94th IBAO CONVENTION SPEECH

OCTOBER 24, 2014

Introduction

What an honour it is to be here in our nations capital as we come together for the 94th
IBAO Convention. My name is Michael Brattman, and I am both excited and privileged
to be working with this great association. In January, I will start on the next part of my
journey, as your President, and I look forward to working with all of you and contributing
to the great work that IBAO is doing.

I have the challenge of following in the footsteps of Chris Floyd. You could not ask for a
more committed leader for IBAO. Chris has done a tremendous job representing our
association and acting as your President. Lets hear it for Chris.

I want to talk with you about 3 important dynamics occurring in our industry, but before I
do that let me tell you how it is that Ive ended up on this stage today.

Im a partner at Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers in Kitchener. Thats me working away
at my desk. Im on the road a lot with IBAO, so my staff created a mini-me that they put
in my office when Im away, sometimes I think they prefer the cardboard mini-me versus
the real me.

I have enjoyed a lifelong career in insurance that all began as a summer job while I was
in university, and the rest they say is history. I love insurance. I literally love
insurance - I even married a broker!

A few years ago, I was happily working away - I loved my job, I worked with great
people, and I found insurance to be a rewarding industry. Life was good. That is
when I was approached by 2 people with an invitation that was hard to refuse. Steve
Wagler and Chris Floyd reached out to me and explained to me what they were doing
with IBAO. That subsequently led to an invitation for me to get involved. Who could
say no to Steve and Chris?

We invest way too much time in our careers not to be fully engaged in our business and
industry. We need to show up and make a difference, just like each of you showing up
here today and making a difference. Thank you for coming out and supporting your
association. I know each of you is involved and finding your own way to #OwnIt. I
mentioned that I want to talk about 3 dynamics that are occurring in our industry. They
are:

1. The evolving customer
2. Investing in our future
3. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate






#1 - THE EVOLVING CUSTOMER

As brokers, we need to become preferred, and ultimately sought after as the customers
choice. I am sure that each of you has witnessed the rapid change in consumer buying
behaviour in the past 5 years. While other industries have evolved and changed to
meet customers needs, the way we do business as brokers has not changed
significantly since IBAOs inception in 1912.

Yes, we have adapted. I am not suggesting that we have stood still. We have changed
especially when it comes to technology and processes relating to internal efficiencies.
The way we manage this within our offices has changed, BUT as we adapted to those
changes, we have overlooked the need to embrace the evolving customer. One could
say we drifted away from owning the relationship to sharing the relationship and in
some cases, even taking the relationship for granted.

We need to realize that the lines are blurring, and that customers are looking broadly at
how they do business today.

Lets look at some examples:
Amazon connects existing customers to encourage sales to new consumers, by
facilitating conversations and promoting customer reviews.

Hotels recognize that they can serve their guests in new ways, creating
additional revenue streams through the sale of furniture, mattresses and linens.

There is extreme customization in buying cars It used to be that, You can have
any colour you want, so long as it is black. The Henry Ford dictum of keeping things
simple would not wash today. Product options and customization are bountiful.

As access to online movies expands, traditional cinemas are finding new ways to
serve customers. Did you know that you can go to a local cinema to watch a live feed
of an opera from the New York Met or have a docent lead tour of an exhibit at the British
Museum?

These examples show how other industries have thought creatively and found new
ways to engage with their customer.

As brokers, we are also competing in a Starbucks era of customers knowing what they
want, how they want it and when they want it.

Even the food industry has transformed, with restaurants going to great lengths to meet
customer demands. Vegetarian meals. Kosher meals. Gluten free meals. Lactose
free meals. Wheat free meals. MSG free meals. Meals recommended by the Diabetic
Association. By the Heart and Stroke Association. The list goes on. Customers arent
shy to tell you exactly what they want and are often confused when their wishes cant be
met. Off-the-shelf products, and certainly a cookie-cutter service approach, will no
longer work.



It used to be enough to place ads in your local newspaper, in the Yellow Pages and be
involved in the community to have a successful business and build your brand. Today,
we must also consider a whole host of social media vehicles including Twitter,
Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook increasingly social media is the way consumers are
communicating. Customers expect you to converse with them, to engage with them, in
the WAY they want, WHEN they want.

Do these still feel like new channels to you?

Facebook is 10 years old, YouTube is 9 years old and Twitter is 7 years old. Social
media is part of todays communication fabric. Its not new.

We need to think like todays consumers. Remember, if youre attracting young drivers,
they havent lived in a world without Google, MP3 players, digital cameras, texting and
the Internet. Products, services, and information are all immediately available at their
fingertips.

We cant be afraid to try new things and new communication vehicles. Dont worry
about the specific vehicle or channel, worry about being part of the conversation.

We need to be asking ourselves questions like:
How have I changed my business to address the needs of todays consumer?
How am I attracting the evolving customer?

The secret of success is taking chargeresponding to your customers priorities and
preferences, meet your customers expectations, and #OwnIt.

#2 - INVESTING IN YOUR FUTURE

When I say invest in your future, Im thinking about 2 things in particular
Investing in people, and
Investing in technology

How have you invested in these areas in the past 18-24 months? hold that thought.

I do not need to stand up here and tell you how important it is to have an awesome
team, one that is unique and provides not just service, but a true customer experience.

John Spence, this years keynote speaker, has been sharing how you can build the kind
of corporate culture that attracts, retains and grows truly outstanding employees. John
has highlighted how communication, teamwork, motivation, accountability and delivering
superior customer service is vital to our ongoing success. How many of you have had a
chance to hear John speak this morning? If you have not had a chance to attend one of
Johns sessions, be sure to take an opportunity to do so this afternoon.

We need to invest and develop a best in-class team. We all know that our industry has
struggled to attract and retain new entrants to our profession - add to this a growing war
on talent, and we may be facing the perfect storm. The time to act is now!



Be sure to have a solid recruitment and retention strategy. Invest in your people to
invest in your future. Build an exceptional team. Educate and train them to have a
#OWNIT mentality. Also, invest in technology - technology that will take your business
to the next level. Lets face itwhat was once considered investing in technology is
now table stakes.

This evening, we will have a chance to celebrate the best of the best at our Awards of
Excellence Gala. We have a new award this year, the Innovation Award, that is
designed to reward the brokerage or broker, who constantly pursues success and
challenges the status quo.
As I said earlier, you can leverage technology to not only drive internal efficiencies, but
you can also use it to better meet the needs of todays evolving consumer. Todays
consumer, young or old, are tech savvy and willing to take risks.

In order to make a positive impact on your current and future consumer, you need to
ensure that your strategic plan addresses how you are going to leverage technology to
bring more efficiency and professionalism to everything you do. #OwnIt.

#3 - COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE, COLLABORATE

My third and final point is about collaboration.

The word collaboration was added to the IBAO Mission Statement two years ago and
since then, we have seen both the industry and the association embrace this important
change. We recognize that together we need to find a way to #OwnIt.

At a time when competition is in hyper mode and change is seemingly endless, we are
left wondering what impact the rapid pace of change will have on our industry
Telematics
Driverless Cars
Extreme changes in weather patterns

It is precisely these times that we need strong individuals and organizations like IBAO
to lead the way, collaborating to find solutions.

Think about the strong voice we have together when it comes to our lobbying efforts.
We operate in a heavily regulated industry. Its critical that we facilitate conversations
and find solutions that are best for consumers. IBAO and you, our members, have
excelled in this area. Together we have the ability to create industry-wide collaboration
and build solutions.

There is strength in numbers.
There is power in numbers.
Industry collaboration is more important today than it ever was.

I realize that at one level we are all competitors, but we also carry a common brand and
a will to excel as an industry. Sometimes it is our competitors who help us rise to the
occasion.



Doug Heaman of Advocate Insurance operates his brokerage in the same territory as I
do. Yes, he is my competitor, but he and I both enjoy running and there are many
mornings youll see us out on the road discussing industry challenges. Im always
energized by the great conversations we have, and he challenges me every day to up
my game.

We can all be competitors, but we can also band together to find ways to excel as an
industry. Our true competitors are the Direct Channel writers who may be ahead of us
when it comes to technology butthey are lacking in their ability to offer a meaningful
customer experience, and they are dead last on the collaboration front. Others are
insurers that still believe investing in the broker channel means buying the broker
channel.

Speak up and be heard. Let your industry partners know what they need to do to help
you be more successful, and sometimes more importantly, let them know what they
need to stop doing.
Our challenge is to raise the bar together, build collaborative solutions for the
betterment of the industry and #Ownit.

My number one priority as your President is to facilitate solutions to help you, our
members, be more successful. This will include:

Investing in education
Helping to build the broker identity and brand among consumers
Finding consumer friendly solutions that address the impact of severe weather
Lobbying Government and Regulators
Investing in leading-edge, advanced technology solutions

So you know what my goal as your President is, and now I have a challenge for you.
Id like to ask that each of you go back to your offices next week and determine how you
can own the changes needed to push your brokerage to the next level. Select ONE
thing in EACH of the areas we just covered
The evolving customer.
Invest in your future.
And collaborate, collaborate, collaborate.

Pick ONE thing that you can do in each of these areas before the end of the year.
Engage your team to brainstorm and set objectives around these key areas. Recognize
and reward people who are trying new things to improve your business.

Try new things. Try new things. And then try more new things. Make this your 2015
mantra - it is time to #OwnIt. Have you caught on to my theme? It's all about doing
new things and owning our future. Andas youre doing all this, dont forget to have
fun along the way. Were in a great industry, and we get to work with and serve, great
people. It will be my privilege to work with all of you.

Thanks everybody!