2018 Distribution Conference for Financial Services

Disruption is among today's most misused buzzwords. People frequently use it to describe innovations regardless of their impact, as well as anything that presents even a mild challenge to an organization. But disruption is more than that. Disruptors can severely impact revenue or have a crippling effect on a business or an entire industry. Join this thought-provoking interactive discussion to learn what forces truly pose the greatest disruptive threats to manufacturers, distributors, and financial professionals and what you can do to not only guard against them, but go on the offensive and even be the disruptor.

Champions G

This session will debunk the buzz around customer engagement and why it has become a trending topic of today's market.  Life.io presenters will define what customer engagement really means to the insurance industry and address the acute versus chronic syndrome of customer engagement neglect.

Champions F

Sean F. O'Donnell, M.B.A., LLIF

Senior Vice President, Member Relations and Consulting, LIMRA, LOMA and LL Global

In this opening session, Sean will address the key issues in building a competitive sales channel in today's consumer-centric environment.  From distribution's role in driving profitable growth to the challenges of adapting your sales model to today's empowered consumer, this session will set the stage for this year's conference.

Champions C/D

Kim Lear

Speaker, Writer, Strategist and Researcher

The Empowered Client has arrived. With information at their fingertips and platforms to share opinions, clients understand the power they yield in the marketplace. Financial advisors used to be expert authority figures but now, as information has become readily available, the role of the advisor is changing. The time has come to challenge conventional thinking and explore bold new approaches to relationship building in the face of disruption and shifting demographics. Robo-advising offers a service, but financial advising offers an experience. Leveraging the client experience is more important than ever. Supported with cutting edge research and category leading case studies, this program will take a deep dive into the evolving expectations of today’s empowered clients.

Champions C/D

Debra Jasper, Ph.D.

Founder and CEO, Mindset Digital

Quick — how did you reward your top social sellers last year? If your answer is that you didn’t, you're not alone. Getting agents and advisors to use social platforms is just the first step. Real ROI takes game-based competition, tracking and high-impact recognition and rewards. In this time of short attention spans and high expectations, this fast moving energy session will walk you through how to shift agents, recruiters and leaders beyond canned content and into generating introductions, client meetings and measurable results.

Champions C/D

In today’s low unemployment environment, the cost to recruit high potential agent candidate’s, continues to rise.  Understanding how data-driven solutions will help maximize your recruiting efforts is paramount. In this workshop you will:

• Learn fundamental concepts underlying data mining and modeling.
• Gain a better understanding of how to utilize data mining to identify and target high potential recruits.

Champions G

When multiple products are cross-sold into a household, customers save time and money while companies increase customer lifetime value and profits. Everyone wins! Consumers report a willingness to be cross-sold, though results indicate that life insurance continues to be an area of unclaimed potential for multi-line carriers. This workshop will share what we learned from LIMRA’s recent Cross-Sell study and highlight how a few companies are working to claim this potential.

Champions F

In today fast paced world we’re forced to make a  lot of decisions. Most of the decisions we have to make allow enough time to research all of the facts, involve the various parties impacted and ultimately draw a conclusion that work best for all parties. However, there are other times when we’re under the gun to make a quick decisions and have to go with our gut. This workshop will discuss the impact of the various decisions we make as distribution leaders. The good, the bad and the ugly. We’ll look at examples showing the financial impact of those decisions as well as the collateral damage some decisions may have on the rest of our organization. Our goal is to provide our audience with tools and examples that will ultimately help them as they face future decisions.

Players C

This workshop provides tactics in partnering with institutions that have existing relationships with potential customers and covers a range of channels and processes institutions are using to serve mass affluent clients efficiently. In this session you will:

• Identify/explore the multiple platforms institutions are using to reach their mass affluent clients
• Categorize transactional vs. Advisor-led processes for a holistic approach to client needs
• Explore the “asset class” component of this business model

Masters E

Empowered consumers have changed the way companies across all industries market, sell, and service their products. Life insurance companies are likewise aligning their business models to meet the needs of the self-directed shopper. This session will share new LIMRA research on consumer shopping patterns, preferences, and opportunities with a focus on the self-directed online life insurance shopper.

Masters B/C

This session will focus on how changing demographics, customer needs and technology enhancements are impacting how new or alternative distribution options are being developed and piloted to address these dynamic developments.   You will hear from three companies on how they are developing or evolving different agency models, employee models and corporate run offices.  This session will also discuss working to maintain presence in shrinking rural markets and different strategies working in urban areas.

Champions G

Today’s business environment is not standing still. Your competitors, technology, legislation and regulations are constantly changing. What was a successful advisor training program yesterday may not be a cost-effective program tomorrow. Hear from a panel of experts who will explain how their firms are adapting to such changing circumstances and using the new rules of engagement to their advantage. Panelists will share fresh ideas on how to deliver a consistent and repeatable onboarding process, the key elements to create effective training content, and how to best deliver content to insure desired behavioral outcomes including increased advisor productivity and retention.        

Masters E

Is there a gap in your product portfolio? Do you want to grow your distribution?  At this workshop, we’ll challenge the norm of developing a new product vs. product partnering.  Learn how you can save time, resources and minimize the expense of new product development while at the same time grow distribution and retain your best producers.

Players C

There are many misconceptions around Direct-to-Consumer Distribution; only millennials and seniors buy direct, products can only be guarantee-issue, face amounts cannot be greater than $100,000 and consumers only respond to direct-mail and direct TV. However, the opportunity is larger and more varied than you may think. In this session, Direct-to-Consumer industry experts will explore the myths and provide insight on how to build or expand upon Direct-to-Consumer distribution.

Masters B/C

Players C

Can the agent of today also be the agent of the future? With industry disruption coming from all directions, companies are supporting agents with new resources to meet the needs of consumers. Digital and analytic sales tools are critical so agents can spend more time focused on selling and advice, and less time dedicated to servicing clients. This workshop will explore how companies are enabling agents to transition to these New Rules of Engagement.

Masters B/C

We’ve all been part of the business planning process. We look at the data, the territory, do our analysis and put together a solid plan. But what about planning for the unexpected like:

• Losing a key producer/adviser to death or disability
• Too much concentration in a high-strained product
• Expansion into a brand new market or distribution

During this workshop, we’ll discuss these topics with top leaders and see how they work uncertainty into their planning process. How they pivot when needed, how they remain fluid and how they prepare for the unexpected.

Champions F

This workshop focuses on reaching under-served consumers, especially the middle and mass markets.
It will include:

• Exploration of mid-market consumer needs, access, and attitudes
• Disruptive factors in the Advisor-Consumer and Channel relationships
• Technology from Contact to Contract…and beyond

Our discussion will identify disruptive environmental factors so companies and their Advisors can strategize their future processes. We will explore ways to build new business realities into growth plans, rather than being surprised by them.

Masters E

Are you leveraging your and your partners' existing customer base? In this session, an insurance panel discusses their best practices in mining existing customers to generate incremental sales, profits, and customer loyalty. Topics will include:

• Cross-selling Life into existing customer base – increased sales, household-density and CLTV.
• Up-selling Life – those whose buy and value Life insurance buy more.
• Channel conflict – is there conflict or synergy when leveraging Consumer Direct?
• Product offering - selecting which products for which channels and which consumers.

Champions G

Stephen J. Harvill

President, Creative Ventures

Most organizations know the metrics used to judge the success of their sales force. What's more elusive are the behaviors attributed to the success of the sales force.  What actions or behaviors generated those sales and which, if any, can be repeated to generate the same success?  Steve Harvill and his team conducted a 2-year study to uncover the answer to this question, working across 7 different industries and interviewing 175 top sales producers.  A simple pattern of success was discovered across America’s top earners – a pattern that is shared between industries and can be repeated by anyone.  In this session, Steve will highlight these findings, creating a simple and dynamic sales process you can apply today.   

Champions C/D

Many companies wonder about advisor profitability but few companies have really explored it.  Presenters with three different perspectives and experiences will share their learnings as they’ve begun to explore the topic.
During this interactive session, you will:

• Gain insights into why exploring advisor profitability may be useful
• Learn tactics for how to measure advisor profitability
• Gain advice on avoiding potential pitfalls in your analysis
• Gather new ideas to take back to your company and test
• Conclude that understanding advisor profitability WILL lead to better business decisions!

Masters E

Increasingly, consumers expect brand consistency across communication channels because their touchpoints (digital, print, TV, etc.) are where they want them and when they want them. In this session, we will discuss key digital trends that can be seen as tools to help enable both personal and consistent brand experiences across touchpoints:  Chatbots, Voice Search, Personalization/Data Connectivity and Video Marketing.

Masters B/C

Andrew Aldrich

Principal, American Family Ventures

Alex Dudarev

Chief Executive Officer, Specialty Life
Founder, Insurance Supermarket, Inc.

Todd Hynes

Vice President, Strategic Distribution Programs, ivari

Dustin Yoder

Founder & CEO, Sureify

James W. Kerley, LLIF

Chief Membership Officer, LIMRA and LOMA

How will financial advisors and agents deploy InsurTech innovation in the sales process of the future? How will the dynamics of advice change with AI and advisors joining forces? How will consumers interact with online financial solutions? These and other questions will be the focus of this panel of experts. Representatives from the venture capital and start-up space will paint the future with real life examples of what is happening now.

Champions C/D

Mark Hopkins, CLU

Managing Director, Ernst & Young LLP

Patrick T. Leary, M.B.A., LLIF

Corporate Vice President, Workplace Benefits Research, LIMRA

Many forces are impacting advisor practices. These forces are causing advisors to step back and re-evaluate their business models and the value proposition they provide to clients. To be successful, organizations must effectively align their service models to engage with desired advisor segments. This session will share early findings of the LIMRA-EY Advisor study. This survey of advisors across seven insurance, investment, and advisory practice models explores the profiles of today’s financial professionals, the drivers of productivity, and the services and support they demand from their organizational partners.

Champions C/D