YAC Spotlight: Alexis Cole

Definitely my dad made an impact, but honestly, the Young Agents Council has made a big impact, too. Shortly before I joined, I was trying to change my major, and I didn’t want to be a part of insurance. Then I kind of leaned into it and joined YAC and from there got involved in Capitol Days. I got to know Taylor and other agents and got to see the opportunities and flexibility I could have. It showed me a sense of community and kept me from changing my major. 

When I first joined, I chose to get fully involved. It started with answering an email for the YAC Political Summit reception. After that weekend is when I decided to stay involved. I liked that YAC was insurance focused but at a deeper level where you’re making more of an impact. The connections were awesome, and the sense of community was refreshing. But the overall, well roundedness of the program is what’s helping me and is making a huge difference. 

The way the world is right now, I know a lot of people who have four-year degrees and double majors who don’t have jobs. As a whole, the population of our industry is aging, and we really need people to come in to take over these books of business and provide coverage. And the nice thing is there’s no limit on where you can go with insurance. There are a lot of phone calls and emails, but the difference is you can build relationships that last 20 years and take that business with you wherever you go. It’s a job with no limits; you have unlimited potential because it’s all about how hard you work.  

Relationships are everything. I grew up in a small town where word travels fast. It's the same thing in the insurance industry. Everyone knows each other. And those relationships can be crucial. For example, I’m finally starting to build a good relationship with my underwriters and it’s paying off by saving my team hours of time. Or when it comes to being able to reach out to an old mentor or friend. If I didn’t have those good relationships, I wouldn’t have contacts I could call on to help me out when I need it.  

I love puzzles, so the submission process is always a little bit fun, even if it does stress me out because I’m a perfectionist. I also like the relationship aspect to it. Finding a client that isn’t particularly tied to their agent, getting them to let me in to review their policies, finding issues, and solving those problems is probably the best part for me because it's very satisfying. For me, it’s not “Oh, I have to close this deal.” It’s “Oh, they’re counting on me to help them.” 

So, I would use a real-life example. There are a lot of people in my area selling solar and the commission is really high and they’re making lots of money. And while that’s great, the point I like to bring up is that once you sell someone solar panels, when can you sell them panels again? You won’t be able to for 20 or 30 years. But in insurance, I get to build a relationship, provide them insurance this year, and then, if the relationship is strong enough, I’m going to keep selling to them year after year. You can also find flexibility for your work style in insurance, from in-person, remote, and hybrid options to tailoring the clients you go after with industries you have a genuine interest in. Those are the big things I would point out to the next generation.  

Organization. It doesn’t matter what role you’re in, you must be organized. Whether it's with your leads, with your renewals, or just in general keeping track of your premiums for the end of the month, organization is the number one thing. Close second is communication. If you can’t reach out for help, good luck Charlie, because you can read all the appetite guides you want but there’s no way you can learn this industry without asking for help.  

Anything to do with outside. My paddleboard is almost always in the back of my car. I’m also trying to get better at golfing.  

This year I have a goal to read 24 books, so two a month. I just finished Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter, and The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz. 

I’m a procrastinator. I’ll procrastinate all day and find other stuff to do that needs to be done but isn’t immediate to avoid doing the thing I don’t want to do. Then suddenly at 4 p.m., I’m working on all the things I need to do. I thought it would go away after college but it’s getting better and I’m learning to restructure my days so it’s not as easy for me to procrastinate.