Women on the Move

We talked to three women who are making their mark to find out why they chose this field and what it takes to succeed.

By Maggie Leyes, Michele Bupp and Helen Thompson

You certainly don’t need a crystal ball to know that in the field of insurance and financial advising, men outnumber women. The exact number, however, might surprise you. According to a recent LIMRA International survey, insurance companies reported that just under a quarter (23 percent) of their agents were women. The good news on this figure: It represents a 10 percent increase over the 1986 number.

Women are being drawn into this field, and are thriving. And while their reasons for joining this industry may be individual, Advisor Today is highlighting three women who are making their mark to find out why they chose this field and what it takes to succeed.

Going the Extra Mile
Teamwork and client service are the underpinning of Rae Lee Olson’s success.

By Maggie Leyes

Rae Lee Olson was a Stanford sociology major who did not have a direction upon graduation—a somewhat surprising fact for this now super-focused triathlete and mother of three. But that was all the better for Karl Hansen, CLU, ChFC, who was looking for someone to help him grow his small employee benefits brokerage firm. Olson accepted the position he was offering, and in the two decades since has never looked back. She loves what she does.

Olson, who is vice president of The Vita Companies, and Hansen, president, have turned a four-person firm in Mountain View, Calif., into a 29-employee enterprise that now services companies ranging from two employees to 10,000.

"IT’S NOT ABOUT SALES; WE ARE NOT A SALES ORGANIZATION. WE FOCUS ALL OF OUR RESOURCES ON PROVIDING REALLY, REALLY GOOD SERVICE." —RAE LEE OLSON

Success for Olson, a member of NAIFA-Peninsula, is about creating and nurturing a team of professionals in her company and offering impeccable service to clients. “We have a different structure than most organizations that do similar work,” says Olson. “No one in our organization is paid a commission. We’ve tried to create a real dedicated team focus. For us, it’s not about sales; we are not a sales organization. We focus all of our resources on providing really, really good service.”

That service includes such elements as a proprietary online-enrollment system, a dedicated customer service phone line and personalized enrollment of all new employees with every client. “We will be the benefits arm for the company, which is especially important in small companies with fewer than 100 employees,” Olson explains. “Employers spend a lot of money on employee benefits, and the money they spend is leveraged when the employee has a better understanding of the benefits and their value.”

The ethos of service has paid off. The company works on a referral-only basis, and at times has put potential clients on a waiting list so as to not compromise the service levels it offers existing clients. “The biggest value someone can bring to the table is what we have adopted as our mantra, and that’s knowledge-based service,” says Olson. “If you have lots of knowledge, but don’t share it with people and do good things for them, it’s of no value. If you serve people all day long, but don’t really know what you’re talking about, it’s also of no value. It’s the combination of having real knowledge and putting it into action and serving clients that is the magic.”

Being involved
Olson understands that her success is linked to the strength of the industry. She has chosen to serve the insurance industry by putting her natural analytical talents to work in the legislative arena. “Being involved legislatively is critically important to the success of our industry. Being involved with the association, and being involved legislatively is part of the foundation of a successful career,” she says. For Olson, that means taking an active part in NAIFA-California’s legislative committee. She spends time reading bills to understand their impact on advisors and their clients, developing white papers for legislators and fellow members so they understand where NAIFA stands on the issues—and why, and taking trips to the State House in Sacramento to make NAIFA’s position known.

Balance—her way
Olson derives satisfaction—and joy—from her commitment to her clients and employees. Making sure both these sets of people have the best information and care possible is a top priority for her. She is also careful to keep her home life in balance (three teenagers and employer-cum-husband, Karl Hansen) with a good dose of exercise (eight to 10 hours of triathlon training a week) and community involvement (a long-time board member of Los Altos Education Foundation).

She admits that success has come with “lots of hard work and being willing to go the extra mile.” Hard work for her has a 4 a.m. wake-up call. She knows this may not be everyone’s best “thinking” time, but early morning is the time she is able to do the creative and strategic thinking that doesn’t get done at the office, when interruptions from her team are the norm. When she is in the office, it is nurturing the team that is critical; she sees them as family. And about going the extra mile … if there’s one thing a triathlete knows, it’s how to go that extra mile.

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