Know Your Broker: Attending the IBBA Conference

Many moons ago when we at Apex first started attending the IBBA conference, there were maybe 50-100 people there. These days there are 2,000 members and there are regularly 700-1,000 people at conferences. We go for many reasons, but perhaps the most important is that going helps us become better brokers and hence get better outcomes for our clients.

Learning and Networking

As with any conference, you’re going to have a great opportunity to learn and network. There are plenty of talks and breakout sessions (our very own Andy Cavanaugh presented at this year’s conference on how to use your time wisely) that will keep you up-to-date with developments in the industry, including changes in legislation and approach.

We also get the chance to constantly refine our best practices. It’s true that it’s important to stick to systems and methods you’ve built in-house, but when you get to hear similar methods and systems working for colleagues in Australia or Europe, you can assure your clients that you’re not just following some in-house traditions, but practices used around the world.

Part of those practices, particularly in the last ten years, have revolved around technology. There are so many software tools available now to help you screen candidates/market and value businesses/track your work. We built our own system some years ago but we can always look at features from the new software on the block to see if they might be worth incorporating into what we are doing. Of course there’s always all the swag you can pick up on Vendor’s Row.

You Don’t Know It All

Early on there was some resistance to going to the conferences and getting certified — the thinking was that “we know what we’re doing and we don’t need to go to some fancy conference to know that.” But Doug Hubler had witnessed how valuable those conferences were for himself and the other brokers who joined him so he effectively bribed (read: gave bonuses) brokers to get the certifications. “Our business just blossomed after that,” he notes.

The conference also helps tick some practical boxes, as continuing education is part of maintaining certifications, and those can be knocked out while there.

One more way to build your knowledge? Masterminds. You can sit with peers and work through particular challenges you are going through or have gone through in the past and tap the wealth of experience gathered together for the convention that you wouldn’t otherwise normally have access to.

If you want to hear some reflections from Andy and Doug, check out this podcast episode recapping their experience at this year’s conference in Louisville.