We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Suzi Glover-Garman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Suzi below.

Suzi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

I just returned from a Yosemite vacation with my husband. It’s the first vacation we’ve taken since COVID and opening our business. Pre-pandemic was hard to take time as we just so new. As things started to open up, my team would time off with support by me. I realized they were hesitant to ask for time off becuase I never took time off. One of them finally asked me, when I was going to take vacation. I realized I needed to set an example and make it okay to time away from the office. I also learned my team needed to NOT have me in the office, but practice their own indepence. Our trip to Yosemite was wonderful! Waterfalls, Sequoias and hikes sprinkled with both was such great experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I’m Suzi Glover, agency owner for State Farm Insurance. My State Farm office is located in North Scottsdale where we just celebrated 3 years of agency! Prior to opening my agency I worked under another women-owner State Farm agency for my insurance/small business practical experience. I’m so grateful for that experience as as it taught me the importance and understanding of the insurance I was selling and educating customers and how insurance really does protect for the unexpected! I was also able to really build my business plan and how I wanted my office to run” our goals and the impact we would make on our customers.

By being a State Farm agent, I am fortunate to work with an established brand that State Farm has developed (which includes a Jake from State Farm cutout in our office) and focus on the customer experience, our office culture, team development and community involvement. Any given day you will find our team collaborating on customer presentations for coverage that best compliments post-COVID changes that have occured for our customers. Our customers are willing to get out and meet, and we’re so excited to meet with them! You are always welcomed by our two office dogs: Ami, a french bulldog and his little sister, Rudy, a frenchton. Their greeting totally sets the pace for our meetings as their little frenchie smiles are able to release tensions from the outside world, allow you to share what’s going on your world, so that we know what we are protecting for your future. These times are so cool because we are learning about our customers and when we talk again, we celebrate their victories just because we knew about them!

Any advice for managing a team?

As a sales veteran, this is my first time managing a team, and I am very much learning. It can be very easy for me to caught up in what the team “did not do” or conversations they “did not have”, especially when we’re not target with our goals. To get out of my own tunnel vison, I focus on what my team learned about our customers, that one thing that fosters that connection from us to our customers. These are the things that are happening and conversations they are having. They know, “they’re doing it!” and feel good about it.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I’ve had to unlearn (and still unlearning) is that I have to be connected and responsive at all times. This is a lesson I was taught when I worked in elevators and working for global manufacturers and having performance based on responding to every time zone across the globe. By not setting my own boundaries and being true to myself or my family, we all expereinced burnout. As a distance runner, I know you need to rest and refuel to perform at your best and get to the finish. I run my business by honoring my personal time and encouraging my team to honor their own boundaries and personal time by taking their PTO and taking time for their family. There is no shame in taking time for yourselves, we share this in the office and also to our customers so they know our practice in self and family care is so that we can better serve them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://suziglover.com
• Instagram: sfagentsuzi
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzigloverstatefarm
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suziglover
• Twitter: SuziGloverSF
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOogO_Y3SFitjBmd_EdXew
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/suzi-glover-state-farm-insurance-agent-scottsdale?osq=suzi+glover+state+farm

Image Credits
Karianne Munsteadt