Tim Dona President , Newman Long Term Care
Gregory B . Gagne , ChFC Secretary , MDRT Executive Committee
Matthew E . Schiff , CLU , ChFC President , Schiff Benefits Group
Finding a path forward
But even though there may be no clear pathway forward or trends to direct our business plans as we come out of this strange 2020 , smart advisors and marketers are developing 2021 business plans nonetheless . I have been working in the life and health insurance space since 1981 , and I will put the strategic thinking of smart people in this business up against any other business . Some of the smartest entrepreneurial minds are in our business , and I asked several of them to share their thoughts on how they ’ re approaching business planning for the coming year .
Tim Dona is the President of Newman Long Term Care in Richfield , Minnesota , succeeding their founder Deb Newman in 2019 . Prior to joining the Newman team , Mr . Dona was the senior vice president and head of insurance and annuities at US Bancorp . Before that , he was in charge of distribution of long-term care , annuity and disability sales as well as operations at Crump . Mr . Dona describes his current role as taking the foundation that Deb Newman built and positioning the company to expand their marketing well into the future .
Pivot when necessary
A key immediate challenge , of course , is 2021 . I asked Mr . Dona to share how he is planning for 2021 in light of the uncertainty of the pandemic . What ’ s different , if anything , about their approach to business strategy for next year ?
Mr . Dona said , “ We ’ re heading into 2021 knowing that we need to have a solid strategy in place to reach our goals , but that our plans need to be flexible and able to pivot based on what happens in the world around us .”
Re-engaging in different ways
Mr . Dona talked about change in the way they connect with and serve advisors . “ We need to connect with advisors in a multipronged approach . Most people were already drowning in emails before the pandemic , and it ’ s now becoming increasingly difficult to have your message stand out . Advisors have more webinar invitations than ever before , so we need to provide new and engaging content . What seems to resonate is offering topics or tools that they can use across any of their business lines . We ’ ve also returned to more focused outbound calling , as emails might get ignored but most agents will still pick up the phone . We ’ re doing regular check-ins , not to ask for business , but to find out how their business has been affected and to learn how we might help serve their changing needs . We ’ ve also provided several ‘ state of the industry ’ calls to our brokers to keep them up to speed on the various underwriting , pricing , and benefit changes we ’ ve seen in the past year .”
Mr . Dona also touched on the importance of the right messaging . “ We have focused solely on long-term care insurance for thirty years . If there is one thing the pandemic has demonstrated , it ’ s the need to plan for the certainty of uncertainty . Long-term care is mentioned in every newscast it seems , and now more than ever , people do not want to receive care in a facility if at all possible . The planning solutions we offer can help them stay at home , where they won ’ t be separated from loved ones or put near other high-risk individuals . We ’ ve had to create messaging around why there is no better time to apply than in the midst of a crisis . Clients don ’ t know what their health might
Strategic planning continued on page 22
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