“A strong work ethic -- being very determined, being focused,” certainly helps account for Joe Palmer’s top ten finish in the most recent Elite Broker’s Poll , but there’s more to it than that, says the winner of the top slot for New Brunswick.
“Beyond that I would say: having very strong relationships – our business is a relationship business -- and being able to quickly develop a rapport with someone you just met, and being able to develop meaningful long-lasting relationships with clients; relationships where they see you as an advisor and in a lot of cases as a friend; a business colleague, someone that they can call and ask questions about business in general, questions that may not have anything to do with insurance in general. Having relationships is key.”
It an outlook that seems to be working: Palmer’s brokerage, Palmer Atlantic, specializes in trucking insurance, and since 1980 has been the leading truck insurance and risk services provider in Atlantic Canada.
Palmer, who racked up more than $1.3 million in revenue in 2014, is no stranger to raking in the revenue. But even more important, he says, is “being able to deliver value. There’s one thing I see with a lot of brokers – it’s competitive and you can always find a cheaper price. A lot of brokers sell on price -- and price is definitely a consideration with any purchase of any product or service -- but for me I would vote that price is one of a number of things to consider. We’ve developed a business where we do more than what standard brokers do. We do a lot of risk management and risk services oriented things. We do a lot of training and add a lot of value through additional services.”
“So our relationships with our clients are about more than just price – and hopefully we are able to get people the best deal; but in addition to that we’re doing work for clients that other brokers aren’t doing. And they’re depending on us for more than insurance.”
