2023 EDGE Conference Program

conference

Breaks with refreshments available throughout the event.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Time with Exhibitors (Coffee, Danishes & Muffins Available)

10:00 a.m. – Noon

Schedule

The Independent Agency Playbook for Navigating a Hard Market in 2023

- David Carothers

- A word from AmTrust Insurance - 10:00 am

- A word from Donald Gaddis Co., Inc. - Noon

Noon – 1:00 p.m. Lunch Buffet with Exhibitors

1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Tips, Tricks and Advice: Hard Market Panel Discussion

- Moderator: David Carothers

- Panelists: Cindy Jackman, Chris Knox, Brian Ogden, Brent Timmerman

- A word from Illinois Mutual - 1:00 pm

- A word from IPFS - 2:00 pm

2:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sell and Create Desire to Close Quickly

- John DeJulio

- A word from ePayPolicy - 5:00 pm

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Reception with Exhibitors

- Prize drawings at 5:45 – must be present to win.

6:00 p.m. Music Bingo Social Event (Hickory Room)

Just like regular bingo, but better! Instead of normal bingo numbers, the DJ plays the popular songs that people love to sing along with! Players listen to the music and mark the right songs on their bingo cards. Dinner is served promptly at 6:00 p.m., game play begins around 6:30 p.m.

Friday, April 14, 2023

For those that booked in the EDGE room block, breakfast at the restaurant is included with your hotel reservation. You should receive a breakfast coupon when you check in.

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Slow Down to Speed Up

- Chris Cline

10:00 a.m. - Noon Insurance Marketing in a Hard Market

- Andrew Bartlett

The Independent Agency Playbook for Navigating a Hard Market in 2023

- David Carothers

This session will explore the ins and outs of a hard market and why it occurs. Attendees will discuss strategies for managing the hard market and how to embrace technology to help streamline processes and workflows. Using examples and case studies, David Carothers will provide real-life scenarios for navigating the hard market and will also provide additional resources and information to help attendees come out of the hard market even more successful than they were prior to these market conditions.

Tips, Tricks, and Advice

- Panelists: Cindy Jackman, Chris Knox, Brian Ogden, and Brent Timmerman

- Moderated by David Carothers

If the current market conditions have your head spinning, this session is for you! Following his morning session (and lunch), David Carothers will moderate a panel of experienced insurance professionals to hear their tips, tricks, and advice. Having had to navigate tough market conditions in the past, attendees will hear more about the panelists’ past experiences, what worked for them, and what didn’t.

Sell and Create Desire to Close QUICKLY!

- John DeJulio

This exciting training will change the way you approach your business. International speaker and CEO, John DeJulio will teach you EXACTLY what to do, specifically in the insurance industry, to automate a constant flow of clients. In addition, John will teach the exact strategies and tools only the best in the world know when it comes to speaking and influencing so that these leads not only want to do business with you but convert quickly!

Attendees will see why people who take this training and implement what they learn, continue to grow in any market.

As a part of this unique course, the attendee will learn:

• Exactly how to create a lead generating machine where the clients are looking for you!

• Exactly how to target your exact right audience every single day!

• Immediately identify what to say to influence any personality type and close quickly!

• Quickly build rapport with anyone in order to achieve the end result you want FAST!

• Implement an exact system to remove all objections and take “NO” off table before it’s even a thought.

• Excite your audience to create urgency and desire in any business.

Session Descriptions

Slow Down to Speed Up

- Chris Cline

In today’s world there is no shortage of options, risks, and even distraction. While it is important to be nimble and innovative, it has never been more important to also act with intent. In this interactive session, we’ll then explore the concept of slowing down to speed up as thought exercise in aligning strategies to business decisions.

Insurance Marketing in a Hard Market

- Andrew Bartlett

The way insurance agencies market and advertise their business has changed drastically over the years. In this session, attendees will learn how their insurance knowledge can be used to create content to help build their brand through marketing and communications and broaden their sales tactics and avenues through which they sell insurance.

Andrew Bartlett

- Insurance Marketing in a Hard Market

As owner & founder of OOT Box Media, LLC, Andrew Bartlett leads a team of 10 people who love to help organizations build content and create relationships. His love of entrepreneurship and hustle started at the young age of 10, delivering newspapers. As he grew, his love of hustle and entrepreneurship never faded. He graduated from Western Illinois University with a major in Graphic Communication and a minor in Marketing. As part of his graduation requirement he interned with Ace Sign Company and was offered a permanent position halfway through. He quickly rose from a being a designer to helping start their National Accounts division and then managing the national account team as the division grew. He managed the sales, design, shipping and installation of signs in over 400 cities across 40 states and two countries.

In five years he grew the National accounts division to doing seven figures a year in business. Soon after, he decided the time was right to start his own company to help others grow and thrive and build their brand, content, marketing and media.

David Carothers

- The Independent Agency Playbook for Navigating the Hard Market in 2023

David R. Carothers, CIC, CRM, is the Principal of Florida Risk Partners, LLC. David is the Principal of Game Changers Marketing, LLC, Catalyst Funding Solutions, LLC, The Founder of Killing Commercial Insurance Training, Host of The Power Producers Podcast, and Creator/Producer of The Protégé.

David is also the international best-selling author of The Extra 2 Minutes: How spending an extra 2 minutes on nearly anything in your sales career will take you from good to best in class! He is also the managing member of Game Changers Marketing, LLC the entity that handles the distribution of advertising and marketing across all media channels in his portfolio.

David has degrees in Management and Marketing from Birmingham Southern College. He has spent nearly two decades in the Insurance and Risk Management space. David started his career with a multi-million dollar commercial risk management firm, where he was repeatedly recognized for exemplary achievement.

In 2016, David followed his entrepreneurial spirit and launched Florida Risk Partners, an insurance and risk management firm focusing on middle-market commercial accounts. Florida Risk Partners has multiple office locations in the five counties surrounding the Tampa Bay

region. Because of his success at Florida Risk Partners, David often gets tapped to be a keynote speaker and breakout session presenter at industry conferences and associations, speaking on sales, prospecting, marketing, appointment setting, and closing accounts. In 2020, David launched Killing Commercial Insurance Training, The Power Producers Podcast, Catalyst Funding Solutions, and The Protégé.

While David is busy, it is important to note that his priority is his family. David and his wife Andrea live in Valrico, FL, with their children Grayson, Landon, Ethan, Caroline, and their faithful Golden Retrievers, Tanner, and Tucker.

Chris Cline

- Slow Down to Speed Up

Chris ClineThrough Chris Cline’s 25+ years in the insurance industry, he has established himself as an industry resource for topics such as perpetuation, merger and acquisition, culture, agency operations, marketing and sales, data and analytics, and has had multiple speaking engagements around these topics. As of spring 2022, Chris has begun assuming leadership of the Agents Council for Technology as ACT’s Executive Director.

In his prior role at Westfield, Chris led a team focused on the entire agency life cycle and has experiences ranging from graphic design, marketing, sales, training, compliance and personal lines P&L leadership. Through his diverse background and life-long focus on continual learning (he’s a closet science geek), Chris has developed a passion for the independent agency channel and helping agencies across key strategic areas such as perpetuation, hiring, culture, DE&I, data/analytics, the customer, information security, and technology. He was also the inquisitive and thought-provoking host of Westfield’s award-winning podcast, Closing the Gap.

Chris earned his Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Akron. Away from work, Chris and his family spend as much time as possible camping, racing BMX or mountain, playing guitar, or cruising the family hot rod.

John DeJulio

- Sell and Create Desire to Close QUICKLY! CEO of John DeJulio Companies, Ltd., international speaker, entrepreneur, and investor in multifamily commercial properties along with multi-million dollar syndicated real estate projects, John DeJulio is considered an industry powerhouse. John has been speaking on stages all over the country in front of thousands of people

for the last two decades. Widely considered to be one of the most dynamic and entertaining presenters, John has been able to inspire and change the lives of many around him.

John works with highly motivated people individually up to Fortune 500 companies. He shows them how the absolute best in the world run their companies and use specific language to sell their products and services at the highest level. Through many years of associating himself with the top leaders in multiple industries, he’s been able create specific coaching and training programs that are customized to each client’s business needs. He has worked with companies like Guaranteed Rate, Fortune Builders, Wells Fargo, Neighborhood Loans and many more.

John is relentless when it comes to working with his clients and coaching students on the importance of success in order for them to achieve freedom for themselves and their families. His conviction on specific viewpoints as they relate to leadership, business, sales, the economy and current headlines have made him a highly sought after resource and person to interview for media commentary and overall insights on topics people truly care about.

Cindy Jackman - Tips, Tricks, and Advice - Panel Discussion

Cindy Jackman is Arlington/Roe’s Illinois Sales & Marketing Manager. Previously she has held almost every position during her 30-plus years on the agency side of the insurance business. By sharing her industry expertise, Cindy serves agents by helping enhance and grow their businesses. She holds the Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) designations. Cindy has volunteered for the IIA of IL in several capacities, starting with the Young Agents Committee in the late 80’s, serving as President in 2015-2016, and is currently the IIA of IL Board Secretary/ Treasurer.

Chris Knox

- Tips, Tricks, and Advice - Panel Discussion

Chris Knox is the Director of Sales at The Horton Group. Chris works closely with the existing business insurance teams of Illinois and Indiana to provide a superior level of client service to the marketplace. He executes strategies that will help achieve growth, profitability and client satisfaction goals while ultimately helping small businesses achieve a higher level of performance.

Speaker Bios

Chris leads the entire service and sales operation to execute strategies that will help achieve growth, profitability, and client satisfaction goals while ultimately helping small businesses achieve a higher level of performance. He brings 16 years of insurance experience to his Horton clients. Prior to joining Horton in 2016, Chris served as a Sales Manager and Sales Representative at The Hartford in the territories of Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Brian Ogden

- Tips, Tricks, and Advice - Panel Discussion

Brian Ogden is the President of Ogden Insurance in Petersburg, IL and one of the owners of Central Illinois Agents Group, LLC, an insurance aggregator. He is a second-generation owner, offering personal and commercial lines, farm, crop, life, and health insurance. Brian has over 32 years of experience in the industry and has served on several insurance company advisory boards. He holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Agribusiness and Farm Insurance Specialist (AFIS) designations. Brian is currently the chair of the IIA of IL Technology committee.

Brent Timmerman

- Tips, Tricks, and Advice - Panel Discussion

Brent Timmerman, CIC, LUTCF, began his insurance career in 1989 as a Property & Casualty Specialist for MetLife Auto & Home in Madison WI and was on the agency side of the business for eight years.

In 1997 Brent transitioned to the carrier side of the business at MetLife Auto & Home eventually working in three out of the four different distribution divisions at MetLife Auto & Home supporting their Captive agents and was a Personal Lines Wholesaler for the MetLife Financial Service agents. Finally, and most importantly, he continually supported the Independent Agency distribution channel. Brent joined The Hanover Insurance Group in 2013 as a Territory Sales Manager moving into his current role as a Territory Sales Director in 2017. Brent holds his CIC and LUTCF designations and is a current member and past Officer/President of both the IL 1752 Club and his local Lions Club International.

*Speaking

briefly before

AmTrust Insurance* - www.amtrustgroup.com

Applied Underwriters - www.auw.com

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Ins. Companies - www.guard.com

Bliss McKnight, Inc. - www.blissmcknight.com

Branch Insurance - www.ourbranch.com

BriteCo Jewelry & Watch Insurance - https://brite.co/

Donald Gaddis Company* -www.gaddiscompany.com

ePayPolicy* -www.epaypolicy.com

Hippo Insurance -www.hippo.com

Illinois Mutual* -www.illinoismutual.com

IPFS* -www.ipfs.com

Roush Insurance Service, Inc. -www.roushins.com

Since

We are a fourth-generation family-owned commercial insurance agency. Our mission is to bring Excess & Surplus lines & Specialty lines products to the marketplace. We do this by representing the industry’s highest regarded domestic and international top-rated A companies & with employees who surpass industry standards in ethics, education, underwriting knowledge, and service.