Tag: Podcast

A New Chapter: Discussing a Legacy with Steve Kerns (Ep. 45)

A New Chapter: Discussing a Legacy with Steve Kerns (Ep. 45)

It’s the passing of the torch at InsurMark! 

In this episode, Jeremy Houser is joined by Steve Kerns, the CEO and Founder of InsurMark. Steve announces his new role as the Executive Vice President of Business Relationships at Simplicity Group. As Steve assures that InsurMark will continue to provide excellent service and support to agents and advisors, we walk down memory lane, highlighting our top accomplishments as a team and showing our gratitude for the amazing leader Steve has been over the last 40 years, and will continue to be. 

Steve discusses: 

  • The number of advisor relationships he has built through working with InsurMark 
  • Importance of advisors differentiating themselves and achieving work-life balance
  • Steve’s new role advocating for change, new product opportunities, and technological advancements
  • Overcoming challenges as they come, accepting change, and embracing the new
  • And more

 

Connect With Steve:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

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About Our Guest:

At the young age of 29, Steve Kerns was one of the two founding members of InsurMark in 1983. Over 40 years, he has taken InsurMark to new heights in becoming an industry leader in delivering first-class financial advisory mentorship services. Steve has recently taken on the new role of Executive Vice President of Business Relationships at Simplicity Group. As he starts a new journey in his life, he leaves behind a glowing 40-year legacy at InsurMark, with the glowing confidence that the company will continue to grow, and that the best is still to be seen.

Systems Work People Fail 2.0: Next Steps To Scale Your Business (Ep. 42)

Systems Work People Fail 2.0: Next Steps To Scale Your Business (Ep. 42)

As the world has shifted dramatically over the past two years, with virtual appointments becoming the norm, it is essential to stay updated and equipped with the right tools to establish trust and credibility with your clients.

In this episode, Jeremy Houser unpacks the details of the Systems Work People Fail 2.0 Webinar. Listen in as Jeremy details what are some of the resources advisors are using to achieve success in the fixed index annuities arena while differentiating themselves within their industry.

Jeremy discusses:

  • The significance of the recent Systems Work People Fail 2.0 Webinar and its relevance in today’s rapidly evolving market for the independent financial professional
  • Ways consumer behavior has changed
  • Processes and tools required to separate yourself from the competition and establish yourself as an authority within your industry 
  • The role of technology and the value of having a robust digital presence to build trust and reach a broader audience
  • The value of having strong mentorship and messaging as an advisor  
  • And more!

Resources: 

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Taking The Trip: Here’s What To Look Forward To at InsurMark (Ep. 41)

Taking The Trip: Here’s What To Look Forward To at InsurMark (Ep. 41)

As the summer is right around the corner and the shorts come out to play, it is the perfect time to prep the grill and get ready for everything summer.  

In this episode, Jeremy Houser unveils his plans for the summer. Other than spending quality time with family and flipping those burger buns, Jeremy reveals what’s to come for InsurMark during this sunny season. 

From education and coaching to InsurMark’s 40th-anniversary celebration and even client appreciation events, listen in and discover ways the firm continues to implement new and improved mentoring, coaching, and marketing strategies for advisors.

Jeremy discusses: 

  • What you should know about the firm’s live event in Houston designed to promote marketing, find new prospects, and enhance your overall business practices 
  • InsurMark’s inaugural ‘Taking The Trip’ event
  • Strategies to elevate your client interactions with a more personalized (and human) touch
  • Authentic partnership: How to be more relatable with your clients and prospects 
  • Some of the best practices InsurMark advisors are implementing within their businesses
  • And more!

Resources:

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Athene’s Strategy for Innovation and Customer Satisfaction with Mitch Anderson, CLU®, RICP®, CSSCS® (Ep. 40)

Athene’s Strategy for Innovation and Customer Satisfaction with Mitch Anderson, CLU®, RICP®, CSSCS® (Ep. 40)

We all know that the insurance industry is facing challenges in the current market environment, but what are the solutions, and what does the future look like?

In this episode, Jeremy Houser speaks with Mitch Anderson, the VP/ Senior Relationship Manager at Athene USA. Mitch talks about Athene’s growth within the annuities space and their portfolio of volatility-controlled indexes. Additionally, Mitch shares the firm’s mission to continue providing innovative product solutions to their clients.

Mitch discusses: 

  • What you should know about Athene’s partnership with InsurMark
  • The awards that Athene won in 2022
  • The importance of volatility control indices and ways the firm selects their index partners
  • Some of the challenges Athene faced in scaling up their business and how they overcame them
  • Athene’s Roth conversion program
  • The value of educating clients on the differences between banks and insurance companies
  • What the future holds for the company
  • The importance of fixed index annuities in volatile markets and the benefits they offer for clients in drawdown situations
  • And more!

Connect with Mitch Anderson:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

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About Our Guest:

Mitch Anderson is a VP/Senior Relationship Manager for Athene USA and works with a number of our Key Distribution Partners.  Besides managing NMO relationships, Mitch frequently speaks at training events and helps educate advisors on the benefits of Fixed Indexed Annuities.  

For over 30 years, Mitch has worked in the insurance and financial services industry in a number of different roles, from wholesaling to sales management.

Solidifying Your Golden Years: Navigating Long-Term Care with Jeff Sather (Ep. 39)

Solidifying Your Golden Years: Navigating Long-Term Care with Jeff Sather (Ep. 39)

Over the past 40 years, the team at InsurMark has been helping advisors incorporate annuities and life insurance in their clients’ retirement plans.

But that’s not everything. Did you know we also help with asset-based long-term care?

In this episode, Jeremy Houser is joined by InsurMark’s asset-based long-term care advisor development consultant, Jeff Sather, to unveil all things long-term care. 

Advisors listen in and explore the available holistic options to support your clients during this new phase of life.

Jeff discusses: 

  • His own experience with long-term care planning
  • The benefits of helping your clients with a long-term care option 
  • InsurMark’s approach to asset-based long-term care and ways the team can help you plan according to your client’s portfolio
  • What you should know about processing times
  • Tax-related regulations around asset-based long-term care
  • And more!

Connect with Jeff Sather:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

Connect with Jeremy Houser:

About Our Guest:

Jeff Sather was nicknamed “The Most Successful Marketer of Hybrid LTCi.”

He is on a crusade to get people this crucial retirement coverage:

  • He served two years on the External Advisory Board for One America
  • Jeff was a key catalyst for Nationwide designing a qualified funding approach for their CareMatters II product
  • Jeff has guided hundreds of Advisors & Agents across the country to write over $100,000,000 in Asset-Based LTCi in 5 years
  • He has a proven track record for closing cases at a very high level
  • He sold over $800,000 in 4 hours over ZOOM to help multiple clients beat the Washington State LTC tax deadline
  • He has created a system for culling clients and prospects to ask about LTCi planning
  • Jeff is passionate about revealing all the secrets to his success, including the strategies, marketing tools, and sales presentations he employs to create this incredibly consistent production!

Overall, Jeff helps protect consumers against the risk of poverty and outliving their income.

The Power of Forecasting & How To Stand Out (Ep. 38)

The Power of Forecasting & How To Stand Out (Ep. 38)

The first quarter of 2023 has brought nothing but success to Jeremy Houser and his team at InsurMark.

But it doesn’t stop there.

From human connections to financial technology, marketing, and coaching, in this episode, Jeremy reviews the first quarter of 2023 while giving an overview of what’s to come for the short and long term for the team at InsurMark and their advisors.

Jeremy discusses: 

  • The concept of ‘lost decade’ and the importance of protecting investment returns during challenging times
  • Ways advisors (like you!) can stay on top of technology while managing information overload and delegating tasks effectively 
  • InsurMark’s approach to helping you forecast investment opportunities
  • The importance of building long-lasting and resourceful relationships with your clients
  • What you should know about being ‘coachable’ and the ways coaches, mentors, and like-minded individuals can help you leverage time and technology 
  • The multi-generational wealth transfer that will occur in the next 20 years and the potential opportunities it carries for advisors 
  • And more!

Resources: 

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The Roadmap To Financial Wellness with Erik Sussman, CLU®, ChFC®, CFP® (Ep. 37)

The Roadmap To Financial Wellness with Erik Sussman, CLU®, ChFC®, CFP® (Ep. 37)

Year by year, the InsurMark team strives to make sure advisors have all kinds of systems and processes in place to grow their businesses while retaining clients and generating new prospects. 

From proven sales and marketing systems to helping you get there, advisors you are about to discover the financial wellness resource you need for you and your clients.

In this episode, Jeremy Houser is joined by Erik Sussman, the CEO, and founder of the Institute of Financial Wellness (IFW), to unveil the firm’s approach to developing clear, unbiased, engaging, fact-based financial education, resources, and services for advisors and consumers.

Erik discusses: 

  • What you should know about the IFW Retirement Roadmap Experience
  • The firm’s bucket approach to retirement planning and how it blends in with volatile markets
  • The value of taking a step back every once in a while to work on your business instead of in your business
  • Ways the IFW can help you leverage your time effectively when it comes to marketing
  • The power of a concierge service added to your team
  • And more!

Connect with Erik Sussman:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

Connect with Jeremy Houser:

About Our Guest:

Erik C. Sussman, CLU®, ChFC®, CFP®, and CEO of The Institute of Financial Wellness founded the company to provide financial education, resources, and services that help people live their best lives.

For Financial Professionals:

The Institute of Financial Wellness provides proven sales and marketing systems, state-of-the-art technology, training, and support to financial professionals nationwide. 

For Consumers:

The Institute of Financial Wellness is the most comprehensive multi-media network for financial education, resources, and services.

A Fiduciary-Based Approach To Your Client’s Wealth Planning Needs with Terry Wheeler (Ep. 36)

A Fiduciary-Based Approach To Your Client’s Wealth Planning Needs with Terry Wheeler (Ep. 36)

In an industry as saturated as the financial one, it is easy to be another sheep in the pack and blend in based on similar services and marketing strategies. 

Thankfully, at InsurMark, the team works with a number of different individuals whose firms are not your typical cookie-cutter business but have unique tools and resources. 

In this episode, Jeremy Houser is joined by Terry Wheeler from WE Alliance Wealth Advisors, Inc. Terry reveals what separates him and his practice from his industry competitors when it comes to wealth planning, including his more traditional approach to client and advisor-facing operations. 

Terry discusses: 

  • His experience at InsurMark’s Founder’s Club and key takeaways from similar advisors
  • Ways his firm approaches technological advancements and marketing solutions 
  • The value of  face-to-face meetings and in-person interactions with clients 
  • Some saving strategies his company focuses on
  • Ways his firm works on identifying the right product for advisors and their clients
  • And more!

Connect with Terry Wheeler:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

Connect with Jeremy Houser:

About Our Guest:

Terry Wheeler is the founder, managing member, and lead portfolio strategist of WE Alliance Institutional, LLC and WE Alliance Wealth Advisors, Inc. He is an accomplished Portfolio and Wealth Strategist Planner; a Wealth, Estate, and Tax Planning Attorney; a frequent lecturer, and formerly an adjunct tax professor at U.C. Davis. 

Terry began his career in the banking and lending industries, but in 1991 he transitioned his focus to the investment world, beginning with Dean Witter Reynolds. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Financial Planning from San Diego State University and a Juris Doctor Degree in Law from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. He is also a post-doctorate graduate through the Master’s program of the Esperti Peterson institute and a participant in MIT’s blockchain and cryptocurrency course offerings.

2023 So Far: Updates & Outlook (Ep. 35)

2023 So Far: Updates & Outlook (Ep. 35)

We have some news for you!

Jeremy Houser was named 2022 sales employee of the year! And his team played and continues to play a crucial role in his and InsurMark’s success.

In this episode, Jeremy shares some current 2023 updates while unveiling the ins and outs of the markets, what to look for, and the tips and tricks advisors need to succeed in this and the years to come. 

Jeremy discusses: 

  • How to appeal to the younger generation
  • The value of building a virtual presence and the right way of influencing others 
  • What you should know about branding and the importance of creating an impactful story to connect with clients
  • And more!

Resources:

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Exploring Advisor-Focused Platforms: Introducing Kai-Zen® and ILIA with Jeremy Bickler, CLU® (Ep. 34)

Exploring Advisor-Focused Platforms: Introducing Kai-Zen® and ILIA with Jeremy Bickler, CLU® (Ep. 34)

As advisors, it is incredibly important to differentiate ourselves from the competition.

In 2023, that might look like finding our niche, offering a unique service, or finding a way to create meaningful connections with our clients. 

While this is a good starting point, there’s more we can do. 

In this episode, Jeremy Houser is joined by Jeremy Bickler, the VP of Sales for the Central Region at NIW. Jeremy introduces Kai-Zen® and ILIA as two must-know advisor-focused platforms. Listen in as Jeremy details how these digital platforms support advisors in elevating their business and client experience. 

Jeremy discusses: 

  • Kai-Zen® as the strategy that provides advisors and their clients the opportunity to add up to three times more money to fund a cash-accumulating life insurance policy
  • What you should know about ILIA and its advantages for the preferred IMOs
  • Some advice for advisors looking to differentiate themselves in the industry
  • The benefits of his partnership with the Simplicity family 
  • And more!

Connect with Jeremy Bickler:

Book Time with Jeremy Houser: 

Connect with Jeremy Houser:

About Our Guest:

Jeremy Bickler is VP of Sales for the Central Region at NIW. He brings over 20 years of industry experience, working across multiple areas of the business. While life insurance is his passion and focus, he has marketed and sold annuities, asset-based LTC, and disability. Jeremy has worked as an external wholesaler for multiple top-rated insurance carriers and is the former owner of an IMO where he presided over the life insurance division. In his current role at NIW, he assists IMOs in implementing Kai-Zen® and other premium finance strategies into their business. He also trains IMO sales staff and individual agents on using leveraged IUL for estate planning and supplemental income solutions.