Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Erle.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
In the early 80s, the world was introduced to a little miracle. No, not the birth of the first Macintosh computer… Joe Erle was born. I was the 4th of 4 boys. My parents really wanted a girl, but they finally got their wish when they had my sister three years later.
My dad was an Air Force navigator, and we spent the first few years of my life in Alaska. It was so cold that I thought my nose would freeze off, but I survived. We eventually made our way down to Sacramento, where my dad started an insurance company from scratch. He taught me the value of hard work, integrity, and relationships. And he also taught me how to use a stapler as a weapon (just kidding…sort of).
After studying business at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, I landed a job with a Fortune 500 company in San Diego. But something didn’t feel quite right. I realized that my true passion was insurance, so I started my book of business at a local boutique agency. It was tough, but I stuck with it for nine years and built a successful business.
Then unexpectantly, my brother Gabe and his partner Jamie started their own insurance company, C3 Risk & Insurance Services, in 2017. And they asked me to join them. I was hesitant at first cause it was a significant risk to join a startup, but I figured that with my good looks and charm, I could help make the business even more successful. We started specializing in trucking when we partnered with the California Trucking Association, and it’s been an exciting ride ever since. Being a part of a startup agency that has gone from 0 to 95 employees in 5 years has been mind-blowing.
Nowadays, I live in Ranch Penasquitos, San Diego, with my two boys, Jackson and Jonah. They keep me on my toes and really teach me more than I teach them. And when I’m not working or playing baseball with the kids, I like to climb at the local indoor gym. It’s a great way to stay in shape and work off all those donuts insurance carriers always bring into the office. Climbing also helps me destress as I don’t have the bandwidth to think about anything else when I’m 60 ft in the air hanging off a rope.
So, that’s my story. I’m an insurance broker with a passion for life and a knack for making people smile. And if you need any insurance advice (or stapler self-defense lessons), you know how to get a hold of me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Becoming an insurance agent was no easy feat. I had to work hard and face numerous challenges to get where I am today. It wasn’t always easy to get clients initially, and sometimes it felt like I was banging my head against a wall.
With no formal path, I was left to my own devices to figure out how to be successful. I relied on cold calling, referrals, and networking to get my name out there. I was determined to build up a clientele, but it wasn’t easy. As someone who wasn’t from San Diego, it was difficult to navigate the tight-knit community and gain people’s trust.
But with perseverance and hard work, I slowly built up my business. And when the agency I was working at was sold, I faced another challenge. I wasn’t sure what the future held, but I knew that I had to keep moving forward.
That’s when something amazing happened. My clients came to my rescue. They offered words of encouragement, support, and loyalty. They reminded me of why I became an insurance agent in the first place – to help people when they’re in need.
It was a humbling experience, and it reminded me of the importance of building solid relationships with my clients. They weren’t just customers; they were my friends. And when I found my new home at C3 Risk & Insurance Services, I knew I had their support.
Sometimes, being an insurance agent can be emotional. You see people at their worst when they’ve been in accidents, are facing lawsuits, or lost everything in a fire. But being there for them, helping them get back on their feet, is what it’s all about.
I’m proud of the work I do, and I’m grateful for the clients who have become my friends. It’s been a wild ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Being an insurance agent is a lot like life – it’s full of ups and downs, but the people around you make it all worthwhile.
As you know, we’re big fans of C3 Risk & Insurance Services. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
At C3 Risk & Insurance Services, we’re a team of rebels who believe that insurance should be more than just a commodity. We want to provide our clients with a comprehensive experience based on traditional values like integrity, service, and relationships while also incorporating the latest technology to make things easier for them.
We’re proud to say that we provide successful outcomes for our clients by doing things differently. We offer an online HR and training portal to all clients, and for enterprise clients, we even offer brand management, help with recruiting, and video production services to attract top talent and showcase their companies. We believe that risk management starts with recruiting the right people.
But we never lose sight of our old-school values. We invest time and resources to get to know our clients and their industries better than anyone else. This investment leads to a colorful experience that provides the best product, price, and coverage in a timely manner. We care about people and believe that insurance should be empowering, not overwhelming.
At C3 Risk & Insurance Services, we’re shaking things up in the insurance industry one policy at a time. We believe that insurance should be more than just a transaction, and we’re proud to offer a unique approach to our clients.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
One quality that has been instrumental in my success is perseverance. As an insurance broker, I face rejection on a daily basis. I tried everything from cold calling to emailing potential clients, but it wasn’t until I started adding value to our conversations that things really started to turn around.
One particular instance comes to mind. I had been trying to land a new client for months, but every time I reached out, they told me they weren’t interested. However, instead of giving up, I focused on how I could help them.
I did my research and found out that the client had been experiencing issues with their current insurance provider as they couldn’t get the coverage they needed for a particular contract. I called them up and offered some advice on how they could improve their coverage, even though I wasn’t their agent at the time. I also sent them a few articles that I thought would be helpful, and I followed up a few days later to see how they were doing.
Fast forward a few weeks, and I received an email from that same client asking me to come in for a meeting. I spent hours preparing my presentation and arrived at the meeting ready to share how I could help if they chose to work with me. But as soon as I started my pitch, the client interrupted me and said, “Sorry, we’ve already decided to go with someone else.”
I was crushed. But instead of wallowing in self-pity, I took it as a challenge. I asked the client what it was that they didn’t like about my proposal, and I listened carefully to their feedback. Then, I went back to the drawing board and came up with a new plan that addressed their concerns.
A few weeks later, I reached out to that same client again, armed with my new and improved proposal. This time, I made sure to focus on how I could add value to their business and help them grow. Long story short, I ended up winning that client over and have been working with them for years now.
Perseverance and adding value to every conversation aren’t always easy, but they’re qualities that have paid off for me time and time again. It’s all about putting the client first and showing them how you can help them succeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.c3insurance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/c3insurance
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/C3insured
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/joeerle
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/c3insurance
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@c3riskinsuranceservices737
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/c3-risk-and-insurance-services-san-diego
- SoundCloud: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/discover-the-difference/id1573351338
- Other: www.truckingproudins.com
