How does technology fit into your work strategy?
Technology supports the overall strategy of the agency and it affords us the opportunity to communicate with our clients in the manner that best meets their needs. We love to use Skype, Youtube, record phone calls, etc.

Who do you look toward as a mentor in this industry?
I have always taken a multi-mentor approach that spans across a number of industries. For legal and real-estate issues, my Dad is my mentor. I've learned so much from my Dad about business as well; he has been an attorney and owned his law firm for 52 years. For the insurance end of things, I've learned a lot from Dan King and Skip Daigle from Travelers Agency Development, Paul Murphy from Paul T. Murphy insurance out of Mass. and Bob Mackoul from Mackoul Group/New Empire Group out of New York. These guys have years and years of experience in the industry.

What legislative issues are you interested in?
The ones that affect my clients' coverages and those that affect the independent agency channel.

What are your main priorities as a young agent (work/life balance, charity support, legislative issues, etc.)?
As a father and a husband, my first priority is my family, but my business and charity work are up there, too.

How do you balance work and personal life?
By weighing both the short and long term affect of how my work interacts with my family life. My family is at the core of who I am as both a business owner and a person.

What is an important less you learned when joining a professional working environment?
The environment has less to do with the decor as it does with the people working there. Professionalism is the “people in the halls” not the “pictures on the walls.” I believe in our people!

What do you see Gen Y/Millennials struggle with in a professional environment? What advice do you have?
Communication. This generation spends more time typing LOL and OMG than understanding social styles of others and adapting to them. Realize that how you communicate is as important as what you communicate.

Many young agents enter this industry because other family members work in insurance. What advice do you have when working with family?
First I would say if your family wants you to survive in the insurance industry they will ask you to go to work elsewhere for a couple of years. I feel very strongly about that. If and when you come back to the family insurance agency, responsibilities should have definitive expectations. Don't dismiss the foundational reasons why family business have been successful thus far.

What skills do you think young agents will need next year?
The skills needed will be the ability to translate the ever changing insurance terms into everyday language that clients can understand. I also feel with such tools like YouTube you can get your messages out to the masses without having to explain those terms one person at a time.

What do you see young agents struggle with in their first years in this industry? What advice do you have?
I think the struggle in the beginning for new agents is the confidence. That confidence comes from training and education and I feel we as agency owners don't do a good job at that. I feel the life insurance companies do a better job at the sales training process. Sales training is very, very important to the survival of all agents in the insurance world.

What sales strategies worked for you this past year?
Education. Our consultant shared his perspective that “our greatest competitor is our own clients' ignorance of what the value of their insurance policies do for them.” After really thinking about that, we have changed every aspect of how we communicate with our clients from e-mails, telephone, text, letters, websites and face-to-face to be sure we include an educational element in the interaction.

What was the biggest challenge you faced as a young agent, and how did you handle it?
The biggest challenge was getting direct appointments with insurance carriers. Many carriers wouldn't even return a call. Being a college athlete, and for those that know me, I'm very competitive, so I knocked on doors and called everyday until I at least got a face-to-face. Eventually I got my opportunity from Donanto Monaco from the Hartford, for which I'm very fortunate.

What do you see as your biggest strength in this industry?
The biggest strength is my passion for working with other agency owners. I run an all-day workshop that takes agency owners and their marketing people from A to Z on social media marketing and social marketing. Our approach here at Paradiso Insurance is very unique (with our marketing approach) and I love to help others in this great industry. Through these workshops I have made some very strong friendships throughout the country.

What are some of your career highlights?
Being picked as 12th Annual Rough Notes Community Service Award. Being able to give back to Connecticut Children's Medical Center was a very big deal for me and my family. Last year I received a community service award from Astonish which was given to the local food pantry–that was also a great feeling. My third was having my agency on the August 2009 cover of Rough Notes.

Christopher was featured in the November 2012 issue of AA&B. He is the owner of Paradiso Financial & Insurance Services LLC.