We are very excited to bring you our first member feature on the NAIFA-Texas blog! Charlie Matejowsky has been with Van Dyke Rankin Financial Services in Brenham, Texas for his 38 year career, and a NAIFA member for 34 of those years. He also was the NAIFA-Texas Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at our 2020 State Conference. We sat down with Charlie to ask him how he has adapted his business model during the COVID-19 pandemic and how Zoom has played an integral role in maintaining his business approach.

“This coronavirus has brought me into the 21st Century,” Charlie says. When he first started out, the best ways to connect with prospective and current clients were via phone calls, mail, and in-person meetings. Including email, these practices were the foundation for growing and maintaining his business.

Then, enter a global pandemic followed by a lock down. Knowing he had to lean into going virtual, Charlie went full steam ahead with adapting his business plan accordingly. In-person client meetings turned into Zoom calls. “If you’re not able to make contact with the prospects and clients, you’re going to run out of people to see and people to help,” Charlie explained. He also changed his in-person Lunch & Learn series to a “Zoom & Learn” series. By doing this, he was able to expand his network by reaching agents from California and Nebraska who were interested in the topics he was covering.

Of course, Charlie looks forward to the day when he can see his clients in person again; however, that does not mean he will stop using Zoom and virtual tools in his business plan. Charlie has enjoyed learning about Zoom and other similar tools to connect with his clients and encourages those in the industry to do the same. “When you quit learning, it’s over. Don’t stop learning… Welcome it with open arms.”

To view the full interview with Charlie Matejowsky, please click here.