 
Mike Bennetti, LUTCF, president, NAIFA-Delaware
knows what it takes to be successful. Already a state president
before the age of 40, Bennetti is also starting his third year of
service as the NAIFAPAC assistant regional vice chair for the northeast
region. To top it off, he’s dedicated this time while running
a two-office multiline agency with his father that services 3,000
clients. Here’s what Bennetti has to say to young advisors
about staying committed to NAIFA, your business and the industry.
Advisor Today:
Can you give us a brief description or sketch of your business?
Are you in a niche, do you do financial services as well as insurance,
that sort of thing?
Bennetti: I’m a multiline
agent representing Nationwide products and services. I joined by
father’s agency back in 1988—the practice he’s
had since 1971. Our agency services over 7,500 policies, mostly
home, car and business insurance, with a mix of life and financial
services. We have two offices in Dover and we have four other associates
other than my father and I. My dad’s a past NAIFA trustee.
I believe he was elected in 1992 in Atlanta and re-elected in 1994
in San Antonio.
Advisor Today:
You’re very involved in NAIFA. How would you respond
to young advisors who say they don’t have enough time to get
involved in their association?
Bennetti: That’s a tough
question, and I experience it here in Delaware. The young advisor
is the future of our association. If they don’t do it, who
will?
Basically, I ask, are they willing to risk their
career on the hope that someone else will put in the extra time?
I know that those who came before us did their part, and it’s
our responsibility to protect our future. I’d say make the
time. Find a bit part to help out, but most importantly find something
you enjoy doing or are interested in. For me it was the advocacy
side, it was the role of the legislation and what the legislators
have to say about my business.
Advisor Today:
You’ve also been heavily involved
in IFAPAC for several years. Why is it important for younger members
to get involved in the political process?
Bennetti: There’s a line
that Michael Dunn shares with us, he’s with Dunn and Associates
out of D.C. He says, “You’re either players or you’re
victims in the political process.” I refuse to be a victim
and leave my fate in someone else’s hands when I can do something
about it.
Advisor Today:
Again, some folks just starting out in the business might
be saying, “I can barely pay my electric bill, I can’t
afford to be giving money to a politician.” What’s your
answer to this?
Bennetti: I’ll put it this
way: If our products lose their tax advantages due to legislation,
will that make it easier or harder to pay that same electric bill?
IFAPAC enables us, as NAIFA members, to combine our contributions
for the benefit of all the advisors across the federation. We end
up sharing the load, if you will. So I end up asking this: “Is
1 percent or even half a percent of your income too much to ask
for a contribution to IFAPAC?”
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“Find
a bit part to help out, but most importantly find something
you enjoy doing or are interested in.”
—Mike Bennetti,
LUTCF
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Advisor Today:
Does it make more sense for younger members to become politically
involved at a more grass roots level?
Bennetti: Sometimes if you don’t
have money, then you do have a bit of time. Getting involved on
the grassroots level not only makes sense, but it’s absolutely
necessary. Our legislators are making decisions that affect our
bottom line everyday—sometimes good and sometimes bad. It’s
imperative that we take this opportunity to meet our state and federal
legislators. We live in their districts, we vote, we have clients
whose interests we represent, and while we may not know our legislators
personally, we have to be willing to get to know them.
I’m sure many of the people who are NAIFA
members are experts in the nuances of the many different insurance
products and services we offer, so I encourage them to make an appointment,
build a relationship and become a resource to that legislator.
Advisor Today:
Let’s turn to the business side. What’s the
best piece of advice you’ve gotten on growing your business?
Was it from a NAIFA member?
Bennetti: There’s one piece
of advice that comes to mind from a NAIFA member—outside my
father, of course. This particular gentleman I had lunch with at
a NAIFA convention. We were sitting next to each other, talking
about the business and it was kind of simple and straightforward.
He said, “Mike, if you want to change the results you’re
getting, you gotta change the things you’re doing.”
He was an individual that many of us have come to know. His name
is Bob Nelson, from Nebraska. At the time, he was just Bob Nelson,
member. He was not Bob Nelson, past president.
Advisor Today:
What’s the biggest struggle you face in your business?
Bennetti: It just seems that
the business, particularly in property and casualty, has become
very impersonal. Everything’s online, quick quotes—“can
we do this over the phone,” or “does my wife need to
come in?” Price seems to be the No. 1 driving force in many
of the cases, and the personal relationships that built this business
are changing as communities become more transient in nature.
The consumers, I think, are expecting that everything’s
just cookie cutter: “If I go to this company or that company
everything’s going to be the same, and price is the only difference.”
It’s devaluing what the agent brings to the table.
Advisor Today:
OK, time for the big-picture question. Where do you see
yourself in 10 years, both professionally and within the association—will
you have your picture on the cover of Advisor Today November
2014 issue?
Bennetti: It’s not a long-range
plan of mine. I’m more of an I’ll-do-my-part kind of
guy. I feel we all have a role to play, and I’ll do mine.
But I’d like to challenge others to step up and do their part
too. I think young advisors need to ban together and commit to serving
together. Along the lines of “If I go, you go.” We’re
living in a time when so many just assume that someone else is going
to do it. But what if no one does it?
That’s kind of where I’m pushing as
far as the association goes. Who knows what the future brings? I
like what I’m doing, and I believe that when you get to be
part of a team like IFAPAC, it’s fun and exciting. You’re
learning so much more about what goes into our business. I hope
that others will think about getting involved.
December 2004
Focus on the Fundamentals
YAT Spotlight: Mike
Bennetti, LUTCF
Impacting Lives
The Financial Advisor’s
12-Month Guide to Success
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