Over the past decade, Garrett Burrow has built a thriving practice near Austin, Texas, focused on retirement planning through annuities and long-term care insurance. He would like to share resources with others.
So far, that hasn't been easy.
The job market for software engineers might have cooled, but the market for people who can pass a life and annuity producer's test and persuade people that they should consider saving something for retirement is still tight.
Burrow, the chief operations officer of Snarr Financial & Insurance Services in Leander, answered questions via email about how agent recruiting looks now and how he thinks it will change. The interview has been edited.
THINKADVISOR: What are you seeing out there now?
GARRETT BURROW: There's a startling shortage of warm bodies. It's hard to hire someone.
The runway to success can be long, but it's ultimately rewarding. It's sometimes tough for folks to get there, unless they have a secondary income source.
How has the overall business environment changed?
The biggest change since COVID is clients' willingness to engage in financial conversations virtually. It has opened up national opportunities that might have been more localized pre-COVID.
And I think consumer awareness has played a big role. There has been a lot more visibility in my industry from the consumer standpoint, which makes having conversations easier.
What's changing the business environment, and the recruiting environment, now?
The advent of AI is at the front of everyone's mind. AI has the power to reshape the financial landscape, and it's a daily endeavor to stay current.
I can see several processes becoming automated and the need for a human interface to decrease, for better and for worse.
Then there's the race to see if relationship-based models will take a backseat to transaction-based models or not.
What kinds of firms are attracting the best people?
Those that have deep-rooted values and place emphasis on the individual.
Which life and annuity professionals are getting the best results now?
It's those who care.
The folks with the most success are those whose aim is to educate rather than sell.
Those who provide value tend to have the best success.
What do you tell agents and advisors who want to move up to a higher level?
Be an educator, not a salesperson.
If you know what you're talking about, you listen to the needs of your clients, and you pair clients with solutions that fit what they need, everything else will follow from there.
And you can put your head down on your pillow at night knowing you've done right by everyone.
Garrett Burrow. Courtesy photo
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