are accommodating to some ofthe younger generations, and this has been received very favorablyacross the board. With that being said, our carrier partners (aswell as our organization) still emphasize and stress the importanceof being readily available and accessible to ourcustomers.

Many young agents enter this industry because otherfamily members work in insurance. What advice do you have whenworking with family?

I come from a small percentage of young agents that did notenter the industry because of other family members. With that beingsaid, I do have family members that are clients. The most importantthing when working with family is to clearly set expectations inregards to your business relationship. My dad is one of my clients,and we make certain to keep our business relationship and personalrelationship separate.

What skills do you think young agents will need nextyear?

Next year, and for the rest of our careers, young agents willneed to work diligently to stay up to speed with all of theimportant legislative changes. One of our agency’s mottos is that“the only constant is change;” this is especially true in theinsurance industry! Spending the extra time to read up on thesechanges will provide young agents with the knowledge to becomebetter risk managers and to help them better inform and preparetheir clients of how any changes may impact them.

What do you see young agents struggle with in theirfirst years in this industry? What advice do you have?

Insurance is a very complex concept to sell, service, andcommunicate, and oftentimes young agents struggle with this. Eventhough I was fortunate to learn a great deal about coverage byvirtue of my previous experience as a claims adjuster, I stillneeded to devote the bulk of my time learning more about thetechnical piece of the industry. I advise all young agents to focusheavily on this. While you will never know everything that there isto know about this industry, a strong knowledge base will help youto build a very successful future.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as a youngagent, and how did you handleit?

Without a doubt, the biggest challenge that I’ve faced as ayoung agent has been my age. Prospective clients, onoccasion, have been apprehensive to hire someone that is over halfthe age of their current broker. In order to overcome thischallenge, I’ve worked diligently to earn designations that willhelp to establish more professional credibility. I also inform anyprospective client that as a former (and still current) claimsadjuster, that I’ve seen various uncovered losses that havedevastated people just like them, and that because of myexperiences I was dedicated to placing extra emphasis on ensuringthat those scenarios would be avoided at all costs. Fortunately,people have been very receptive to that approach.

What do you see as your biggest strength in theindustry?

My biggest strength is that I have a relentless focus onpersonal development. One of my favorite expressions is the Latinphrase “Ancora Imparo” which is loosely translated as “I am stilllearning.” Michelangelo, the famous Renaissance artist, once wrotethis phrase on a sketch of his. He felt that it was very importantto continue to focus on personal development, even though at thetime of the sketch he was 87 years old! I feel that this not onlyallows me to pursue the highest level of self-actualization that Ipossibly can, but that it also helps me to encourage those closestto me to do the same.

Similarly, what is your biggest weakness? How have youaddressed that weakness?

My biggest weakness is that my motivation and drive sometimescause me to have unrealistic expectations for myself. After myfirst goal setting meeting with my manager several years ago, I waseager to get out and reach my yearly goals in the first month! Bysetting unrealistic expectations, I was setting myself up forfailure. One of my closest mentors brought this to my attention,and reminded me that longer term goals should be viewed as amarathon and not a sprint. I've gotten much better over the years,and it's relieved me of the unnecessary pressure and stress andmade me enjoy my work much more.

What are some of your career highlights?

I was voted “Mr. Congeniality” of my resource field team when Iwas a catastrophe adjuster. Right around that time, my friends,family members, and coworkers started encouraging me to become anagent. They thought that this award, coupled with my technicalexperience, would make for a natural transition. This was theturning point for my career, as not long after I decided that Iwould do exactly that. It’s been one of the best decisions thatI’ve made in my professional career thus far!

How does social marketing make you a more productiveemployee?

Social marketing allows me to reach a much broader group ofprospective clients compared to traditional media channels, and atvirtually no cost (outside of time). Establishing a social presenceis critical; most of my clients/prospects get emails/updatesdirectly on their phones. It allows you to reach anyone at anytime, and if utilized properly, it can help you to create apositive brand for yourself.

Bryan Fontenot was featured inthe June 2013 issue of AA&B. He is thecorporate account executive for Brown & Brown ofLouisiana.