How did you determine that insurance was a viable career choice?
After about a year here at BDI, I felt like I found my niche. I was able to meet lots of interesting people who I was able to help in one way or another. I don’t feel like I have hit my stride just yet. As I continue to learn and become a better agent, I think that bigger and better opportunities will appear.

Who do you look toward as a mentor in this industry?
I have been blessed to have two. Frank Pruski has taken me under his wing and given me real world knowledge. He has more than 30 years of experience and he has forgotten more than most will ever learn. The education from him was more valuable than any book I have ever read. My other mentor is the owner of our agency, Bruce Barnard. Bruce is a great example of how to lead an organization. He treats each employee as family and does his best to teach and train so each person can succeed. These two men have helped and taught me so much--I wouldn’t be in this business without either of them.

What legislative issues are you interested in?
The Healthcare Reform is such a hot topic right now. As agents we are preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best right now. After the general election in November, we may have some ideas where we are headed, but for now it is so convoluted.

How do you balance work and personal life?
It is tough and ever-developing process, but I have an amazing wife, who I do not deserve, who is supportive of my work schedule and its demands. I like to volunteer for events, but try to make sure there is plenty of time for family or involve my family in the event. Even though I have my phone with me, we try to take time out and play with our son at night before his bath and bedtime.

How does your office reflect how you work?
I am in one of our satellite offices and we have to work together here to make sure the office is staffed during business hours as well as handle work flow. We all chip in and help each other if one us starts to get overwhelmed. There isn’t a division here between commercial lines and personal lines; we are just BDI.

What is an important lesson you learned when joining a professional working environment?
As cliché as this may sound, that we are a team and that we always need to work together to accomplish our goals. I have been blessed to work with such great people here at BDI and we always look out for each other and make sure that we always have the clients' best interest at heart.

What do you see Gen Y/Millennials struggle with in a professional environment? What advice do you have?
Too many people want instant success. Many of today’s owners and people from these generations expect success to be given to them, but this business doesn’t work that way. As agents, it is very important to work hard and become knowledgeable. The best thing to do for credibility is to take classes and earn designations as fast as possible. Even though that doesn’t make up for real work experience, the classes will teach you what to look for and how to help your client.

Where do you hope to take your career? What direction would you like your career to go?
I want to own an agency one day. I enjoying working for our agency right now, but really want to be able to be the one calling the plays and making the tough decisions. I need more experience and training to get there, but have had that dream for some time now. I also want to get into teaching. I would love to teach CIC or even college one day. I enjoyed taking my CIC, CSRM and CRM classes and would love to help someone else enjoy that experience.

Have you ever experienced any "generation gap" issues with your carriers in terms of personal interaction or the products they offer?
I think that insurance companies are adapting well to the changing markets. It seems that every company is trying to evolve their websites to become more user friendly and broadening their coverage to help insureds.

What do you see young agents struggle with in their first years in this industry? What advice do you have?
The first year or two it can be overwhelming to try and learn a new agency management system, agency procedures and try and go out and sell and meet your own sales goals. I was devastated personally when I had not met my sales goals after six months, but my mentor told me to look back at the last six months and see if I had focused all my attention on selling or learning. In reality, I had spent that time trying to learn our system and procedures and hadn’t spent much time meeting new people and trying to build a book of business.

What do you see as your biggest strength in this industry?
I come from a family of teachers (my wife, my mom and my mother-in-law), so I have tried to use their techniques of teaching to educate clients about insurance and risk management.

Wes Becknell was featured in the October 2012 issue of AA&B. He is an agent/producer for BDI Insurance.