Some 700 advisors, managers, suppliers and staff from Ensemble have gathered at the massive Paris Hotel in Las Vegas to attend their North American conference, themed “Level Up” this year.
The meticulously planned agenda features a host of learning and networking opportunities including partner presentations, organized networking opportunities and professional development on social media and how to build your own packages.
Yesterday was the opening session, hosted by an enthusiastic and engaged Michael Johnson, President of Ensemble, who gave special acknowledgement to front line advisors, some of whom are at their first live event in four years. “The industry has rebounded and is setting records. The world has reawakened to the gift that is travel.”
He included some interesting factoids, such as 1/3 of advisors have been in travel for less than five years, making development programs paramount.
Also, it takes 11 years for the majority of advisors to reach the median income of $60,000 and “yet half the people in this room still don’t charge fees.”
Johnson was careful to emphasize the tools that Ensemble agencies have access to. These include the group’s magazine, Range, technology that allows advisors to white label itineraries, and training that is completely customizable. “Because you are not just a member, you’re a customer.”
The group, he added, is the only consortium to have access to ADX, which he referred to as a Ferrari, and includes worry free air, no debit memos, transparent commission calculations and automatic invoicing. And, said Johnson, it’s also easy to use and easy to learn.
“Every advisor should be able to earn a decent income, and that platform could free them from admin and let them focus on selling.”
Johnson also announced a new giving initiative called Spark, representing numerous charities around the world. Agencies can donate in CAD$ or US$, and Ensemble will match, dollar for dollar, when contributions are made to select organizations including Doctors Without Borders, Make-A-Wish and the Royal Ontario Museum – with more charities to come.
Additional presentations from Ensemble senior management included updates from Kristina Boyce, SVP Operation, Shahla Lalani, SVP Marketing and Beth Butzlaff, SVP Partner relations.
The room, which was filled with advisors and manager from across North America, including a healthy contingent from Canada (“From Yellowknife to Saguenay”), was clearly engaged.
