Personal connections hold the insurance industry together – especially when it comes to Northeast statutory insurance. The theme arises time and again in our videos and Rep Roundtable discussions.
“I don’t ever feel like there’s a strong competition [between our carrier reps] to do well, because we know we will all succeed anyway,” says DBL Center CEO and President Michael Cohen. “It’s easy because it’s such a seamless relationship.”
The DBL Center’s annual Christmas party, held in the Founder’s Room VIP area of the famed Paramount Theater in Huntington Village, exemplifies this point. Employees from multiple carriers, colleagues, family, and friends gather every December to reminisce about the past year and celebrate The DBL Center’s bright future.
Directly before the 2019 party, John Puglisi, sales representative for The Hartford, met up with Michael Cohen and The DBL Center’s camera crew for the latest Rep Roundtable installment.
Reinforcing the theme of personal connections, Puglisi traces his friendship with Michael Cohen and, before that, his relationship with DBL Center Founder David Cohen.
In this must-see video, John and Michael discuss Bill Cosby, retention in the insurance industry, and the secret to more successful enrollment meetings.
Be sure to watch to the end because there are poignant moments you won’t find in our synopsis below.
Michael Cohen: Isn’t it funny that we’re recording this video here at the Paramount Theater, given our mutual love for comedy. Do you remember who we saw last time we were here together?
John: Yes. Last time we were here we saw Bill Cosby.
Mike: A lot of things have changed… Bill’s in jail… The end of Dr. Huxtable. And a lot has changed in our industry, as well. We were with your wife and my father. How did you meet us?
John: I’ve been thinking about this, actually. You were with another rep, and that other rep was leaving The Hartford. It’s as simple as that. I met your dad because we had classes in the city that your father participated in. That’s where I met Dave.
Mike: I remember you and my dad immediately hit it off. And it was funny because the connection has always been the comedy. Dave would always tell the-one liners. And your passion has always been in entertainment. You have an interesting past there. Tell us about it?
John: I’ve done theater. I’ve done singing. I vocalized Sinatra acts. Performing was where I came from. It’s interesting – a lot of guys in this industry tend to come from athletics. They’re sports guys. You’re one of the guys I know who came from comedy, which was always a passion of mine.
Mike: Our backgrounds in comedy and entertainment enhance the enrollment meeting, which is half the battle.
John: Yes! When you’re presenting your case [directly] to the client, it’s very easy to be compelling. If you can do that in an entertaining way, with vitality and humor, I think you close a ton of business.
Mike: The turnover rate was so high when I first got into the business, and it’s gotten even worse. I feel like that revolving door hurts you. A big part of my success has been that my staff has been there a long time. There’s a long tenure.
The shortest person is three years, because we’ve made a lot of changes in the past three years. I’m starting to grow the business. Aside from that, it’s 10 years, 20, 30, 34.
And people have this common denominator of comfort when they know you’re not going anywhere.
John: What your father started, and what you’ve done, is that over the time I’ve worked with you guys, since 2010, you guys are a family.
I walk through the door and see Annette Sperandio and I think, “That’s my daughter in 20 years.” She’s just like her.
Have you ever had an experience where you meet somebody and you’re immediately comfortable with them because they remind you of somebody else? That’s the way I was with Annette. And Lisa reminds me of a younger aunt of mine.
Your dad – it would be five minutes of him with a Number 2 pencil doing Euclidian mathematic, and then 2 minutes of the most raucous jokes you could tell.
Mike: The last time you and I were here at the Paramount it was with my father. Is there anything you want to add? Memories of him?
John: Dave’s passing was – and continues to be — just a great shock. He’s a guy that I miss regularly, in the way that I miss my parents.
Obviously, as you get older, you lose people. It’s part of life. He represents somebody whose loss hurt when it happened, and I continue to feel his loss.
There were conversations Dave and I had, where he would make suggestions. I would ask him for career advice. I would ask him for mentoring. I remember very clearly – I get goosebumps thinking about it – he looked at me and he said, “I want you to think about this because you’re better than what you’re doing.” I absolutely remember him saying those words to me. You’re better than what you’re doing.
Mike: And that’s why you’re here. We love working with you and we love the Hartford. We consider you family, too.
