Years at company: 4 years
College: Olivet College, '12

Read Anthony's previous nGI Q&A

How can employers recruit youngtalent?
Recruit young talent from colleges anduniversities. Talk to the advisors about what kind of person youare looking to hire. There are a lot of young people in theirjunior or senior year that are hungry to have a good job lined upbefore graduation.

How does technology fit into your workstrategy?
I try to incorporate technology whenever it makes processes moreefficient, adds value to myself or the agency and when it is apossible selling point to a customer.

What's your mantra for success?
I'm constantly trying to improve myself and my community. It kindof stems from Olivet College's vision “Education for Individual andSocial Responsibility.”

What are your future goals in thisindustry?
I want to become an insurance agency owner.

What legislative issues are you interestedin?
I'm interested in the Michigan No-Fault reform.

What are your main priorities as a youngagent?
I just got married on June 1, 2013, so I'm definitely committed tohaving a work/life balance. It's not easy being a new agentand trying to balance work, home life and the multiple charitiesI'm involved with, but I thank God every day for the greatopportunities He has given me.

How do you balance work and personallife?
Setting priorities is key. I put the tasks and people I value mostat the top of my priority list. Keeping that balance is apersistent struggle.

What is an important lesson you learned when joining aprofessional working environment?
Keep your projects and calendar organized. Also, communicationwith co-workers, customers and prospects are vital forsuccess.

Many young agents enter this industry because otherfamily members work in insurance. What advice do you have whenworking with family?
I don't have any family in the insurance industry, but I do workfor a family-run agency. They do a very good job of keepingwork life and family life separate. It's not easy to do, butcan be vital to the success of your business.

What skills do you think young agents will need nextyear?
Not just next year, but for the foreseeable future, young agentswill need to be good at adapting to change.

What do you see young agents struggle with in theirfirst years in this industry? What advice do youhave?
Gaining enough knowledge to compete with others that have been inthe industry for 10+ years is important. Working on andachieving designations will help you gain that knowledge and makeyou stand out from your peers in a positive way.

What sales strategies worked for you this pastyear?
Not one strategy will be enough for obtaining prospects andmaking the sale. I used multiple sales strategies and most ofthem produced results.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as a youngagent, and how did you handle it?
Getting over the rejection of not landing a big account afterspending a lot of time and effort on it. It hurt, but keepingthe big picture in mind, along with encouraging stories fromexperienced coworkers, helped me get over it and move on to thenext exciting project.

What do you see as your biggest strength in thisindustry?
My age.

What is your biggest weakness? How have you addressedthat weakness?
My age… and procrastination. I can do nothing but wait for myage to increase, but the procrastination I can and haveaddressed. Keeping a calendar with scheduled reminders helpskeep me focused on what needs to get done. Having deadlinesreally helps too.

Anthony Pomerson was featured in the October 2013 Issue of AA&B. He is aresident agent and producer at Laginess Insurance AgencyInc.