August 19, 2025 • 35 mins
Ever wondered why insurance feels so complicated? In this illuminating conversation with Cliff and Cyndi Stubbs of Rhythm Insurance Agency, we uncover how genuine education and relationship-building have created extraordinary success in an industry often plagued by confusion and mistrust.
The name "Rhythm" wasn't chosen by accident. As Cliff explains, it emerged from his background as a drummer, but evolved to represent the changing rhythms of life that necessitate different insurance needs. This philosophy has guided their approach for over 20 years, leading to an astounding 96% client retention rate for Medicare customers and a three-million-dollar book of premium built entirely through referrals.
What makes their story particularly compelling is their commitment to education before sales. "Most people spend more time researching a new iPhone than their health insurance," Cliff points out. This knowledge gap leaves many vulnerable when they actually need their coverage. The Stubbs couple addresses this by ensuring clients understand exactly what they're purchasing, often providing free advice even when there's no immediate sale opportunity.
Their faith-based approach prioritizes doing right by people over maximizing short-term profits. "If you do the right thing, the money comes," Cliff shares, reflecting on countless situations where they've helped people without compensation, only to see those good deeds transform into referrals later.
For those considering entering the insurance industry, Cyndi offers invaluable advice about finding mentorship and setting realistic expectations. Her transition into the business provides a blueprint for success through proper guidance and community support.
Whether you're a business owner looking to build sustainable growth through trust, someone confused about insurance options, or an entrepreneur seeking a client-first business model, this conversation offers clear, actionable insights that challenge industry norms while delivering remarkable results.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 2 (00:18):
Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we
share the tips, tools andstrategies to help your business
be successful.
Market it with Atma, where weshare the tips, tools and
strategies to help your businessbe successful.
I'm your host, dori, and todaywe have a very special guest
with us Mr Cliff Stubbs withRhythm Insurance.
Cliff, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hello, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good, and your wonderful wife, Cindy, also
joined us.
Hi, cindy, good morning.
So I wanted to ask first, howdid Rhythm Insurance get started
?
What was the name?
One is unique, but what causedthat name to come to fruition
and what's the story behind allof this?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Well, when you set out to put a name to a company,
right, you got all these ideasof do you put it after your name
or do you have some littlecatchy phrase, and nothing just
really came to mind right andrhythm eventually sparked that
um.
And it sparked it because I'm adrummer.
I play in a band nice and sorhythm just kind of comes
(01:17):
naturally right and I tried.
Well, how am I going to tiethat back to?
What do I do with insurance?
well, there's rhythm ineverything you do right exactly
yeah everybody has a differentrhythm in life, and as that
rhythm changes, right, so doyour needs, and so kind of fit
with the flow of what we do hereat Rhythm Insurance Agency.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Okay, and so tell me more about that.
What do you do at RhythmInsurance?
I mean, there's a lot ofdifferent types of insurance,
but what do you guysspecifically focus on and why?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well, we focus on the individual.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Okay.
So whether they're under 65 orthey're over 65, we can really
help them from birth all the waythrough their journey through
life.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
And you know, as their rhythm changes and their
needs changes, we're there tohelp them out.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
That's wonderful.
So you guys have been inbusiness for 20 plus years, but,
cindy, you just came on to thebusiness full time recently,
right?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Absolutely.
I'm kind of living my bestsecond half, as I say, in a
second career.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And are you enjoying the career?
So far, it's been fabulous.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It's been a good transition.
I've really enjoyed it.
Getting to work with my husbandis great and it was a good
transition into the healthcare,since I've come from healthcare,
but this is a little bit morein depth and working with our
beneficiaries Exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That's wonderful, though, because you've gotten to
watch Cliff go through it kindof the whole path, right,
exactly so you learn things whenyou're around certain areas,
yeah, for a long period of timeanyway, that's what I think.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, and you guys have been through some major
acquisitions.
2020 was hard on everybody, sohow did that affect you guys?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yes, it was so, you know, when I started almost 20
years ago it's been over 20years.
We started by building anagency and three and a half
years later was sold to a largershop that was a regional player
and we helped build out theirMedicare side of things over the
(03:17):
next four or five years, whichwas great, because then I got
stolen away by another shop yougot poached.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Poached is a good word for it.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It's always nice to be needed and wanted, right.
Absolutely and we did that.
We worked for a captive shopthat had about 3,000 captive
agents and we talked to them howto sell Medicare and gosh.
In three years we were sellingalmost 80,000 policies a year.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Wow, so can you explain how you educate your
clients on how to choose andwhat to choose when they come to
you looking for coverage onanything?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Well, we start by really asking what their
situation is.
Right, right, everybody likesto believe that insurance could
be a cookie cutter model.
It's really not.
You know, unfortunately,they've tried to do that in the
property and casualty side withyour auto insurance.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
But it's not when you're, you're insuring yourself
, right, which is the mostimportant thing, absolutely so,
you know, being an independentbroker, we have the carriers, we
have all the different products, right.
And so really to begin theeducation process is to really
hear.
Tell me your story, what's your,what's your situation right
looking for, and then from therewe kind of we kind of move on.
(04:35):
Once we kind of have an idea ofwhat we're working with, or
what they need is a better wayto say it then we begin
educating them on some of theoptions that are available.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Nice, so you've also mentioned before.
On a previous call we had yousaid never use a call center.
Why is working with aprofessional or independent
broker such a critical choice?
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Because you have to have somebody that has your best
interest in mind.
If you're getting dialed from acall center, they have their
best interest of mind andtypically they have one option
for you.
They're going to tell you whythat option is absolutely best
for you.
When you work with aprofessional broker that has all
the options, they can take thetime and actually tailor a plan
that's right for you.
(05:19):
And right it's.
It's always based on what youneed.
It should never be on what theyhave.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's a good point for people to understand.
You have a reputation you andCindy, it seems like for
creating relationships withevery single client.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
To sustain for as long as you have.
You must have createdrelationships a long way, and
they trust you right.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Absolutely.
People only make purchasedecisions from people they like
and trust.
That's very true, and you know,part of that is building that
relationship, is finding outtheir story, finding out what
they need and, more importantly,educating them on what they
have.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Interesting.
That's a good point.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You could sell them the best plan available If they
don't know how it works.
They don't understand what theyhave.
Their experience is going to beterrible.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I agree.
And to that point, how do youcreate awareness and build trust
before the client ever talks toyou?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So part of that is our branding.
Okay, you know we participatein seminars that we host.
We go out to work sites andhelp educate people.
We work with partners referralpartners that will help send
people our direction.
(06:35):
And so you know, if you look atany of our posts on our
websites or our social media, wetry to get some of that
education piece out there.
Yeah, and so that way, if youstart giving people something
for free, they kind of see thatyou're real and it's not
attached to whether theypurchase something or not Right.
(06:56):
You build that awareness, youstart to build that trust,
before they ever pick up thephone and call you.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Absolutely, and I don't know about everyone else
out there, but I like to knowwhat's going on before I even
talk to somebody.
I like the education part of itand you're right, it's very
selfless.
You don't have to share thateducation either one of you
right.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
No, not at all.
And you know, especiallyeverybody assumes that people
are going to go out and hitGoogle.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Of course they are right.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And there's so much information out there, it
becomes like a paralysis.
You know, I had a guy thatcalled me a couple weeks ago.
He got referred to me by one ofmy partners and I was actually
driving in a car when I calledhim back and he's telling me.
He says guys, I got theMedicare and you book which is
140 pages, by the way, and I'veread through it and I've
(07:44):
attended a couple of theseseminars, for the people have
put on, he's like, and I keepwalking away with more questions
.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
No kidding.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
And so, like I said, okay, again, we go back to tell
me your story.
You know, here's, here's fivequestions.
You can answer them.
And he did, and I said okay,here's what you got to do and
why, and which didn't end up meselling him a policy right.
Because he's fine where he's atfor right now.
Not down the road.
We're going to have aconversation.
But his comment to me, which Ithought was interesting, was wow
(08:17):
, I've spent hours on this andin six minutes you answered all
my questions.
I feel better about where I'mat and I can get on with life.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
That's you know what I wish everyone was kind of how
you guys handle it and, cindy, Iassume you're the same way.
You create that relationshipfirst, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I think most customers want to be heard, they
want to be listened to, and Ithink that that's something that
we provide, especially Cliffand I is taking that time.
It's not a rush throughconversation, right, it's.
It's really having that genuineinterest in tell me, tell me
who you are, tell me about you,tell me about your health
(08:56):
profile, tell me what, how, howhave you had your health
insurance before?
Did that work for you?
And so it's taking that timeand really kind of understanding
and listening and then gettinginto the educational piece and
then maybe into the productpiece and what what's available
to them right because, likecliff mentioned, on that one
(09:16):
particular person, he may notneed insurance right now but
later on.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
He trusts you, he trusts you to to decipher those
140 pages right without havingto read them right, and that's
so important, I feel, foreveryone and when they're
looking for insurance, whenthey're not looking for
insurance, to understand whatyou have now and and how to move
in the right direction.
Would you say that's correct no, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
And there you know, people get confused by the time
they get to Medicare.
I mean, face it, most peoplehave a health insurance plan
through work and if they haven'thad an accident or a chronic
illness, they've never actuallyreally utilized their benefits
and a lot of people don'tunderstand what they have.
(10:01):
And so when you get to Medicareand things completely change,
it's like starting at groundzero.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And how often does Medicare Medicare change?
Year over year, quarter overquarter?
Everything changes year overyear but there's always new
rules.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
The basic program kind of works the same.
It's just you know which rulesor which plans you know on the
Medicare Advantage and the drugplans.
They change every single year.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Wow, that's almost hard to even think about keeping
up with.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Oh, it's crazy.
I mean we're just getting readyto dive into certification.
Every year, every professionalagent has to do annual
certification through AHIP andthen they got to go back and
certify with each carrier thatthey represent.
Oh, my gracious so when you'rean agency like we are we have
(10:50):
the majority of all the carriersin this area and the other
states that we serve.
We spend the majority of allthe carriers in this area and
the other states that we servespend a lot of time during
certifications.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I can't imagine for both of you.
So you mentioned that you havea 96% Medicare retention rate,
client retention rate, that'sright.
Wow.
So how do you create advocatesfrom your existing base, your
client base, the 96% that haveMedicare?
Do they advocate for you?
Do you ask them to advocate for?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
you Absolutely, absolutely.
We try to create thatexperience, like we said, to get
them the right option and theright plan for them and that
they understand it.
And we ask every single one ofthem you know if you need, if
you know somebody else thatneeds help, please send them our
way.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And you know, sometimes they go, oh, I know
so-and-so, right away.
Other times it might be sixmonths.
We had a have, a couple thatwe've helped about three years
ago and you know they've alwaysbeen, you know, good customers
and good clients.
And they were on a cruise inthe Bahamas and ran into, just
(11:59):
met some new friends and somehowthey got talking about Medicare
and they're like, they're likeno, when you get back you got to
call my guy.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I got a guy right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Everybody has to have a guy or girl.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yes, absolutely.
And are they your clients now?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That is wonderful, and that could have only come
from that sustained trust andrelationship that you've built.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Our clients are our biggest advocates because
they're talking with theirfriends and their colleagues or
just their communities, and atthe age of 65 or around that age
.
That's all those people aretalking about.
Right, they're talking abouthow they got on Medicare and if
(12:39):
they're liking it and they don'tlike it, and who their broker
was.
And oh, you've got to go seethis broker because he took care
of us and explained everythingto us.
So our clients are our biggestadvocates, even if they don't
know it, because they just getin these conversations.
Wow, and then the next thing,you know, they're going call our
people.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Of course.
Would you say that's the wayyou kind of delight your current
base at the end of it, becausereferrals they're very, very
important, because one thesepeople are trusting you to give
the next person a greatexperience.
Would you say that's how youkeep new clients coming in.
Is that referral basis?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Definitely.
I'd say that's probably 100% ofhow our business grows is
through referrals.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, it's 100% through referrals.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Even though you have social media outlets and a web
page.
That's kind of almost a brandawareness for you, just
validating who you are with yoursocial media platforms, right.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Oh, absolutely.
I haven't figured out how tomonetize that yet.
I mean, we'd have social mediaand we have great information
that we put out there Again partof that awareness that we're
there, but I've yet to haveanybody call me up and go.
Hey, I saw your Facebook page.
I want to buy insurance from you, but we put it out there
because it adds to thelegitimacy of who we are.
(13:56):
We get client referrals andthen we work with referral
partners that are kind of in thesame space or dealing with the
same folks, but don't do what wedo.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
And what is that differential?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So we work with three primary groups right.
We work with group agents rightto sell big employers cases.
And most group agents don'twant to touch Medicare, they
don't want to do certificationand it's.
You can only be an expert in somany things.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Why is that?
It's just too complicated.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Well, it's just, it's a whole, nother knowledge set.
I couldn't go today and write alarge group plan either.
I mean I could but it wouldtake me an inordinate amount of
time.
I'd rather partner withsomebody that actually does this
every single day to make surethat it's right for the client.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
But you know we work with group agents, we work with
property and casualty agents.
You know if somebody's had yourcar insurance for 10 or 15
years and you haven't figuredout out like, okay, I've got all
this mail in the mailbox fromall these people trying to get
me when I turn 65.
Do you know anybody?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
That's always right, because they already trust them.
And then we work with financialplanners.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Okay, so you have a plethora of not only referrals
but contact people that willhelp educate you in any area.
Absolutely, that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
They're kind of on our roots and our resource
toolkit is what I like to tellpeople.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
You know we have the ability to kind of go into that
real resource toolkit and, youknow, pull out whatever resource
that we need, whether it's aresource for us or even a
resource for our clients,because we're not trying to be
everything to everybody, um butso, but we want to be able to
help our clients and so beingable to have a resource, a
(15:41):
trusted resource that we trustand like to be able to give it
to our client and say you cancall this person and you can
trust them, like them too.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
See, and I think that's so important because and
what one thing you mentionedthat I think is very pivotal for
any entrepreneur, businessowner is you can't know
everything they're reallyrefining.
What you guys focus on and whatyou communicate to your clients
is I, I feel, what makes you soprofitable at the end of the
day because you guys havebrought in, you've built over a
(16:12):
three million dollar book ofbusiness in premium.
Yes wow, that's incredible.
I mean you have to be doingsomething right, but to your
point, you can't spread yourselftoo thin, you have to refine
your focus and it seems like youguys truly care about these
people and educating them theright way, because I've been
educated the wrong way sometimeswell it is, and we run into
(16:33):
people like that all the time.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I talked about how we can go out to work sites and
and talk about Medicare, forexample, to their employee group
, because, right, either they'regetting ready to turn 65 or
they they have parents that aregetting ready to turn 65, and
every time we go out and andeducate a group, there's always
somebody that goes god, I wishyou would have came in like a
year ago when I turned 65,because and then they have a
(16:56):
story of course and a lot oftimes we can help them um unwind
what they've done and sometimesnot.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
That's well, you don't know until you try right
absolutely and so you guys hostlunch and learns and things like
that too.
You'll go on site to thesedifferent businesses to educate
these people that many of thosemore personal conversations than
just what they see.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Right, yeah, and that's, and that's kind of what
it leads to.
Right, we go and we do a lunchand learn and help educate them
from a very high level and then,with the ability to hey, if you
want to talk about yourspecific situation, let's set up
a time where it's just one onone and hear their story.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Absolutely, and maybe tell some of yours right.
So how, how important hasconsistency been in your
business for your brand identity?
Do you feel like that was animportant part of why you're
able to grow and sustain for solong in your business?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Absolutely.
I mean, we've had the samebrand identity from day one.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Which is great.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And you know we haven't changed the logo.
We haven't changed.
We've got the same website.
Obviously, we updated, butwe're not trying to be gimmicky.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
You know again we talked about, you know, 100%
referral.
We don't send bulk emails.
We don't send you junk in yourmailbox to kill trees.
And we don't hire call centersto you know, call and bug you
during the day or during yourdinner.
I hate it when people do it tome, and I certainly wouldn't do
that to anybody else.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
No kidding, I want a little button just for dinner
time to say hey, this is rude,call me back later, right?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I think we've also been really consistent in our
message about where ourstrengths and our services lie.
I mean we've stayed consistentwith individuals, you know,
under 65, over 65, healthinsurance, medicare, rather than
trying to put out there everyproduct that we do.
We've really kind of kept ourmessage clear and here's our
(19:06):
three areas that we specializein and really focused on those
areas, rather than trying toconfuse everybody with with well
, we do these, but we reallyhave 18 million other products,
right, right.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
so and on your, your advertising broadcasting and and
just getting people engaged.
That's very important becauseyou can know a lot.
But if you share those refinedpoints then you've got kids of
clients coming in saying youknow what?
I trust you because you'vehelped my mom or my dad.
Is that kind of how you wouldsay it's working?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Absolutely.
We get those calls all the timeand it's usually from the
parents.
It's like, hey, you know,johnny just turned 26 and Johnny
has to get off my policyaccording to the rules, and so
would you reach out and talk tohim?
Or a lot of times we schedulecalls with the parents zoom or
in person zoom or in person.
That's great, um, but it'sinteresting because right now we
(19:59):
have a new consumer who's?
If you're 26 and you've been onyour parents insurance, you
truly have no idea how it works.
And regardless of your 26 oryour 56, you you know when
you're getting off your groupplan.
We try to ask questions, youknow?
Hey, we don't want to insultyour intelligence.
Do you know what the differencebetween a deductible and a max
(20:20):
out of pocket?
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Well, I would say any young adult would need that
information right when you're 26.
I thought I knew everything,but I definitely didn't, and so
you're willing to help them.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh, want to educate, because you know now we talked
about the lack of knowledgethat's out there and one of the
things we pride ourselves on isobviously education.
Yes, so if we take that 26 yearold who's brand new to the
insurance market, and we educatethem on how stuff really works,
right, whether they, you know,eventually get a job that offers
(20:51):
employee benefits, so theydon't need what we have but
they're going to be educatedwhen they go to make their
choices down the road.
Right, because reality is mostpeople that have employer
insurance have no idea how itworks.
Nobody explains it to them.
They either did what Bob toldthem to do or they picked out
and they pointed.
(21:11):
They said well, I guess I canafford that every two weeks out
of my check.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Right, it's almost embarrassing.
You know to not know.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
We spend more time researching a new iPhone right.
It's true, they've done thesestudies and they'll spend 10
times the amount looking at anew iPhone.
Yet here's, here's somethingthat's going to take up 20, 25%
of their check.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Right, and they just pick that one and then down the
road, you know, if they'reblessed with health, outside of
paying a co-pay right when theygot sick or they had to pick up
some.
You know penicillin right,because they got sick.
They have no idea about howthat deductible works and what
co-insurance means and thatthey're protected, but they're,
(21:56):
they're.
They're max out of pocket.
They have no idea how thatworks right, and I feel like
that's.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Most people say okay, I need health insurance or I
need insurance of some kind tokeep me safe, but if you don't
educate yourself on those finitedetails, I mean it's almost not
worth it at all.
You might as well just bepaying cash if it doesn't cover
you for the things you needright.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Right, I mean, I've got a good friend and this, you
know, this was, you know,probably 10, 15 years ago, and
had always had insurance through, actually, his wife's employer.
And you know, the first time hehad a medical emergency, he
called me and just like tellingme this sucks, right, we pay all
this money every month and nowI got to come out of more pocket
(22:37):
.
I'm like, well, yeah, tell mehow your plan works.
He goes what do you mean?
It's like do you know what yourdeductible is?
Do you know what your max outof pocket is?
Well, no, I said well, thoseare things you need to consider.
No, kidding, it's just likeanother real-life example of
you've been paying for years andjust had no idea how it worked.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Now you're making me rethink.
We might need to schedule ameeting after this, guys.
So, with that being said, youguys kind of you're a client of
Atma right, correct, and youknow we kind of work on the
build launch grow scalemethodology.
What phase of that methodologywould you guys say you're in?
(23:19):
Build launch, grower scale?
So we're?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
probably in the grow phase right now um and part of
that.
You know, we kind of built,built a brand and we kind of
build a strategy about where wewant to go and we've launched it
and now we're just trying we'rein that growth phase, right
we're trying to find thatbalance.
That I don't want to say magicbullet, but you know we haven't
(23:42):
quite tweaked it to where wewant it to be, and once we find
that sweet spot, then we willlaunch it.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So what specific hurdles do you feel like are
preventing you from getting tothat scale phase right now?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
I think it's maybe like the engagement part right.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
You know, we start out on social media, for example
, and you know, as the posts goout there and people start
seeing it, it's like they likeit and the interesting part is
people like it.
But I keep telling them you'vegot to share it.
Yes, right, and so not thatit's going to go viral, but you
want to share it so other peoplecan see it.
But then after a while you'vegot to start thinking okay, well
(24:25):
, we're kind of doing the samething and the same message, and
people get tired of right ofseeing that and, of course, as
consumers, right we, how weconsume stuff on the internet
and social media changes rightright now it's.
Everybody wants you to see yourface and hear a story um know
that you're real right you'rereal right, and so that
(24:45):
educational piece is kind ofboring.
So we're we're kind of in thatphase right now where we start
to give them more engagingcontent yeah, it's video and
with the same educational spotof it, but you know, give it to
them in a way they want toconsume it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
And I think that's really the key of where we've
got to get to next before wereally take off.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Absolutely.
I think it's also trying toreach that next degree of
outreach.
Right, you've got friends,family, some immediate referrals
off of that family and then itjust keeps expanding out more
into the community and I thinkwe're at that point where we're
trying to reach that next degree, past our clients and some of
(25:29):
their outreach on beyond right,absolutely, and and that and
that's a little bit of astruggle because how do you do
that always?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
and and you guys are um shy on helping to educate new
agents as well.
So what would you say you'relooking for in new agents coming
to the industry, and what kind?
Speaker 1 (25:57):
of infrastructure or mentorship.
Do you think they need tosucceed?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, I can speak to the mentorship part, Okay let's
do it, cindy.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Mentorship part Okay, let's do it, cindy.
So I would highly encourage anynew agent that is wanting to
enter the insurance business todefinitely find a mentor like
Cliff or of that caliber to beable to guide them and direct
them.
It is a complex industry, it's ahard industry and unless you
have a mentor that you can workalongside, with that you can
(26:27):
reach out to to answer questions, to help guide you in certain
directions, it'll be a realstruggle If it wasn't for me
working with Cliff and obviouslyit's wonderful because he's my
husband, of course, but hisknowledge and expertise has made
(26:49):
my transition so much easier.
I couldn't imagine doing itwithout him.
And also, you know, we're partof an association called NABIP
National Association of BusinessInsurance Professionals, called
NABIP National Association ofBusiness Insurance Professionals
.
I highly recommend anindividual getting involved in
some type of association that'spart of the industry, because
(27:10):
that also lends itself tofinding you can find mentors
there.
But the resources available toyou to be able to answer
questions help guide, becauseyou're not going to remember it
all and every case is differentand you, as a new agent I'm from
me I got the hard ones ofcourse, just throw it right in
(27:32):
there, didn't you why?
aren't mine, the easy ones,right?
Um so, and it was it.
And it's a community, right?
It's it's friendships that youbuild which is so instrumental
in your psyche, in your mind, inyour motivation to know that,
hey, there are others out heredoing what I'm doing and we can
(27:53):
do it together, because if youcan do it together, you'll both
grow.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Absolutely so.
Would you say that your faithin the business kind of changes
your structure to have more ofthat mindset to help to guide,
to educate?
How has your faith affectedyour business?
Speaker 3 (28:11):
So, you know, with our faith, it's about helping
people, right, you know, goingout and being Christ-like in the
community, which is, you know,to help other people and being
Christ-like in the communitywhich is, you know, to help
other people, and so we alwaysbelieve that if you do the right
thing, the money comes right.
We don't focus on I mean I saidwe don't focus on making money.
(28:33):
We obviously want to make moneyand we want to make a living,
but it's about doing the nextright thing to help somebody out
.
We get calls all the time andpeople have questions and either
they can't or they don't havethe ability or they don't need
what we have to offer.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
They need.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
You know questions answered and you know I don't
know how many times I've gottena call and somebody's in a bad
situation and they got referredto me because they couldn't get
answers right.
So one of our partners orsomebody we know said, hey, we
just helped this person out andwe do.
And you know, sometimes they'dbe like, well gosh, how much do
I owe you?
And I was like you don't owe meanything and they're like but
(29:13):
everybody needs to get paid.
I was like, doesn't matter,right, you know you needed help
and you know, know that helpdidn't lead to me making a sale,
but it helped you out.
And at the end of the day,they're going to send somebody
else, right, that needs help,that does need our product, but
it and if they don't, it doesn'tmatter, right, it's just about
doing the next right thingthere's something to say about
(29:35):
that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
With a 96 retention rate for your clients and and
being in business this long, itsays a lot about how well that
does or doesn't work right,exactly.
At the end of the day.
So I like to always ask at thevery end, is there one piece of
advice you guys can give aprospect, a client or even
(29:56):
somebody coming into theindustry that you wish you'd had
known 20 years ago?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
You know, I would say you know.
It comes back to finding thementor first, Because when you
get into business, once youstart signing contracts and you
kind of hit your wagon tosomebody when it's if it's the
wrong one, it takes a lot ofeffort to get out of it and a
(30:26):
lot of times it takes so long toget out of it you get
frustrated and quit.
If somebody calls you on thephone to give you a contract,
you probably ought to pause andthink about it, and there's lots
of great organizations that areout there but you've got to
interview them because it's notthe right fit.
I mean, I've been, you know, in20 years.
I know a lot of people in thisbusiness that have big shops and
(30:50):
have lots of agents, but I canlook at them and go okay, well,
just because they're bothsuccessful, right, this one
might be a better fit for you asopposed to this one.
Absolutely, Because it dependson what the needs are and the
key is and Cindy mentioned thisin that mentor is somebody that
you can call.
(31:10):
If you just get somebody thatcalls you on the phone and you
sign a contract, when you callback in, you're going to go to a
call center.
You need that one-on-one wherelike, hey, I've got this
situation.
I need somebody to actuallytalk to me of how do I do this?
Yes, um, and you got to do itin the moment and you know,
obviously, you know NABIP is agreat resource um to have
(31:33):
colleagues to do differentthings and help support you, but
you gotta you also got to havethat one-on-one person that you
can pick up the phone and callum.
You know, Cindy, fortunateenough she sat right next to me
and it was like I'd be workingon something and she's like hey,
I need help on this, I needhelp on this.
And it was great because she canjust turn around and do that
and after a while it starts toclick.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right, it's almost pivotal is what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
But if you have, if you find somebody that you can
have, that too, where you canpick up the phone and call them,
it really does make a hugedifference.
And so, you know, as we lookfor new agents or people that
are joining the industry, youknow, I kind of tell them like
this I'm like, look, the onlydifference between going over
(32:17):
here or over here or right hereis that you get me.
Everybody's got contracts,that's right.
Everybody's going to pay thesame commission rate, right
right.
But if you want somebody thatwill, for lack of a better word,
hold your hand right, it's kindof scary.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
They don't have to go alone, right, exactly.
And, cindy, what would you sayyou wish you'd have known before
you, completely deep dived intothe industry.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I kind of wish I would have known that it was
going to be okay.
I mean, you know, when I firstjumped into this, it wasn't it
wasn't the first thing I wantedto do.
And so, you know, and I knew itwas going to be hard and I knew
it was going to take effort andI knew it was going to take
work.
(33:02):
But I wish someone had told meyou know, yeah, it's going to
take all those things, but ifyou do these things like Cliff
had outlined for me, if you dothese things, you'll succeed.
And I truly believe that's trueand I'm a witness to it.
It has been successful for me.
It has been a good choice.
(33:23):
Met some fabulous people Reallylove my clients and love what I
do.
It's been a wonderfultransition.
I couldn't have asked foranything better.
Like I said, living my best.
Second half.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Living your best life .
Speaker 3 (33:38):
And you brought up a great point too.
You've got to have a realisticexpectation, right?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That is a point.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
If you think you're going to go sell insurance and
you're trying to pay yesterday'srent, it's probably not a great
move.
You've got to give yourself arunway and you've got to be
realistic about what can Iaccomplish now?
Yes, you can do it if you putyour mind to it.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
But you know, realistically, you know it's
going to take a year or two toto start building something
where you can be like okay, I'vegot this.
See, those are very good pointsbecause if you don't have a
roadmap and you don't have thoseexpectations that you're
setting yourself up for failure.
Absolutely well, if anyone hasthese questions for either one
of you, or interested in andbeing a part of your team, or
interested in being aprospective client, how can they
reach you?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Probably the easiest way is to go to
rhythminsuranceagencycom.
That'll tell you all about whatwe do, including if you want to
join a team as an agent.
But it's really a client-facingwebsite and on there there's a
form you can fill out, give usyour information, as well as on
there there's contactinformation for both Cindy and I
(34:43):
.
So perfect you want us to reachout to you or you just want to
give us a call.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
it's all on rhythm agent, rhythm insurance
agencycom perfect, and you guyshave also have socials they can
go to to get to your website aswell absolutely, if you I mean
Cindy and I both have personalsocials, but you can find rhythm
insurance on Facebook, facebook, instagram and LinkedIn.
Wow, this is some greatinformation you guys have shared
and I truly feel like we needto all have a sit-down talk
(35:10):
about where I'm going in life.
I appreciate you both coming onthe show and help sharing these
impactful tips with everyone inthe community.
Whether you're a child orsomeone that's needing Medicare,
it's super important that theyhave somebody like you guys to
help them.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Thank you so much for having it on.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Thank you, it's been a pleasure and until next time
we will thank you all forjoining us today.
I'm your host, dori, and we'llsee you next week on Market it
With Atma.
Thank you.
Welcome back to Market it with Atma, where we
share the tips, tools andstrategies to help your business
be successful.
Market it with Atma, where weshare the tips, tools and
strategies to help your businessbe successful.
I'm your host, dori, and todaywe have a very special guest
with us Mr Cliff Stubbs withRhythm Insurance.
Cliff, welcome.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Hello, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good, and your wonderful wife, Cindy, also
joined us.
Hi, cindy, good morning.
So I wanted to ask first, howdid Rhythm Insurance get started
?
What was the name?
One is unique, but what causedthat name to come to fruition
and what's the story behind allof this?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Well, when you set out to put a name to a company,
right, you got all these ideasof do you put it after your name
or do you have some littlecatchy phrase, and nothing just
really came to mind right andrhythm eventually sparked that
um.
And it sparked it because I'm adrummer.
I play in a band nice and sorhythm just kind of comes
(01:17):
naturally right and I tried.
Well, how am I going to tiethat back to?
What do I do with insurance?
well, there's rhythm ineverything you do right exactly
yeah everybody has a differentrhythm in life, and as that
rhythm changes, right, so doyour needs, and so kind of fit
with the flow of what we do hereat Rhythm Insurance Agency.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Okay, and so tell me more about that.
What do you do at RhythmInsurance?
I mean, there's a lot ofdifferent types of insurance,
but what do you guysspecifically focus on and why?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well, we focus on the individual.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Okay.
So whether they're under 65 orthey're over 65, we can really
help them from birth all the waythrough their journey through
life.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
And you know, as their rhythm changes and their
needs changes, we're there tohelp them out.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
That's wonderful.
So you guys have been inbusiness for 20 plus years, but,
cindy, you just came on to thebusiness full time recently,
right?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Absolutely.
I'm kind of living my bestsecond half, as I say, in a
second career.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
And are you enjoying the career?
So far, it's been fabulous.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
It's been a good transition.
I've really enjoyed it.
Getting to work with my husbandis great and it was a good
transition into the healthcare,since I've come from healthcare,
but this is a little bit morein depth and working with our
beneficiaries Exactly.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
That's wonderful, though, because you've gotten to
watch Cliff go through it kindof the whole path, right,
exactly so you learn things whenyou're around certain areas,
yeah, for a long period of timeanyway, that's what I think.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It's been a lot of fun.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
Yeah, and you guys have been through some major
acquisitions.
2020 was hard on everybody, sohow did that affect you guys?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yes, it was so, you know, when I started almost 20
years ago it's been over 20years.
We started by building anagency and three and a half
years later was sold to a largershop that was a regional player
and we helped build out theirMedicare side of things over the
(03:17):
next four or five years, whichwas great, because then I got
stolen away by another shop yougot poached.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Poached is a good word for it.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
It's always nice to be needed and wanted, right.
Absolutely and we did that.
We worked for a captive shopthat had about 3,000 captive
agents and we talked to them howto sell Medicare and gosh.
In three years we were sellingalmost 80,000 policies a year.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Wow, so can you explain how you educate your
clients on how to choose andwhat to choose when they come to
you looking for coverage onanything?
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Well, we start by really asking what their
situation is.
Right, right, everybody likesto believe that insurance could
be a cookie cutter model.
It's really not.
You know, unfortunately,they've tried to do that in the
property and casualty side withyour auto insurance.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
But it's not when you're, you're insuring yourself
, right, which is the mostimportant thing, absolutely so,
you know, being an independentbroker, we have the carriers, we
have all the different products, right.
And so really to begin theeducation process is to really
hear.
Tell me your story, what's your,what's your situation right
looking for, and then from therewe kind of we kind of move on.
(04:35):
Once we kind of have an idea ofwhat we're working with, or
what they need is a better wayto say it then we begin
educating them on some of theoptions that are available.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Nice, so you've also mentioned before.
On a previous call we had yousaid never use a call center.
Why is working with aprofessional or independent
broker such a critical choice?
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Because you have to have somebody that has your best
interest in mind.
If you're getting dialed from acall center, they have their
best interest of mind andtypically they have one option
for you.
They're going to tell you whythat option is absolutely best
for you.
When you work with aprofessional broker that has all
the options, they can take thetime and actually tailor a plan
that's right for you.
(05:19):
And right it's.
It's always based on what youneed.
It should never be on what theyhave.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
That's a good point for people to understand.
You have a reputation you andCindy, it seems like for
creating relationships withevery single client.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
To sustain for as long as you have.
You must have createdrelationships a long way, and
they trust you right.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
Absolutely.
People only make purchasedecisions from people they like
and trust.
That's very true, and you know,part of that is building that
relationship, is finding outtheir story, finding out what
they need and, more importantly,educating them on what they
have.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Interesting.
That's a good point.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
You could sell them the best plan available If they
don't know how it works.
They don't understand what theyhave.
Their experience is going to beterrible.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
I agree.
And to that point, how do youcreate awareness and build trust
before the client ever talks toyou?
Speaker 3 (06:15):
So part of that is our branding.
Okay, you know we participatein seminars that we host.
We go out to work sites andhelp educate people.
We work with partners referralpartners that will help send
people our direction.
(06:35):
And so you know, if you look atany of our posts on our
websites or our social media, wetry to get some of that
education piece out there.
Yeah, and so that way, if youstart giving people something
for free, they kind of see thatyou're real and it's not
attached to whether theypurchase something or not Right.
(06:56):
You build that awareness, youstart to build that trust,
before they ever pick up thephone and call you.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Absolutely, and I don't know about everyone else
out there, but I like to knowwhat's going on before I even
talk to somebody.
I like the education part of itand you're right, it's very
selfless.
You don't have to share thateducation either one of you
right.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
No, not at all.
And you know, especiallyeverybody assumes that people
are going to go out and hitGoogle.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Of course they are right.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
And there's so much information out there, it
becomes like a paralysis.
You know, I had a guy thatcalled me a couple weeks ago.
He got referred to me by one ofmy partners and I was actually
driving in a car when I calledhim back and he's telling me.
He says guys, I got theMedicare and you book which is
140 pages, by the way, and I'veread through it and I've
(07:44):
attended a couple of theseseminars, for the people have
put on, he's like, and I keepwalking away with more questions
.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
No kidding.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
And so, like I said, okay, again, we go back to tell
me your story.
You know, here's, here's fivequestions.
You can answer them.
And he did, and I said okay,here's what you got to do and
why, and which didn't end up meselling him a policy right.
Because he's fine where he's atfor right now.
Not down the road.
We're going to have aconversation.
But his comment to me, which Ithought was interesting, was wow
(08:17):
, I've spent hours on this andin six minutes you answered all
my questions.
I feel better about where I'mat and I can get on with life.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
That's you know what I wish everyone was kind of how
you guys handle it and, cindy, Iassume you're the same way.
You create that relationshipfirst, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
I think most customers want to be heard, they
want to be listened to, and Ithink that that's something that
we provide, especially Cliffand I is taking that time.
It's not a rush throughconversation, right, it's.
It's really having that genuineinterest in tell me, tell me
who you are, tell me about you,tell me about your health
(08:56):
profile, tell me what, how, howhave you had your health
insurance before?
Did that work for you?
And so it's taking that timeand really kind of understanding
and listening and then gettinginto the educational piece and
then maybe into the productpiece and what what's available
to them right because, likecliff mentioned, on that one
(09:16):
particular person, he may notneed insurance right now but
later on.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
He trusts you, he trusts you to to decipher those
140 pages right without havingto read them right, and that's
so important, I feel, foreveryone and when they're
looking for insurance, whenthey're not looking for
insurance, to understand whatyou have now and and how to move
in the right direction.
Would you say that's correct no, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
And there you know, people get confused by the time
they get to Medicare.
I mean, face it, most peoplehave a health insurance plan
through work and if they haven'thad an accident or a chronic
illness, they've never actuallyreally utilized their benefits
and a lot of people don'tunderstand what they have.
(10:01):
And so when you get to Medicareand things completely change,
it's like starting at groundzero.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
And how often does Medicare Medicare change?
Year over year, quarter overquarter?
Everything changes year overyear but there's always new
rules.
Speaker 3 (10:15):
The basic program kind of works the same.
It's just you know which rulesor which plans you know on the
Medicare Advantage and the drugplans.
They change every single year.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
Wow, that's almost hard to even think about keeping
up with.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Oh, it's crazy.
I mean we're just getting readyto dive into certification.
Every year, every professionalagent has to do annual
certification through AHIP andthen they got to go back and
certify with each carrier thatthey represent.
Oh, my gracious so when you'rean agency like we are we have
(10:50):
the majority of all the carriersin this area and the other
states that we serve.
We spend the majority of allthe carriers in this area and
the other states that we servespend a lot of time during
certifications.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
I can't imagine for both of you.
So you mentioned that you havea 96% Medicare retention rate,
client retention rate, that'sright.
Wow.
So how do you create advocatesfrom your existing base, your
client base, the 96% that haveMedicare?
Do they advocate for you?
Do you ask them to advocate for?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
you Absolutely, absolutely.
We try to create thatexperience, like we said, to get
them the right option and theright plan for them and that
they understand it.
And we ask every single one ofthem you know if you need, if
you know somebody else thatneeds help, please send them our
way.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
And you know, sometimes they go, oh, I know
so-and-so, right away.
Other times it might be sixmonths.
We had a have, a couple thatwe've helped about three years
ago and you know they've alwaysbeen, you know, good customers
and good clients.
And they were on a cruise inthe Bahamas and ran into, just
(11:59):
met some new friends and somehowthey got talking about Medicare
and they're like, they're likeno, when you get back you got to
call my guy.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
I got a guy right, that's right.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
Everybody has to have a guy or girl.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Yes, absolutely.
And are they your clients now?
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That is wonderful, and that could have only come
from that sustained trust andrelationship that you've built.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Our clients are our biggest advocates because
they're talking with theirfriends and their colleagues or
just their communities, and atthe age of 65 or around that age
.
That's all those people aretalking about.
Right, they're talking abouthow they got on Medicare and if
(12:39):
they're liking it and they don'tlike it, and who their broker
was.
And oh, you've got to go seethis broker because he took care
of us and explained everythingto us.
So our clients are our biggestadvocates, even if they don't
know it, because they just getin these conversations.
Wow, and then the next thing,you know, they're going call our
people.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Of course.
Would you say that's the wayyou kind of delight your current
base at the end of it, becausereferrals they're very, very
important, because one thesepeople are trusting you to give
the next person a greatexperience.
Would you say that's how youkeep new clients coming in.
Is that referral basis?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Definitely.
I'd say that's probably 100% ofhow our business grows is
through referrals.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah, it's 100% through referrals.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Even though you have social media outlets and a web
page.
That's kind of almost a brandawareness for you, just
validating who you are with yoursocial media platforms, right.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
Oh, absolutely.
I haven't figured out how tomonetize that yet.
I mean, we'd have social mediaand we have great information
that we put out there Again partof that awareness that we're
there, but I've yet to haveanybody call me up and go.
Hey, I saw your Facebook page.
I want to buy insurance from you, but we put it out there
because it adds to thelegitimacy of who we are.
(13:56):
We get client referrals andthen we work with referral
partners that are kind of in thesame space or dealing with the
same folks, but don't do what wedo.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
And what is that differential?
Speaker 3 (14:08):
So we work with three primary groups right.
We work with group agents rightto sell big employers cases.
And most group agents don'twant to touch Medicare, they
don't want to do certificationand it's.
You can only be an expert in somany things.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Why is that?
It's just too complicated.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Well, it's just, it's a whole, nother knowledge set.
I couldn't go today and write alarge group plan either.
I mean I could but it wouldtake me an inordinate amount of
time.
I'd rather partner withsomebody that actually does this
every single day to make surethat it's right for the client.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
But you know we work with group agents, we work with
property and casualty agents.
You know if somebody's had yourcar insurance for 10 or 15
years and you haven't figuredout out like, okay, I've got all
this mail in the mailbox fromall these people trying to get
me when I turn 65.
Do you know anybody?
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Right.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
That's always right, because they already trust them.
And then we work with financialplanners.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Okay, so you have a plethora of not only referrals
but contact people that willhelp educate you in any area.
Absolutely, that's wonderful.
Speaker 1 (15:13):
They're kind of on our roots and our resource
toolkit is what I like to tellpeople.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
You know we have the ability to kind of go into that
real resource toolkit and, youknow, pull out whatever resource
that we need, whether it's aresource for us or even a
resource for our clients,because we're not trying to be
everything to everybody, um butso, but we want to be able to
help our clients and so beingable to have a resource, a
(15:41):
trusted resource that we trustand like to be able to give it
to our client and say you cancall this person and you can
trust them, like them too.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
See, and I think that's so important because and
what one thing you mentionedthat I think is very pivotal for
any entrepreneur, businessowner is you can't know
everything they're reallyrefining.
What you guys focus on and whatyou communicate to your clients
is I, I feel, what makes you soprofitable at the end of the
day because you guys havebrought in, you've built over a
(16:12):
three million dollar book ofbusiness in premium.
Yes wow, that's incredible.
I mean you have to be doingsomething right, but to your
point, you can't spread yourselftoo thin, you have to refine
your focus and it seems like youguys truly care about these
people and educating them theright way, because I've been
educated the wrong way sometimeswell it is, and we run into
(16:33):
people like that all the time.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
I talked about how we can go out to work sites and
and talk about Medicare, forexample, to their employee group
, because, right, either they'regetting ready to turn 65 or
they they have parents that aregetting ready to turn 65, and
every time we go out and andeducate a group, there's always
somebody that goes god, I wishyou would have came in like a
year ago when I turned 65,because and then they have a
(16:56):
story of course and a lot oftimes we can help them um unwind
what they've done and sometimesnot.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
That's well, you don't know until you try right
absolutely and so you guys hostlunch and learns and things like
that too.
You'll go on site to thesedifferent businesses to educate
these people that many of thosemore personal conversations than
just what they see.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Right, yeah, and that's, and that's kind of what
it leads to.
Right, we go and we do a lunchand learn and help educate them
from a very high level and then,with the ability to hey, if you
want to talk about yourspecific situation, let's set up
a time where it's just one onone and hear their story.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Absolutely, and maybe tell some of yours right.
So how, how important hasconsistency been in your
business for your brand identity?
Do you feel like that was animportant part of why you're
able to grow and sustain for solong in your business?
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Absolutely.
I mean, we've had the samebrand identity from day one.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Which is great.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
And you know we haven't changed the logo.
We haven't changed.
We've got the same website.
Obviously, we updated, butwe're not trying to be gimmicky.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Right.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
You know again we talked about, you know, 100%
referral.
We don't send bulk emails.
We don't send you junk in yourmailbox to kill trees.
And we don't hire call centersto you know, call and bug you
during the day or during yourdinner.
I hate it when people do it tome, and I certainly wouldn't do
that to anybody else.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
No kidding, I want a little button just for dinner
time to say hey, this is rude,call me back later, right?
Speaker 1 (18:45):
I think we've also been really consistent in our
message about where ourstrengths and our services lie.
I mean we've stayed consistentwith individuals, you know,
under 65, over 65, healthinsurance, medicare, rather than
trying to put out there everyproduct that we do.
We've really kind of kept ourmessage clear and here's our
(19:06):
three areas that we specializein and really focused on those
areas, rather than trying toconfuse everybody with with well
, we do these, but we reallyhave 18 million other products,
right, right.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
so and on your, your advertising broadcasting and and
just getting people engaged.
That's very important becauseyou can know a lot.
But if you share those refinedpoints then you've got kids of
clients coming in saying youknow what?
I trust you because you'vehelped my mom or my dad.
Is that kind of how you wouldsay it's working?
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Absolutely.
We get those calls all the timeand it's usually from the
parents.
It's like, hey, you know,johnny just turned 26 and Johnny
has to get off my policyaccording to the rules, and so
would you reach out and talk tohim?
Or a lot of times we schedulecalls with the parents zoom or
in person zoom or in person.
That's great, um, but it'sinteresting because right now we
(19:59):
have a new consumer who's?
If you're 26 and you've been onyour parents insurance, you
truly have no idea how it works.
And regardless of your 26 oryour 56, you you know when
you're getting off your groupplan.
We try to ask questions, youknow?
Hey, we don't want to insultyour intelligence.
Do you know what the differencebetween a deductible and a max
(20:20):
out of pocket?
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Well, I would say any young adult would need that
information right when you're 26.
I thought I knew everything,but I definitely didn't, and so
you're willing to help them.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
Oh, want to educate, because you know now we talked
about the lack of knowledgethat's out there and one of the
things we pride ourselves on isobviously education.
Yes, so if we take that 26 yearold who's brand new to the
insurance market, and we educatethem on how stuff really works,
right, whether they, you know,eventually get a job that offers
(20:51):
employee benefits, so theydon't need what we have but
they're going to be educatedwhen they go to make their
choices down the road.
Right, because reality is mostpeople that have employer
insurance have no idea how itworks.
Nobody explains it to them.
They either did what Bob toldthem to do or they picked out
and they pointed.
(21:11):
They said well, I guess I canafford that every two weeks out
of my check.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Right, it's almost embarrassing.
You know to not know.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
We spend more time researching a new iPhone right.
It's true, they've done thesestudies and they'll spend 10
times the amount looking at anew iPhone.
Yet here's, here's somethingthat's going to take up 20, 25%
of their check.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Right, and they just pick that one and then down the
road, you know, if they'reblessed with health, outside of
paying a co-pay right when theygot sick or they had to pick up
some.
You know penicillin right,because they got sick.
They have no idea about howthat deductible works and what
co-insurance means and thatthey're protected, but they're,
(21:56):
they're.
They're max out of pocket.
They have no idea how thatworks right, and I feel like
that's.
Speaker 2 (22:01):
Most people say okay, I need health insurance or I
need insurance of some kind tokeep me safe, but if you don't
educate yourself on those finitedetails, I mean it's almost not
worth it at all.
You might as well just bepaying cash if it doesn't cover
you for the things you needright.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Right, I mean, I've got a good friend and this, you
know, this was, you know,probably 10, 15 years ago, and
had always had insurance through, actually, his wife's employer.
And you know, the first time hehad a medical emergency, he
called me and just like tellingme this sucks, right, we pay all
this money every month and nowI got to come out of more pocket
(22:37):
.
I'm like, well, yeah, tell mehow your plan works.
He goes what do you mean?
It's like do you know what yourdeductible is?
Do you know what your max outof pocket is?
Well, no, I said well, thoseare things you need to consider.
No, kidding, it's just likeanother real-life example of
you've been paying for years andjust had no idea how it worked.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
Now you're making me rethink.
We might need to schedule ameeting after this, guys.
So, with that being said, youguys kind of you're a client of
Atma right, correct, and youknow we kind of work on the
build launch grow scalemethodology.
What phase of that methodologywould you guys say you're in?
(23:19):
Build launch, grower scale?
So we're?
Speaker 3 (23:21):
probably in the grow phase right now um and part of
that.
You know, we kind of built,built a brand and we kind of
build a strategy about where wewant to go and we've launched it
and now we're just trying we'rein that growth phase, right
we're trying to find thatbalance.
That I don't want to say magicbullet, but you know we haven't
(23:42):
quite tweaked it to where wewant it to be, and once we find
that sweet spot, then we willlaunch it.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
So what specific hurdles do you feel like are
preventing you from getting tothat scale phase right now?
Speaker 3 (23:56):
I think it's maybe like the engagement part right.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Right.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
You know, we start out on social media, for example
, and you know, as the posts goout there and people start
seeing it, it's like they likeit and the interesting part is
people like it.
But I keep telling them you'vegot to share it.
Yes, right, and so not thatit's going to go viral, but you
want to share it so other peoplecan see it.
But then after a while you'vegot to start thinking okay, well
(24:25):
, we're kind of doing the samething and the same message, and
people get tired of right ofseeing that and, of course, as
consumers, right we, how weconsume stuff on the internet
and social media changes rightright now it's.
Everybody wants you to see yourface and hear a story um know
that you're real right you'rereal right, and so that
(24:45):
educational piece is kind ofboring.
So we're we're kind of in thatphase right now where we start
to give them more engagingcontent yeah, it's video and
with the same educational spotof it, but you know, give it to
them in a way they want toconsume it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
And I think that's really the key of where we've
got to get to next before wereally take off.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Absolutely.
I think it's also trying toreach that next degree of
outreach.
Right, you've got friends,family, some immediate referrals
off of that family and then itjust keeps expanding out more
into the community and I thinkwe're at that point where we're
trying to reach that next degree, past our clients and some of
(25:29):
their outreach on beyond right,absolutely, and and that and
that's a little bit of astruggle because how do you do
that always?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
and and you guys are um shy on helping to educate new
agents as well.
So what would you say you'relooking for in new agents coming
to the industry, and what kind?
Speaker 1 (25:57):
of infrastructure or mentorship.
Do you think they need tosucceed?
Speaker 2 (25:58):
Well, I can speak to the mentorship part, Okay let's
do it, cindy.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Mentorship part Okay, let's do it, cindy.
So I would highly encourage anynew agent that is wanting to
enter the insurance business todefinitely find a mentor like
Cliff or of that caliber to beable to guide them and direct
them.
It is a complex industry, it's ahard industry and unless you
have a mentor that you can workalongside, with that you can
(26:27):
reach out to to answer questions, to help guide you in certain
directions, it'll be a realstruggle If it wasn't for me
working with Cliff and obviouslyit's wonderful because he's my
husband, of course, but hisknowledge and expertise has made
(26:49):
my transition so much easier.
I couldn't imagine doing itwithout him.
And also, you know, we're partof an association called NABIP
National Association of BusinessInsurance Professionals, called
NABIP National Association ofBusiness Insurance Professionals
.
I highly recommend anindividual getting involved in
some type of association that'spart of the industry, because
(27:10):
that also lends itself tofinding you can find mentors
there.
But the resources available toyou to be able to answer
questions help guide, becauseyou're not going to remember it
all and every case is differentand you, as a new agent I'm from
me I got the hard ones ofcourse, just throw it right in
(27:32):
there, didn't you why?
aren't mine, the easy ones,right?
Um so, and it was it.
And it's a community, right?
It's it's friendships that youbuild which is so instrumental
in your psyche, in your mind, inyour motivation to know that,
hey, there are others out heredoing what I'm doing and we can
(27:53):
do it together, because if youcan do it together, you'll both
grow.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Absolutely so.
Would you say that your faithin the business kind of changes
your structure to have more ofthat mindset to help to guide,
to educate?
How has your faith affectedyour business?
Speaker 3 (28:11):
So, you know, with our faith, it's about helping
people, right, you know, goingout and being Christ-like in the
community, which is, you know,to help other people and being
Christ-like in the communitywhich is, you know, to help
other people, and so we alwaysbelieve that if you do the right
thing, the money comes right.
We don't focus on I mean I saidwe don't focus on making money.
(28:33):
We obviously want to make moneyand we want to make a living,
but it's about doing the nextright thing to help somebody out
.
We get calls all the time andpeople have questions and either
they can't or they don't havethe ability or they don't need
what we have to offer.
Speaker 1 (28:50):
They need.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
You know questions answered and you know I don't
know how many times I've gottena call and somebody's in a bad
situation and they got referredto me because they couldn't get
answers right.
So one of our partners orsomebody we know said, hey, we
just helped this person out andwe do.
And you know, sometimes they'dbe like, well gosh, how much do
I owe you?
And I was like you don't owe meanything and they're like but
(29:13):
everybody needs to get paid.
I was like, doesn't matter,right, you know you needed help
and you know, know that helpdidn't lead to me making a sale,
but it helped you out.
And at the end of the day,they're going to send somebody
else, right, that needs help,that does need our product, but
it and if they don't, it doesn'tmatter, right, it's just about
doing the next right thingthere's something to say about
(29:35):
that.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
With a 96 retention rate for your clients and and
being in business this long, itsays a lot about how well that
does or doesn't work right,exactly.
At the end of the day.
So I like to always ask at thevery end, is there one piece of
advice you guys can give aprospect, a client or even
(29:56):
somebody coming into theindustry that you wish you'd had
known 20 years ago?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
You know, I would say you know.
It comes back to finding thementor first, Because when you
get into business, once youstart signing contracts and you
kind of hit your wagon tosomebody when it's if it's the
wrong one, it takes a lot ofeffort to get out of it and a
(30:26):
lot of times it takes so long toget out of it you get
frustrated and quit.
If somebody calls you on thephone to give you a contract,
you probably ought to pause andthink about it, and there's lots
of great organizations that areout there but you've got to
interview them because it's notthe right fit.
I mean, I've been, you know, in20 years.
I know a lot of people in thisbusiness that have big shops and
(30:50):
have lots of agents, but I canlook at them and go okay, well,
just because they're bothsuccessful, right, this one
might be a better fit for you asopposed to this one.
Absolutely, Because it dependson what the needs are and the
key is and Cindy mentioned thisin that mentor is somebody that
you can call.
(31:10):
If you just get somebody thatcalls you on the phone and you
sign a contract, when you callback in, you're going to go to a
call center.
You need that one-on-one wherelike, hey, I've got this
situation.
I need somebody to actuallytalk to me of how do I do this?
Yes, um, and you got to do itin the moment and you know,
obviously, you know NABIP is agreat resource um to have
(31:33):
colleagues to do differentthings and help support you, but
you gotta you also got to havethat one-on-one person that you
can pick up the phone and callum.
You know, Cindy, fortunateenough she sat right next to me
and it was like I'd be workingon something and she's like hey,
I need help on this, I needhelp on this.
And it was great because she canjust turn around and do that
and after a while it starts toclick.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Right, it's almost pivotal is what you're saying.
Speaker 3 (31:56):
But if you have, if you find somebody that you can
have, that too, where you canpick up the phone and call them,
it really does make a hugedifference.
And so, you know, as we lookfor new agents or people that
are joining the industry, youknow, I kind of tell them like
this I'm like, look, the onlydifference between going over
(32:17):
here or over here or right hereis that you get me.
Everybody's got contracts,that's right.
Everybody's going to pay thesame commission rate, right
right.
But if you want somebody thatwill, for lack of a better word,
hold your hand right, it's kindof scary.
Speaker 2 (32:31):
They don't have to go alone, right, exactly.
And, cindy, what would you sayyou wish you'd have known before
you, completely deep dived intothe industry.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
I kind of wish I would have known that it was
going to be okay.
I mean, you know, when I firstjumped into this, it wasn't it
wasn't the first thing I wantedto do.
And so, you know, and I knew itwas going to be hard and I knew
it was going to take effort andI knew it was going to take
work.
(33:02):
But I wish someone had told meyou know, yeah, it's going to
take all those things, but ifyou do these things like Cliff
had outlined for me, if you dothese things, you'll succeed.
And I truly believe that's trueand I'm a witness to it.
It has been successful for me.
It has been a good choice.
(33:23):
Met some fabulous people Reallylove my clients and love what I
do.
It's been a wonderfultransition.
I couldn't have asked foranything better.
Like I said, living my best.
Second half.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
Living your best life .
Speaker 3 (33:38):
And you brought up a great point too.
You've got to have a realisticexpectation, right?
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That is a point.
Speaker 3 (33:43):
If you think you're going to go sell insurance and
you're trying to pay yesterday'srent, it's probably not a great
move.
You've got to give yourself arunway and you've got to be
realistic about what can Iaccomplish now?
Yes, you can do it if you putyour mind to it.
Speaker 2 (34:07):
But you know, realistically, you know it's
going to take a year or two toto start building something
where you can be like okay, I'vegot this.
See, those are very good pointsbecause if you don't have a
roadmap and you don't have thoseexpectations that you're
setting yourself up for failure.
Absolutely well, if anyone hasthese questions for either one
of you, or interested in andbeing a part of your team, or
interested in being aprospective client, how can they
reach you?
Speaker 3 (34:21):
Probably the easiest way is to go to
rhythminsuranceagencycom.
That'll tell you all about whatwe do, including if you want to
join a team as an agent.
But it's really a client-facingwebsite and on there there's a
form you can fill out, give usyour information, as well as on
there there's contactinformation for both Cindy and I
(34:43):
.
So perfect you want us to reachout to you or you just want to
give us a call.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
it's all on rhythm agent, rhythm insurance
agencycom perfect, and you guyshave also have socials they can
go to to get to your website aswell absolutely, if you I mean
Cindy and I both have personalsocials, but you can find rhythm
insurance on Facebook, facebook, instagram and LinkedIn.
Wow, this is some greatinformation you guys have shared
and I truly feel like we needto all have a sit-down talk
(35:10):
about where I'm going in life.
I appreciate you both coming onthe show and help sharing these
impactful tips with everyone inthe community.
Whether you're a child orsomeone that's needing Medicare,
it's super important that theyhave somebody like you guys to
help them.
Speaker 3 (35:27):
Thank you so much for having it on.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
Thank you, it's been a pleasure and until next time
we will thank you all forjoining us today.
I'm your host, dori, and we'llsee you next week on Market it
With Atma.
Thank you.
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