Ryan Hanley is the Senior Vice President of marketing for TrustedChoice.com and for Agency Nation. A former independent insurance agent himself, Mr. Hanley has been with Agency Nation since its inception, providing free ideas, advice and content to help independent agents everywhere to become more competitive an successful.
After we spotted the advertisements for “Elevate 2017”, a new conference organized by Agency Nation, we contacted Mr. Hanley to find out more about what this inaugural conference is all about and how it aims to help the independent agent.
For those Mass. agents who may have never heard of Agency Nation, could tell us what exactly is it?
Agency Nation was created by TrustedChoice.com as an online hub where insurance professionals can get connected, get inspired and get ahead. Agency Nation offers digital marketing resources–everything from insightful articles on market trends to podcasts with influential people winning in the IA channel, plus access to a comprehensive online marketing university, Zero to Sales. All of Agency Nation resources are designed to help agents compete in the digital marketplace.
What is Elevate 2017?
Elevate 2017 is a two-day conference dedicated to educating, entertaining and inspiring insurance professionals to improve their customer experience through sales, marketing and technology.
We’re calling it an “unconference” because we’ve set out to build the event we’ve always wanted to attend. That means heavyweight insurance insiders sharing their experience and expertise on how to drive growth, a dozen interesting breakout sessions led by experts sharing their battle-tested ideas, and tons of time for networking. To make it easy to get acquainted, attendees will be able to request impromptu meetups right from their phone.
When and where is it happening?
It’s all happening June 4-6 in the heart of downtown Milwaukee, at the majestically restored Pfister Hotel. We chose Milwaukee because the city embodies so much of what the IA channels is: dependable, friendly and hardworking, not to mention it’s an undiscovered gem. And where else could we host our inaugural Brat Bonanza but at the Harley-Davidson Museum? We made a cool video about the venue, if readers want to check it out! https://www.agencynation.com/6-things-that-will-help-you-make-the-decision-to-attend-elevate-2017/
Can you give us a quick rundown of the agenda?
We kick things off on Sunday, June 4, with a pre-conference event for those who want to take a deeper dive into learning how to market their agency in a millennial world, followed by a welcome reception for all attendees. The next two days are jam-packed: breakfast to keynotes to super sessions to afternoon breakouts to networking events. A full agenda for the whole experience is available at Agency Nation Elevate 2017, and I’d encourage everyone to check it out.
How much does it cost?
We’re offering Agency Checklists subscribers a 10% discount off the standard all-access conference pass—with the discount, the cost is $585. The pass includes lifetime access to all speaker recordings, some cool swag, plus all meals and networking events, including a welcome reception and an offsite at the Harley-Davidson Museum. To take advantage of the discount, simply enter promo code “elevate10” when registering.
Why should a Mass. agent consider attending?
I think anyone in the IA channel will benefit from all the forward-thinking content and actionable advice they’ll get regarding insurance inbound sales, digital marketing, technology and customer experience development. Not to mention networking with progressive, like-minded agents looking to thrive in our changing market space.
What do you consider the most exciting aspect or the biggest draw of Elevate 2017?
The most exciting aspect of Elevate 2017 is the people. From the speakers to the sponsors, from the Agency Nation staff and the amazing attendees, Massachusetts agents will get meet forward-thinking insurance professionals from around the country who WANT to grow their business digitally. You will not find a collection of people like this at any other event in the country–all of them focused on the independent agent.
Anything else we should know?
Beyond all the great speakers, idea-sharing and networking, we’ve got a few surprises planned. But I wouldn’t want to spoil it, so people will just have to get to Milwaukee to experience it all!
