In this socially-distanced episode we bring you the wisdom and (dry) wit of Bret Brummitt. Here's a bit of what you'll get...

• What will clients want / need during Coronavirus, & how might that change afterwards.
• Why his company requires every client includes an Advocacy service.
• THE craziest client story I’ve heard (so far) – the naked prospect!

Who’s the Guest?

Bret Brummitt is a benefits consultant and the Founder of Generous Benefits.
I first met Bret shortly after I moved to DFW in 2004, when he worked at AG Insurance Agencies. In 2019 he founded a consulting agency: Generous Benefits. Bret is a long-time member of NAHU (the National Association of Health Underwriters), and has earned the highest level of sales recognition, the Soaring Eagle level of the Leading Producers Round Table (LPRT).

Years ago he picked up a video camera and was one of the first brokers to start recording videos of client testimonial stories, carrier interviews, etc. – and sharing them online. As a result, it wasn’t a surprise in 2018 when he earned Employee Benefit Adviser’s Technology Adviser of the Year Award. That same year he was a finalist for BenefitsPRO’s Broker of the Year Award (check out his picture in the article – bow tie & all). 

The Setting 

Bret can dress up well, when it’s called for. But his preferred mode is casual. Add to that the fact that he was getting under the hood of his 1970 Opel to get it running for this outing - and we got a very “authentic” Bret for this interview. We both live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, so we picked a spot near a lake in Coppell, TX. It was a month into COVID-19, so we had to change it up from being inside a moving car. We were going to do the interview outside, but it was a windy spring day, so we decided to film with each of us inside our cars… parked next to each other. I think it worked out very well.

The Episode

Brokers are smart and they have a lot to say. My favorite comedian inspired me to capture broker insights in a fun way to share with you. With that, we created Brokers In Cars Getting Coffee. Sometimes we’re in cars. Most of the time there’ll be coffee. But we always have great insights about the employee benefits industry!

The Cutting Room Floor

What wisdom was (sadly) left on the cutting room floor? I couldn't leave them there...

On promoting telehealth, behavioral telehealth, & other specialties…
Bret was an early promoter of various versions of virtual health. He started installing standard primary care telehealth, and even before COVID-19 he was guiding clients to have various versions of specialist visits remotely. 
His comments on Behavioral Telehealth were that he has seen it slowly growing over the past couple years. But “shelter-in-place” rules have skyrocketed the need and the awareness. We discussed the huge need for all the people who previously received therapy in person, and also the uptick due to increased stress / anxiety. We agreed it’ll be interesting after so many years promoting it, to bring the walls down quickly at this time.

On almost going into the ministry… 
Bret got a Psychology degree and was planning to attend seminary and be a youth pastor. But he abandoned that and started selling for Mutual of Omaha. He transitioned to the broker side of the business, which became his (Earthly) passion. With this background, it’s no surprise to learn that Bret consumes a wide variety of content – books, podcasts & articles on psychology, theology, medical crime, ethics, Direct Primary Care, business trends, entrepreneurship…

On car tinkering…
Anyone who still owns a 1970 car is likely a tinkerer. Bret has owned many different Opels over the years and loves to tear them apart & give them love (for a fun conversation with Bret’s wife, ask her about that). We had more footage of how much it took him to get it running. And that even though we met in his part of town “the car hasn’t driven this far in 10 years.”
Plus, every customization carries a story of its own, including: “The odometer says I’m doing 70. I’m probably doing 45. With any old car, you forget the various things you haven’t done until you get on a drive like this.” But with Bret, it sounded like a good thing… I think he was excited to have one more thing to tinker with.

What are your favorite ideas from the interview? Who else you think I should interview? Email me at reid@freshbenies.com.