Agri-Services Agency Employee Highlight: Bryan Martin

Agri-Services Agency (ASA) Southwest Regional Sales Manager Bryan Martin has worked with the company for over five years, and is based in Floydada, Texas. ASA’s southwest region covers Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona and Kansas. “I’m from Lubbock Texas, and grew up on my family’s cattle ranch,” said Martin. “I grew up working cows and riding horses, and that experience with ranching is where my agriculture background comes into play.” Martin graduated from Texas Tech university in 2012, with a degree in communications studies that focused on interpersonal communications, he also has a minor in advertising.

As a regional sales manager for ASA, Martin says “I’m basically a health insurance specialist, typically for dairies but I work with all types of agricultural groups. A lot of what I do is focused on educational pieces, going over all the changes to health insurance and the details behind the Affordable Care Act (ACA). There are a lot of rules and regulations that people don’t know. I like to go in and explain to our clients what their obligations are. Once they know what they do or don’t have to do, we can figure out what works best for them and which carriers and plans offer the best solution for their situation, specifically in coverage and price. Once I know what the groups needs are and we find the right plan, we can focus in on the employees. Generally, the employer selects a couple different plans for the employees to choose from, so we help employees select the right one for their situation. Once they’ve made a decision, we help enroll the employees in a plan. After they’re all enrolled in the plan that they want, we’re available to help in the event of a claim. There’s usually quite a bit of paperwork that you have to file with a claim and that’s when they turn to me and my team so that we can help them with that process.”

For Martin, ASA’s variety of work has made the position enjoyable. “I’ve always been a person to get bored easy,” said Martin. “I really like that my job has some flexibility. I’m either out on the road visiting customers and prospects in my territory, or I’m working from home. It’s the best of both worlds. I’ve gone to a lot of places I probably would never have gone because of ASA. I have a 2-year-old daughter now, so when I do work from home I get to spend a lot of time with her, which is great. I work with great, supporting people at ASA including my manager, Paul Kulpa. Getting everyone together at our annual sales meeting is always fun, it’s like going to a big family reunion.”

Martin has found that there have been several changes to his work routine recently due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The biggest change is the day to day life since we can’t travel right now,” said Martin. “I tend to get a bit stir crazy at home, then being told I have to stay at home, it’s really hard. Not being able to get out on the road at all is difficult because that’s how we connect and interact with our customers. So much of what we do is face to face and now we’re having to do everything between email, phone calls and video conferences. There’s so much that’s missed when you can’t talk face to face, so video conferences really help connect with your customers during these difficult times. Nothing replaces meeting with my clients in person, I look forward to seeing them face to face again when it’s safe to do so.”