--- title: "NAIFA's Chernoff and O'Connell Share Their Secrets to Winning the \"Big Case\"" description: This month's InsuranceNewsNet Magazine features NAIFA leaders Jeff Chernoff and Danny O'Connell sharing their 'big case stories' and advice on winning your own big case. image: https://at.naifa.org/hubfs/Danny%20OConnell%20and%20Jeff%20Chernoff%20%20Spotted%20-%20Blog%20Post%20(1000%20x%20620).png --- [![ApexNLC_banner2-1](https://at.naifa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/ApexNLC_banner2-1.jpg?width=728&height=73&name=ApexNLC_banner2-1.jpg)](https://apex.naifa.org/) [![Advisor Today Logo - White@960](https://at.naifa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Advisor%20Today%20Logo%20-%20White@960.png?width=960&height=146&name=Advisor%20Today%20Logo%20-%20White@960.png) ![Advisor Today Logo - White@960](https://at.naifa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Advisor%20Today%20Logo%20-%20White@960.png?width=960&height=146&name=Advisor%20Today%20Logo%20-%20White@960.png) ](https://at.naifa.org/) [![Join NAIFA](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2635471/19793afe-5adf-4f28-b999-9dd4527de76b.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2635471/19793afe-5adf-4f28-b999-9dd4527de76b) [**](https://at.naifa.org/naifas-chernoff-and-oconnell-share-their-secrets-to-winning-the-big-case#tmpmodule_1614584860767204) ** ![Lifesaver Beach-1](https://at.naifa.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Lifesaver%20Beach-1.jpeg?width=1400&height=799&name=Lifesaver%20Beach-1.jpeg) #### **NAIFA Members Provide Financial Security** ###### 2 min read ## [NAIFA's Chernoff and O'Connell Share Their Secrets to Winning the "Big Case"](https://at.naifa.org/naifas-chernoff-and-oconnell-share-their-secrets-to-winning-the-big-case) By [NAIFA](https://at.naifa.org/author/naifa) on 2/16/23 9:06 AM ###### Topics: [Members](https://at.naifa.org/topic/members) ![](https://at.naifa.org/hubfs/Danny%20OConnell%20and%20Jeff%20Chernoff%20%20Spotted%20-%20Blog%20Post%20(1000%20x%20620).png) NAIFA leaders [Jeff Chernoff, MS, LUTCF, LACP,](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-chernoff-9a229334/) and [Danny O'Connell, LACP](https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-o-connell/) share their “big case stories” and advice on winning your own big case in the month's [*InsuranceNewsNet m*agazine](https://insurancenewsnet.com/topics/magazine). For O'Connell, the key was persistence. He shares two stories of when his tenacity paid off. In the article, he shares, “If somebody goes dark on you and you don’t hear anything, you know people want to do business with someone they know, like, and trust. And that doesn’t come overnight. That takes time." Chernoff won his big case with patience. “First of all, ‘no’ does not mean ‘never.’ Second, if you keep a relationship positive, you never know the opportunities you will generate from that," he says in the article. Chernoff is the Vice President of [Insurance and Trust](https://iat.bz/) in Tampa, FL, and has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2011. He is a graduate of [NAIFA's Leadership in Life Institute](https://tdc.naifa.org/lili) (LILI) and LILI moderator and was named [NAIFA's 2022 Young Advisor Team Leader of the Year](https://tdc.naifa.org/yatleaderaward). He has served in leadership positions including [NAIFA-Tampa Bay](https://www.naifatampa.org/) President and [NAIFA-FL](https://naifa-florida.org/) IFAPAC Chair. He currently serves as President of NAIFA-FL. O'Connell is the CEO of [NextLevel Insurance Agency, LLC](https://nextlevel.agency/), a [NAIFA 100% Agency](https://belong.naifa.org/group), and has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2008. He is a LILI graduate, a [Financial Security Advocate](https://advocacy.naifa.org/grassroots), and a recipient of [NAIFA's Quality Award](https://tdc.naifa.org/nqa). A Past President of [NAIFA-TX](https://tx.naifa.org/), he has served in several leadership positions within NAIFA and is currently serving on the NAIFA National Board of Directors. 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