Episode Summary
The Broker Link podcast recently featured an insightful interview with Miguel Delgado, founder and CEO of Elite Partners, a rapidly growing Medicare insurance agency based in Baton Rouge, LA.
Miguel shared the origin story of how he entered the insurance industry unexpectedly after 14 years in a completely different field. A friend saw potential in Miguel and recruited him into life insurance. He struggled for 6-8 months until his mentor gave him some blunt but helpful advice - he needed to get better at expressing to prospects why they should buy from him.
Taking this advice to heart, Miguel built a successful life insurance team within two years. He then decided to diversify into other insurance niches, eventually finding his perfect fit with Medicare.
When it came time to name his agency, Miguel drew inspiration from the Navy Seals, envisioning recruiting elite advisors - the best of the best. That's how Elite Partners was born.
Miguel says the biggest challenge in growing Elite Partners was transitioning from selling policies himself to coaching and developing other agents. As the founder, it was difficult to give up the income he generated himself. But he realized coaching was vital to scaling the business, so he worked hard to make the shift.
After hitting some limitations with his previous FMO partner, Miguel did extensive research to find the right partner to accelerate Elite's growth. A trusted referral introduced him to The Brokerage. After one call, he knew it was a perfect match.
Since joining The Brokerage 3 years ago, Elite Partners has experienced explosive growth:
- Revenue and agents have doubled
- Expanded from 4 to 8 offices and 9 to 12 states
- Went from 32 agents to over 90
- Grew from 7,200 Medicare members to over 10,000
Miguel attributes much of this rapid growth to the support and capabilities The Brokerage provided. He calls joining The Brokerage the best business decision he's ever made.
Some key lessons from Miguel's story:
- It's never too late to pivot into insurance, even if you have no experience. Be coachable and work hard.
- Find your perfect insurance niche. Medicare was the golden ticket for Elite Partners.
- Transitioning from selling to coaching others is challenging but vital to scale.
- Take time to carefully research FMO options. The right fit can change everything.
- Relationships and referrals are invaluable. A referral connected Elite with the perfect FMO.
- With the right FMO partnership, rapid growth at scale is possible.
Miguel's origin story offers great insights for anyone looking to start or grow an insurance agency. He is happy to have found his purpose in helping agents build legacy businesses.
Timestamps
(0:00:05) - Broker Link podcast features Miguel Delgado on agency case studies
(0:00:22) - Miguel Delgado is the founder and CEO of Elite Partners
(0:02:41) - With brokerage bucks, we will actually reimburse you for marketing
(0:04:09) - Tell us the story of elite partners
(0:05:02) - You transitioned from being an agent to being a coach through a brokerage
(0:08:23) - Since partnering with the brokerage, your revenues have doubled
(0:09:23) - This is the last episode of the 2023 season
