marketing and lead generation Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) Ways Membership Can Help to Advance Your Career

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1 marketing and lead generation Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) Ways Membership Can Help to Advance Your Career Evelyn Gellar 24 Michelle Harm Jessica Jeffers

2 One important way Penn Mutual demonstrates its commitment to women is through its involvement in Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS), an 80 year old national organization with 20 chapters across the United States and 1,100 members nationwide. The mission of WIFS is to attract, develop and advance women in the financial services industry. For several years, Penn Mutual has supported WIFS in the Partners for Excellence program. In 2015 and 2016, Penn Mutual has been the only organization that has partnered at the highest level, known as the Leadership Level. Two of the eight members of the WIFS Executive Board are affiliated with Penn Mutual, including President-Elect Evelyn Gellar, LUTCF, Empire Wealth Strategies (Cooper Agency), New York, NY; and Director Michelle L. Harm, The Heartland Group (Corteen-Rotter Agency), Southfield, MI. The women of Penn Mutual have taken leadership roles on the national board of WIFS and Penn Mutual advisors are founders and leaders of several WIFS chapters around the country. Currently there are 63 WIFS members in total affiliated with Penn Mutual. Penn Mutual Chairman & CEO Eileen McDonnell delivered the keynote address at WIFS 2015 National Conference, entitled Our Time Is Now! Chart Your Course toward Career Success. According to the 2015 Penn Mutual Female Advisor Survey, the top five areas in which female advisors say a women s resource group should offer support are listed below. And to no surprise, WIFS is committed to helping women in each of these areas: 1. A mentorship program 2. Women advisor study groups 3. Practice development forums 4. Educational events for female advisors 5. Personal development forums Thanks to Penn Mutual s corporate support, any advisor or field leader affiliated with Penn Mutual (male or female) can join the national organization at the reduced Partner Member rate of $130 in Annual membership fees to local chapters with one of WIFS s 20 local chapters range from $25 to $65. As a corporate partner, Penn Mutual associates and advisors can join the national organization at the reduced national membership of $130 in This is an excellent time to become a WIFS member, if you have not done so already. In this article, seven great reasons to get involved with WIFS are highlighted, as explained by Penn Mutual women who are active in the organization. #1 Mentorship Program The WIFS Mentorship Program matches mentors and mentees for two time blocks per year: Power Start from January 15 to May 30 and Finish Strong from July 14 to November 30. Mentors may sign up to participate in either session at any time, while mentees must apply during session-specific enrollment periods e.g., April 1 to May 5 for the 2016 Finish Strong session. Our mentorship program is designed as a safe haven where WIFS members can talk through their businesses, practices, obstacles and opportunities and receive feedback on ways to look at issues differently, says Evelyn Gellar. Each mentoring pair is matched based on similar personality styles, and we also match people with different experience and perspectives. As a baby boomer mentoring a millennial, I have found that this relationship has led to reverse mentoring, and I have learned as much from her as she has learned from me. I believe our mentoring program is one of 25

3 the most important reasons today s younger generation is attracted to WIFS. Jessica Jeffers, Associate Partner and Sales Manager, Cambridge Financial Center (Andrus Agency), Salt Lake City, UT, participated in the WIFS mentorship program in 2015 as both a mentor and mentee. She says the program helped her open new lines of communication outside her own agency for addressing both personal and business issues. One of the biggest issues for women in our business involves managing the work-life balance. How do you build your practice and still get home at night to take care of your family? As a WIFS mentor, it is your responsibility to reinforce that this can be done. #2 Networking Opportunities Michelle Harm s practice is a business partnership with Donna DeGennaro, whom she met through WIFS networking. Both women were instrumental in forming WIFS s Michigan chapter, starting in At the time, Michelle was affiliated with National Life of Vermont and Donna with New England Financial. They continued to build the chapter together, and eventually both joined the Metro Detroit branch of The Heartland Group, Penn Mutual s career agency in Chicago. Currently, Michelle serves as the Michigan chapter s Past President and Donna as its Vice President. Says Michelle: I was fortunate to have found the networking support I needed from WIFS at the right time, when I knew I needed to make a career and company change. I was able to draw on trusted relationships with other WIFS members for advice and counseling. We like to say that we are all colleagues at WIFS, even though we may be competitors out on the street. You never know whom you will meet at WIFS, and fortunately I met Donna, whose experience and skills complement mine. #3 Education WIFS educates members on several levels, starting with monthly webinars that can be accessed live or via archive. The webinars special edge, according to Evelyn, is their emphasis on how women approach financial services differently than men. Our members say they want education on relationship-centered practice management, with a strong focus on client communication. The webinars address subjects such as building strong bonds with clients through empathy, how women view money, and how to meet women s needs for financial security. Through partnership with The American College, WIFS is co-sponsoring a new program that launched I was fortunate in January 2016 to help to have found the its members attain the networking support I Retirement Income needed from WIFS at Certified Professional the right time, when I (RICP) professional knew I needed to designation in one year of concentrated make a career and study, at a discounted company change." group tuition rate. The membership s desire to earn this particular designation emerged from a survey conducted at the 2015 WIFS National Conference in Baltimore last October. Also in 2016, for the first time, WIFS members will learn from each other through volunteer and self directed Mastermind study groups that exchange best practices. Designed for non-managers, they meet virtually once a month for a year and each participant facilitates the monthly topic. A Managers study group has also been formed with similar objectives where members commit to a year long process, holding each other accountable to discuss relevant topics. Evelyn says WIFS has steadily grown its membership at a 26

4 6-7% annual rate by staying attuned to changing needs of professional women, especially education. A top goal of our Executive Board is to engage every single WIFS member so they are leveraging all member benefits. #4 Leadership WIFS provides local support through its chapters and anyone who wants to start a local chapter will be helped by leaders from the national organization, headquartered in Albany, NY. Leaders in these local chapters who produce results can move up to the National Board as Directors, as Evelyn and Michelle have done. Directors of special merit are also chosen to serve on the Executive Board, moving through the chairs of Treasurer, Secretary, President-Elect and President. At the WIFS National Conference in October of 2016, Evelyn will be installed as the incoming President, succeeding Susan Glass, LUTC, of New York Life (Atlanta). Evelyn will be WIFS s first Hispanic President ever. Michelle recalls that when she first became involved with WIFS in 2008, there was no chapter in Michigan and she didn t even know a national organization existed. It began with a few like-minded women who held an event to get better acquainted, and from that we grew our chapter. At a time when many associations are having I have been able trouble attracting to meet like-minded members, WIFS is healthy and keeps women who don t mind growing because sharing great ideas. it has a core group Women do this business of very successful differently than men, women. I knew I and one big difference wanted to be part of is the desire to freely it, and I also wanted the challenge of share and support." growing myself through leadership in the chapter and at the national level making a name for myself out there. To expedite decision-making and promote new leaders, WIFS operates with a lean Executive Board of just eight members, while assigning project work to memberbased committees and task forces. Evelyn says a priority of the current Executive Board is to promote leadership opportunities for younger women in financial services. Jessica Jeffers is leading the effort to create a new Utah WIFS chapter. She is also involved in a committee led by Michelle Harm for engaging new WIFS members nationally. Penn Mutual has made a significant investment to support the growth of the women s market through the myworth program and also its support of WIFS, Jessica says. I appreciate that commitment and want to be part of it. #5 Role Models WIFS provides a showcase for some of the most successful women working in financial services. At the annual threeday National Conference, members of the organization s Circle of Excellence are recognized, based on industry achievement and income. In 2015, WIFS published its first research study in book form, Women at the Top. Written by Arthea Reed and Diane Dixon, it profiles 23 top women advisors and their journeys to success. Most of these women earn $500,000 and up. Four earn more than $1 million and two have earned more than $10 million in a single year, says Evelyn. The book can be ordered in hard copy, paperback or e-book formats. (Search on iuniverse.com for the title.) For Jessica, the most valuable WIFS role models have been other women who are successfully balancing careers and family commitments. In addition to working as an advisor and sales manager, she is a single mom with a four-year-old daughter, Paisley, and 16-month-old son, Jayce. When you are a woman wearing so many hats, it s easy to feel you are failing at one of them. It s nice to be able to call another WIFS member who has walked in the same shoes successfully

5 #6 Idea-Sharing Michelle says one of the most important benefits of WIFS for her is that I have been able to meet likeminded women who don t mind sharing great ideas. Women do this business differently than men, and one big difference is the desire to freely share and support. Evelyn adds that women don t hold back on ideasharing. At our last National Conference, we held a session called Fast & Furious, at which we invited WIFS members to share their best idea with the group. The line to share ideas went out the door. Jessica says some of the best ideas she heard at the 2015 WIFS National Conference were offered by an attorney during a session on planning for divorcees. This was an example of how WIFS ideas work handin-hand with Penn Mutual s myworth program. Using myworth s Divorce Checklist (PM6571), one woman on my team has developed a defined process that has helped her network with several divorce attorneys. #7 Industry Involvement Michelle says that WIFS recognizes the importance of advocacy and has recently partnered with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) in their Advisor 2020 initiative. With support from the GAMA Foundation, the initiative aims to help financial advisors anticipate future challenges and positively influence them. Make a Personal Commitment to WIFS Penn Mutual is very committed to supporting the growth of WIFS, nationally and through local chapters, and our involvement is paying off on multiple levels. Says Michelle: In 2012, something needed to change in my life, and that s when I made the decision to join Penn Mutual. The company s involvement as a WIFS Partner of Excellence played a big part in my decision to join The Heartland Group. Now, three years later, I ve just completed my Career Builder contract with Penn Mutual. I ve achieved this while having a family and creating a new partnership with another advisor, and all the way WIFS has given me support, information and encouragement. Without WIFS, I don t know where it would have come from. Adds Jessica: Participating in WIFS requires a commitment of time and money. But because Penn Mutual is such a big WIFS supporter, we can join at a discount on the national dues. I encourage other people in our company, women and men, to participate, because WIFS will have a positive impact on your life and practice. To learn more about WIFS, visit org or contact Jessica Choi at or via at Choi.Jessica@pennmutual.com. WIFS also is working with Penn Mutual and other corporate Partners for Excellence to develop ideas for attracting more young women into financial services careers. 28