Timestamps:

0:01 Introduction: Where Communication Becomes Growth

1:08 Meet Maggie: 88 Years and Three Generations of Legacy

2:19 The Story Behind Bender Insurance

3:43 The Birth Announcement That Started It All

4:20 Why Maggie Almost Did Not Join the Family Business

5:03 What Makes Bender Insurance Unique

5:49 What Is an ESOP and How Does It Benefit Employees

6:48 How Maggie Decided ESOP Was the Right Move

8:00 How Do You Communicate a Major Organizational Change?

8:56 The Communication Style Challenges Every Leader Faces

9:36 Would ESOP Have Worked Without Strong Communications?

10:18 The Benefits of Building a Strong Communication Strategy

11:24 How Clients Responded to the ESOP Transition

12:17 How Communication Strategy Celebrates Your Team

13:30 What Happens When Leaders Do Not Prioritize Communications

14:18 Communication Fails and the Power of Saying Sorry

15:21 How Communications Has Enhanced Bender's Infrastructure

17:16 How Employee Ownership Transformed Hiring and Growth

18:04 Training Your Team to Talk About What Makes You Different

18:37 The Revenue Test Begins

19:07 What Became Clear Over Time: The Leader Sets the Tone

20:48 What Ended Up Mattering More Than Expected

21:37 Where Communication Made a Difference Nobody Expected

22:38 Honoring Your Father's Leadership Style While Finding Your Own

23:27 Advice for Leaders Navigating Imposter Syndrome

24:45 Growth Comes From...

25:08 Where Does Organizational Growth Really Come From?

25:48 Where to Find Maggie and Bender Insurance Solutions

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Welcome to Revenue Speaks, where communication becomes growth. I'm Sheila Johnston, founder and CEO of Luminari Partners. This show is produced in partnership with Page Design Group, where together we align strategy, brand, and digital to drive growth, revenue speaks explores how strategic communication aligns leadership and drives measurable revenue. Because communication is an overhead, it's infrastructure, and in the end, Revenue Speaks.

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Maggie Bender Johnson. Welcome to Revenue Speaks. Thank you, Sheila. I'm so honored to be here. When we were launching Revenue Speaks, you were on my top five list of people to interview. You are such a fixture of the community. Bender insurance has been around for three generations, and the purpose of this podcast is to get executive insights from people like you. So, I'd love to start off with you telling me what you do and what Bender Insurance Solutions is all about.

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Thank you. Our president and CEO, I've been with the company as an official employee for 21 years, but being over twice that in age, I worked for free for many years because it was founded by my grandpa 88 years ago, and then my dad joined him in the 70s, and then I joined in the early 2000s We are insurance and surety brokers. What really drives my passion these days is the fact that about eight years ago we became employee owned, and so rather than what I had before, which was a small group of shareholders, and working to drive value to them. Now I'm focused on driving value to 50 plus people and their families, and it's just a really great spot to be in.

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That is incredible. Congratulations to Bender Insurance for having you as their president and CEO, as well as for you to put your own legacy in a family business. Before we get into our questions regarding revenue speaks today, I'd love to learn a little bit more about the legacy of your father and your grandfather, and what their vision for Bender Insurance Solutions was when they first started and became part of the history of your company.

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I did not get a chance to work with my grandpa. He died in 99 and so I was 17 at that point. And so, what I know about him is from what I heard from my dad, and what I've just made up in my mind, because he started his business in 38 and then went off a couple years later to World War Two, and so he had his office staff stay there and run the business for him, but he, I don't believe he ever envisioned it being a legacy business. I think he thought it was a way to support his, his wife and four children. And when my dad was going through college, he had already worked with Grandpa during the summers, and my grandpa had asked him similar to how my dad had asked me when I was in college. Hey, what do you think about the insurance business?

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There's great opportunity, and my dad, similar to me at that point, said no, I'm good. He, you know, he was interested in finance, and then later law, but he did join my grandpa's business, and then 30 years later, the same story for me. I think he would have been very pleased to have his kids come in, but he was looking at a lot of options because there wasn't a clear successor or a very interested next gen until I came on board.

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Well, speaking of you getting on board, recently found an announcement from when you became an employee of the company. Can you share what that was.

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Oh, sure. So, for my 20th anniversary, I shared a birth announcement that my father's employees made for him when I was born, and in insurance our sales people are called producers, and so it said my job title was producer, and how old I was, and so cute.

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I agree.

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Early in my life, I thought, absolutely, I'm going to go work for the family business, but insurance is not the most exciting or sexy profession, and I saw how much my dad worked, and so I was trying to find a different path, but I'm so happy I was not successful on those other paths, you know, and that I could come and work with my dad for, I think, it was 17 years.

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Well, I ask you that question because we're talking about how communications is infrastructure in organizations, and when you have communications valued as a revenue generator, it really shows in the success of a company, and as a family-owned business, your dad promoting the birth of you really showed what he was going to be invested in, as far as the future and success of vendor insurance. I would like to get into our questions on that note, because you are now president and CEO, and have been for eight years, correct? What's something about your role or. Organization that most people wouldn't expect.

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We're very unique in the fact that we are 100% employee owned. I'm not aware of too many other insurance firms. I'm part of many groups that are insurance focused, and it's about selling your business for max value. We value other things so much more than making a massive profit, and that's how we run the business now. It's a balance between long-term reward for our employees and driving value to the ESOP shares and making sure when they retire, but also, what are we doing today to make them feel really valued as owners?

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So, explain to our listeners who might not know what ESOP is, what is that structure, and what are the benefits of that structure in terms of employee culture, and again, future success.

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An ESOP is an employee stock ownership plan, and it's basically transferring the equity of the business to a retirement plan, and there is a trustee that oversees the interests of all of those plan participants, and we work with that person to evaluate opportunities for our business, but because we run it so well, he's pretty much hands off. The employees don't have to buy in or pay any money, and they don't have a reduction in salary. We didn't take away other benefits. This is just gravy on top of their existing benefits, and when they retire, they're able to cash out their shares. People already have balances well to $200,000 so that can be a significant game changer for anyone, but especially for folks that didn't have the ability to put away a lot for retirement themselves, so you and your company essentially allowed a revenue infrastructure for your employees.

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Absolutely.

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How did you decide this was the right thing to do? You're 12 years into your tenure as president and CEO. Was this always something that you wanted, or you just saw that we needed to change to be successful, or even more successful,

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I actually didn't want it initially, because there were a lot of misconceptions in my head around what it was, and the lack of control that the leadership group would have, and so I spent a lot of time going to conferences and interviewing local Aesop companies to understand what is this, how has it impacted you, and what are some decisions that you wish you had made differently. And so we were evaluating a bunch of perpetuation options, and there were a group of us that were actively buying shares in the business, but you get to a point where you run out of money to get another tranche of shares. We had had actually one of our employees say, what if we're an employee-owned business? All of us had heard bad things about it, and so let's, let's just suspend that, open our minds and hearts, and see what this could look like. It just became more and more aligned with the culture we were trying to build.

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When you're going through this process, both introspection and then announcing it and getting buy-in from your team, what did you find was most helpful by way of communicating the value, dispelling concerns, and even yourself investing in this change that was about to occur.

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There are about 6000 Aesop's in our country, and so it is not a commonly understood concept. None of our employees knew what it was, and so it was really important to share as much as we could at that point in time, but then to consistently be transparent and deliver on the promises, like it's about building trust. Even today, eight years into ESOP, we're still proving we're committed to this. We don't want to sell. This is truly for our benefit.

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Did you have to change much about your communication style every day? How did that show up?

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It's still a struggle. My personality style is very direct and analytical, and that is not what people need, especially when you're going through a time of change, and so I'm very collaborative with my leadership team in looking at and trying to see all the different angles from which an employee would be impacted, or what concerns they might have. We just had a recent change, and even spending hours and hours belaboring over that message still got stuff wrong. I'm a humble leader. I acknowledge that I don't have all the answers, but I will be relentless in finding the right path forward. And so I think that they see that honesty and consistency and commitment to them, and that makes them feel safe.

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Do you think that if Bender was not as invested in the communications of value and listening, would the ESOP have been as successfully implemented?

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No, no. Well, we would have become an ESOP, but that's where the value would have stopped. It's like, great, we check the box on figuring out what the vehicle is for perpetual. Situation, but we're not seeing any of the upside, and there can be huge upside when you're able to connect the dots for people between their individual performance, the organization's performance, the organization's goals, their personal goals, like they're all connected, and so if you can make that clearer for them, it's just beautiful.

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So I have to imagine that over time employees have felt more invested in the company's success, have a different sense of ownership both on paper and when they show up to work. Was there anything else that improved, or anything that you noticed by way of benefits of implementing a strong communication strategy into your infrastructure.

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I am a huge fan of feedback. Okay, our employee engagement surveys were more meaningful. There weren't snipey comments. It was actually these are ideas to improve our business, because they started trusting that we were taking these seriously. We both need to step up and prove that you know we're committed to this, and it's been happening.

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What about the impact in the community? What did you have to change to get customer buy-in? Our, I mean, vendor is a fixture of this region and clients all over the nation. How did you have to change your communication infrastructure to have the buy-in of your customer base.

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When we became an ESOP, it didn't impact our clients too much. I'd say at this point in time they are seeing better engagement and service from our team members because they're even more committed. It was mostly just questions about how this might work for their business. They were intrigued. How do I protect the legacy and the interest of my employees? I talk about ESOPs a lot nowadays, because there is a lot of interest. It's definitely not for everyone, but I'm a big fan.

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So, by shifting your governance structure and your tax structure, you have become expert in ESOPs as a business option,

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I wouldn't say expert just because my ESOP attorney, of course, we don't want to make it, she's definitely an expert, I don't get paid when she does, I definitely know enough to share my experience and give someone some direction on how they could learn more,

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I see this in vendors' communication strategy every post that your team puts out is always reflective of the family atmosphere. You're always celebrating a milestone if it's for a team member. You put on some pretty great employee events as well. How has your communication strategy really been implemented in terms of how you celebrate your team and market that to the public.

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Thank you for the compliment, but it's definitely not where I want it to be, and we're actively working on that right now. Okay, what is the employee experience? What is the customer or client experience? What are the milestones along the way that maybe are unique to our organization that we could recognize the leadership read a book together last year called The Power of Moments, great book, and it was about creating those milestones and touch points that make you feel special. It's like no one else could do this, and so we're trying to figure that out now. I think that we, we do an okay job, we probably do a great job, but I am never satisfied, but I just see so much potential to do more, and I'm excited that we're focused on that.

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You're clearly a leader that invests in communications and sees it as infrastructure, which is why you're on this couch today. What would you say to a leader who still sees communication as overhead that might not invest as much time. What are the downfalls to not prioritizing communications?

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I don't see any upside to not prioritizing communications, and, and for me, I like, I didn't share that I went to Utah in November to take an Arbinger Institute communication workshop, and you and I met in Toastmasters. We did meet in

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Toastmasters.

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It's a lifelong journey to that person. I would say, don't have employees, don't bother, because you're gonna miss out on the upside, and also just the relationship and intimacy. You shouldn't be a boss. Then,

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Do you have a signature communication style that you're really proud of are an example where communications has saved your vegan bacon?

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Just earlier today I had a communication fail that's weighing on me heavy, and it's make its, you know, my confidence is a little shaken. I think that's a great lesson in itself. You can always go back and say sorry, you can, and I'm really good at saying sorry. So, maybe that's where my impact is. I'm honored to be able to serve my team, and I know I'm a flawed human, and they, they accept me as I am, you know. And that's cool, I see that in the way. You are in the community, you give so much of yourself to great causes to other people. I mean, from my vantage point, you are aligned in your professional and your personal communications, and is someone I truly admire and want to be when I grow up, and I think we're the same age, but I could stop that goal. Ditto.

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Thank you. So, Maggie, you kind of touched on this a little bit, but I'd like to do a deeper dive into the infrastructure of the organization and how communications has enhanced over time. What have you done to change the infrastructure specifically, be it revenue or people? How has your vision showed up in the success of the company,

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I think I spoke a little bit about the impact of the ownership mindset, in that a regular employee at a regular business puts forth so much effort, and but once they're able to see that their effort serves their individual benefit, like in an ESOP, we're able to see an impact to our bottom line in revenue and employee retention, which impacts revenue efficiencies. Ideas every year, being an ESOP, we have an ESOP meeting, and where we share the new share price, and we have our trustee present, and we talk about what it means to be an owner, and maybe what it doesn't mean, you can't call your hours, you can't say how much you get paid. There's certain rights that you just don't have. We show an example. If you make a slight change as an employee owner, this will impact you in your share price in another year. So, the example we use is employee referrals. If you refer us an employee that you'd like to work with. We're paying you $5,000 We would have paid the recruiter $20,000 and so if three of you do that throughout the year, this goes right to the bottom line, because we save that money in long term, you know, this is what it translates to in price per share. We really try to find those opportunities to say whether it's referring in an account, referring in a coworker, looking more intentionally at an account for additional revenue opportunities. Those actions are now aligned better with their personal goals.

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How have you seen that translate into your staff size and how quickly you can hire people. I assume that it's such an attractive offer to your team. So, how has your team grown over time with that new benefit of being employee-owned?

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We try to only hire from their referrals whenever possible. It's just not always possible, of course. Right now, we're looking for a unicorn type role, and the guy we're hiring is in Austin, and he's moving out here. Wow, we want to encourage that behavior to continue, even if they refer someone we don't hire. We still recognize and celebrate that at our staff meetings. We let them spin the wheel for cash. It's like we want more of this behavior, and so we're going to put a lot of energy and excitement behind it.

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Did you have to train your HR team to speak a little bit differently about what an ESOP is? Because most of the community doesn't know, right, and it's probably not as traditional a hiring as some other companies might be invested in. Is that correct?

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Yes, we're okay at this, just within the last couple of months, as a leadership team thought, hey, we should call each other partners, not, you know, co-owners, or it's kind of like when you go to Starbucks, yes, we're not just employees, what can we call ourselves to really highlight that?

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Well, that's a great trait of a healthy employee culture, right? Names and titles matter. It's the investment. Thank you for explaining that. So, at the end of every podcast, I like to do what's called a revenue test, which is actually more of a revenue reflection test, where you get to just let me know what the first thought that comes to your mind when I ask you five questions. Numbers matter, Bring it on.

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I'd love to know what something that became clear over time to you.

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I'm a believer that the leader sets the tone and the energy level can never exceed what they set, and I didn't have that awareness always, and I don't think that I was helping my business and team members to thrive, and so I journal every morning, and I really focus on what are my intentions for the day, and how am I going to own my presence, because every day is an opportunity to make beautiful things happen. I just find it so empowering.

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Have you found that has changed the way you interact with your employees hugely? Really. Oh my gosh, yes. Because it allows me to catch triggers quicker on, hey, you're showing up to this with some anxiety or some bad energy, check yourself. At the door, do some deep breathing, just taking more ownership of how I show up.

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Has that helped with the tenure and happiness of your employees as well?

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Yes, and the happiness of myself.

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Yeah, because when you're reactive, it's not beneficial to anyone, and it doesn't even feel healthy. And so, just pausing and taking five minutes to journal and set my intentions for the day. I don't always hit them all, but at least I had them, and I think that I'm so much more likely to achieve them by having that stated goal.

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Have you seen that ripple effect in terms of infrastructure with your other leadership team? Have they done similar things?

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It's not as much of a growth edge for them, of course. I took it on more because that was my biggest growth edge. That's fine. You lead by example.

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Next question, what's ended up mattering more than you expected?

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What's mattered more than I expected in my role as CEO is my presence in the community, both with nonprofits and at community events, but also going to business development events. I can't ask this of anyone else if I'm not willing to do it, and in doing it, I find that I actually really like it.

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Well, you're very good at it. We find ourselves at the same events sometimes. I know I loved each other earlier this week, and we didn't know we would be there, but in rooms like that, there's a lot of validation of why leaders like yourself are doing the hard work of making a difference, and you give back so much of yourself to the community. Thank you.

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Where did communication make a difference that you didn't expect,

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As a young professional, I had lots of arrogance, and I didn't think that communication was something I need to focus on at all. And then, as I move on through life, in my personal relationships, like with my husband, working with my family, which is rewarding, but also very challenging at times, I've, I've learned that what you say obviously matters, but the heart behind it is what matters more. Lifelong learner, here

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I think we all are, and I do again think that speaks to the strength of your infrastructure at a company, is how much you learn really is reflected in how much you earn. Probably

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I was listening to another podcast this morning, and they had brought up the less you know, the more confident you are in your opinion, and that speaks to where I was as a kid. The more you experience and know and are open to know, it brings you down several rungs.

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Follow-up question to that, sure, you have the benefit of having your father also still involved in the business. Do you incorporate some of his tendencies, or do you honor him in certain ways to continue growing the business?

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Definitely. In fact, the delta between his style and my style was why I got an executive coach, probably eight years ago, because the interpersonal communication was such a growth edge for me. There was concern not only with, for me, but on the leadership team. How is Maggie going to step in as next leader if she can't do this part? I'm definitely in awe of that skill that he has, but I have skills that he doesn't have.

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Of course, just because I'm not good at one thing doesn't mean I'm bad at everything, and I can still be really strong in operations and analytical stuff. Not performing at 100% everywhere doesn't exactly don't focus on that as much.

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So, if someone, a leader, a colleague that was navigating maybe some imposter syndrome or getting in their own way. What advice would you give them?

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A big thing for me was getting an executive coach, and if you can't do that because it's not cheap, of course, the business paid for it for me. Get a mentor, and maybe get a couple of mentors in different places of your life, and learn how to get better through them.

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I love that advice. We all have our own blind spots. It's difficult to admit that we're not good at everything. I'm guilty of that, but it's nice when you can rely on your colleagues, your mentors to help guide you along the way.

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I'm a big fan of self-assessments too, all about knowing thyself and having your team take those too, we're big into disk in our organization, and it's so helpful to be able to see where others are on the big disk map. It explains so much. Oh, that's why I might be having a little conflict or tension with that person, or maybe why they do these kooky things that drive me crazy, as I've gotten to know myself better, it's allowed me to relate to people better.

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I'd like you to finish the sentence, Maggie.

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Okay.

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Growth comes from hard work.

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How much time do you spend on that growth, on that self-awareness every day?

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I'm very fortunate to have a schedule where. Can focus on personal self development, not not everybody has time to journal or meditate or spend an hour with an executive coach.

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Final question to you, Maggie, where does growth come from for an organization?

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I'd say it's a blend of hard work, a little bit of luck, and just keeping your eye on the prize, like not giving up, and also visualizing that you're going to make it, because if you don't believe it, it's not going to happen.

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It sounds like positive affirmations, i.e. Communications probably plays a really big role in that. Would you say absolutely? I love that, Maggie. Where can our listeners find out more information about you and vendor insurance, and what they provide?

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Our website is www my.bis.com nice and short. You can also email me, mbender at my bis.com I'm also active on LinkedIn, so I'd love connection requests. We do specialize in nonprofits, and we're so honored to be part of so many of Sacramento's prominent nonprofits. We also have a big division of construction brokers, manufacturing, healthcare, and real estate. In fact, my background is in real estate.

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Did not know this. My book of business is all property managers and property owners. You

never cease to amaze me. So, Maggie, this has been such a thoughtful conversation. Thank you so much for sharing your insight, letting our listeners learn a little bit more about the challenge and the journey that Vendor Solutions have been on for three generations, and where you intend to continue to strengthen the infrastructure through how you show up for your employees and for your community, it really has been a pleasure. Thank you for being here.

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Thank you. This has been so fun. I'm really honored.

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Thanks for listening. We invite you to subscribe to this podcast and take our revenue alignment assessment, a short strategic diagnostic for mission-driven executives. You'll find everything you need at Revenuespeaks.com Because communication isn't overhead, it's infrastructure, and in the end, Revenue Speaks.

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