What does it actually look like to grow a service business without losing what made it work in the first place?
In this episode, Rick Gerety, founder and CEO of Gerety Insurance, shares how he’s spent nearly three decades doing exactly that. From starting the business by accident to building a thriving independent agency, Rick walks through the decisions, systems, and mindset shifts that allowed his team to scale while staying deeply committed to their clients.
This conversation gets into the practical side of what “great service” really means. Not as a concept, but as something built into daily operations. From having a real person answer every phone call to proactively reaching out to clients before problems arise, Rick shows how consistency in the small things creates long-term trust and growth.
It’s an honest look at how core values, clear roles, and the right systems can support both performance and relationships. If you’re trying to grow without losing your identity in the process, there’s a lot here worth paying attention to.
There's a tension every leader of a B2B service has to navigate: How do you scale without compromising the quality of your services - or the values that drive them? The CEO's Heart for Service is where accomplished B2B leaders share hard-won insights on walking that tightrope.
Matt Wolfe: Hi, everyone. Thanks for being here for our first ever episode of the CEO's Heart for Service, and we couldn't think of a better guest to have than one of our very own clients. I'm really pleased to welcome Rick Gerety from Gerety Insurance to share his story uh, of how they've navigated the tension between, between growth and delivery and exceptional service. And I'm also thrilled to introduce one of my teammates our director of Marketing Services, Tav Laskauskas. Hi Tav.
Tav Laskauskas: Hi, Matt. Hi Rick.
Matt Wolfe: Well, we're gonna dive right in.
Matt Wolfe: You know, we really think that trying to understand a leader's heart for service starts with getting to know them a little bit as a person outside the context of the business. What did you wanna be when you were growing up? know when you were a kid and how far off from that target are we now?
Rick Gerety: I don't think anybody that I know that's in the insurance business. Ever really planned on being the insurance business, with the exception of sons, daughters, of, of agency owners. But I kind of fell into it. I, was working for a company coming outta college and I was doing well.
They wanted to move me to Tulsa, Oklahoma. And then when I went home and told my wife that news, she wanted no parts of that. So, you know, we started looking around, what can we do, stay in the sales arena and, and be able to stay in this, this general area. And my brother-in-law was in the insurance business and introduced me to a an independent agent. So I'm not sure if that really answers your question 'cause I don't really know what I wanted to do when I was a youngster, but I ended up in the insurance business.
Matt Wolfe: Wow, You so as a kid you didn't have like, I wanna be a baseball player, or I'm gonna be a sheriff for, I don't know,
Rick Gerety: know, it's funny, I actually, I'll take that back. I went to school, I went to Penn State and I ended, I ended up getting a degree in marketing and a minor in horticulture.
Matt Wolfe: Oh.
Tav Laskauskas: That's awesome.
Rick Gerety: get into the wholesale nursery business, and when I got outta school, it involved having to move to California for one job running a crew for a landscaping company for another job.
And I said, you know what? me go get some sales experience and I'll come back and get into the nursery business. And it just never happened.
Matt Wolfe: I think we all take funny paths. I wanted to be an astronaut when I was little, and then I ended up doing music theater and now I'm doing marketing. So you just never know where you're
Rick Gerety: Hey all.
Tav Laskauskas: They do all sound fun. Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: there, isn't there?
Matt Wolfe: Tav, what'd you wanna ask Rick?
Tav Laskauskas: So you mentioned that your brother-in-law that introduced you to an independent. Broker, when you actually got into the business, did you have somebody who was a mentor or who really influenced the way that you thought about work and, and the business as you were getting started?
Rick Gerety: I worked for an independent agency for about about two and a half years and I kind of cut my teeth. I learned how to cold call and write insurance and do all those fun things. And then I got approached by a a manager at Nationwide. Insurance and they were offering an opportunity to start new nationwide agencies from scratch.
So I actually, I started in the business around 95 and then we ended up starting Scratch agency with Nationwide in 1998. So, and, and with Nationwide, they gave us a ton of training, really taught us how to, to run a business and how to write insurance. So their programs really got us off the ground with a good start.
Tav Laskauskas: Awesome. Did you have any other outside sources that like, were really motivating for you in that time that what kind of cheered you on? Or like reminded you like, yeah, I can do this. I really wanna keep going.
Rick Gerety: those first three years, when you start with zero policies, you have nowhere up to go but up. I had a manager that stayed on top of me and, the bottom line was, in my mind, failure was not an option. So I did whatever I had to do to succeed.
And that meant at the time it worked. We worked a lot of hours you know, a lot of 12 hour days back in those days. So, yeah, I don't think there was any one person in particular. I've had a couple managers along the way that have been more motivating than others, but you know, it's one of those businesses that you're kind of off on this island by yourself and it's, you need to learn how to reach out and ask for help.
you know, over the years I've been parts of other groups CEO groups that, you know, we get together and we share information. To say, Hey, what's working, what's not working? And those groups along the, over the years have really helped me stay motivated.
Matt Wolfe: Let's talk about Gerety just for a second. I'd love for you to just share with folks, I mean, we know it's insurance, but what is Gerety Insurance the way that you. What's unique about you, the way that you serve people today? We'd just love to hear a bit about that.
Rick Gerety: we've tried to set ourselves apart, by developing an internal culture within, within our team. And then even growing that to, you know, share that culture with, with our insureds. Like we, we, we, we have, we have some core values.
And I think those core values have helped everybody be on the same page, and, and really have the, the, I guess the motto of, you know, clients come first, we want to take care of our clients before we do anything else. And even says it on our, website.
It's po you know, people over policies is, is kind of our motto. And I think when you do that, when you put the client and people first, I think you'll always get referrals and you have happy customers.
Matt Wolfe: what are the core values?
Rick Gerety: about two and a half years ago decided to go on a journey it's called EOS, Entrepreneurial Operating System.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah.
Rick Gerety: And it was a big help for us to clarify what our core values were. Do we have the right people in the right seats? Who is our ideal client?
Who do we wanna be working with? And why do they wanna work with us? So at the time, and, we've developed these over the years, but we have five core values of proactive, being transparent relationship oriented, resourceful, and fun. And some people ask, why do we put fun on there? And I, you know, with insurance is, it's not. The most exciting business to be in. It gets a little mundane. So you need, you need for everybody's sake, for our clients and for our, our employees and team. You gotta throw some fun in there. Whether that means going to a baseball game, you know, in the summer or having crabs, or, just having lunch on Fridays, whatever it happens to be, we try to loosen it up so that we're not all, you know, get getting beat up with all insurance talk all the time.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, that's outstanding.
Matt Wolfe: What does that look like with your clients? How does that play out sometimes?
Rick Gerety: I hope it's something they notice. I think sometimes it's the little things that you do that, make a difference. And I'll give you an example. When you call Gerety Insurance, you always get a live person answering the phone. sounds so simple, but how many times have you called a any kind of provider, whether it be, Xfinity or Verizon or a major insurance carrier?
What's the first thing you do? Is you get a phone tree. You know, you spend two or three minutes trying to get to the right person and then you might not even get to the right person then, so. We've thought, you know what? We're gonna cut that out. We're gonna have a live person answer the phone.
If that person can't answer the question, it gets routed directly to someone who can. And I just think that this makes for a good, clean experience.
Tav Laskauskas: And I've definitely seen with some of the things that you guys have done on social media and the way that your existing client base interacts with you guys there. It's obvious that they appreciate the level of care that you guys offer them. They see the fun, they see the culture that you're and they appreciate it.
So, yeah, it's really lovely to see. I think you guys have been doing, having those core values for so much longer, but the fact that you identified them just really allows you to capitalize on it even more, which is great.
Rick Gerety: Absolute. And I gotta give some credit to Jennifer Canino. She's our, communications and marketing specialist. And, she does a great job with Facebook and Instagram and, and meta and, you know, all the platforms. And I think she just tries to get our name out and show us that, we're people too.
We're not just insurance agents.
Matt Wolfe: It is always exciting to see a business that has core values that they are living out and aren't just sitting on a piece of paper. You know, and I think it's because a lot of people haven't had that experience. If they've gotten maybe to the place of naming them but not found the way to actually live them, it's easy to take for granted how much they can impact. Client experience and even client selection. Like you said, we obsess over ideal client from the marketing and brand perspective, we talk a lot about how the values, connection to the ideal client of sharing those values is not just, it's not woo woo stuff. It's not ephemeral. It's actually something that's going to lead to greater productivity and efficiency and joy and better results on the other side.
Rick Gerety: I think it's a good idea to have an ideal client. for us, you know, there's people that share those core values that want that relationship, that want, you know, extra service. It's not like we charge for it, you're still getting the policy.
You know, it all comes for free. So if you can get somebody the policy and the protection they need add excellent service to it, I, I'm not sure what else more we could do for 'em.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: Let's dig in on that for a moment. What does it mean to you as a team to deliver except exceptional service? How do you define that? I.
Rick Gerety: Well, I, I think, you know, part of this feedback, we get very little negative feedback, and when we do, we address it immediately and, and figure out what the core issue is. You know, I, I, I think it's, I, I think it all comes down to, to, to living those core values. And, and it's something, you know, we, the teams meet weekly, Management meets quarterly to, to kind of go over the big picture. And I think we can continually drive those core values and, and, you know, the customer first, proposition. I, I think it just, you know, and then, and then when once you keep talking about it, you do start living it. So I think that's, you know, like you said, some people will write it down and, and then it's, it's done. We actually try to make it we do.
Matt Wolfe: someone asked me the other day how. How do You affect cultural change? And they were at, 'cause we talk about it from a story perspective. We help create a brand story that can help everyone understand the story. They are a part of the values. All those things are baked into that. But my answer was much like yours.
I just said, Hey, you just have to get people talking on a regular basis. Just talking actively about what this is and what it's going to be. It's, it is the simple things that seem to the needle.
Rick Gerety: You know what else Matt? It starts with the interview when you're hiring new employees. It starts with a conversation about the core values and. Do they live them now? Because it's not something that, you know, most of them can be learned, but I think, you know, it, it's, there's some of them are innate, you know, to, to be transparent, can't teach you that.
You just need to, you know, that we're gonna tell you whether it's good or bad news. We're gonna tell you and we're gonna help you if it's bad news, and we're gonna celebrate with you if it's good news.
Tav Laskauskas: So Rick, you've talked a lot about how the core values can have applied to the team and how that's really helping them be able to deliver that service. I wanna kind of flip that a little bit and focus on maybe some of your clients and any really great relationships that, that you or one of your team members has with a client.
But I just would love to hear a little bit more about. The relationship that you have with a, a great client and what makes it work for both of you.
Rick Gerety: I think it goes back to some of our best clients we've had, we've been in business for 28 years and some of those clients have been with us that that whole time. I have one particular commercial client that started with one guy in one truck. And they've grown over 25 years, you know, into 40 trucks and a hundred employees, and, it's just been exciting that we've been able to grow with them, that we've been able to give them the service that they need, you know, with that growth. It's just an ideal client in that they like the way we work, we like to work with them, you know, and when you have that situation and everybody works along well, it just, there's no issues.
Tav Laskauskas: And how awesome that you guys have kind of grown up together.
Rick Gerety: Yeah.
Tav Laskauskas: Yeah.
Rick Gerety: it is lot of fun to watch.
Tav Laskauskas: That's amazing.
Matt Wolfe: It's a true partnership. I think we've come to realize what a gift that is in terms of working with independent insurance brokerages like yourself. You know, that locality, that ability to have that relationship and that partnership and grow together is just a huge that you have
Rick Gerety: Well, and it's an interesting business that we're in because there's so many facets. There's so many ways to get insurance, whether it be over the phone or online, or through an independent agent or through an exclusive agent, and I can tell you that. Although I learned so much being an exclusive NA nationwide agent, they realized they couldn't be all things to all people.
And, and when we became independent, growth almost quadrupled it. Just because we, we know people, we've developed relationships, but we may not have had the right market or right price for certain people. Now we've got. 25 different companies usually a place for somebody that's competitive and it's kind of fun to have those abilities to be able to match those companies up with the right clients.
Matt Wolfe: Absolutely.
Tav Laskauskas: I love how you guys do that because it just, it goes back to that heart for service that we're talking about, right? You really care about what your customers need and how you can help them and finding them a solution that'll fit and you don't want them to be stuck with, well, this is the out of the box only option that you have.
You will go the extra mile and help them find what fits them and their specific needs.
Rick Gerety: Absolutely. And, and I tell you one thing that, that sticks out with that on the proactive side, you know, what does that mean? In the insurance market, we've, we've insurance world, we've been in a hard market for about the last three years. Hard market means rates are going up. Underwriting's getting tougher. it's getting harder to place risks. So we're finally coming outta that. But during that time, what happened, and especially on auto and homeowners insurance, of rates went up 30, 40, sometimes 50%. So one of the things that we do, we actually pull a list each week on what's renewing in the next two months.
and we have some guidelines on, you know, how much is it going up and what are the changes that are making, then we. Sort through that list and we proactively reach out to the people that are getting a larger increase than what would be expected. And we get a great, we get great feedback on that.
Most people are surprised that we're calling. What do you mean? Why do you wanna save us money? Because we want you as a long-term client. It's not just about the money. It's about you being our client, you being happy and makes us happy. So I think that proactive piece has really helped us excel with our reputation over the years. 'Cause I don't think it's something that all agencies do.
Tav Laskauskas: It's definitely not,
Matt Wolfe: That sounds amazing to me. I've only had unwelcome surprises when I see the bill
Tav Laskauskas: yes.
Matt Wolfe: to call in, and so that sounds really helpful.
Matt Wolfe: Well, this is giving us a great sense of, you know, who you are, who Gerety Insurance is as a business, and what I'd like to now is start to track back that 28 years of story. You know, we really started this podcast so that we could. Examine a real tension that people who care about service feel, how am I gonna grow, but also maintain the quality of my service and my client experience at the same time. It's just I, to us it feels like one of the hardest balancing acts for service-based businesses to figure out. So I'd love, so we're gonna spend a little time, you know, walking through your story and your journey with that theme in mind. But just to start, I'm curious if, if you were to tell the story of Gerety. Or could you just tell us a story, story of Gerety, those 28 years? Where, where do you see some of the big beats and change moments of growth along the way?
Those sort of, you know, fits and starts where Gerety becomes a new thing and then you march into a new phase and then there's another growth phase and so on.
Rick Gerety: You know, when I started it was literally me an admin and one other person that, that would make some phone calls for me. And as you write policies, as your business grows. I'd hire, hire additional people. And what our original setup was, was that everybody did sales and service.
So you had a client and if they called, you serviced them as well. And what happens and what I, what I, we found out this was probably 10 to 12 years ago, realized that you can't be all things to all people. That the workload becomes too much when you're working on selling and servicing. So one of the big. Changes for us. Like I said, it happened about 10 or 12 years ago. We ended up separating sales from service. So that the salespeople that what they truly do is go out and look for new business, develop relationships, and write the new policies, then we have ACEC a team in the background that, that when you do need changes. They're the people to call 'cause they, they know how to do it the best. Not to say that our, our salespeople aren't gonna help out and do some service along the way, but it is really, it, it has helped, efficiencies by separating out those two groups. So, and you know, the next thing and we've, we've, that's worked for the last, you know, like I said, 10 to 12 years. The big thing coming and everybody's talking about it, is ai, you know, how is AI gonna affect the marketing business, the insurance business? You know what, whatever it happens to be. And it's interesting because. For us, with us being hands on, we want to talk to, to our customers and to our people. How does ai, you know, do you just use AI in the background, you know, or do you use it upfront to direct calls? I, I, I, you know that those are the questions that are coming is how is AI gonna affect businesses and still be able to provide the great service, personal service that people want and expect.
Tav Laskauskas: Yeah, absolutely. And the, there is a thing too that I'm seeing a bit more. Which I predicted was gonna start happening last year, but I'm, I'm starting to see it happen even more this year, is there are people who are all about AI and they, they just want to embrace it all the way. But there's still a lot of people who did embrace it and are now like, I miss talking to a human.
Can I do that again?
So.
Rick Gerety: Five to 10 years, and I think it's gonna move fast. I think AI is gonna be a, a, a, I think it's gonna happen a lot faster than even, you know, the internet was taken up. So, it'll be interesting to see how we're able to balance the, the, the efficiencies of AI and the personal service that people want and expect.
Matt Wolfe: I think in our conversations we see it as a movement that's going to only increase the perceived value of human interaction. People are gonna want more human interaction especially in terms of guidance and that has to be prompted with good storytelling from our perspective.
There has to be a story told, like the one you were telling, where it's not about savings or cost as the primary thing in terms of insurance, but a partnership and a guide and a strategist who can really help you make sure you are getting the right thing who can really see your needs and get to know you.
And in your case, I know you're working with a lot of people who have commercial and personal coverage, right? They have a whole world of and concerns that they have to deal with that just either you won't be able to, maybe you will, or that you won't feel comfortable handing over to an ai.
There are moments when you're talking about, this is my family's future, future of my business, or, those things are really connected and I just need to talk to a person about that and feel like I've looked someone in the eye and found some assurance. But those things don't happen magically or automatically, so we have to be real intentional in the storytelling.
Rick Gerety: we've intentionally tried to grow our commercial. Side of the business over the last year or two, knowing that it is more complex that you do need more guidance, more help with, with, with safety measures on loss control. So. Our goal over, over the next 10 years is to kind of grow that piece even more because we, I, I think it, I think it'll, I think people will always have to be able to rely on a person for complex situations.
The more complex you get, the, the, the more you, the more help you need.
Matt Wolfe: I think we're gonna be in a world to some extent where, being able to say, I've, been in business 28 years, is gonna be even more valuable than it used to be. You know, there are some things you can't buy, you can't manufacture, and longevity and experience is one of them.
Matt Wolfe: Rick,
is there a moment that you remember looking around as you were trying to grow this company and thinking, oh my gosh, scaling this thing and taking good care of people is gonna be harder than we thought?
Rick Gerety: Yeah. I mean it, it's, so what do you need to grow? You need money. 'cause you need to be able to hire people and sometimes you can do it and sometimes you can't. And it's a matter of sometimes it's sacrificing your own, whether it be profits or, or time to grow a business.
I haven't figured out a way to grow without spending money and, and hiring new people. So I think that the, the bottom line is that you have to be, as a business owner, have to be willing to put money back into the business. know, whether it be for technology systems people, in order to, to continue to grow. And I think that's why some small businesses don't make it 'cause they just don't know how to, to handle that cash flow and, and figure things out.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, so at the end of the day it really did come down to being able to appropriately staff and have enough.
Rick Gerety: I think that's the key. I think it's all about people and it's about hiring good people.
Matt Wolfe: You know, going back to your core values that we talked about earlier, as you've gone along the way through the 28 years, I know they didn't always exist in a named form, but as you think about the journey, Which of them have been the hardest to maintain? I mean, to be consistent with.
Rick Gerety: I think to go back and review 'em, transparency, I think that's a given. I think you, you know, some people, when Brady increases happen, they'll go and hide and say, I don't know what happened. We're gonna come right out in front of you and say, look, this is what's happening.
This is how we're gonna help you.
you gotta be resourceful in order to. Be able to give people answers. I, I think being proactive is probably the hardest one to do on a consistent basis. Really, you're really anticipating what future problems people are gonna have and reaching out to them before they reach out to you.
So I think. Doing that on a consistent basis is not always the easiest task. But I think you have to make it a priority. And, and it, and I think it lets people know that they are important that, that, that they're not just a number you know, in a premium payment, that they're our customer. We know their name, we know their family. I think that's, that piece is important.
Matt Wolfe: We like to think about brand as something that can, because brand is really about telling the right story to the right people. It's about the story of the relationship between who you are as a business and who you serve. We think about that as something that reaches beyond marketing. So it impacts marketing, sales, and the client experience.
And those are some things I wanna examine with you next, how those areas have been impacted as you've grown. So when you think about. Marketing, first of all, how, how has your understanding of your uniqueness as a business of the unique value that you bring to the table in the way you serve people, how has that changed or evolved over those 28 years?
Rick Gerety: I think it really changed three or four years ago when I met with Orshine. And I think that she helped us develop. Our ideal client what message we wanted to send out to our prospects and customers, and really who we are as a company. when we designed the logo and the, and the, tagline partners for your protection. I really think she nailed it when she came up with that because we don't wanna be or Progressive where you're just calling an 800 number and doing transactions. We truly want to be your partner, and if you have a problem. You call us and we're there to answer questions.
I've showed up on claim situations, where I had a guy, a tree fell in this guy's house. He was devastated, didn't know what to do. And I was able to show up, the next day with a check in my hand saying, here, here's some money to, go get a hotel. Let's call some contractors and get the ball rolling.
I don't think you're gonna get that from, you're not gonna get that from an 800 number. partners for your protection means that we're here when you need us. And hopefully, we've got the plan set in place so that when something does happen, you're well protected and covered.
Tav Laskauskas: It sounds very much like you were already providing this fantastic service, but your brand didn't reflect that, or your marketing didn't always reflect that.
Rick Gerety: Absolutely.
Tav Laskauskas: And now that you have something as simple as three words partners for your protection, you're able to go out there and show people right off the bat exactly who you are and what you stand for and how you're gonna be the for them.
Rick Gerety: I agree a hundred percent.
Tav Laskauskas: When that happened for you guys, how was it received? Because I'm guessing that, you know, with your existing client base already knowing the level of service that you guys provide, already knowing firsthand that you are gonna be there for them, that you're gonna show up with a check and get them what they need to get through whatever.
Crisis or emergency they've been faced with. And when you had this updated story to go out in the marketing, how did they respond to it? Mm-hmm.
Rick Gerety: I think that the missing piece was the marketing aligning with the message, and now it does, and I think a couple things have happened the last two years, or last few years. We've got over 500. Five star Google reviews,
Tav Laskauskas: you have.
Rick Gerety: And I think more than any other insurance agent in Maryland, I believe.
Matt Wolfe: Oh wow.
Rick Gerety: So I think that feedback then we've also won the Best of Hartford Award for insurance agencies for the last two years. So I think our message is resonating. I do think people have an idea that Gerety means quality insurance and quality service. with that, you, you tend to get more referrals. When people are talking to insurance, hopefully our name does come up. because we truly do stand behind what we sell. And that's what we're gonna be here when you need us.
Matt Wolfe: A lot of great branding exercises are about capturing things that people have already been doing, and capturing the lessons they have been learning for many years, and as Tab said, they're just not being spoken about. They're just not being out there. And I think that's. One powerful takeaway is just you may be delivering service that's exceptional, but you have to find the way to tell that story in a way that people can, can hear and see and understand, and from different angles, right?
We, you have to say it, this is something that's important to us. And then you have to back it up with testimonials and outside proof and reviews, and a full picture of what that is so that people can step into that.
Rick Gerety: And it's not just me, it's my whole team who kind of embraces that, those values.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, it's amazing what The partners for your protection, what people might not understand. You mentioned Ori and she's she's my business partner here and one of the founders of Brand3. She ran strategy on your project that came out of hours of conversation about where you've been, where you're going, who you serve. But it's so interesting that when it's right, three words can catalyze an understanding of what you're about and be able to pass that on to the team As, well become like a rallying cry. For everyone.
Rick Gerety: as a shout out to Ori and Brand3, when we were looking at marketing firms, we did look at several, and typically what would happen is people would send me proposals to say, all right, we're gonna do this for this much money. And without asking me any questions, Ori came out, we sat down, like you said, Matt, for hours. Kind of, she was learning our business. We didn't even realize at the time. We have two ideal clients, one for personal lines, one for commercial, and they both need different strategies, so to speak. but yeah, the process that you guys go through with an organization like me, it isn't just about this is what we're gonna do, it's about learning the business. Helping figure out ideal clients. You know, what, how do we wanna approach those ideal clients and how do we get more of 'em? So, the process for brand theory, I, couldn't have asked for a better experience from my standpoint. And I think it's really helped us, you know, gel as a team between Brand3 and Gerety Insurance over the years.
I think we worked well as a team. And we actually look at you guys as an extension of our team.
Tav Laskauskas: I know we talk a lot about core values and how important it is for your staff to have them, for you to be able to share them with your clients, but we share a lot. it's just great that we were able to find each other and have this shared heart for providing amazing service. 'Cause that makes it a lot easier to work together.
Rick Gerety: Win-win.
Tav Laskauskas: Yeah.
Matt Wolfe: I know we're all grateful to have found this relationship.
Matt Wolfe: And so Mark You know, marketing helps create those introductions. But then of course we've gotta get to sales convert into a client. And I'm, I'm curious how. Your sales practices may have changed over the years as you've grown and, and in regards to trying to, again, you're still, even in sales, you're really delivering some of the first moments of great service right, of great care for people.
And so again, in that tension as you've grown, how, how has your sense of how you sell insurance changed and evolved?
Rick Gerety: For us. It's about solving problems. Of course you, you have to have a good rate, you have to be competitive. That's kind of a given. But what other problems are we solving or what other problems does the client currently have without us? And that's really what we're about.
We're about, solving issues. And being competitive. So, I think it just all comes back to putting the client first. We have a sales process that we use that we go through, know, again, one for personal lines and one for commercial lines, that sales process is a promise to them that these are the things that we're gonna do along the way. So they know exactly, at step one, we need to, we're gonna get together and talk about your business. Step two, we're gonna need to get loss runs. Step three, we present it to the company, and step four we come back and present it back to you. So, I think people to know that agencies and companies have a strategy or a process, and we pretty much have a process for everything these days.
And it all starts with that, the marketing piece, you know, what is it that we're trying to offer to people,
Matt Wolfe: I was going to ask, when did all of the processing begin, you know? the creation of processes? What was the wake up call where you realized, ugh, we, we've gotta get this down.
Rick Gerety: When we started the EOS process, one of their is having written processes. So, thankfully for my son, Sully, he, he's much better at it than I am. He, he was able to put those processes.
So for pretty much everything we do now, we've got a written process where, when we hire a new person, it makes it easier to say, all right, this is how we do it. But if you need to look at notes, here's, the process right here. So EOS really helped us to get everything from being scattered about to. Let's get it in front of us and let's, let's look at these and let's make sure that we're doing all the things that we're supposed to be doing.
Matt Wolfe: When you think about the client experience and how you deliver, That to people. How has that evolved over time, over the years?
Rick Gerety: You know, I don't know if it has actually changed over the years. The only thing I can think of is that like we have questionnaires that we try to standardize. So when people do call, they, everybody gets asked the same questions. But it's more, it's not just the process, it's about developing relationships. So I think one of the things that we've tried to do over the last year or two is not just be quote givers, but to, to really get to know our clients. Figure out their background, what their pain points are, and then, like I said before, try to solve whatever problems they have, so that we can be their solution.
Matt Wolfe: as you navigate this tension between growth and service. You know, we sort of look for advanced strategies and complicated answers sometimes, but oftentimes the most powerful answers are these simple things. And we've been talking today about things like, say the thing that you know you do and that you care about. Talk about your love of great service and caring for people, and don't just let it sit internally. you know, in the, in the client experience, build real relationships in the sales.
Take a minute to write down what everyone needs to do. You know, these are simple motions of saying a thing, writing down a thing, living in an awareness of what you're really building, which is not just a client but a relationship. But those living in an identity where you are a. Partner and not just an agent, but these are simple, powerful things, right?
That, move the needle it seems.
Rick Gerety: I think it's the little things you keep doing the little things right and the big things happen. Big things follow.
Matt Wolfe: See I, I think that's immensely encouraging to people. again, we look for some sort of big answer or, oh, I've gotta go hire EOS, or I've gotta invest all this money. But it is nice to be reminded the little things matter and can make a difference because we can all. We can do that, especially when we do it as a team and we help each other.
Right? So that's you know, I tend to be more of a creative person, so I've gotta have the people wrapped around me to help me have consistency discipline. That is not my gift, but I can wrap my people around me to hold me accountable, which is powerful.
Rick Gerety: and being a, a, a, a strategist and, and a creative person, that's the, that's the world you love. Sometimes it's not easy to, to manage people on top of that, you know what I mean? Everybody has the things that, their skill sets that they do well at. And as a business owner, you need to learn. I, I just don't know insurance. I know hr, you know, I know payroll, I know whatever it takes to run a business. The advertising marketing. As a business owner, you get spread thin sometimes and, and you've gotta figure out how to make all those pieces work together.
Matt Wolfe: I love that, Rick. I think. One of the most powerful reminders we could even take away today is if you're the leader trying to navigate the space, what can you do to stay in the zone of the things that you love? Because that's always gonna show, that's always gonna pop. Again, that's not woo woo ephemeral stuff.
That is about how will your business succeed? we live in a world now where in terms of business, there's so many fractional services out there, whether it's a fractional CFO, fractional marketing, like we are able to provide and, and be the outsource marketing team, hr, all those functions you just named, if that's not your jam.
It's not your passion place and you feel like you're falling down a well of despair when you have to do those things. There are doable, sustainable answers for people to surround themselves and build their team to move forward.
Matt Wolfe: So, alright, we get to wrap up with one fun thing here. We're gonna give it a shot. We just recognize that B2B services are highly relational, right? They're built on trust trying to create these long-term relationships we've been talking about. And so that means marketing's gonna have to offer something more than just information and expertise. We're gonna have to offer something human our marketing.
We're gonna invite people to get to know you just a little bit as a human. Nothing too personal, nothing too scary, but we call it our behind the brand questionnaire and we think it's fun and mostly painless if you are, if you're game for it.
Rick Gerety: Well, let's do it.
Matt Wolfe: let's do it. Tav, take it away.
Tav Laskauskas: Okay, so I frankly think this would be an amazing thing for your team to go and do. If y'all did a karaoke night, what would be your song that you would sing?
Rick Gerety: Wow.
Matt Wolfe: This can
Rick Gerety: I'm not sure.
Matt Wolfe: So it doesn't have to be that you think you can sing it, but you can also be that you wish you could sing it.
Rick Gerety: There's been an ad popping up on, on my Facebook lately for, I think Meatloaf. They're having a Broadway show of, of Bad Outta Hell. And for whatever reason, the Meatloaf songs have been repeating in my head the last few days.
So I'm just gonna say paradise by the Dashboard. Light by Meatloaf.
Tav Laskauskas: Excellent choice, I must say.
Matt Wolfe: Okay, Rick, next question.
Matt Wolfe: What is the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
Rick Gerety: I'd have to say, one of the things that's happened recently is I became a grandfather for the first time. So I have a little granddaughter, that arrived about two and a half weeks ago. And, you know, just looking at her, I, I just want to eat her up and just, I don't know, I just can't get enough of her. May not answer your question exactly, but that's the highlight of my, my uh, right now is being able to go see that, that little baby. 'cause she's just so precious.
Tav Laskauskas: I think that should count.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah,
Tav Laskauskas: if you're laughing out loud, the idea is that you've got a lot of joy and it sounds like she's bringing you a lot of joy right now.
Rick Gerety: I can just look at a picture of her. She brings a smile to my face.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, well it,
Tav Laskauskas: amazing.
Matt Wolfe: tiny babies make hilarious faces sometimes.
Tav Laskauskas: They really do.
Matt Wolfe: why does that baby look like a 40-year-old person thinking about life all of a sudden, or was that a fart? You know, we just don't know
Tav Laskauskas: Yes. Could be anything.
Matt Wolfe: All right. T.
Tav Laskauskas: I know you work a lot, but sometimes you need to get away. So what's your favorite way to kind of take a break? Give yourself some time. Is it traveling? What? What do you
Rick Gerety: I
Tav Laskauskas: like to do?
Rick Gerety: two things that I enjoy the most. I would I'd either say, traveling or, or golf. I'm, I'm a big golfer. I usually golf in the summer, you know, once or twice a week. and last year I was really fortunate. I got to attend five different PGA, golf tournaments including the Ryder Cup the British Open. So it was great. year for me, everybody enjoyed and I got to go do them with different people. So I did it with my son, one thing with my wife, another one with the whole family on another one. So it was really it was a great year of, of, of golf and golf tournaments.
Matt Wolfe: Next question is, What smell? reminds you of a specific place or time?
Rick Gerety: What smell? I'm gonna have to go with like the, the smell of pine and, and pine trees at, at Christmas time. Maybe it's 'cause my wife burns candles that smell like that. yeah, I would say candles.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah, I love that to have.
Tav Laskauskas: what's one day in your life that you would like to relive?
Rick Gerety: I think there's two days that really stick out the most in my head, and I would say it was the day I got married and the day I had my first baby.
Matt Wolfe: Yeah.
Rick Gerety: I was fortunate enough to be there when when Sully was born and for those who've not gone through it, it's just a true miracle when you see a birth happen.
It's just something I will never, I'll never forget. It's just a true miracle of life.
Matt Wolfe: That's wonderful. What three words your loved ones use to describe you?
Rick Gerety: I don't know if I can say it on, on out loud. PITA, that's four words. I would say, that's a great question. You know, that's something you don't ever really think about. I, I would hope what they would say is reliable good natured and, I don't know, semi-intelligent. Not
Tav Laskauskas: Am I?
Matt Wolfe: Yeah. All right, Tav, bring her home.
Tav Laskauskas: Alright, so what would it mean to you to have truly succeeded in your work? Not for the company, but for you?
Rick Gerety: I feel like we've had some successes so far. Some of the accomplish accomplishments that we've made, I'm very proud of. we are a, a family business, you know, over the next few years, I'm gonna think about retirement. Being able to transfer, the business to my son, I think is something that's really special to me. to be able to have that ability and, to do it in a way that we can continue to the upward trajectory of the business. It's not all about the money. It's about having happy employees, happy customers. I think when everybody's happy around you, you end up being happy yourself.
Matt Wolfe: That's a great thought. To wrap things up on Rick, just the last thing if people wanna talk to you about insurance coverage, what's the best way to reach you and kick off that conversation?
Rick Gerety: Absolutely. I mean, we have a website, geretyinsurance.com. That's G-E-R-E-T-Y insurance spelled out.com And my email anybody's welcome to to email me directly at [email protected].
Matt Wolfe: are there geographic limitations to where you can help folks
Rick Gerety: We're pretty much Mid-Atlantic so Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, dc, Pennsylvania. We dip down a little bit into the Carolinas. So I would say East Coast, we just don't have the carriers to be able to write stuff outside of that area right now.
Matt Wolfe: Rick. Thank you so much for your time today for all the insights you shared. We just really appreciate it. My name is Matt Wolfe. This has also been Tav Laskauskas for the CEO's heart for Service, hosted by Brand3, and we will see you all again soon.
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