Wes Hamby, president and CEO of Enrollforce, LLC, is one of Employee Benefit Advisers 2014 Rising Stars in Advising. He shared three tips for young advisers in the field, like other Rising Stars have done
1. Use technology to your advantage and do your research. I have been looking at enterprise solutions from the big names for all kinds of purposes like inventory control, expense tracking, remote support and so on that can cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, Hamby says. With some targeted research and combining of technologies I have founds apps that cost less than $5.00 that have the same functionality as extremely expensive enterprise solutions. Dont always let enterprise solutions drive a decision as this is the easy route and many times not as good as some of the cheaper or no-cost solutions.
2. You should be a global organization, period. These days the world is virtually flat, he says. If you are hitting roadblocks in the U.S., look elsewhere. You can connect with talented individuals around the world that can perform menial tasks and are ready and willing to work with you and for you.
3. It is ok to say no. This is the hardest one to say and the hardest for people to swallow, he says. Not only is it okay, it is essential to the long-term success of a business. When you find yourself saying yes to everything, you may think you are generating more business but there is more potential for mistakes and over-extending what your services offer. Always keep in mind that at the end of the day the most important thing is that the employees, clients, brokers and carriers reps are happy. If you think that there is a possibility that your solution is not the best fit for a potential client, always offer another possible solution from a consultant-type perspective, that way the potential client knows for the future that you sincerely want them to be best served.
