ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 30—Dave Gregory, an independent insurance agent and coveted motivational speaker on the national circuit, will share with young agents his expertise in developing critical sales skills and providing top-notch customer service during the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s (IIABA) upcoming 28th Annual Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference in Las Vegas.

The Sales & Leadership Conference is the industry’s premier young agent event and will be held in conjunction with the association’s InfoXchange. The event takes place Sept. 20 to 22 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and is designed to promote the importance of building leadership skills and establishing networking contacts with young agents who comprise the future of the independent agency system. Young agents from across the country will gather for three days of educational training designed to mold the agency system leaders of tomorrow.

Gregory will work with young agents during two valuable sessions at this year’s Sales & Leadership Conference. He will host one seminar called Luck Isn’t Enough—Building Sales Skills for Success on Sept. 21, and another on Sept. 22 titled Know When To Hold ‘Em, Know When To Fold ‘Em—Client Retention.

“Dave is a dynamic speaker with an outstanding reputation throughout the association world, and we sought him as a speaker based on his proven ability to connect with young agents,” says Jacqueline Jungsberger, AAI, ACSR, CPIW, chair of IIABA’s National Young Agents Committee and vice president of Tri-County Agency of Brick, Inc., in Brick, N.J. “Dave hosted a sales seminar at our 2001 conference, and he has a special knack for being as entertaining as he is informative. He still is revered for challenging and energizing young agents in attendance that year, and we are fortunate to have his presence in twice the capacity this year.”

The focus of this year’s Sales & Leadership Conference is to send young agents back to their agencies with increased sales and leadership skills and a better understanding of how the very best in customer service is critical to client retention. Gregory will play a vital role in fulfilling this objective. He opened his own independent agency in 1992, a few years after becoming a Dale Carnegie public-speaking instructor. He says that public-speaking classes gave him the confidence to make it on his own and open his own business. Gregory has since combined motivational speaking and insurance.

“The 13 years I’ve spent as a Dale Carnegie instructor combined with the fact that I am an independent agent just like (young agents) are gives me a real unique combination,” Gregory said in a 2003 interview with Independent Agent magazine. “I know how important this business is. I talk with plain examples out of my life that people in the audience can relate to—and I do it with passion.”

Gregory adds, “Young agents have a heartfelt reaction to my thoughts. I talk about attitude, where insurance is enjoyable and fun—and you can be successful at the same time. And that’s good for young agents because it’s brutal out there. They’re getting beat up. Commissions are going down. It’s a battle. If that’s the case, you have to find a way to make something happen or you won’t be around a year from now. ... I’ve had my best success when the chips were down. What do you do, roll over and play dead? I don’t think so.”

The Sales & Leadership Conference features sessions designed exclusively for young agents, including sales skills and leadership training sessions. The event precedes the Las Vegas InfoXchange—IIABA’s showcase meeting featuring one of the largest exhibit halls in the insurance industry; several prominent guest speakers; a compelling company CEO panel; a wide variety of innovative continuing-education (CE) classes; numerous networking opportunities; and many other exciting events. The InfoXchange runs Sept. 21 to 24 at Caesars Palace. Young Agent Sales & Leadership Conference attendees are automatically registered for the InfoXchange at no charge!

Online registration for IIABA’s Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference is available at www.independentagent.com. For more information about the Young Agents Sales & Leadership Conference, contact IIABA’s Leslie Mularski at (800) 221-7917.

Agents and brokers who register for the InfoXchange by August 15 can save $75 off the registration fee. For more information about InfoXchange, contact IIABA’s Convention Department at (800) 221-7917.

Founded in 1896, IIABA is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of more than 300,000 agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance —property, casualty, life and health — as well as employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address:  www.independentagent.com.

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