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Longfellow Benefits' Cerretani Tells Holy Cross Entrepreneurs How Businesses Become an Employer of Choice
Voyage From Insurance Salesman to Business Leader
| Source: Longfellow Benefits
WORCESTER, MA--(Marketwire - June 4, 2009) - Craig Cerretani took a long voyage from
successful solo salesman to co-owner of Longfellow Benefits, which is
widely recognized as a topflight employer.
He told his story before the College of the Holy Cross's intensive Summer
Business Program.
A Holy Cross grad, Cerretani sold life insurance in the 1980s and '90s. "I
made a great living, but after years of doing this, I found I was missing
something," he said.
He got interested in helping smaller companies manage their employee
benefits, but had to outsource everything since he didn't own the
infrastructure. It worked until he started getting some larger accounts
like Lycos.
"I knew I had to make some changes," he recalled. So he joined up with
three others to start Longfellow Benefits, a Boston employee benefits
broker and consultant.
"I'd been a commissioned salesman for 20 years, and suddenly I had the same
salary as the other founders. All the revenues went into one pot. What
was I thinking?"
Some 60 percent of income was plowed back into the firm to build its
infrastructure.
The group decided to hire thoughtleaders with technical skills like actuary
and underwriter instead of salespeople.
"Our first concern in our selection process was 'Are they thoughtleaders
and can they fit into the Longfellow culture? Do they treat people with
honor, dignity and respect?'"
And the principals encouraged associates to cultivate relationships so they
could develop new business.
The model works. A solid employee benefits broker typically generates
$175,000 of revenue per full-time-equivalent employee. Longfellow Benefits
exceeds $300,000.
The firm has been named one of Boston's best places to work by Boston
Business Journal four years in a row, and its retirement division has won
many awards as a "best provider." More than 15 Longfellow Benefits
associates have published articles in business and professional magazines.
Cerretani spoke about Steve O'Leary, a successful salesman he met in 1979.
Cerretani was discouraged about rejection and "was having a self-image
problem."
O'Leary told him, "I don't care what you do for a living. Be the best you
can at that job." Later O'Leary bought the company, now one of the most
successful forklift distributors nationally.
"Push the ball forward every day. Be all you can every day. Make yourself
indispensable to your employer, and you will succeed," Cerretani concluded.
Serving organizations in New England and nationally, Boston-based
Longfellow Benefits provides consulting and brokerage services in employee
benefits, retirement plans and executive benefits. Its staff includes
experts carrying top professional designations: Registered Employee Benefit
Consultant (REBC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Registered Health
Underwriter (RHU), Licensed Insurance Advisor (LIA), Master of Business
Administration, Taxation (MBA), Certified Employee Benefits Specialist
(CEBS), Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Chartered Financial
Consultant (ChFC) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®).
Web: www.longfellowbenefits.com