Q&A with
LEE DOTSON N. Lee Dotson, CIC, AAI is owner of Bellevue Insurance Services, a full-service independent insurance agency in Wilmington, DE. Lee has served on the IA&B Board of Directors and chaired the Delaware Association of IA&B Government Relations Committee for many years. Q. How did you get your start in the industry and make your way to owning an independent agency?
a good reminder about the importance of hard work, and what we’re doing, and how we’re doing it.
A. When I was in high school, I wanted to be an airline pilot. I wanted to fly Eastern Airlines – I’m dating myself! Those guys made like 100 grand a year, so I said, ‘That’s what I want to do, I want to fly jets.’ My dad talked me out of it, but then I met an insurance agent and he told me what he does – took six months of vacation, played golf three days a week, had a beach house. So I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’
Q. There’s a big emphasis on mentorship these days. What role has mentoring played in your career?
So I started working for him, doing filing and taking pictures of homes three days a week. I was 17 at the time. When I turned 18, I got my license and started doing highrisk auto insurance. I was doing 120 policies a month, I was a machine. Then about a year or so after that, I met an independent agent and went to work for him, and I was just doing business insurance, cold calling businesses all day. That was how I got started. Then in 2005 I started my own agency, and I’ve been going strong ever since. In 2010 I bought my building, and everything has been going well since then. Q. Bellevue Insurance Services was named a Big “I” Three generations... Best Practices Agency for several years. Tell us about that experience. A. So when I did that [in 2016], I had to analyze my revenue and expenses, and for me that was eye-opening. I’m not a financial guy. I don’t do spreadsheets. But when I did it and had to put pen to paper, I thought, ‘Wow, this is a pretty good process.’ Once we were recognized by a disinterested third party – Reagan Consulting – it was just awesome. For us, that was 8
A. I had three mentors. My first I told you about, he took sixmonth vacations, played golf. From him, I learned what not to do in business! I quickly learned you don’t get to do that. My second mentor taught me a lot about the business – how to grind it out, how to ask for the sales, how to get up at 7 in the morning and start cold-calling. I was 19 or 20 years old, cold-calling contractors at 6 in the morning and going to Chamber mixers at 9 at night. Those were my days. My third mentor taught me how to deal with employees, deal with customers, and handle money. I learned about investments and the value of time – the things I base my business on today. You have to have mentors to be successful in this business. Q. You’re very involved with IA&B’s government affairs work. What sparked your interest? A. I was involved with NAIFA first, and those guys showed me the ways of the political system, locally and nationally. We’d go down to Dover, have a luncheon with those guys. We’d go down to D.C. and meet with Carper and Biden. They showed me how it all works, how it’s all intertwined. I met politicians, I went to fundraisers, delivered checks, testified on bills. And that was on the life and health side of everything. I had mentors there who showed me what to say and how to say it. I got involved with the PAC fundraising, and I just thought it was fun and exciting – you start seeing the changes you make when you get involved.
SEPTEMBER 2021
