Steve Faulkner, CEBS

When a good salesperson or strategic account manager gives notice, everything is suddenly at risk; sales targets, client relationships, and team morale. 

Leaders in employee benefits know this pain all too well. A vacancy in a revenue-generating or client-facing role doesn’t just sit quietly on the org chart, it creates ripple effects that cost time, money, and trust. 

Posting jobs and hoping for results isn’t enough. You need proven talent, and you need it fast.
That’s where I come in. 

I help employee benefits firms: insurance companies, consultants, TPAs, GAs, Captives, BenAdmin Platforms, Point Solution companies, etc., protect revenue and client relationships by quickly filling critical sales, service, and leadership roles. 

I don’t “post and pray.” Instead, I activate over two decades of relationships across the benefits industry to reach a hidden pool of passive candidates. These are the people who return my calls because they know me.

Why trust me? I’ve sat in your seat. Before becoming a recruiter, I worked as both a producer and as an insurance carrier sales rep. These experiences provide me with insight and empathy into some of the core roles that drive the benefits industry ecosystem. 

We’ve made hundreds of placements, so we have experience with candidate nerves, changes of heart, counteroffers, guarantee structures, and a variety of other situations that can hinder your recruitment efforts. We use these experiences to help you navigate the challenges and ultimately recruit the candidate you want.  

When should you call me?

When you lose a key salesperson or strategic service person and can’t afford revenue or client disruption.
When you’ve posted jobs, tapped your network, and still can’t find the right people.
When you need access to the hidden pool of passive candidates.
When your internal recruiting team is stretched too thin to dedicate the time this search deserves.

The cost of a bad hire is brutal—often 10x the salary once you factor in training, lost productivity, morale, and client impact. I help you avoid that outcome by delivering the right fit, quickly.

If you need proven performers who can hit the ground running, DM me here to schedule a complimentary 15-minute conversation to talk about your specific situation. 

Even if you don’t want to use an outside recruiter, I can still be a sounding board, share ideas, or show you how to get the most value from your inside talent team.

Steve Faulkner, CEBS
President, Spencer James Group
Mobile: 303-995-3444
steve@spencerjamesgroup.com

Founder & Chief Recruiter

The Spencer James Group is a boutique search firm that recruits Employee Benefits and Property & Casualty professionals across the US.

We have significant reach and access to thousands of Account Executives, Account Managers, Unit Managers/Team Leads, Practice Leaders, Sales Reps, Managers, Directors and VP’s at: 
* Carriers selling any of the following:  stop loss, medical, dental, life and LTD, vision, etc. 
* GA's, TPA's
* Benefits technology, telemedicine, DPC, RBP, cost containment, wellness companies
* Employee Benefits Advisors
* Property & Casualty Producers

Our network is unique
* Our hand-maintained database consists of over 30,000 benefits professionals nationwide.
* We have spent time building immediate access to thousands of candidates that can’t be reached 
   through traditional methods.
* We are the only employee benefits firm to provide the ancillary marketplace with our ever-popular 
   ancillary group rep annual compensation survey.

To see how we can help you as a Candidate, Client or Consultant, you can contact me at: steve@spencerjamesgroup.com 
Phone: 303-995-3444 
www.spencerjamesgroup.com

Nobody wants to work anymore!

It’s a common refrain. But maybe it’s not that they don't want to work, it's that they just don’t want to work like you did. 

And honestly… maybe you’re a little envious. Why didn’t you travel, take breaks, or vacations when you were younger? The work was always going to be there!

I remember when Gen X was called lazy. We were the “slackers.” Every generation gets picked on. But let’s be real, this one feels different. 

Gen Z isn’t lazy. They’re smart. They’ve figured out that life is short and time is precious. Buying a house looks out of reach, and being a slave to a mortgage doesn’t look that fun anyway, so they travel, and they take breaks before burnout hits. They want balance and meaning, not just milestones.

And while we’re busy calling them entitled, they’re quietly mastering digital tools, producing more in less time, and refusing to play outdated games like “come in earlier and stay later than the boss.”

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I see some companies that aren't investing in developing fresh talent. They want someone ‘already trained’ and ‘ready to go.’

So, who’s really being lazy here?

The Gen Z professional optimizing work and life? Or the company that won’t invest in building its next generation of leaders?

If you’re serious about the future of your organization, stop blaming Gen Z. Start mentoring them. Train them. Invest in them.

Because the smartest companies, like the smartest workers, are already doing just that.

I partner with Employee Benefits companies to recruit top sales, service, and leadership talent.

Think about it: your top producers bring in millions, yet they spend hours wading through email, making travel arrangements, or triaging service issues. That’s not efficiency, that’s expensive multitasking.

If companies truly want growth, they need to protect their people’s time. Bring back the administrative assistant. Hire support that frees leaders to focus on closing deals, nurturing clients, and driving strategy…the work that actually moves the needle.

A $60K assistant could unlock $600K in productivity. Sometimes, the smartest way forward is a little retro.

Your next superstar isn’t scrolling job boards.
They’re not refreshing LinkedIn or updating their résumé.
They’re too busy adding tremendous value where they already are.

That’s why the best hires rarely come from job ads.

The truth is, passive candidates (the high performers quietly succeeding in their current roles) aren’t out there applying. They’re heads down, focused, and often content… until the right opportunity comes along.
That’s where we come in.

At our firm, we partner with Employee Benefits companies to recruit top sales, service, and leadership talent…

The kind of people who don’t respond to “We’re hiring!” posts. 

Because we’re in conversation with them year-round, they know our name, they trust our process, and they’re far more likely to return our call than a recruiter they’ve never heard of.

This is how we access that hidden pool of proven performers. The ones who won’t answer just any email or job posting, BUT will take a call from someone they already respect.

So if you’ve posted the job, reached out to your network, and still haven’t found that right-fit candidate, it’s not you… it’s the strategy.

You’ve got goals to hit and a team to build. Let us help you find the people who can help you do both.

📞Call me at 303-995-3444 or DM me. Let’s talk about what’s happening with your hiring right now and how we can help you reach the talent no one else can.

If you wait until after Q4 to hire, you’ll be months behind on next year’s goal.

 "Q4 is too busy, top performers are focused on year-end numbers, everyone's waiting for spring bonuses."

Here's the problem with that thinking: there's never a perfect time.

Insurance companies are brilliant at creating golden handcuffs; there's always another carrot dangling just a few months away.

But when the right opportunity meets the right irritation, timing becomes irrelevant.

Maybe your ideal candidate has a boss who is affecting their quality of life. Or, the territory they were promised has not been realized.  Perhaps they want to move back home to take care of aging parents, or be near parents now that they have a new child.  Or, maybe your opportunity is just better than the one they’re in, and they’re willing to leave a little money on the table for the pot of gold down the road. 

There are many unique circumstances that can be uncovered in a conversation. 

Yes, Q4 hiring takes more work. More calls, more emails, more conversations to find that one person who's ready to move. But that's exactly what we do, so you don't have to.

While your competitors wait for "perfect timing," you could be onboarding the game-changer your team needs.

If you need to add to your insurance team, don’t wait. Reach out today at steve@spencerjamesgroup.com and move before the window closes.

Here’s a quick tip: delete the “Key Strengths”, “Skills & Abilities”, “Core Competencies”, and “Areas of Expertise” sections from your resume. It’s not helping you stand out.  

Candidates claim they are “motivated,” “collaborative,” “results-oriented”, “effective communicator”, or “skilled negotiator”.

Hiring managers have seen those words a thousand times. From the slugs as often as the studs!  You saying it doesn’t make it true. 

What they haven’t seen are your real numbers, outcomes, and wins. Let them derive their own adjectives about you from seeing what you’ve accomplished. 

Show how you made an impact. Cite the sales goals hit, the President’s Clubs achieved, the time saved, the revenue doubled, and the retention improved. That’s what proves your value.

Skip the fluff and lead with facts. Because results don’t need adjectives…they speak for themselves.

If you’d like me to review your resume, DM me or email steve@spencerjamesgroup.com.

taplio

Steve Faulkner, CEBS's Linkedin Analytics