November 19, 2024
With Rorie McIntosh—President, McCAM Insurance Brokers
McCAM Insurance has a proud history stretching back to 1913. But President Rorie McIntosh thought things could be going better.
“I’d spent a couple years watching us cruise along. I wasn’t content with the way we were running things. I felt we were sort of dying a slow death, losing one to three percent of our PIF count every year,” said Rorie. “I knew I needed to bring in help.”
In 2021, McCAM Insurance became connected with Chris Milden and Brian McCarthy—the Heaven Lane Group. These consultants would ultimately help McCAM turn things around and build the brokerage up into a much stronger business.
“They brought to the table things I was missing—sales training, recruitment, things like that. By bringing in the Heaven Lane Group, we were able to leverage their expertise owning brokerages, running sales teams, their many connections. They’re recruiters as well—they help you bring in the right people.
“It was about looking at every aspect of a company—service, sales, technology, marketing, branding, all of that at once. It was a complete rebuild.”
Finding the Right Fit
Finding a good consultant can be like finding a good psychologist—it’s not just the qualifications and experience that matter, it’s that they’re the right match for you and your unique situation.
“The first thing you have to realize is you’re good at some things, and not at others. For anybody looking at consultants, you want to find a team that compliments you, that fills in the weaknesses you may have.
“A lot of the consultants around aren’t insurance broker consultants. They may do real estate or another sector, and that doesn’t always translate. But there are consultants like Heaven Lane Group out there that actually do what we do and I find their advice is a lot more logical and helpful.”
Building on What was There
Heaven Lane Group identified Commercial Lines as an area that McCAM had a lot of room for potential growth. They helped them hire a strong Commercial Lines Account Manager, TSRs and Commercial Producers.
“They’ve transformed us from a Personal Lines brokerage that did the odd Commercial Lines to doing Commercial Lines, picking niches and trying to get good at it—and we are. If this was three years ago, we wouldn’t have had the expertise to tackle this stuff. Now we do.
“We’re definitely morphing into a Commercial brokerage, which takes time.”
Playing Well with Others
Working with consultants can go well, but it’s not guaranteed. There’s a give and take that has to happen for the work to move the business forward.
“You have to be a really good listener. There’s no point bringing consultants in if you’re not willing to listen to their ideas. For this to work, you have to be humble and recognize you’re not always right.”
Rorie pointed to one of the ideas the consultants brought to him that made him reconsider his thinking.
“I had this mentality that more markets was always better. I had too many markets. Chris and Brian were the ones that said, Just work with the ones you have. Stop chasing newer markets to add on, build stronger partnerships with the markets you have. I realized then that my thinking was wrong, I was able to accept that, and learn to be better at my job.”
“I’m a big fan of surrounding yourself with good people and making sure you’re not the smartest person in the room. If you have that mindset and you have a good understanding of yourself, it really works.”
The Results Speak for Themselves
“What our consultants have been able to do here is help us grow, especially in Commercial lines, which has grown about 41%. Culturally we are a very different organization than we were four years ago.”
Beyond their growth in numbers, the Heaven Lane Group has managed to breathe new life into the brokerage and inspire its President.
“With their expertise, there’s really nothing we can’t address. There’s no account that’s going to come at me I’m going to be psyched out about. And they’ve brought us some fantastic people to build out our organization.
“They’ve really upped our game. And I love going to work now. I really do. There’s a time where I was kind of bored a bit. Now I’m so engaged. I’m just so excited about it all.”