Business Innovators Radio - Interview with Scheavosky McGawion Founder of McGawion Insurance Pros Discussing Building Trust and Long-Term Relationships

Episode Date: November 26, 2024

Mr. Scheavosky McGawion, is a proud United States Air Force Veteran having served in Operation Iraq Freedom and in the Global War on Terror after joining the Air Force in 2001.For over 15 years, Scheavosky now serves Georgia and communities across the nation by educating and protecting the financial interest of those seeking Insurance products and is committed to customers’ understanding of the products they seek and how they will enhance their life. Welcome to the Pros!Learn more: http://www.myinsuranceprofessional.com/Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-scheavosky-mcgawion-founder-of-mcgawion-insurance-pros-discussing-building-trust-and-long-term-relationships

Welcome to influential entrepreneurs, bringing you interviews with elite business leaders and experts, sharing tips and strategies for elevating your business to the next level. Here's your host, Mike Saunders. Hello and welcome to this episode of influential entrepreneurs. This is Mike Saunders, the authority positioning coach. Today we have back with the Shabowski McGowan, who's the founder of McGowan Insurance Pros, and we'll be talking about building trust and long-term, relationships. Shravsky, welcome back to the program. Hey, Mike, how are you, sir? Thank you for having me on again. You're welcome. And, you know, I love the sound of this topic because I think too many times people just realize that, okay, you're just looking at me like some number in a sale and you

just want to sell me this thing. But when you get someone like yourself that's a pro in building relationships, long-term relationships and trust, that just turns the world. on edge because most of the time people are out there just thinking through their back pocket going give me my sale and move on and people never hear back from them. So let's talk a little bit about your approach. How do you build trust in long-term relationships with your clients after they purchase an insurance product? Well, again, thanks for having me on, Mike. I think one of the things that's a sturdy practice of mind is to thank the customer, one, for, you know, placing their business with any, placing their trust, initial trust with me in order to, you know, take care of their affairs of what they've purchased in the insurance realm. So we always try to send out that initial email in a card or something to say, just to say thank you because there's so many opportunities to go in other directions.

So once you become a client of, you know, McGowan insurance pros, you know, our slogan is, welcome to the pros. So we have, we have adopted a mentality of a professional, you know, like you know, I was in the military. And one of our, you know, well, actually three of our core values are integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. And I carried that into my practice. and it's lend to be successful in multiple areas. Because, again, you know, not only, you know, was I, you know, with the golden rule in mind, you know,

do unto others that you would have them do unto you, but when I joined the military and got those four values, you know, that integrity speaks volumes in and of itself. A hundred percent. And I feel like, you know, I've got four kids and as they were growing up, I was just guiding them in many ways, but in like the world of business or, you know, school, if you can be responsive, if you can return emails and phone calls quicker, you stand out. So let's dive in a little bit deeper on your core values. You mentioned integrity, but what are your main core values?

And then how do you apply them to serving your clients? You know, number one, Mike, you know, I really out education as being the forefront of any business that we do with a consumer because if they're not educated on the products that they're seeking, that could lend a disaster when it comes to the time where they think they have something or they lose a benefit because they didn't elect an appropriate rider or something to that passage. You know, with me, we ensure that we lead with education. And that's really that service before self, right? We don't look at the commissions and we don't, you know, we don't worry about that aspect of it because, again, the consumer is coming to us to say, hey, I have a need and you fill it. And if you do that with integrity, you'll be able to, you know,

solidify his or her business. I'll tell you, you know, with me and myself, you know, what I tell my team is, you know, we have to be relentless communicators. We have to take every opportunity there is to make sure that our clients know that we're here. We didn't make a sell in May of last year. And you can't get a hold of us before your next policy review, you know, this may. We're already sending out communication to say, hey, you know, we're at the third quarter here, next quarter. We're going to be doing a policy review.

Hey, can you go ahead and look at your county? or hey, better yet, book a time on our calendar and we'll make sure we'll accommodate you. So that's that excellence piece. But being that we need to ensure that our consumer base is educated, I think that again, is what sets us apart. Yeah, you know, talk a little bit about excellence because to me, when I hear excellence, it means precision, precise. it means doing the right thing first, the right way, because if you don't have time to do something right the first time, how are you going to find time to go back and fix the mistake that you made? So I feel like excellence really is a huge, huge value.

You know, and that's very important. And that's why we take our time during the fact-finding phase. You know, we have like a four-step process. And the most important process is that fact-finding stage. we need to know your financial picture. We need to know what it is that you want. Yeah, you may want 200,000 of life insurance, but why?

Why do you need it? You know, challenging the question to ask why, because, you know, it may come to find out that you, because of the assets a consumer may have, you actually may need a half a minute, you know? Yes. So that finding process defines everything. It tees it up for us to move our consumers

through the process with ease. And then ultimately, once we product deliver, whether if it's a IUL or whether it's a fixed index annuity, life insurance product, you name it, short-term, long-term disability, once they get that product, there's no question. We want to arm our people with enough knowledge that they can at least recite or articulate it to their name. 100%. And, you know, that actually, when you were saying that it made me realize that the mark of

a true teacher educator is when the person that they're working with understands something so well that they can repeat it back. That means that the lesson landed. Absolutely. Absolutely. And the time we find ourselves in right now during this particular interview, Mike, is, you know, we're in AEP, you know, annual enrollment period. So my seniors are being targeted right now. And I can't tell you, the number of seniors that I've talked to you that were put in a product last year and some of the, downside of what the reasons they were put in there. But ultimately, you know, Medicare is, it's a sensitive topic, right? And being, you know, is it better for me to buy a Medicare supplement and keep original Medicare A and B? Or should I get a Medicare Advantage plan? Or should

I do nothing? Because my husband is still working. You know what I mean? So the different avenues. And again, you know, in a situation like that, it may not render, quote, unquote, a sell, but what you've just done is you've been impressed upon that consumer that, you know what, when I have a question again, you know, I'm going to go back to them. And then, who knows, that may be an opportunity to put them through our process and make them a customer of ours. Yes. Yeah, that's pretty big. You know, we've talked about values, integrity, excellence, teaching, education.

What happens with the flip side when someone goes to someone else in the, the industry that does not follow those kind of values, what kind of experience do they get? They get sold, right? Yeah. I don't think a lot of consumers like to be sold because once you're sold, you're just a number. And again, you know, in this industry, it's about building relationships first, not on the back end, not in the middle. It's about building those relationships first.

So, yeah, you know, Mary or John may have been able to go and satisfy a need at the time, you know, and as things would have it, you know, you run across myself or one of my professionals and then we take you through this, you know, gamut of education and asking, you know, the tough questions only to find out that, you know, you probably got sold the incorrect product, you know. But nevertheless, you know, our tenant awful mistake, but to show how we. we can, you know, reposition them and assist in whatever it is that they need to ensure that family are protected, you know, going to the future. You know, the fact that you mentioned being sold, you know, people like to buy, but they don't like to be sold. You know, they like to understand the process to make buying decisions, but they don't want to feel forced. I really like that contrast. Can you think, of a story or an example where your commitment to relationships, a long-term trust has really made an impact in one of your client's lives?

I mean, just this year, Mike, I have had two clients that, you know, we probably had a relationship. Well, I know the first client, we've had a relationship over 10 years. They were some vital expense customers of mine. It wasn't just recently, sadly, just passed away. And the spouse is overseas serving as a federal employee in government. And so, you know, once I found out this information, it was, you know, obviously heartbreaking. But at the same time, you know, we were able to assist them on every turn they need. Any forms that need to be filled out, you know, assisting where we could.

with, you know, death certificate, assisting where we could with the funeral home, making sure that they could show that this policy wasn't subject to, you know, incompatibility. What you know is, you know, a thing nowadays when we have policy that consumers have no idea what I just said, right? And then lastly, again, a situation where I had a client,

her mother, although not a client of ours, passed. And you would have thought she was one of our our clients because we offered that, you know, extensive, I'm here for you, tight attitude, that service before self yet again to make sure that, you know, the client knew that we were thinking about her and her loss. Yeah, that's a big point. And, you know, when you were describing the person overseas, they work for the federal government, but I know with your military background, you probably work with a good percentage of your clients that are military or federal. And So there's probably many layers of extra considerations that need to be done when working with

those types of clients that you then can bring us special insights into to go, oh, you're going to need to have this form or you're going to need to make sure this. And that would be an extra benefit that you're providing to someone given your experience, right? No, definitely. I mean, when we actually acquire, you know, military personnel who are still. still servants, obviously, they get the SGLI, the service group life insurance through the federal government, but those individuals who still want something from the outside want more,

you know, understanding the wartime clause in every insurance contract is vital, you know, and not that we've had to exercise it, but again, talking about education, right, talking about making sure people know that we're providing you excellence and all we do, because if I don't tell you that this war clause means that if you die subject to war, no matter what time frame it is, you know, the policy is not going to pay. You know, that may be a decision you need to make to say, yeah, you know, as a military member, I don't want to, I don't want to involve myself with that. Or in the flip side, if you're a government, federal employees on the civil servants side,

you know, your fegly, as it's called, you know, your fegly may not be, you know, within your budget. Because we do know it increases in five-term intervals when you retire. So although there's a three component to it, you know, many people may think like, you know, I can't afford to keep my whole family, me and my husband, at least on this, on the Fegle, what other options do I have out there? So when we get our servicemen and women and for our federal civilian service, you know, we really, really roll out the red carpet. We don't do it for everybody else, but, you know, it's just near and dear to my heart.

Yeah, it's not like you don't roll out the red carpet for everyone. It's just that you've got special insights that can really help those people that need to understand Fegley and all of these things that most people just don't have to deal with. And it makes me think, too, that even if someone says, oh, yeah, I've got that insurance covered because I've got it through my plan or through the military, being able to educate and teach and say, okay, that's great for this type of need. But, you know, like hearkening back to a previous conversation we had, there are some types of insurance that go well beyond just that death benefits. So being able to educate them and say, yeah, you're good there. But have you considered and have you looked at what if this has. happen. And I'll bet you that now you have got some clients that go, I would have never thought that.

I would have just passed it over and said, no, I don't need it. But boy, you just really opened my eyes. Yeah. Most service members don't realize that until they go through TAP, the transition assistance program, most military members don't know that once they retire, you know, that SGLIs out of window, it's gone. You know, so that coverage that you once have, albeit, yeah, try care on the health benefit side takes care of you for life. That life insurance is no longer there. So that 400,000 that they may have, it's gone. So, you know, what do I, what do I do then in a lot of terms, Mike, you know, from previous conversations we've had, you know, most military, most people in the military community don't have an idea, you know, what insurance really is until. they get out into the real world, you know, especially for those that separate without any benefits. And the problem is sometimes you learn those lessons when it's too late and you can't go turn back time and go fix it.

So being proactive and having someone, you know, educating you about what to expect, that's just worth its weight in gold. Absolutely, Mike. Absolutely. So we've talked about building trust to engender long-term relationships, huge. You know, like I don't want to have to go find a new, whatever, you know, attorney every other year. You know, you want that long-term relationship. What advice would you give to people that are hesitant about trusting an advisor? Because let's face it, you're not just giving people advice on what color paint that they ought to paint their house. You're giving them advice on their life savings, their retirement. So there's a lot of trust

and credibility that's needed there. Definitely, Mike. You know, for starters, you know, if you're person, the person that you select him to work with, if they don't have, if they can't explain to you, they don't have the extensive knowledge, they have not put in the time to learn what it is, I think the consumer might will be able to show that or see that, I mean, quite, you know, almost immediately. Then there are those that, you know, they just have the gap, if the will. And sometimes consumers get led in the wrong direction. So, you know, again, with knowing that as a consumer, a lot of them going to follow that gut anyway. But, you know, if you got a professional, you can go and Google and you've seen him or her, you know, on, out in the community, you know,

serving others, different things of that sort, you know, maybe there are some Google reviews that previous clients have left about him or her. You know, that's going to really be an indicator that this person is in it for the long haul. This person that has the compassion needed to serve in this industry because let's face it, this is a ministry. This is a service. Yeah.

You bring up a good point there because sometimes anyone that is really smooth, they could talk a good talk. But do they have something to really back it up? And sometimes it takes that third party social proof, whether it's referrals from their friends or testimonials or reviews, whether it's online. What does Google say? Because I've heard Google being referred to as your Google resume. You know, because anybody can type up a resume or type up a nice website and go, look how great I am. But when I get Googled, now that's the truth because it's like, oh, well,

So I think that that third party, that social group, having people that want to work with you do their due diligence and checking it out, I think that really helps them feel comfortable in making that decision too. Right. Because they're they're yearning for somebody who's credible and who's going to tell them the truth and be truthful. And when you have, you know, reviews that are in the positive, you know, it makes you at least. least comfortable. And then, you know, dealing with us, we want to make sure that each of our consumers have a, have a impressionable, memorable experience. And like I said, in the opener, you know, we're definitely relentless communicators, you know, the slightest indication of rate changes or opportunities to maybe enhance what they have. You know, they're going to know about

it. And I think one can appreciate it, even if it's not for them at that particular time, one can appreciate that, you know, they're being notified of something so important because we all know that, again, like you said, you know, you may be dealing with a half a million dollars in an annuity. This person has worked all their life to, and now they're trusting you as the professional to deal with it. And or you may have somebody who's looking for mortgage protection because, hey, you know, what if my spouse passes and if they don't have that, you know, right product, you know, with the right riders of things. to it. I mean, we are, again, this is a mention. This is a service. This is not, this is not for amateurs. Yep. Yeah, I think that's a really big point that you're bringing out up is this is not like, you know, like my facetious, funny example about, you know, what pink color to paint your living room. If you were given bad advice and you picked the wrong color, okay, it might have cost you a few hours and a couple bucks of your time, but you can fix that easily. In cases like this, when we're talking about retirement, insurance, investments, things like that, you know, having that trusted

advisor is so critical because if you made a bad decision, it could be very costly as far as setting up the wrong thing or missed opportunities. Yeah, you know, putting a client, for example, in a SPA, probably worst thing you could ever do. But, you know, someone uneducated that can talk the lingo, it sounds like it's something. The reason why I think about the spear, we just dealt with a couple who was sold a spear. And the spear

stands for a single premium immediate annuity. This couple was looking for an avenue to have permanent income. And in a whole while the spear can answer that fees that come along with it, they just were not they were just not told

about, you know, educated on. So we were able to come and correct it, but it did cost them. So, yeah, they couldn't just, they couldn't change the color of the paint. You know, those dollars were lost. But nevertheless, you know, we were able to a better picture by moving them into some more consumer-friendly product. Yeah, I think that's cool. And then again, there is not one specific solution that fits every single person.

So it's all custom because everyone has different needs. everyone has different goals. And then once you do put a solution in place, it's not the solution that can maintain for decades because outside things change. Taxes, inflation, your family grows or declines. So all of the things need to be updated and stayed on top of whether it's quarterly or every year. So I think that's a big piece that people also miss out on. They just set it and forget it and hope that it's fine. But you need to make sure that it's continuing to do what it's intended to do.

right Mike so that that ties right in with that long-term relationship well i tell you it's been really great to hear how you approach things that your values and it's just so encouraging to see that there's people out there doing the right thing by their clients so if someone is interested in connecting with you what's the best way that they can do that shavaski yeah mike people can reach me through uh they can reach me on the web uh my insurance professional all one My Insurance Professional.com. Go on there and you can peruse our website, leave us a request for quote,

and we typically try to return those answers within 24 hours. Excellent. Well, thank you so much for coming back on. It's been a real pleasure talking with you. Hey, thanks again, Mike. You've been listening to Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saunders.

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