"The main opportunity for businesses will be in adapting to online and a digital media presence to reach more potential customers as geographical boundaries will be virtually eliminated"
Meet Prabhjit Virk, an accountant with a passion for the Financial Services Industry and specializing in insurance products for Business Owners. Additionally, he is an International recruiter building their agency in USA and Canada. They are bringing a unique tri-brid model in the insurance industry which has taken the best of Captive/ IMO/MGA and Networking model into revolutionizing the Insurance sector.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Prabhjit Virk: My name is Prabhjit Virk and I am an Executive Director in Experior Financial Group. I have a background in Accounting and Financial Services.
When you work in this industry there are three different models we work in this industry, each have strengths and weaknesses. Our model took the best of all three to create a unique model that is attracting advisors and new agents from all over North America.
Career/ Captive Model
This model is where we are career type agents usually with a brand name attached to it and main advantages are:
- Brand recognition of the name
- Strong internal training
- Very good agent support programs
Weaknesses:
- Limited product offerings with the captive brand(s)
- Limited expansion ability usually with territory restrictions
- Limited compensation for producers as they pay for brand advertising
Broker Dealer Model / FMO, IMO, MGA Model
If you are a highly motivated, self-starter and are already well trained with a focus on personal clients then this model offers:
- Access a large selection of products and companies
- Higher compensation for top-notch producers & hitting quotas
- You own your clients and book of business
Weaknesses :
- Limited training for new agents as seniors have no incentive to share their expertise
- Training hit/miss, sink or swim as companies all try to get the agents’ business
- Limited agency ownership – hard to keep agents once trained or dealer poaches best ones
Networking Model
- Have a system to expand agencies across North America
- Training and systems help agents work in a hot or warm market vs cold market
- Builder model of this system is well proven
Weaknesses:
- Main focus is on constant recruiting, and with that comes to brand/image issues
- Compensation, bonuses, and over-rides tend to go to the big recruiters
- Licensed people who write business are paid way less than other models with the hope they will one day be part of the top elite group, we call this starving your way to the top
Experior took the best of all three models and left the weaknesses behind in a unique, revolutionary Tribrid model, which is designed to be competitive with the entire industry and offer :
- Industry-leading ownership and legacy options for advisors
- Ownership of your clients with multiple exit options
- Ownership of your Agency – Retire and SELL IT, or Die and WILL IT
- Access to many top tier product partner companies
- Ability to attract new people and licensed advisors from the entire industry
- Industry-competitive compensation to help new and senior agents succeed
- Ability to grow and build North America-wide
- Unique Legacy program that provides lifetime retirement options for Executive Directors and above. Build it once and get paid forever.
And much more…
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Prabhjit Virk: What we have seen in our industry is that the business has to evolve with the times. Take for example the restaurant industry, take-out food has become the norm. That has become an extra stream of income for them during the Covid-19 situation and after. In our Insurance industry, lessons I learned in this phase were to be active on social media, use digital marketing, make your presence felt. Due to this, my market has opened up much more. Now we can attract more talent for our agency North America wide.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Prabhjit Virk: There are two kinds of businesses, one which can adapt and one which can’t. Being Entrepreneurs we have to see how we can adapt and stay one step ahead always. Then only we can thrive or else we will become a casualty. No matter the industry, you have to innovate and see what existing and new demands we can identify creating multiple streams of income. Don’t be dependent on only one stream of income, otherwise, the next pandemic could wipe out your business.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Prabhjit Virk: It sounds weird, but the pandemic has changed our industry for the better. Insurance companies are normally slow to make changes. But with the Covid disruptions, it was forced to make the much-needed changes. The Carriers had to implement electronic applications, adapt their underwriting requirements, increase coverage amounts without fluid testing, and deliver policies direct to the consumer to be competitive and timely. It also brought more efficiencies, which greatly improved the turnaround time and agents getting paid faster.
For us as advisors, we quickly pivoted our in-person business to instead use Zoom, Microsoft Teams, etc, to be connected with our teammates, clients. “Work from home” became the norm. Commuting time vanished. We also had to adapt by using social media, and digital marketing to share our message and the advantage is that our reach has dramatically improved from Metro Vancouver to all across North America. Now we have team-mates in Alberta, Ontario, New York, California, Oregon, Georgia and still expanding. It’s been inspiring to be honest.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Prabhjit Virk: To use Digital Marketing sooner! I still remember I had only one platform which was Facebook and my business partner pointed out that I had only 9 friends! I had the account and never posted anything. So I took on the challenge to improve my digital presence on other platforms like Linkedin, etc. And it has been working! More connections, more conversations, more results!
In 2022 I am keen on improving my presence on social media and giving good content to my peers, friends, and colleagues where we all can improve.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Prabhjit Virk: This will be the new normal. Our business will keep advancing online which is making our role easier and more productive than ever before. To me, there has never been a better time to be an advisor and to own a financial agency.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Prabhjit Virk: I spend approx. 6-8 hours a day in front of the computer.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Prabhjit Virk: Our business is all about stories. When it is about finances, people are generally wary of numbers and their attention span is short. But people relate to stories and want affirmation of how others are using these solutions. So we share the complex concepts in simple stories which they can understand and help them to make better decisions.
Like explaining a simple difference between Term and Permanent Insurance. We use the analogy of Renting a house (Term) and Owning a house (Permanent) resonates easily and paints the picture that they can visualize and understand.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Prabhjit Virk: The real challenge right now is when the situation is back to normal, can the workforce adapt? Most are now used to working from home and businesses which have adapted will benefit the most. Commercial Office space demand will decrease. There will be no need to buy fancy big office spaces if the work can be done remotely. This could mean huge cost savings for businesses.
The main opportunity for businesses will be in adapting to online and a digital media presence to reach more potential customers as geographical boundaries will be virtually eliminated. Another change I see is how businesses will adapt to upcoming financial upheavals. I see a huge opportunity for advanced financial planning to protect businesses, owners, and employees.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Prabhjit Virk: For my business, online marketing is a priority now if we want to grow long-term. I would like to grow my Agency all over North America with more than 6000+ agents so that impact of similar events such as Covid-19 is minimized. Then set my sights to grow outside of North America too.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Prabhjit Virk: Working from home has opened new opportunities and not only for the businesses via cost cuts. It has opened new avenues for employees too. Many are more productive and have seen the impact of depending on only one job, or source of income. For so many a job has become the “JOURNEY OF the BROKE” and entrepreneurship has awakened as people are looking for other streams of income and want to be their own boss and control their own time.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Prabhjit Virk: Rather than having any business superpower, I would rather serve all the clientele with our products and services. As nobody should be left behind in financial education. More people are financially aware better they will be able to overcome future uncertainties
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Prabhjit Virk: To expand our agencies into 20+ states in the USA and train them well. So that they can be the best business builders/owners in their states. I would want to give our opportunities to all the Insurance agents in USA and Canada so that they can grow and reap the rewards and leave a legacy for their families. By building a successful business, it helps provide for my family and be able to continue seeing my children and wife pursue their goals and passions as I do in this amazing industry in this incredible time we are in.
Mike Weiss, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Prabhjit Virk for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Prabhjit Virk or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
