Houston, TX (PRWEB) July 31, 2011
Houston-based Barhorst Insurance Group (BIG) will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the first of its new “Distribution Sales Centers” (DSC) in Bedford, Texas. Hurst Euless Bedford (HEB) Chamber of Commerce ambassadors will be on hand to welcome BIG to the community, as will company CEO, Warren E. Barhorst and several other Nationwide Insurance team members.
A major milestone in the company’s growth strategy, the location will provide insurance and financial services to individuals, families and businesses in the Metroplex area.
Barhorst founded BIG in 1993 and, from the get-go, had his sights on growing the company and expanding beyond his initial location in the Houston suburb of Jersey Village. Initially a Nationwide Insurance agency with only two employees, BIG today is a captive hybrid agency representing more than 50 insurance carriers. The company boasts more than 100 employees in over 30 Texas locations, and is set to grow by 30% annually.
In late 2008, Barhorst and his team embarked on an aggressive plan to make $1 Billion in sales revenue by 2020. This strategic initiative gained endorsement from Nationwide Insurance and began a company-wide push to enhance the business structure and prepare for a new environment of significant growth. A core competency for BIG over the years, growing distribution has leveraged the sales processes and best practices and enabled entrepreneurs to win and develop their own businesses (known as Managing Agents or MAs).
But to expand beyond BIG’s current size, the approach to growing profitable distribution needed to evolve to support more rapid development. Creating a “distribution pilot” (DSC) was indeed the best method to ignite the plan and successfully set the path for the long term. Differing from MAs, DSCs will:
• Primarily be located in urban/larger markets
• Provide more control, consistency and manageability of the operations, market growth, and usage of tools and programs
• Be managed by a sales manager and have a team of producers and support to penetrate larger markets
• Focus on the consistent delivery of marketing, sales and relationship processes
• Be set up to maximize the ability to produce with the proper incentives to share in the success
• Allow locations to sustain beyond a few key producers and build ongoing market success
• Provide a defined career progression and structure that proves/evolves an individual’s sales and ownership competency
• Prepare agents, through a 24-month training program, toward owning their own agency
“I’m driven by this vision to create an extraordinary service experience for our customers,” says Barhorst. “Being able to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers demands providing them with a unique and personal experience. Our DSC model will strengthen the ability to build relationships and retain all customer types in an efficient and effective manner.”
The Bedford location is the first of three DSCs planned to penetrate the large Texas markets of Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. Phases 2 and 3 include transitioning the Houston market to a DSC model and moving outside the state of Texas.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the Bedford DSC on Tuesday, August 2 at 11:30am:
1600 Airport Freeway, Suite 403
Bedford, TX 76002
817.283.2600
The Barhorst Insurance Group (BIG) was founded in 1993 as a Nationwide Insurance agency and today is a captive hybrid agency representing more than 50 insurance carriers. In 18 years, the firm has grown to more than 100 employees and over 30 locations in Texas.
BIG has been ranked among the nation’s 5,000 fastest-growing companies by Inc. magazine in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Texas Monthly magazine has listed the firm as one of the best places to work in Texas since 2006. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Flood Insurance Program recognized BIG as the National Flood Agency of the Year in 2005 and 2007, with a Special Recognition Award for Flood Education and Marketing in 2008. The company has been listed three times since 2005 among the “Aggie 100,” the 100 fastest growing Aggie-owned or Aggie-led businesses in the world.
For his team's unique approach to insurance and financial services, Owner Warren Barhorst was honored as Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2008.
BIG provides a full range of insurance and financial services for families and businesses, including: auto, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life, farm, flood, commercial, Texas Workers Compensation, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services.
For more information, call 713.856.5533 or visit big-usa.com.
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