October 2018.
Calvin Harris and Sam Smith were at No.1 in the UK charts with Promises, which became one of the top-performing singles of the year.
In the same month, Tom O’Connell opened the doors to C&C Insurance Brokers (Leeds) Ltd (an appointed representative of C&C Insurance Brokers Ltd) and made a few promises of his own. Fast-forward less than four years and it’s almost like C&C Leeds has always been there!
Commercial insurance brokers in Leeds were never in short supply, but with Tom at the helm, they’ve stormed their way into a busy marketplace. By whatever measure you want to take, to say the office has been a success, is an understatement. They’ve taken on a new member of staff almost every six months and with good reason, as C&C Leeds is now approaching the landmark of billing £10M worth of premiums. But with record numbers of enquiries and consistently high conversion rates, they’re not going to be at six staff for much longer. They anticipate another recruit to the sales team this year; possibly two.
As Chief Brody said to Quint, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
So, what’s been the secret to this success?
Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there is no secret. C&C Leeds is just a mirror of the values and high-performance mindset embodied by our team operating out of our head office in Stockport. The culture we’ve nurtured at C&C Insurance Brokers since we started in 1975, puts our clients at the centre of everything we do and to achieve that, we look for people with a client service ethic, who strive for excellence and have an entrepreneurial spirit. The Leeds business is the embodiment of this mentality.
But the success story of C&C Leeds goes way beyond the numbers. Despite their rapid growth, the team is close-knit, efficient and experts in their field. Currently specialising in Transport, Haulage and Logistics, clients such as Scania Financial Services value their opinions and expertise and are not only willing but encourage the sharing of industry and sector knowledge. Their clients are also happy to, and regularly recommend C&C Leeds for new business, which, as well as being greatly appreciated and hugely complimentary, isn’t always common amongst insurance brokers.
One big advantage they have over competitors is that C&C Leeds is able to draw on C&C’s own Claims Department – something that all clients can benefit from, but not many commercial insurance brokers in Leeds offer.
C&C Leeds has also recently signed a deal with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, building on their existing sponsorship to become an Official Partner of the club, providing them with fantastic presence at Headingley Stadium.
On reflection, there may well be a secret as to why they have become one of the most successful and fastest-growing commercial insurance brokers in Leeds, and that’s because they focus on the process. Nothing else matters. By focussing on the process, they aim to create positive outcomes for clients, whether via premiums or claims. This generates loyalty from clients and business connections, which often leads to new business referrals, which converts to growth. So, when you think about it, the numbers often used to measure success, are just a by-product of focussing on the process and putting clients at the centre of everything they do.
And it’s no coincidence that this was one of Tom’s core promises, back in October 2018.
