Save the date for 2022!
January 5-7 | gaylord opryland nashville
- Keynote Speaker Molly Bloom
- Custom Virtual Event Platform with Interactive Networking Lounges & Digital Exhibit Hall
- Confirmed Keynote Panelists from Walmart Health & GM
- New! One-On-One Networking & Curated Adviser Sales Track
- Attendee Favorite! Expert Roundtables
- More C-Suite Panelists & Adviser Success Stories
- NextGen Exclusive! Live Executive Role Play Session to Pitch the C-Suite
- Multiple Registration Options Starting at $99 - plus Alumni rates and Available Sponsor Scholarships
'21 AGENCY GROWTH &
LEADERSHIP SUMMIT
Make Your Move.
ASCEND 2021 is boldly challenging advisers to expect the unexpected.
In a time when the employee benefits industry needs renewal & recharge, this two-day, digital experience will be your guide for agency transformation.
Advisers know that the status quo doesn’t work. For years, we’ve built the NextGen Benefits Movement to create real change, design alternative funding strategies
and share the sales tactics for sizable growth.
Now, we’re refining what worked – rethinking what didn’t – and helping insurance professionals adopt the strategies that win new business.
OWN 2021.
See you on the other side.

When
Wed-Fri
January 20-22, 2021
Where
Custom Virtual Platform
Who Attends
Independent Agency Owners, Firm Principals & Producers, Solution Experts & Industry Thought Leaders
Why Advisers Attended '21 ASCEND
Experience Peer to Peer Collaboration
Exclusively for agency owners and decision makers, ASCEND is the first event of its kind for advisers to see what’s uniquely working for other top firms and lean on a national network of like-minded leaders.
Engage For Real Outcomes
For 6 years, this event continues to help owners, principals & producers remain relevant, stay independent, become more profitable and achieve organic growth.
Seek High Impact Content
From Expert Round Tables to Keynote Speaker Daymond John, ASCEND became the’ unconference’ for it’s disruption of conference content. Interactivity, C-Suite panels and adviser success stories - all presented in an open forum - create positive energy & mind-share to change your business.
MEET THE '21 SPEAKERS
Focused.
High-Performing.
Diverse.
Meet the speaker lineup that
millions are made of.
Learn from sales gurus, US Healthcare Leaders, C-Suite Executives, successful NextGen advisers, the leading solution experts and everyone in between.


AGENDA
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
8:30 AM - Solution Pavilion
9:30 AM - Stress Buster Productivity Meditation Session
Naama O. Pozniak
A+ Insurance Service - 2019 Wellness Adviser of the Year, Top Women in Benefit Advising Honoree
10:00 AM - Welcome & Charge
Nelson Griswold
10:10 AM - How to Beat the Game No Matter What Cards You're Holding
Molly Bloom
Keynote Speaker
11:15 AM - Expert Roundtables




Renzo Luzzati President & CEO, US- Rx Care |
12:15 PM - BREAK
12:30 PM - Cost Is Only Half of the Equation: Making Health Care Quality Transparent
BREAKOUT ROOM 1
Cost Is Only Half of the Equation: Making Health Care Quality Transparent
Leah Binder, The Leap Frog Group
Daniel Stein, Embold Health
Nelson Griswold, NextGen Benefits
12:30 PM - 7 Steps to Creating the Perfect Sales Process

1:00 PM - Solution Pavilion
2:00 PM - What If You're Wrong? - Eliminating the Key Objections in the C-Suite
BREAKOUT ROOM 1
What If You're Wrong? - Eliminating the Key Objections in the C-Suite
Dr. Gary McGrath, Statarius

2:00 PM - Evidence-Based Medicine - Taking the Gamble Out of Medical Treatment
BREAKOUT ROOM 2

2:30 PM - The Evolutionary Revolution: How the NextGen C-Suite Conversation is Evolving
Nelson Griswold
3:00 PM - The NextGen Benefits Testicular Self-Exam
Deb Ault, AIMM
3:25 PM - MasterMind Roundtables
4:00 PM - BREAK
4:15 PM - Simplifying Premium Billing: 5 Powerful Questions to Gain Competitive Advantage
Robert Bull, AdminaHealth
4:40 PM - More & Easier Sales: Marketing That Fills Your Pipeline with Warm Leads
More & Easier Sales: Marketing That Fills Your Pipeline with Warm Leads
Nelson Griswold, NextGen Benefits Network
Deke Lape, D2E Health Plans
Allison De Paoli, Altiqe - Top Women in Benefit Advising Honoree
Chris Wolpert, Group Benefit Solutions - Rising Star in Advising
5:10 PM - 2021 Market Trends You Won’t Want to Miss…
Jamie Lagarde, Sedera
5:30 PM - Review, Preview & CTA
Nelson Griswold
6:10 PM - Speed Networking
6:30 PM - Solution Pavilion
8:00 PM - Pavilion Closes
Thursday, January 21, 2021
8:30 AM - Solution Pavilion
9:30 AM - Stress Buster Productivity Meditation Session
Naama O. Pozniak, A+ Insurance Service - 2019 Wellness Adviser of the Year, Top Women in Benefit Advising Honoree
10:00 AM - Make Your Move - How to Win When the Benefits Game Is Fixed & You're Always Dealt a Losing Hand
KEYNOTE: Make Your Move - How to Win When the Benefits Game Is Fixed & You're Always Dealt a Losing Hand
Nelson Griswold
11:00 AM - Making Moves: Top Advisers Share Strategies from their C-Suite Wins
Making Moves: Top Advisers Share Strategies from their C-Suite Wins
Ben Conner, Conner Insurance - 2020 Broker of the Year Finalist
Mark Grisanti, Opus Advisory - Rising Star in Benefit Advising
John Harris, CU Benefits Alliance
Marcy Heath, InoVentive Consulting - Top Women In Benefit Advising Honoree
Mike Hill, Coldbrook Insurance
11:25 AM - Easy, Affordable Medical Imaging
Cristin Dickerson, MD, Green Imaging
11:45 PM - BREAK
12:00 PM - The Acid Test: NextGen Advisers Present to Top CEOs
The Acid Test: NextGen Advisers Present to Top CEOs
Jeffrey Hayzlett, C-Suite Network
Various CEOs TBA
Various NextGen Advisers TBA
1:00 PM - Solution Pavilion
2:00 PM - Making Their Own Moves - Health Care Lessons from Two Corporate Giants
KEYNOTE PANEL: Making Their Own Moves - Health Care Lessons from Two Corporate Giants
Marcus Osborne, Walmart Health
Sheila Savageau, General Motors
Nelson Griswold, Moderator
2:50 PM - Expert Roundtables
3:50 PM - How to Use a PBM as a Sales Tool
Eric Barker, RPh, True Rx
4:15 PM - Straight from the C-Suite: What Executives Really Want to Hear from Their Adviser
KEYNOTE PANEL:
Nelson Griswold
5:00 PM - BREAK
5:15 PM - NextGen by the Book: Compliance Landmines You Must Avoid
BREAKOUT ROOM 1
NextGen by the Book - Compliance Landmines You Must Avoid
Jen Berman, JD, MBA, MZQ Consulting
5:15 PM - Break Through Mediocrity: Changing the Game for Long-Term Sales Success
BREAKOUT ROOM 2
Break Through Mediocrity: Changing the Game for Long-Term Sales Success
Dale Dupree, Sales Rebellion
5:50 PM - Implementation, CTA & Final Charge
Nelson Griswold, NextGen Benefits Network
6:30 PM - Solution Pavilion
8:00 PM - Pavilion Closes
Friday, January 22 , 2021
10:00 AM - Overview
Nelson Griswold
10:15 AM - Intro to NextGen Benefits
Deb Ault, AIMM
David Contorno, e Powered Benefits (invited)
10:45 PM - BREAK
11:00 AM - Module 1 - Move from Broker to Adviser
12:00 PM - Module 2 - Move to Fees & Performance-Based Compensation
1:00 PM - LUNCH
2:00 PM - Module 3 - Build Your NextGen Benefits Solutions Toolbox & Team
3:00 PM - Module 4 - Learn Alternative-Funding Essentials
4:00 PM - BREAK
4:15 PM - Module 5 - Master the C-Suite Conversation
5:15 PM - Implementation Session & Final Charge
5:30 - Adjourn
SUCCESS STORIES








