One Year On – Derek Bentley
After 40 years working at large insurance and broking firms, Derek Bentley decided he was fed up of being an anonymous cog in a huge wheel and took a job with Konsileo. One year on, and he’s loving being employed at a place where he can be his own boss.
Derek explains: “The real buzz for me is working with people, getting to know them, and then getting them the right cover or the right result. That’s my number one priority – not the profit. And that’s just not how big firms work. Konsileo has given me the chance to do a job I still really love doing – the way I want to do it.”
Freedom
Derek, based in Blairgowrie, has clients across Scotland – including motor trade and garages, construction, IT, recycling and manufacturing businesses, and some property businesses.
He continues: “I’m not tied down to 9-5 Monday to Friday, and I’m not constrained by a limited panel or corporate partnerships, so I really can find my clients the very best policies and deals. I can set my own hours and decide when I need to be on the road. It’s like being given your freedom!
“You get a base salary from Konsileo, and generous commission when you start to build your book up. One year on and my book is exactly where I want it to be and the rate of growth is accelerating. I’m set to be exactly where I want to be by the end of year three.”
Culture change
It took Derek a little while to get used to how Konsileo worked. He says: “At Konsileo, you don’t really have a line manager, or report to anyone. There’s no Big Brother watching over your shoulder with a big stick – you’re managing yourself. It’s a massive change in culture, and it was certainly a bit strange at first, but now it suits me down to the ground.
“You’re independent, but you’re not isolated. They make you feel like you’re someone at Konsileo, like you matter, and I think that’s really important. In the last corporate role I had, I felt pretty out on a limb, and pretty frustrated. But here there’s so much collaboration – and it doesn’t need a hierarchy. We’re all chatting every day to ask for the best way to do X, or if someone has a contact that does Y, and bouncing ideas off each other.
“You get inducted as a group, and allocated a buddy – and my buddy and I still talk a few times a week about stuff. Then I’ve got my coach to trouble shoot with, and I’ve recently been voted by the other brokers to become a coach myself – which, 8 months into the job, I was pretty chuffed about. I’m already learning as much from my coachees as they are from me, I’m sure. And that’s exactly how workplaces OUGHT to work.”
Caring about clients
“So far, I can safely say Konsileo has been a great adventure. It’s opened my eyes to the way things should be done, and the value of treating people like adults. I fell into insurance at the age of 17, but it’s taken me this long to be seen as a grown-up at work!
“I think Konsileo is perfect for people who like to work independently, and who actually really care about their clients. You have to be organised and you have to be a self-starter, because it’s essentially like being self-employed – but with some pretty major back-up! There’s rules, there’s structure, there’s support, but you’re essentially in charge of your own destiny.”
Find out more about joining Konsileo here or contact Chris Sulman directly at chris.sulman@konsileo.com or 07898210760.
