The most engaged report for Riskinfo readers this week was news that hundreds of advisers attended MDRT’s roadshows for a series of fast-paced events offering plenty of ideas and inspiration…
The 350 advisers who turned out for the MDRT’s roadshow events held in Christchurch and Auckland last week were treated to lively, fast-paced, five-hour events offering wide-ranging ideas and inspiration.
The Auckland event heard from a variety of speakers including Australian Amanda Cassar of The Strategic Coach who outlined the tools that organisation has given her.
She stepped those attending through an Impact Filter which helps advisers to say focused and work through ideas to identify the purpose, importance and ideal outcome of that idea. It also helps advisers identify the specific results that must be true for the project to be a success and helps them consider if the project may not work at all.
Paul Milbourne of Milbourne Insurance Solutions in Melbourne encouraged attendees to view life insurance as an emotional purchase and add an emotional lens when working with clients.
…advisers need to be curious, ask better questions of their clients and prepare thoroughly for client meetings…
He said advisers need to be curious, ask better questions of their clients and prepare thoroughly for client meetings.
Milbourne also suggested advisers keep things simple – be easy to do business with and work closely with underwriters.
Several local MDRT members also offered insights into their businesses including Sabby Singh, a first year member, who had attended the MDRT Annual Meeting in Vancouver earlier this year, which he described as being the epitome of information, not just a conference.
His takeaways from the MDRT event included: Consistency being key to growth, both personal and professional, along with the power of connections beyond your local circle and the need to embrace AI in financial services.
Leelee Stone, who has been an MDRT Top of the Table member for eight years, said advisers needed to be a specialist; have a top adviser mindset, have controls around client interactions and focus on what they do best, along with having good systems and processes in place.
The day also heard from adviser and AI specialist Panos Leledakis, who spoke via video link from Miami, and, in an extremely fast paced address, offered ideas on bots, avatars and podcast editing.
He suggested advisers ask AI what it could help them with around their pain points, pointing to policy terms and analysis, and policy terms comparisons.
Travis Hamilton, the MDRT New Zealand Chair, told the Auckland gathering that the organisation currently has 115 members in New Zealand, which represents 20% growth year-on-year.
New Zealand also has more members than the United Kingdom and Australia.
He noted that over the past year the organisation has not only undertaken the successful roadshow, but has also launched “Lunch and Learn” events along with a monthly webinar for members, both of which it intends to develop further in the coming year.
New Zealand is part of the Oceania chapter which includes Australia and Fiji, chaired by Nick Longo, who is based in Melbourne.
New Zealander Brian Burgess is the regional chair for Europe and Oceania.
