When Brett Borrell was made national rural sales manager for
Crombie Lockwood two years ago he had the opportunity to up sticks from the provinces and shift to Auckland or Wellington.
But he felt strongly that staying put was more important than ever.
“I believe it brings more credibility to the role when you’re in the place where the business is being done rather than the high-rises of Auckland,” says Borrell who was born and bred on a farm in the Waikato and has now chalked up 25 years in Palmerston North.
However, being so far from the Auckland high-rises can sometimes fuel the feeling of ‘them and us’, something that Borrell works hard to alleviate.
“Being in the provinces, we notice the communication channels tend to centre around the head offices of the insurers and broking companies and you tend to hear about things once a decision’s been made.
“It does trickle down but it’s a few days later and it can cause a sense of isolation.
“One of the things I try and do is make sure that that information gets out to people in the provinces.”
Some resentment is felt when the big city brokers come in and target the largest accounts.
“We don’t get a lot of opportunity to write corporate type risks out here and when we get a big multinational business that’s broked out of town that can be a little frustrating. We can do it just as well as they can and this is where the risk is, after all.
“When something goes wrong there’s a huge advantage with having someone here on the ground to deal with it. So we really do push the ‘buy local’ benefit.
“But to get in front of the people that make those decisions is difficult, be they in Auckland, Wellington or Sydney or wider.”
Distance is a major factor even for something as straightforward as staying on top of one’s professional qualifications.
With 25 hours a year of continued professional development required to remain certified as a QPIB, travel costs to get to seminars and training programmes which tend to be based in the main centres is significant.
Not much comes to the provinces either, says Borrell.
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“Conference years are easier as you can clock up a few hours but in the year between conferences it can be difficult. Fortunately, now there are online modules you can do.”
The numbers relating to heartland broking are smaller in every sense.
In terms of economic growth that can be frustrating when comparing to the massive numbers in Auckland and particularly Christchurch right now as the recovery from the effects of the GFC are much slower in the provinces. But, says Borrell, the budgets are all relative.
In terms of clients and staff there is also a smaller pool to draw from – the answer, Borrell says, is to get creative.
“There is intense competition for clients which is where you need to diversify and be proactive.”
“In Palmerston North there are about three established broking houses and a number of smaller one or two man operators, so about 30 brokers in a relatively small area competing for the same clients and the same staff – often with detailed competitor knowledge of both.
“That’s why we started to lean more towards the rural and agricultural sectors. It comes down to doing things a little bit differently.”
He says they work hard to maximise their opportunities by having representation at events on the rural calendar such as Field Days, talking to people and putting them in touch with the right people in their organisation.
He adds: “You might have to take advantage of major events like floods and wind storms, even earthquakes – you soon hear who’s having good claims experiences and who isn’t and you get in touch with them.”
To encourage the staff talent to come from the big centres out to the provinces is tough however – the urban drift rarely works in reverse, he says.
“I certainly think the lifestyle’s better, it’s a slower pace. Our rush hour in Palmerston North runs from 5pm-5.20pm. That can be seen as an advantage, especially when it comes to getting out and seeing clients.
“Within five minutes you’re at the city limits and out to the open road. We can go and see two or three clients in a day which is fantastic.
“I don’t think you’re as mobile in Auckland, it takes a lot longer to get anywhere there. So that can definitely be seen as an advantage. And with that comes a feeling of being more independent.
“There’s a lot to be said for getting on and doing your own thing without Head Office leaning over your shoulder watching everything you do.”
With their target market being the large family-owned farming operations it helps to have a no-nonsense can-do attitude.
Indeed, one of Borrell’s more unusual days at work involved visiting a busy farmer who got Borrell to drive the tractor while he read over the paperwork.
“They tend to be very parochial, conservative, they’re not huge change merchants. For us it’s about delivering on commitments that we give and promises that we make, it’s really about not letting people down especially in the rural community because they will talk about it.
“In New Zealand there’s really been one company who’ve done a very good job in rural insurance over the past 130 years and it takes a lot of convincing to show people there are other options out there.
“So it’s a huge challenge to get them to change suppliers as they are very loyal – 3% or less will change insurance company or provider from one year to the next - but flip that on its head, if they’re clients of yours that’s a good thing.”
