NAIFA Amarillo Area Newsletter

NAIFA AMARILLO AREA
NAIFA Amarillo Area
Newsletter
March 2013
Volume 7, Issue 8
President’s Message
Inside this issue:
President’s
Message
1
Monthly
Luncheon Info
2
NAIFA Texas
Elections
2
NAIFA Notices 3
Tri City Sales
Forum
3
MDRT Minute
4
Contact Info
& Awards
5
NAIFA Amarillo is
now setup on a
texting program!
Text NAIFA to
72727 to be opted
in to receive text
reminders for upcoming meetings
and events!
Officers and Directors of NAIFA Amarillo Area
President – Hollie Gandy
Publicity – Hollie Gandy
President-Elect – Jim Thompson
Nat’l Comm/Gov Relations – John Denton
Secretary/Treasurer – Kirk Haworth
YAT - Jason Permenter
Past President – Tom Moore
IFAPAC — Jim Thompson
Executive Director – Lindsay Haworth
LUTC - Brian Moore
Membership — Shirley Clark
Tri City Sales Forum— Sammy O’Dell
Programs — Helen Burton
Board Members: Jackie Bennett, Greg Hall, Jim Hutson
Page 2
March Luncheon: 3/12/13 @ 11:45am
Doug Massey has been
in the Insurance & Financial Services industry for 28 years. His
licenses include Life & Health,
Property & Casualty, and Securities. The primary focus of his
business the last 20 years has
been retirement planning, and
working with small businesses
setting up and administering retirement plans.
Doug has served 2 terms
as President of NAIFA-San Angelo. He is a Past President
and Life member of Texas Leaders Round Table. He is a Life
and Qualifying Member of the
Million Dollar Round Table, with
5 Court of the Table Qualifica-
tions. Doug is a LILI graduate
and has moderated numerous
LUTC & FSS classes. Professional designations include CLU,
ChFC, FSS & LUTCF.
As a NAIFA-Texas Director/Trustee, he has been CoChair for the PIC Committee and
also served on the Investment,
Executive and Finance Committees. He has testified on behalf
of NAIFA-Texas before the
Texas Legislature numerous
times, most recently in support
of increasing the Texas Guarantee fund limits for annuities.
Doug and his wife Margay have been married 22 years
and they have 3 daughters.
Meeting
Location:
The Amarillo Club
30th Floor
Meal Catered by:
The Amarillo Club
NAIFA Amarillo’s Own Wins Position of Trustee
Four of our local members recently returned from the state convention down in
Austin. While there, our local president Hollie
Gandy, ran for a position of State Trustee.
We are pleased to announce that she
is the newest Texas Trustee on your state
board! “Because of a resignation on the current Board, I was also appointed as the highest ‘vote-getter’ to fulfill the unexpired term of
that person,” said Gandy. “Ironically, it was he
who first suggested that I throw in my hat to the
ring.”
She is making the commitment to you as
your current president to fulfill my duties to local
chapter first, the new position second. She also
has the full support from Jim Thompson, Preselect & Kirk Haworth, Secretary.
(Pictured below from left to right: Jack Knight, President
Hollie Gandy, Secretary Kirk Haworth and President-Elect
Jim Thompson in Austin, TX.)
Page 3
NAIFA Notices
Did You Know?
Do to the increasing price of our luncheons, we will no longer be giving first time guests a free lunch. Also,
meals for guests will now be $15.
Congratulations
NAIFA Amarillo recently won a $400 state award for most retention in a medium sized chapter. Thanks to
you all. Now, let's go after IFAPAC commitments & membership. Way to go!!
Upcoming Events
NAIFA Fly-In in Washington, DC April 8-9, 2013.
The 11th Tri City Sales Forum is set for February 20th, 2013. Tickets are on sale now! Get yours today.
LUTC Course
We are looking into the possibility of teaching another CE course but we need interest
from our chapter. If you are interested in
going through the LUTC course, please let
Lindsay know. We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks!
Tri City Sales Forum
What a great time we had learning new sales
ideas and networking at the11th annual sales forum.
It was a huge hit!
If you see Sammy O’Dell or any of the other
board members, take a moment and tell them thanks
for all of the hard work
that went in to planning
such a great event.
The event took
take place on Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
from 9am-3:30pm at the
Ashmore Inn and Suites
in Amarillo.
We had seven
amazing speakers that came in from all over the region.
We had roughly 75 in attendance and we’ve had
very good feedback from the forum. If you weren’t able
to make it out, definitely plan on attending next year.
Thanks to everyone who supported the event!
MDRT Minute: “Strategies for Marketing in the Modern Business World”
Today’s consumer is very different from the consumer of 10 years ago. They have access to information and other people’s feedback instantly. They are time-deprived like never before. They have an incredible amount of choice, and they are not afraid to
use it. If your business is not evolving to meet this new and, in many ways, very demanding modern consumer, you will be in
trouble. This is particularly relevant when it comes to how we market our businesses. Following are strategies that will enable
any business not only to survive in tough times, but to thrive.
Building your brand is so much more than a logo
Building a brand is a big job and should be based on Moments of Truth — the moments in which our customers interact with us.
It is during these interactions that they form their opinion of our business. The way to really build your brand effectively is to
first identify each and every Moment of Truth that your business has, then rate each as big, medium or small in terms of its importance in the overall experience that the customer has when dealing with your business. Then, set about making each of these
Moments of Truth better. The real goal here is to build your brand by making each and every interaction as positive as it can be.
Creativity is a precious commodity
Today, marketing is driven less by how much you spend and more by how creative you can be. To think creatively we have to be
serious about creativity, and this means investing in it. Have open forums where conversations and ideas can lead anywhere, and
everyone’s input is equally valid. Be prepared to try new ideas and open to new ways of doing things. Being stuck in the “way
we always did it” mentally is not conducive to evolving. Most importantly, beware of being a beige business — one that simply
blends into the background.
Be your business’s “crash test dummy”
When Zippo lighters first went on sale in 1993, sales were dismal. Looking for a way to get consumer’s attention, owner George
Blaisdell offered a lifetime guarantee on every lighter — something that had never been done before. Today, some 450 million
Zippos have been sold around the world, all as a result of the company believing in its product enough to offer a lifetime guarantee. We have to be the No. 1 fans and believers in our business. This means backing ourselves and our business completely, and
being serious when there are problems that need fixing.
The new world of networking
If we don’t have a network of fans, supporters, referrers and followers, it will be tough to survive, let alone prosper. As much as
we live in a world that is full of technology, it will be a few generations before virtual worlds will be as engaging as face-to-face
human interaction. So we need to make sure we are actively participating in networking events in a physical sense. At the same
time, our businesses are being talked about in the online world (with lots of little thumbs up or thumbs down), so we need to be
making comments, monitoring comments about us, speaking up and standing out.
Social media — if you’re not confused, you’re not trying hard enough
It is OK to be confused about social media; in fact, it should be encouraged. However, understand it or not, it’s here to stay, and
we need to figure out how we can use it in our business world. Invest time in working out how other smart businesses are using it
to connect and engage with their customers or their potential customers. Once you start finding ideas, it doesn’t take long to
adapt them for use in your business.
The importance of being ethically unequaled
The new benchmark for the modern consumer is “Korporate Karma” — and if your business doesn’t stack up, they won’t just
walk away, they will run away. We need to be ethical, contribution-focused, socially aware and environmentally considerate.
These are long-term attitudes that aren’t just nice, warm fuzzies, but are essential for any business hoping to be successful in the
modern world.
These ideas and strategies are simple but powerful. Many businesses have completely transformed simply by changing their outlook, introducing new habits, and developing new and more relevant philosophies toward their customers and how they run their
business. In other words, they are evolving and constantly getting better as a result. And so can you.
Andrew Griffiths is recognized as Australia’s No. 1 small business author, having written 10 bestselling books on advertising,
sales, customer service, work-life balance and much more. His passion is to help small business owners achieve their dreams —
specifically, to help them transform their businesses into exceptional businesses. You may purchase his entire presentation on
www.mdrtpowercenter.org.
NAIFA Amarillo Area
If you or someone you know is interested
Lindsay Haworth
Executive Director
6900 I-40 West Suite #160
Amarillo, TX 79106
in advertising with NAIFA Amarillo Area, or, if you
Phone: 806-681-2465
Fax: 806-353-2366
E-mail:
naifaama@suddenlinkmail.com
Executive Director at 806-681-2465. Our rate is
would like more information, please contact our
$100 per year for a business card size ad and your ad will be seen
in all 12 issues.
We’re on the Web!!!
www.naifanet.com/amarilloarea
NAIFA Amarillo Area 2012 Awards
2011 National Quality Award
Years
2012 Million Dollar Round Table
Years
S. Sean Saied, FIC
1
Danny Cathy
1
Kip Hutto
1
Landon Landry
2
Sean Saied
2
Todd Selmon, FICF
4
Todd Selmon
9
James Baker
6
Kris L. Bosley, FIC
7
Patrick Phillips
12
John Denton
11
Michael R. Ruff Q
13
Jack Fuqua, CLU
18
John S. Denton QL
16
Darren Fincher, FIC
19
Darren G. Fincher, FICF QL
17
Samuel G. Saied, FICF
19
**Samuel Saied, FICF
17
Michael Thomas, CLU
20
Kirk H. Haworth, CLU, ChFC QL
31
Robert Curl, CLU, ChFC
36
B. J. Gililland QL
34
Joe Flores
39
Robert Curl
46
** Denotes Top of the Table qualification