Truth be told, Tim Connell would have rather built boats or owned a marina in a warmer climate. It’s also true that running an insurance business that’s offered tremendous flexibility and a solid way to support a family is a really close second.
“By all means, I couldn’t do a lot of the things I do with my family, as well as the things I’ve been able to do in the community, if I didn’t have the flexibility of a sales career,” says Connell.
Hollister-based Connell Insurance Inc. was started more than 40 years ago, and Connell has been in the industry for almost three decades. When he started out, his older brother ran the business and he didn’t have a nepotism policy. So, Connell spent his first few years at American Family Insurance, followed by American National Insurance. He didn’t join Connell Insurance until 1987.
“My brother had been in it. My dad had always been in sales and real estate,” he says. “I thought I’d enjoy it.”
Connell admits insurance isn’t exciting to most people, and it can be complicated. He strives to break it down.
“I’m a local hillbilly at heart,” Connell says. “So the thing is, I really try and simplify things as best I can.”
Perseverance pays off, too. Developing a big client can take three to six years, while existing clients must be serviced in the meantime. So what is Connell’s secret to building a business recognized as one of the best in the area by both the Springfield and Branson chambers of commerce?
“Plan your work, work your plan,” he says. “Our business is perceptions and relationships.”
Gauging the direction of the business, tracking industry trends and keeping employees engaged are part of long-term success, Connell says. Embracing change is also key; the company went paperless about 13 years ago.
“Recession and 9/11 have taught me a couple things. You have to be a chameleon anymore,” Connell says. “We’ve basically had to keep saying, “Is this the way to do it?”
As the federal Affordable Care Act kicks in, so does Connell’s “lemons-into-lemonade” approach to challenges.
“Obamacare is a train that’s come down the track, and we see it as a profit center … and an opportunity to help people through,” he says.
Connell balances professional and personal responsibilities by dealing with what’s in front of him and letting go of what he can’t control, but he says having a child with autism put things into perspective a long time ago.
“Every time I think I’ve got it bad … it doesn’t take long to find someone who has it worse,” Connell says.[[In-content Ad]]
