Celebrating 5 Years in Business!
Last month, we marked our 5th anniversary, and we couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you! THANK YOU!.
When we started West Compass five years ago, it was largely at the suggestion of my husband, who had already been in the business for 13 years with SCAN Health Plan as a captive agent. He was well-respected in the community and was their Orange County Top Producer.
He recognized that some Medicare recipients would be better served by a different carrier, but he still wanted to help them. So, he referred clients to his counterparts with other carriers, earning the respect of the community. For years, he encouraged me to get my license, but at the time, I was working at a non-profit organization, helping high-potential, low-resource students get into engineering programs at some of Southern California’s most respected universities, including UCI, USC, and Caltech. I loved the work we were doing and didn’t think I could sell. But my husband pointed out that while his job was technically in sales, he didn’t feel like he was selling anyone anything. He was simply helping Medicare recipients navigate a process that is often hard and confusing. That resonated with me—I LOVE HELPING! So, I agreed to take my Life & Health License, with a strategy to start small by assisting those he couldn’t help.
But the more I immersed myself in the industry, the more I realized we had an opportunity to simplify the process and provide the level of service I would want to receive. I started thinking about what our mission would be and the core values that would set our standard. Integrity was at the top of the list. While many agents are honest, I noticed that some gray areas had tainted the reputation of agents and brokers. I also immediately saw that the Medicare and You book was confusing, filled with legal jargon and disclaimers similar to those I had encountered in the real estate industry.
Before my role at Base 11, the non-profit organization, I worked at First American Corporation on the business development team. As the Director of Marketing and Communications, it was my responsibility to simplify the often complex real estate process into easy-to-follow steps that a new homebuyer could understand and that were legally sound. The similarities between the two industries were immense. Thus, simplicity became our second core value.
We launched West Compass in July of 2019, and by March 2020, the world came to a halt with the pandemic. What we learned during that time was that service became a commodity. We wanted to provide Extraordinary Customer Service—to go above and beyond the call of duty. It’s easy to forget that a task that comes naturally to us may be challenging or even impossible for someone else. So if we can help, why not? We are always happy to help!
With the shutdown, I knew we had to move into a virtual space. Thankfully, I was ready—I had been doing it for years. I knew retirees needed information and help applying for Medicare, but many were unsure of where to start. We began hosting regular virtual educational seminars, which we still offer monthly. I’ve found that I enjoy these seminars the most; they provide me with a platform to make a greater impact in the community.
Finally, we understood that the best path for our clients started with giving them the knowledge they needed to feel confident in the decisions they were making about their Medicare plans. We also knew it was imperative to stay up-to-date with industry changes, continuously improve our processes, and pursue a relentless desire to learn every day. These five core values have become the pillars of our organization and what we believe sets us apart from our competitors.
These five core values have not only shaped our internal culture but have also helped us create great partnerships with carriers, medical groups, and partners in adjacent industries that have been pivotal to the growth of our organization. We are incredibly thankful for each and every one of them.
We are not perfect by any means. We are human, we are FLAWSOME, and we are most importantly thankful to have the best clients! As we celebrate five years, we remain committed to our core values: making a positive impact in the community, striving for simplicity in everything we do, delivering extraordinary customer service, upholding integrity at all times, and continuously expanding our knowledge to better serve you. Thank you for helping us grow into the organization we are today.
Happy Anniversary!
Cindy Santos-Mendoza
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For more information about Medicare visit: https://westcompassinsurance.com/medicare-basics/