News & Insights

Every year, Relation hosts a National Sales Meeting which brings Producers and leadership together to share learning from the previous year and set goals and a game plan for the year ahead. Teams from different business units share ideas, strategies, client resources and technology tools. It’s also an opportunity to get the latest news on company activity. This year’s meeting was held at the J.W. Marriott resort in Las Vegas, NZ, February 5-7. The theme was 2020: Vision for the Future, Focus on the Goal. Below are some highlights.

Day One: Focus on The Vision

We kicked off the general session with a very special guest and partner to Relation, Steve DeCarlo, Executive Chairman of AmWins. AmWins is a global specialty insurance distributor with expertise in property, casualty, professional lines and specialty group benefits products. Steve’s keynote covered his inspiring personal story and the AmWins growth story, which fired up the group and laid the groundwork for the future-focused theme of the day.

Steve was followed by our CEO, Joe Tatum, who crystallized the meaning of this year’s theme by sharing his vision for Relation to be a 100+ year company and the plan in place to get there.

“We must always be growing and investing, and preserving our culture is key.”
Joe Tatum 

Summit Club Awards

Relation wouldn’t enjoy the growth it experiences today without the drive of its Producers. Our annual Summit Club awards go to the very best of the best–those Producers who are able to hit a set number in written new business, all while partnering with service teams to provide legendary service to their existing clients. The 2019 Summit Club winners are:

• Jimmy Stewart
• Kevin McCarroll
• Yogi Yeend
• Sean Kelly
• Hector Corona
• Elissa Sanchez
• Johnathan Lancaster
• Steven Billings
• Paul Tamburri

Achieving Summit Club, while recognition of an individual’s accomplishment, is often a team effort and a testament to the collegial sales culture at Relation. According to Steven Billings: “Johnathan [Lancaster] and I completed three deals together in 2019. I wouldn’t be able to hit the numbers I have, and vice versa, without us partnering to cross-sell. He’s a valuable resource.” Summit Club winners and their guests will celebrate their success in Scottsdale, this spring.

Team Building Event

We welcomed 6 new firms to the Relation family of brands in 2019 and had set aside time to officially meet and celebrate the new Producer faces at the very beginning of the day. This year’s team-building event, “The Amazing Chase”, coming at the end of day one, was designed for newcomers and veterans alike, to have some fun and get to know each other. Teams from each region were assigned scavenger hunt tasks to complete and capture progress on an iPad.

Day Two: Focus on the Goal

The first general session of the day gave a “look inside” to various in-house specialty resources Relation has that Producers can take advantage of to meet their goals and better serve their clients. 

Afterward, CFO Chris McKechnie and EVP M&A, Tim Hall, both took to the stage and provided inspiring overviews on our projected growth and strategy for the coming year. 

In the afternoon, attendees reconvened and split their time amongst four breakout sessions covering the array of resources Producers can access to serve their clients, along with deep dives into industry trends and hands-on sales trainings and strategies. 

They also spent time with our President and COO, Ed Page, and CEO Joe Tatum in one of our consistently most highly-ranked sessions: “Ask Me Anything.”

The final keynote session was delivered by motivational speaker, Brian Parsley. He offered insight into the psychology of sales and shared words of wisdom on  sales effectiveness, customer loyalty, and leadership strategies that close deals.

Closing

Last year, our community of Rockstar Producers exceeded expectations by focusing on their goals and our clients. We look forward to another great year in 2020 and the new opportunities that lie ahead! 2020: Vision for the Future/Focus on the Goal.