who is the redheaded stepchild of allstate's Distribution system?

Who is Jim Fish
Jim was an agent from 1974 to 2002.
In his 28 years as an Allstate agent, he
was awarded the Honor Ring 20 times.
He qualified for National Champion
16 times, Chairman’s Conference nine
times and Chairman’s Inner Circle three
times, including his final year. He was
the Line Leader in his territory numerous
times. Twice, Jim went to the P&C
Leaders Forum as the sole representative
for every category, Auto, Indemnity
Auto, Property and Commercial, one
of only a few agents in the country to
achieve that distinction. But that’s not
all; Jim also earned Agent of the Year,
Agency Achievement Award, Life Millionaire,
the “Good Hands Award,” and
was the recipient of scores of other accolades
and honors. Suffice it to say, Jim
was recognized by Allstate managers and
agents as being not only highly successful,
but consistently so. On the overall
performance ranking reports for agents
countrywide, Jim was ranked Number
192 in the nation at the time of his termination.
He started out in a one-man location
in a Sears Catalog store in 1974. A year
or so later, he transferred to a booth in a
much larger Sears store in Madison, WI,
where he flourished. He spent five years
there and was then promoted to a Neighborhood
Sales Office (NSO) in Monona,
WI, where he and another “senior account
agent” shared a company-paid
secretary. He stayed there until he decided
to become a Neighborhood Office
Agent (NOA) and moved, with two other
agents, into a building he owned in the
Madison area. It would be the last threeagent
NOA office approved in the state
of Wisconsin. He remained an NOA
until he voluntarily converted to the EA
‘independent contractor’ agreement in
1995. As I mentioned earlier, Jim’s book
of about 8,000 items was serviced by up
to eight staff. Jim’s final CSRP recognition
measurements included retention in
excess of 90%, and loss ratio for 12mm
and 36mm less than 50%.
Jim’s success in business is a confirmation
of his character. Compassionate,
honorable, dependable. I can attest to
this because I was his manager for three
years. In one of our first meetings he
said, “I always do the right thing because
it is the right thing to do.” These were
not just words; he meant it, he lived it,
and he repeated it often.
Jim’s customers trusted him for his
knowledge of insurance, for the way he
took the time to understand their individual
needs, and for his friendly demeanor.
He never sold a policy to meet a quota.
He never recommended coverage that was
not in the best interest of the customer.
Customers stayed, and they brought their
friends and family to get help from Jim. It
was interesting to watch him work; he had
a unique ability to remember his customers’
house numbers, telephone numbers,
hobbies and more. And it showed – his 5+
year combined P&C retention ratio was
93.14 on his final CSRP.
The staff in the agency appreciated
this environment. There was never a
question that every policy written was
done right. No funny business by anyone
– he would not tolerate it. The staff knew
Jim worked hard so that they could make
more sales. Nothing in life is fair, except
working at the Jim Fish Agency. It was a
great place to be.
Jim also had a special relationship with
his fellow agents. He felt it was important
for agents to meet and socialize. There
were agent organized breakfast clubs in
Milwaukee and Madison and he always
tried to attend. The Milwaukee breakfast
club would meet the first Friday of each
month at 7:30 a.m. It was a 70 mile drive
one-way, yet he rarely missed a meeting,
even in the dead of winter or during inclement
weather.
When other agents asked for his advice,
he was always happy to oblige. He
wanted all agents to be successful, especially
those who didn’t have the ability or
the financial wherewithal to succeed on
their own and who were constantly being
kicked around by management for missing
their quotas.
Jim was a master marketer, creating
nearly all the ads he used to promote the
Jim Fish Agency brand. He is widely
credited for being the first Allstate agent
to design and publish a full-page, non-
Allstate Yellow Page ad, which he shared
in an article with the agency force in
the January, 2001 issue of Exclusivefocus
magazine. Jim owned printing and mailing
equipment too, so when he thought
of an idea for a direct mail campaign, he
was able to create a letter, print it and
mail it within hours.
Jim’s desire for the company to take on
his mantra to “do the right thing” was,
and still is, his passion. It was this passion,
and a great deal of curiosity, that led
him to attend a NNOAC (now NAPAA)
meeting in Chicago in the fall of 1992.
This experience whetted his appetite for
more and he decided to attend the annual
NNOAC Convention in Las Vegas
the following July. He wanted to find out
more about the organization to determine
if he wanted to be a part of it. He found
that he shared many of the same beliefs,
especially the commonality of trying to
get the company to “do the right thing.”
He became a NAPAA member at that
conference. In 1996, he was elected to the
NAPAA Board of Directors, and in 2000,
amid the mass conversion of 6,000 agents
across the country, Jim was elected president
of NAPAA.
A truly great leader, Jim never lets his
own opinion prejudice an issue. To him,
all points of view have merit. He listens
with an open mind, weighs the facts, and
makes even-handed decisions, always acting
in the best interests of the organization.
Under his guidance, NAPAA membership
soared, growing to 2,500 members.
Why did Allstate Fire Jim Fish
Speculation abounds. But you can
believe that the termination was NOT
because of any wrongdoing. Administratively,
the agency was exemplary. Jim
was well-known by agents and managers
for his integrity. No funny app completion,
no misrepresentation, no wrong zip
codes, no doctored dec sheets or no-hit
credit scores.
We still don’t know for sure, but after
nine years of thinking it over, it is my
opinion that it was Ed Liddy’s personal
vendetta to stop the fire and passion
that was driving Jim Fish. Termination
of the Jim Fish Agency contract would
surely quell Jim Fish and his followers.
Without him, maybe Mr. Liddy figured
he could implement whatever he wanted
Winter 2011/2012 Exclusivefocus — 53