Dear Subscriber,
Happy February.
Just back from speaking at the CPBI Northern Alberts event last week and it was great to see Rick, Dean, Don and Jason there (and about to be member Sonia). I always love to get out and meet new advisors. This one also had a bunch of employers and HR people that I spoke with. They all asked questions (both to me as a speaker and advisor) about benefits that made me realize how many opportunities are out there to network and connect while learning.
If I could make a suggestion... or three...
If you attend an event that has a mixed audience, sit with people you don't know...they may be your next prospect than client.
Move around. If there are open spots (and not assigned seats), nothing says you need to sit in one spot all day. Change it up in the afternoon.
If you don't attend mixed events, why not? HR associations have regional events like THESE. There are lots of trade shows (like THESE) that you could wander and make connections, or maybe even present at. Make your target a hobby, target industry, type of people (HR/women/religious group etc), or just about anything you connect to. Just some ideas to get you doing.
Keep doing great things...
Dave |
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Coffee chats are like a virtual breakfast. Log in, ask questions, share problems, seek solutions and talk about what's on your mind. Best done from a computer, with a camera and a microphone. No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
QUICK.... PUT THESE IN YOUR CALENDARS NOW!!!!
Thursday Feb 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EST Tuesday Feb 20, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EST Thursday Mar 14, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Tuesday Mar 26, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Thursday Apr 11, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Tuesday Apr 23, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Thursday May 9, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Tuesday May 21, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Thursday Jun 13, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT Tuesday Jun 25, 2024 at 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM, EDT
CGIB Members may join the meeting at the time above by visiting... |
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CGIB supports the volunteers that runs the breakfast meetings below.
Please find the details for your closest location below. Ajax, Atlantic Canada, Cambridge, Edmonton, London, Markham, Oakville, St Catharines, Toronto, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Windsor or the Virtual National Meeting
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HOLD THESE DATES Halifax April 2, 2025 - Price vs Value, Growing your block (w/o a sale) Toronto May 7, 2025 - Full-day multi speaker event Calgary June 3, 2025 - Full-day multi speaker event Vancouver June 5, 2025 - Full-day multi speaker event Toronto Nov. 5, 2025 - Full-day multi speaker event |
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| Get Onto Slack and Stay Connected 24/7 |
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The CGIB SLACK channel is a great place to pose questions, share info and learn a ton from your fellow members. The info and discussions that are posted there are unlike anywhere in the industry with documents, videos and information available in MEMBERS ONLY to make your life easier.
NOTE TO ALL SLACK USERS: We now have 80+ channels in Slack to handle different topics. Please take a moment to add these channels to your menu. To do so, just click on the + next to Channels on the top left. Browse the channels and then click JOIN to add each of them. By doing so you won’t be missing really great info. |
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We think the information contained below is of value and encourage you to read the articles and check out the events of interest. These articles and events are not created by CGIB, so please contact the organizers for more information. We take no responsibility for the websites, events, organizations or their content.
This is great information to share with your clients and prospects in newsletters, blog posts and e-mail sharing. |
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You asked for it… Looking for a discount to get to the articles in Insurance Portal Use the promo code CGIB which gives a 30% discount on our PRO Level subscription for 12 months. Sign up here
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| Seth Godins Blog (and how it pertains to Employee Benefits) |
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Engineers can optimize a bridge. There are some bridge designs that satisfy aesthetic, financial, durability, safety and efficiency needs better than others. The work of optimization is finding the best set of tradeoffs.
Maximization, on the other hand, seeks the solution that ranks the highest for just one goal.
After it peaked, Yahoo sought to maximize short-term stock price (and the needs of its top executives) instead of optimizing for customer experience, innovation, resilience and utility.
Over time, social networks fade away for similar reasons. They turn users into the product instead of treating them like customers.
Maximizing something is simple and may be satisfying. It doesn’t involve difficult tradeoffs and it’s easy to measure.
But that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
Put another way... I feel this is our business all over the place. From the "add-ons" insurers are trying to provide (when they can't even create or administer good insurance products ), to tech solutions (that no one asked for), or the mergers (that create degraded products, unmotivated staff and value only to the shareholders), we see maximization every day, when all we and our client partners want is optimization.
A bonus post, just to "think" about...
One way to look at power is “you get to tell people what to do.” But an alternative is that the most powerful institutions, brands and people are the ones who are in alignment with their audience.
Trust and the benefit of the doubt are more powerful and resilient than command and control.
It’s more difficult to earn this leadership role, and more valuable once you have it.
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Want to provide your admin and support staff with basic knowledge? Want to dig into something more detailed for your benefits/insurance business? Business Career College (BCC) has an extensive catalogue of online CE courses with a number of group benefits specific courses covering topics ranging from contractual concerns, plan designs, and underwriting requirements, to product specifics and integration with government benefits. Courses consist of narrated videos with short, online quizzes. The full catalogue includes over 60 courses, podcasts, and videos covering topics from the world of insurance, investments, financial planning, taxation, and ethics with a focus on technical content and real-world application. Courses are accredited for the maximum categories of credits and can include provincial Life and A&S credits, FP Canada, Advocis, and more!
Use the code CGIB25 for 25% off the yearly subscription Price. The regular retail price is $200/year, CGIB members save $50/year!!!
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The Benefits Trust
A goal without a plan is a dream… transform goals into achievements with a concrete sales plan. Learn why setting sales goals is essential, how to determine your unique value proposition, and the methods to capture your prospects’ attention.
We’ll discuss creating a systematic approach to sales, working it effectively, illustrated with case studies, followed by a Q&A segment.
Building Your Bulletproof Sales Plan (1.0 CE Credit) __________________________________________________________________________ MEDAVIE BLUE CROSS Webinar Thursday, February 15, 2024 10 a.m. ET / 11 a.m. AT
Allison Jones Senior Product Specialist Medavie Blue Cross Anne-Marie Smith Pharmacy Consultant Medavie Blue Cross
Want an inside look at what's trending in health benefits based on our 2023 claims data? As an all-benefits-line carrier with our own in-house pharmacy benefit management technology, we have direct access to integrated data insights that are unique to the industry. Join us for our first Insights webinar of the new year, when experts Allison Jones and Anne-Marie Smith will share the data analytics you need to design and sustain your benefit plans.
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from our rich data sets and what they tell us about shifts in extended health care spending, emerging trends in mental wellness, changing patterns in drug claims, and more. Sign up today for this free event. Not available? Register anyway and we’ll send you a recording of the webinar to watch later on-demand. Continuing education credits will be available for advisors who attend the live session in Atlantic Canada and Ontario. _________________________________________________________________________ Join Canada’s premier virtual group health benefits event!
For two decades, the TELUS Health Annual Conference has stood at the forefront, illuminating the health benefits management landscape with unparalleled insights and trendsetting perspectives.
Save the date today for your exclusive access to:
•Comprehensive drug data trends and national benchmarks. •Insights on health benefits trends. •Continuing education credits.
Join us on April 23 and 30, 2024
Registration opens in February 2024** |
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Need help? Have questions? Looking for something?
Reach out to CGIB - Dave Patriarche - dave@cgib.ca - 905-886-9203 |
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