Rick Beyer is CEO and Founder of GoldBook Financial North Scottsdale benefits company, Managing Director with MassMutual, and a loyal NAIFA member since 2007.

Beyer relocated to Scottsdale, AZ, early on in his career. After spending several years in the mergers and acquisitions investment world, Beyer contacted each managing partner of the top mutual life insurers in town looking for a professional insurance role that would turn into a financial advisor role. He was highly interested in finding an agency with like-minded interests and values in the emerging marketplace. Eventually, he landed a position with Northwestern Mutual. He said, “I’m from Northern Wisconsin, and ironically, I found out that Northwestern Mutual was based in Wisconsin too.” Working with this company would allow him to fly back for business and get to see family too. He said, “It just seemed to fit.”

Within 15 years in the business, Beyer received Northwestern Mutual’s Master Achievement Award, Lives Policies Leader, and Top Individual and Group Disability Insurance recognition. He was a recipient and qualifier for the Million Dollar Round Table Top of Table as well. In fact, he first became involved with NAIFA because of MDRT. He says, “I noticed that NAIFA had a local Scottsdale chapter, so I went to the first meeting and thought ‘I like these people, and they’re advocates working to defend and protect our business.’” He quickly decided this was an association he wanted to be part of.

After much success and looking to expand his efforts in the market continuing to emerge before him, Beyer left Northwestern Mutual. Beyer partnered with MassMutual Managing Partners, Michael Book and Victor Goldman, to establish GoldBook Financial. They specialize in high-net-worth insurance, executive compensation, employee benefits, and disability coverage.

Beyer says he is grateful for the “ability to have a lifelong impact on families, businesses, and frankly generations by asking honest and candid questions regarding the ‘what ifs’ in life. It’s romantic to talk about wealth accumulation but not always risk management.” When approaching client relationships, Beyer says, “I just always ask what they need and how they feel about their current approach to insurance. I don’t always provide solutions and ideas immediately. I continue by asking more questions. It sounds unsophisticated, but we’ve always kept it simplistic.” He says, “The same questions still resonate with someone who makes $100,000 a year vs. $1,000,000. Asking more and listening more has been the key to our success.”

Beyer also shares an incredible nugget of wisdom for those at the very start of their careers. He says one of the most important lessons he’s learned is the importance of “commitment to consistency.” He says, “I watch young advisors looking for an exceptional case or a great prospect, but I’ve learned that if you can have a string of good days, years, and decades of consistency in this business, you’ll have built an amazing business.”

Beyer has undoubtedly experienced much success throughout his career in this industry, but he says his proudest accomplishment is “my family. I have a remarkable wife and five kids. This business has afforded me the time to spend raising our kids together and coaching them on the field and off. I believe my clients respect that.” He says, “I lead with it. For example, ‘I can meet with you between 10:00 or 2:00 because at 3:00 I’ll be coaching on the basketball court or baseball field.’” He says, ultimately, the scorecard for him is "the impact we have on the communities we serve.”

When asked why he recommends NAIFA to others in the industry, Beyer says, “It’s a bipartisan group of advocates who are passionate about our complex business and put the needs of their clients first." He says, “That’s a pretty respectable group of people to be surrounded by in this industry, regardless of the company, carrier, or any of the above.”

Thank you, Rick, for your continuous commitment to the growth of NAIFA and for positively impacting the lives of those you serve.