The new kid in town

It’s hard enough to build name recognition in an area where you’ve lived for years – imagine the challenge after moving 1,500 miles to a community where no one knows you. Katy Cushman, President of Cushman Insurance Solutions of Fayetteville, Ark., and Newton, Mass., knows firsthand just how difficult it is. She had built a successful LTCI business based solely on referrals in Newton, but family circumstances dictated a move to Fayetteville in August 2006. Cushman maintains her business in Newton by returning to the area frequently, but her primary focus now is on building new referral networks in Fayetteville. She is working actively to make contacts in her new hometown. She’s joined a local women’s network, the town’s Rotary club and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. Because Cushman sells multi-life LTCI plans, she’s also making inroads with benefit brokers. “They may be very well versed in group life insurance, health insurance, and disability income insurance but long-term care insurance is something that they’re not as good at,” she says. “I say, ?Why don’t we partner together because I’m not taking your business away from you.’” In spite of the challenges, Cushman is optimistic that she’ll be able to duplicate her previous success. “Here in Arkansas it has been slow and steady – it’s taken much longer than I thought it would,” she admits. “Initially I can’t say that I was having fun at all, but I’ve just started to get Arkansas clients.”