Expanded value-added services keys growth

Rough Notes, Jul 2002 by Pillsbury, Dennis

MARKETING AGENCY OF THE MONTH

Cross-selling provides competitive edge for Chicago-area agency

As it enters its 35th year, T.J. Adams Group, LLC, is a transformed agency. From its beginning as a specialist for the construction industry, the agency has developed into a full-service firm that writes all coverages. Today, it celebrates its 35th anniversary with $17 million in revenue and 130 employees in six locations in the Chicago area-the headquarters in Lombard, two branch offices in Oak Brook, a branch in Bannockburn, and two in Palatine-and, in addition to offering all lines of commercial property/casualty business, also provides employee benefits, human resources consulting, safety and loss control consulting, high-end personal lines, and the ability to provide all of this on a global basis, thanks to its membership in Assurex Global.

The agency started life in 1967 as Cory & Adams, Inc., after its founders-Theodore J. Adams (who currently is chairman emeritus) and Daniel Cory. It was located on LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. Steady growth and an expanding staff necessitated a move to the Oak Brook Commerce Plaza Complex in 1972, where it remained (moving once to a larger space in the complex) until 2001, when the agency moved to its present location to take advantage of an availability that "gave us everything we needed for going forward," says Kent A. Nelson, president and CEO. "We were able to sublease a beautifully furnished, 20,000 square foot location with category 5 wiring. And our news release about the move was picked up as a front-page story in the business section of a DuPage county newspaper announcing: `Major Broker Moves to Lombard: And to make it even better, the paper made a mistake, quoting our premium volume as $14 billion (the total for all of Assurex) and had to do a follow-up story. We got a number of calls from people because of the story."

At the end of 1998, T.J. Adams & Associates, Inc. (the new name adopted in 1982 following a change in ownership), boasted revenues of $7.9 million, principally coming from commercial property/casualty business. The agency had branched out from its construction specialty in the '80s, but remained very much a traditional property/casualty broker. It had 75 employees. T.J. Adams' chairman, Richard Miller, notes: "The board of directors wanted to bring the agency to the next level and began looking around for someone to lead that effort. Kent, who had more than 20 years of experience and held leadership positions with a number of top brokers, was known by several of the board members from his time as area president for Arthur J. Gallagher. We decided to offer him the leadership of T.J. Adams."

"They promised me a politics-free environment," Kent remembers. Kent was with a large international broker at the time. "It sounded like an interesting change and challenge, so I decided to take the job." (Kent admits that "politics was less of a concern at a smaller broker, but certainly not completely absent.")

Kent immediately placed his mark on the agency by enhancing its ability to write multi-state and international accounts through gaining membership in Assurex, by boosting its internal and external communications efforts, and by increasing the value-added services and cross-selling opportunities so that, today, he's proud to say: "We don't have to walk away from anything."

Expanding value

One of Kent's first efforts involved getting T.J. Adams into Assurex. Fortunately, the agency in Illinois that was a member was purchased by a larger firm, leaving an opening for another agency. "I lobbied hard for membership and we were eventually successful. The membership lets us provide our clients with risk management anywhere in the world and guarantees that our clients will be treated in the same professional way that has been the hallmark of our agency," Kent points out. "When the agency started out in 1967, the motto was: `No one works for Cory & Adams; everyone in the organization works for the client.' That remains our philosophy today."

He continues: "Assurex gives us the best of all worlds. We have an international network, but without the politics that you have inside an international brokerage. And each Assurex Partner will respond within 24 hours. That's part of the membership responsibility and everyone takes that seriously."

At the same time, Kent worked on improving communications internally and externally and also started an ongoing effort to enhance the valueadded services T.J. Adams was able to provide to clients.

"One of the smartest things I did was to hire Christine Farmer to improve our communications," says Kent. "I had worked with Chris before. We brought her in on a consulting basis at first and then added her to the staff as our fulltime communications manager. We want a lot of attention and we've gotten it because of Chris. We make the news."

He continues that in today's hard market, "visibility certainly doesn't hurt. People are getting hurt by the marketplace and are looking around. They remember our name and we have an opportunity."