NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2014 - (Page 30)

member profiles Equity Brokerage, Inc. Laurie Prevette Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Equity Brokerage, Inc. has been a NAILBA member since 1982. Laurie Prevette provided input for this article. About the Agency Equity Brokerage is a full service life brokerage agency serving independent agents and brokers for life insurance, annuities, disability income, and Long Term Care. My father E. Kelly Bowman founded the firm in 1966, and I joined the firm in 1969. We currently have five employees. Because we're a smaller boutique agency, we have the ability to work very closely with our agents and give them unparalleled personal attention. We all wear a lot of hats, and thankfully my staff has decades of experience and cross-training to serve in all those different roles. My mother, Vivian Bowman, still comes to the office, and she's been with the agency since 1972. My office manager, who is also a marketer, has been with us for 33 years, and my case manager has been with us for 23 years. The new kid on the block has been with us for three years, but she has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance business. There's such crossover in training here that we're able to handle a lot together. Here at Equity Brokerage, we have a really unique sisterhood, and we genuinely enjoy working with each other. What makes your BGA unique? There is such a positive, can-do attitude in our office, and we're a handson agency. The reason we have agents who produce with us regularly is because whoever answers the phone can take care of their needs. Because we are cross-trained, each and every one of us can help you. We never use an auto-attendant or an automated answering system. When 30 perspectives MAY/JUNE 2014 you call, you talk to a person. From 7:30 in the morning to 5:00 at night, there's an experienced human being who's going to answer the phone and help you. This is an extremely attractive benefit for the people who work with us. When someone does business with us, they're not a small fish in a big pond. Where do you see your agency in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? 20? We are affiliated as an associate of a LifeMark Partner. So, we have all the strength of size, but we offer personal attention to our agents. In the coming years, we will continue to maintain that aspect of our business. However, we also see technology playing a larger role in how we interact with people. So I'd say if there's going to be one major change in the future of our agency, it's that we're going to be able to service all generations and all ages. We're going to continue to help those producers who desire more of that one-on-one attention, but we're also expanding our electronic drop-ticket offerings. So we'll accommodate the agents that want us to be more involved in the process, where they make the sale and then we take over. To aid in those efforts, we're using a system called DataRaptor developed by Pinney Insurance Center, whom we partner with on many projects. How does being a NAILBA member benefit you and your business? We benefit from NAILBA through the exceptional networking opportunities and the synergy between all of Laurie, mother Vivian and sister Darcy (right) created quilts for Vivian's two newborn great-granddaughters. our partners, including the members, the carriers, and the vendors. That synergy is powerful. We also benefit from the educational opportunities and professional development that NAILBA provides. More about Laurie Prevette As President of Equity Brokerage, Inc., Laurie is extremely active in the brokerage industry. For the past 44 years, she's served in various positions for NAILBA, Charlotte Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CAIFA), The Charlotte Association of Health Underwriters (CAHU), and The Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP). Laurie also served as president of The Women's Life Underwriters Conference (WLUC) for two terms. She was the 2009/2010 president of the Charlotte Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the President of LIFE, Inc., a national brokerage study group. In 2009 and 2010, she served as the Professional Development and Education Chair of NAILBA. Laurie currently serves on the National Board

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2014

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2014
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
How to Train New Marketing Reps
Reading Ahead
Life Happens
The 3M Formula for BGA Marketing Success
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Member Profiles
Agency Successor Networking Group
Agency Resources
member Profiles
MDRT Annual Meeting
Legislative Update
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2014