SPEAKER_00 0:00

How can I better support you? And how when I'm speaking to a client, can I think, hmm, I'm going to send a referral to Connie or hmm, I'm going to send a referral to Joe.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

All right, welcome to another episode of Connections That Matter, where we tell the stories of Northern Colorado's best networkers and the connections they make that make their business successful. And today I have Amber Sig on the show. Amber is one of Northern Colorado's best networkers. You've been doing it as long as I can remember. And no, for those who haven't met you yet, tell us a little bit about what you do.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

So I am in insurance. I uh do Medicare. And then I also do uh IUL, which is um Universal Index Life. And also uh I do annuities so people can roll over their 401ks, things of that nature into a tax-free setup for their retirement.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

So and it's a more recent transition, like OP Complete has had a couple of different uh things that you do in a serial entrepreneur. So um share, I guess, how how we got to where we are today.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

So uh for 26 years, I owned a real estate firm uh and I still technically own that. I'm kind of phased out my agents are great on their own, and I personally have stopped selling um and on-point uh insurance solutions kind of phased uh into my life out of that. Um wanted to still serve my clients, do things in that capacity, but uh due to health and other things that have happened to me in the last five years, needed to kind of phase out of real estate and and being on call kind of that 24-7 feel in my life and uh get kind of more structure into my hours and into my days, but still allow me to be that entrepreneur and serve my clients and uh give them that care and and that service that I like and enjoy giving to them. So this kind of was a natural transition for me from that to that.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

Well, I think that's that's really relatable as far as the harmony with your business because as entrepreneurs, we we we we have a we live a whole life that go way beyond just our jobs, right? And uh sometimes we we do what's a passion turns into a business, but then it takes away from why we're doing it. And um, really right sizing what that looks like for you, I think it is a powerful journey. And how did you come a part of like what feels right as a way to work your business, grow your business, um, promote your business?

SPEAKER_00 2:51

You know, um, well, like I say, God has a wicked sense of humor sometimes. So we have kids on the opposite end of the spectrum right now, and well, they always will be on the opposite end of the spectrum, I guess. Um, so we have a daughter who's about to go to Colorado School of mine. She just graduated in May, and we have a son who is about to start pre-kindergarten. So um, so this is really a second career for me. Um, we needed something in our lives that kind of brought more balance of the hours and and the day. And I needed something health-wise. Um, when I had my son, I had a lot of health complications. Um, and that really made a huge shift in my life and and kind of uh woke me up and said, Hey, you you've got to get more control over your day and and control your life a little bit more and bring that so-called balance to your day and to your life. And so it was a hard transition for me at first, I'll be honest. Like I loved my clients in real estate, and um, it was a hard thing to let go when you've worked on that and built that for 26 years. But um, kind of finding my path and my way into this um was a little bit of a detour, so to speak. Um, but uh once I landed where I was meant to be, um it was just very natural and very um something that brought me passion again and something I'm very passionate about and it allows me to serve my clients very much in the in a natural and same fashion that I did in real estate. And and so this feels right and feels like very much like the second career I'm meant to have with my clients, and and they really align with each other. Um the knowledge and the and the care that you give to your clients is is very much the same. So um and it allows honestly more flexibility in my day for my family, which is very important.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

So you mentioned your family, uh, I think we learn a lot from uh our kids, like we try to teach our kids a lot, but uh, we just did a one-to-one, and you shared something that your son shared with you that I thought was really profound, and I've been thinking about it ever since. So, not to give it away, but uh, you know, unpack uh your son's analogy with Minecraft.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

You know, he is such a stinker, he is a ball of energy, and he is always thinking, um, he thinks about five steps ahead of, well, us even sometimes. And my daughter introduced him to Minecraft and he loves to build and he's very creative. And um he asked me the other night when we were sitting down and getting ready for bed, if we as adults and kids and everyone else here in the world live in creative mode or survival mode. I kind of laughed for a minute and I said, Well, buddy, that is a great question. Um and I started thinking after he asked me that and he was falling asleep. And to be honest, in my own life for the last several years with all the complications I had after him, I very much felt like I was living in survival mode. And creative mode kind of went out the door. And I think we all kind of feel like that sometimes in our business, in our lives. Um, we get very much wrapped up in survival mode, trying to pay those bills and trying to keep our businesses going and trying to make sure the day-to-day grind is being met. And especially as adults, I think when we're little kids, we think, oh, I can't wait till I grow up so I can do what I want and I can go to bed when I want and I can control my day in my life, and it doesn't really work like that. Um, you know, and so we kind of get lost in that survival mode, even in the day-to-day grind. And, you know, I think we've lost a bit of our so-called creative mode, just living life, and so out of the mouth of babes, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:10

Yeah. Well, now I started thinking about like where in my life am I living in creative mode? And uh, where in my life am I living in survival mode? Um, and it really, really brings you present. We had a previous guest who talked about the the whirlwind and the force field, um, and you know, getting out of that. Um when business owners start, I think it starts in creative mode. I have a vision of what I can do. Um, but then as you get into it, it it it's the loss of the creative mode into the survival mode and uh wanting to get that back. Um how do you get it back? How do you how do you get more time in creative mode and less time in survival mode?

SPEAKER_00 7:48

You know, I I very much have, and I've been told this many times before, I very much need that balance in my day of being creative and legal-minded, I guess. And and even in real estate, when uh we hit that I've been through two recessions in real estate. I almost had to learn the creative side because I couldn't afford to hire people. Um, so I learned how to do my marketing and my website and all those things. And at first it was a huge burden, but later I learned that this is an outlet for me. Um, and meeting with people and and doing client, you know, get-togethers and parties and events was very creative for me. Even just daily, if you take 10-15 minutes and just handwrite a note to a client, whether you see it or not, that's creative because you get to connect with that person and just say hello and uh think about that mindfulness of the relationship that you have with them. And believe it or not, uh for a lot of us that is creative, even if we don't see that, you know, and so having that moment of of just sharing that relationship with them through just a simple note and and don't email it, handwrite it, mail it out, do that connection with them because we're all tired of getting bills in the mail, right? We we would love that one-on-one connection, and and that in itself has become creative because people don't do that anymore, you know, and so I've kind of scaled back in a way to some old school things that we've lost touch with, you know. While the the digital era is fantastic and I love it, um just getting back to some simple things, but popping by the house once in a while and just giving that client, you know, just a little hello and something. That's where I do use social media with some of my clients, you know. Um if it's an older couple that I'm working with and I see that they're going into retirement, I'll pop by with a little hello retirement package. And you know, if it's a younger client I'm dealing with, and you know, and I've worked with them prior because they got married and they they did a universal life package or something of that nature, and they're about to have a baby, I'll just drop off a little something for the baby. You know, that's where you can use some of those connections social-wise to be creative and design something to just drop off. It doesn't have to be super expensive, it's just showing that you care, you know. And so those are ways within my business that I'm being more creative.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Well, it goes beyond just the CRM telling you to do something, it's actually making a genuine connection. Um and a little thing like a handwritten note or a pop by or a you know a thoughtful um I was thinking of you, uh it goes a long way. It does. Uh it probably there's why that what that part that's in you translates to why you're such a successful networker. Um, you've seen the good groups, the bad groups, you've seen uh all sorts of different networking. But if somebody's just trying to get into networking in the northern Colorado scene, what do you what would what tips or advice would you give them?

SPEAKER_00 11:21

You know, you get out of it what you put into it. So you can't just sign up and show up and do the bare minimum and expect to get, you know, tenfold back out of it what you put into it. You have to show up, you have to make the meetings, you have to sit down and make those connections. And and the people who would fit into your sphere and and be those so-called power partners for you. You can't just say, oh, I'm gonna call you, or oh, let's have coffee, or oh, I'm gonna send you a referral. You need to sit down with them on a regular basis and try to come up with a plan together of how can we truly collaborate? How can we truly support one another? How can we refer to one another? How can we boost each other's business? And what can I do to support you? Because that is the whole entire purpose of having these network groups. You're not handing each other your CRM list. Your clients wouldn't appreciate that. I wouldn't want that done to me. What you're doing is you're saying, how can I better support you? And how when I'm speaking to a client, can I think, hmm, I'm gonna send a referral to Connie, or hmm, I'm gonna send a referral to Joe. These happen to be two of my power partners that I can refer to. Um, you know, that's how you use these networking groups to your benefit. You can't do these pop-in networking groups, or you can't sit down um in these monthly meetings and say, Oh, I showed up for the month, I'm not getting anything out of this. It's not really working for me. I don't know why I did this and expect to get anything back out of it. You have to put in the effort, you have to show them that you care. You have to show that, you know, you want to be an asset to them just as much as you want them to be an asset to you.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Well, I think standing out or willing to like relationships take time. So you talk about these power partners that you have. Um, it's not just somebody you randomly chose in a networking group, it's something that you've developed into something that's truly magical. Um, share what you do to develop those and what does maintaining a successful power partnership look and feel like?

SPEAKER_00 13:46

You know, just like you do with your own business, where, you know, I set weekly, monthly, you know, quarterly goals for myself. And I almost work that backwards where this is my annual goal, this is my quarterly goal, this is my monthly goal, weekly goal. You know, you need to do that with your power partners essentially. Like this is what we want to accomplish together. This is how often we want to get together, you know, for coffee. It doesn't have to be an expensive get together.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

You can even do it over Zoom, but I don't find that that's as effective. You know, get together, sit down and have coffee, do it consistently. You know, don't say, oh, we're gonna get together, let's do that next week. Set the dates, set the times, do it consistently. You know, if the weather's not cooperating in in the winter time, then use Zoom as your backup. Have the goals set amongst your power partners, hold each other accountable, know what you were supposed to do for your part of it, and make sure that you're meeting those goals. And like I said, you're being held accountable. If you're not doing your part, you know, your power partners should call you out on that. And and that is how you're gonna get somewhere as power partners.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

Yeah. Well, I think that's, you know, for something like life insurance, where it's not like people are talking about well, I mean you know, I'm sure you do and and have talking, but uh in in casual conversation, um, you know, it it's a deeper level of conversation than what happened. So really developing those things to bring something like what you offer up um is an art and a science. So how do you how do you get people to send your referrals to advocate for you, to be in the right rooms where it really leads to true opportunities?

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yeah, I think for you know, life insurance is a great example. A lot of people think of life insurance and they think, oh, that's all about death, and it's a death benefit, and I don't want to think about dying, and I don't want to approach people about dying. Life insurance nowadays has so many facets to it. And really the way I approach it with people is this is a living benefit nowadays, especially in the ways that you can use it. This can be used towards your retirement. This can be used before retirement to help pay an unexpected expense, to help pay for children's expenses that pop up, to help pay for that unexpected hospital bill. You know, um, even if you want to reward yourself and take a trip because it's accumulating, you know, value against that living benefit alongside that death benefit. So, you know, people are using this nowadays to accumulate wealth, not just have it be a life policy. So when you have that power team and you're educating your power team, you know, they become a sales tool for you, they become your sales team. And so when you're an independent one single person or maybe a two-person team within your own business, if you have power partners or you have a networking group, all of a sudden you have 10, 12, 15 people in your group that know something about your business. But when you have a small power partner team, you have two or three other people that know your business very well, who are also selling something that are like products to yours, um, who are working with clients and people who um may need something that are along the lines of what you do, and can say, hey, you know, I have someone who I feel you may need to talk to. This is what they actually do. Would you mind if I passed along your information to them, did an introductory email, and had them reach out to you? And that's really the best way to do it because if you say, Oh, I gave this client your card, they should be calling you, you're never gonna hear from that person. You wanna say, Do you mind if I introduce you know, you to them, give them your information, have them reach out to you, do an introductory email, anything of that sort, because then that client is, you know, that client is serious, they've given permission for you to share information, and you can reach out to that client. Um, and that introductory email is just a really, really nice way to do it because then all three of you are involved in that communication, is there. So these are just some examples of the way that this works.

SPEAKER_02 18:35

Yeah. Well, I love I love the insight and um your your ability to truly connect and add value. Um, a lot of people are feeling like networking is elusive, like I'm doing all this effort, but I'm not getting a lot of results. But um, when you can build those authentic true connections, true relationships where people are generally advocating uh your business. You know, I was I'm doing a a series on timing and influence. If you give a referral and you say, hey, I'm gonna have my person reach out and they call you right away, it's almost like a magician. Like, you need a solution, you need this uh thing. I got somebody and they they reach out right away, makes you look really good.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

It does. And I always try to say, I'm gonna have my person reach out to you today or by tomorrow, because I don't necessarily know that person's exact schedule. Sure. Um, and I don't want to make the person I'm referring to look bad. Um and so when I'm doing that without the knowledge of their schedule, I'll say, you know, I will have them reach out to you by tomorrow. And then if that person is available to reach out to them that day, it looks really good. Yeah. So um, so I always say by tomorrow because you never know what that person's schedule is, and and usually they're still able to reach out that day.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Yeah. So what are your goals? What is, you know, you're you're working in alignment, you're working with like what feels right for your family and all these things, but uh where is this headed?

SPEAKER_00 20:02

You know, I would really like to uh just grow consistency within my business, really continue to serve my clients. I find um in this industry, uh both on on the life, you know, insurance-based products and and the Medicare side that a lot of clients feel like they've been sold on something and then they don't hear from their agent anymore or their you know, insurance consultant, broker, whatever you want to call them. Um I want that relationship to be there. I've always worked relationally and not transactionally. Um, because of that, I've I've been able to build a very strong referral-based business in real estate, and that is my goal to do on the insurance side as well. Um, I have that trust factor with my clients. My clients always know they can call me and speak to me about any questions, concerns, anything that they have. I am independent, and because of that, I am um contracted with multiple A plus rated companies. And and I chose to do that because I wanted the best products I could offer to my clients and what fit their life and their lifestyle. Um, and so um I really want that to be able to offer to them. That allows me to also, you know, take some freedom with my family as well through my evenings and weekends. And that's not something I've had for a very long time.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Sure. Well, how about your networking goals? What uh what power partnerships are you looking to develop? There might be something watching this episode right now that says, Hey, I would I would love to connect with Amber. So um, who are you looking to connect with? And um, who do you think could help you get to where you need to be?

SPEAKER_00 21:53

You know, um definitely other facets of insurance, you know, these are the three that I'm Focused on. And so I believe you need to hone in and be very good at what you do offer. Definitely financial planners, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, you know, would be great facets for me. I also want to help them in turn to serve serve their clients. You know, those are probably my big ones. Estate planners, um you know, attorneys of any kind really are nice. Unfortunately, people do have changes within their lives and need to kind of reevaluate that and focus on a different path and different avenue. So those are probably my top focuses right now of where I'd like to go. But that will expand once I get that established and going.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Well, if somebody is like maybe they heard from their agent when they sold it, but they haven't heard them from in a long time, or uh maybe they're 64 and a half and it's like, oh my gosh, I how do I sign up for this and they want to get a hold of you? Or a power partner or somebody wants to to take you out for coffee and and get to know and do a one-to-one. What's the best way to get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_00 23:14

You know, um, email's fantastic, of course. So um that's ASIG at the point or at opcomplete. Sorry, I almost did the website. ASIG at opcomplete.com. Um, and then my cell phone um is a great way to reach me right now as well. Um, better than the office, probably, um, which is 970-405-3473. Um, and the website's um under a big overhaul remodel, and I'm excited that's gonna get launched this week as well. And that's opcomplete.com. And I'm sure by the time this episode's coming out, this will that'll all be up and running.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

So yeah, no, we'll excited. We'll we'll link it all in the podcast description. Amber, thanks so much for coming on the show. I'm uh reevaluating my life of how much am I doing in creative mode and uh where am I surviving? And uh I think that's something that's something really profound and powerful. So tell your son uh that that changed my life.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Very excited to hear that he was mentioned Jameson was mentioned. Right on.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Shout out, Jameson. Yeah. Well, ever, thanks so much for coming on the show. Uh, and we'll see you around Northern Colorado. All right, sounds great. Thank you. Hey all, thanks for watching. I love networking and building relationships with other Northern Colorado business leaders. So if you want to come meet some of these podcast guests, meet me or meet some other amazing entrepreneurs in Northern Colorado, I would love to have you attend one of our next events. Uh, go in the podcast description. There's a way so you can see our upcoming schedule. And maybe you could be a future podcast guest as well. Thanks.