Why You Can’t Compete for Larger Companies
Diagnose the positioning, visibility, and credibility gaps making you invisible to the mid-market.
For Independent Benefits Agencies & Producers
Ready to Move Upstream
Win larger clients. Outperform the bigger brokers. Build a more valuable agency.
ASCEND is the Agency Growth & Leadership Experience, where independent benefits brokers learn to sell as consultative advisers, engage CEOs and CFOs in the C-suite, sell self-funding, manage healthcare as a supply chain, and produce measurable bottom-line results for employers.
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San Diego Convention CenterSan Diego, CA
NextGen advisers by the numbers
Average annual organic growth among NextGen agencies
28%
Broker of the Year winners chosen from NextGen advisers
7
Mid-market groups won from regional & national brokerages
200+
Employer healthcare overspend eliminated by NextGen advisers
$8.2B
Here’s why
you never win
mid-market accounts
And you can change this
01
These agencies don’t win because they’re better.
02
They win because they’re Bigger.
03
In a commoditized market, HR sees little meaningful difference between brokers.
04
And when HR can’t buy Better, they buy Safer, the national broker no one gets fired for hiring.
05
You’re playing a game that independent agencies cannot win.
While most brokers accept being invisible to the mid-market…
High-Growth advisers
change the game
01
Sell Consultatively
02
Engage CEOs and CFOs
03
Lead employers into Self Funding
04
Manage Healthcare as Supply Chain
They move upstream
ASCEND shows you how...
Reserve my SeatHealthcare isn’t broken. It’s engineered.
HealthcareHealthcareisn’tisn’tbroken.broken.It’sIt’sENGINEERED.ENGINEERED.
ItItwaswasbuiltbuiltwithwithspecificspecificincentivesincentivesandandstructuresstructurestotobenefitbenefitspecificspecificstakeholders.stakeholders.
TheTheproblem?problem?TheThesystemsystemworksworksbeautifullybeautifullyforforthosethosewhowhobuiltbuiltit.it.
ButButNOTNOTforforthetheemployersemployersandandemployeesemployeesforcedforcedtotonavigatenavigateit.it.
That changes the question.
If the system works the way it was designed,
Then you can’t fix what isn’t broken.
So the challenge was never repair — it’s disruption.
You can’t fix it. You replace it. You build what comes next.
A different future demands a different kind of adviser.
But you cannot transform the health plan until you win the business.
ASCEND Builds the Adviser Who Can.
Every navigator needs a fixed point of reference —
NextGen is the North Star.
The Healthcare Status Quo Is Not Inevitable.
There’s a Better Destination. NextGen Keeps You on Course.
January 18 - 21, 2027San Diego Convention CenterSan Diego, CA
ASCEND 2027 positions itself not as the destination
but as the guide.
Find True North
Understanding what is really happening in healthcare.
- The Fully Insured Trap
- The Big Lie
- Misaligned Incentives
- Pharmacy dysfunction
- The ACA’s MLR & carrier economics
- Healthcare supply chain failures
Chart the Course
Discovering a better path forward. This is where attendees see the NextGen Toolset, proof that there is another route.
- Self-funding
- Fiduciary PBM
- Unbundled Independent TPA
- Medical Utilization Management / Navigation
- Direct Contracts incl. Direct Primary Care
- Cost Containment Point Solutions
Build the Capability
Developing the skills required for the journey, the NextGen Skillset. These are not destinations; they are navigation skills.
- Consultative selling
- Selling the C-Suite
- Selling self-funding
- Healthcare supply chain management
- Marketing
- Leadership
Lead the Movement
Helping others find the way. Attendees move from follower to guide, a navigation beacon for others.
- Mastermind Partnership
- Industry Advisory Board
- NextGen Benefits Boot Camp
- NextGen Mastery Track Roundtable
- Giant Killer Awards
Four Days That Can Change the Trajectory of Your Agency
At ASCEND, you will discover
Become the Adviser CEOs and CFOs Choose
Learn to lead strategic, financial conversations that transcend premiums, deductibles, and the renewal spreadsheet.
How Independent Advisers Win Mid-Market Accounts From National Brokerages
Study the positioning, capabilities, and sales strategies behind real Giant Killer victories.
Move Employers Beyond the Fully Insured Status Quo
Build the confidence and capability to move employers to self-funding.
Manage More Than the Financing
Learn to manage healthcare as a supply chain — from pharmacy and utilization to quality, cost, and patient experience.
How One Mid-Market Win Can Change Everything
Create the growth engine that increases revenue, margins, enterprise value, and your ability to remain fiercely independent.
What Dan LaBroad says about ASCEND
At ASCEND, learn the language and the strategic, financial conversation that closes business in the C-suite.
We’re beating the big houses now because our discussions and topics are different, and I learned it all at ASCEND.
One ExperienceFour Paths to Growth
01Agency Owners & Leaders
Can your agency grow without growing chaotic?
Strengthen leadership, management, efficiency, talent, technology, EBITDA, and enterprise value.
The Destination
A more scalable, profitable, valuable agency.
02Producers & Advisers
Are you still selling benefits or leading business strategy?
Master consultative selling, C-suite engagement, self-funding, and healthcare supply-chain management.
The Destination
Larger opportunities, stronger clients, faster growth.
03Account Managers
Are you servicing accounts or creating indispensable relationships?
Elevate communication, execution, client experience, retention, and support for sophisticated health plans.
The Destination
Clients who recognize and reward your agency’s value.
04Solution Providers
Are advisers merely aware of you or actively bringing you opportunities?
Build stronger distribution, positioning, selling, marketing, and adviser relationships through the Vendor Growth Summit.
The Destination
Greater adoption, market share, and sustainable growth.
Built for Conversation,
Not Clutter.
Open-Architecture Exhibit Hall
Say goodbye to the tired rows of pipe-and-drape booths. The ASCEND Exhibit Hall is reimagined with sleek, six-table pods designed for openness and interaction.
THE RESULTS
The format makes it easy for you to:
- An environment engineered for maximum engagement
- More meaningful conversations in a dynamic, inviting space
- High-energy engagement that ensures you discover the cutting-edge solution partners you need for greater success
Guided Tours of the
Exhibit Hall
DISCOVER
During breakout sessions, you’ll join small guided groups through the Exhibit Hall, every table is a stop on the tour. At each rotation, exhibitors share a quick 2-minute snapshot of their solutions, innovations, or services.
CONNECT
The format makes it easy for you to:
- Quickly understand who’s who and what they offer
- Compare options side-by-side
- Discover resources you may not have known about
LEARN
You’ll walk away with a clear picture of the best tools, partners, and ideas available without having to hunt them down on your own. It’s efficient, engaging, and ensures you leave with maximum value from the Exhibit Hall.
Expert Roundtables
“Speed Networking” for ADVISERS
HOW IT WORKS
Think of it as speed dating with industry experts. Over the course of two structured sessions, you’ll rotate through 16 Roundtables for briefings on key NextGen solutions and strategies.
YOU WILL GET
In the RoundTables you’ll
- Get direct access to experts and thought leaders
- Ask questions and dive into real challenges you face
- Gather fresh perspectives and practical takeaways you can use right away
THE RESULTS
In an engaging high-energy format, you’ll expand your network, sharpen your insights, and walk away with actionable ideas you can apply immediately.
FEATURED EXPERIENCE
Meet the Masters Challenge
TABLES OF 6. ONE MASTER PER TABLE. THREE ROUNDS. NO ASSIGNED SEATS.
Choose the topics that matter most, move fast when the doors open, and learn directly from top advisers and industry experts in small-group conversations built for real-world industry challenges.
At ASCEND, get the strategies and frameworks that empower you to win bigger, mid-market accounts from bigger, even national brokers.
Don’t National Brokers Own the
Mid-Market?Someone Forgot to Tell
NextGen Advisers.
The Giant Killer Awards recognizes independent advisers who take mid-market groups from regional and national brokers.
They win by being more relevant, more strategic, and more valuable to the C-Suite.
Giant Killer Award Winners & the Giants They Took Down
Giant Killer Award 2022Presented annually at ASCEND
When a smaller agency consistently out-competes national brands for the business that matters most, that’s not luck. That’s the strategy working.
NextGen Advisers28%
average organic annual growth of book of business
Industry Average<9%
across the broader brokerage market
The NextGen Competitive Edge
Deliver Clients a Refund Check
- Stop delivering renewal increases
- Discover how to deliver dividend checks
Bill Hughes
Benafix
TPHS, Fort Worth, TX
170 Employees
What advisers say about ASCEND
Discover how ASCEND can make you competitive in the mid‑market against the big agencies.
The business I started when I first formed my own firm is completely different from the business I’m running today. I can honestly say that transformation is because of this conference.
C-Suite Selling
Performance Lab
Would you survive a CFO Conversation?
The real work in NextGen is the C-suite language, conversation, and executive messaging.
01
A risk-free room
The AI-powered Lab lets you try out your C-suite language in a strategic, financial conversation.
02
Watch it tested live
Advisers put their questioning & listening skills, executive presence, financial framing, and ability to advance the sale to the test.
03
Take your turn
Step up into the corner office with a CEO or CFO, only at ASCEND.
What is one mid-market client
worth to your agency?
Mid-Market Revenue Example
250 lives × $300$75,000
Year OneRecurring$225,000
Years 2–4Lifetime value$300,000
One AccountASCEND is not merely a conference expense.
It’s an investment in winning the accounts that can change the trajectory of your agency.
01
Significant first-year revenue
02
Years of recurring income
03
Greater market credibility
04
New introductions & referrals
05
Increased enterprise value
A Look Back at ASCEND
ASCEND isNot for Everyone
It is for you if...
You want to win larger companies
You are ready to engage CEOs and CFOs
You refuse to remain trapped in the renewal cycle
You want to challenge fully insured healthcare
You are prepared to change how you market, sell, advise, serve, and lead
It is not for you if...
You are satisfied delivering renewals
You only want more products to quote
You prefer passive presentations to working sessions
You are unwilling to challenge the status quo
ASCEND is forThe Ambitious, The Independent, The Action Takers
Reserve my SeatDaniel McCauley built a $500,000 Self-funded book from scratch... in just 18 months
January 2022
Attended ASCEND
February 2022
Completed NextGen Boot Camp
April 2022
Joined NextGen Mastermind Partnership
June 2022
Started prospecting
December 2022
$106,000 book... Entirely self-funded
December 2023
$550,000 self-funded book... IN JUST 18 MONTHS!
Challenge
A former software sales rep, Daniel entered the benefits world with no insurance experience and no uncle with a large company, just ambition and a willingness to learn.
Strategy
After attending ASCEND 2022, he dove into the NextGen playbook, mastered the self-funded sale, and, in June, began having strategic, financial conversations with executives in the C-Suite.
In 2023, Daniel was a finalist with Gallagher and twice with MMA.
That year, he won a 712-life group against MMA.
A $500K book in 18 months would be impossible selling BUCA fully insured plans.
Daniel did not spend years learning to compete inside the traditional brokerage model.
He learned a better model from the beginning.
And it all started at ASCEND.
Venue & Accommodation
ASCEND 2027 will be held at the San Diego Convention Center.
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Host Hotel
Hilton San Diego Bayfront
1 Park BlvdSan Diego, CA 92101
The hotel block will fill fast — book early to lock in the special ASCEND rate.
Agenda of
ASCEND 2027
The future of Benefits begins beyond the healthcare twilight zone
Agenda Coming Soon
We’re putting the finishing touches on the full agenda.
What Ashley Hughes says about ASCEND
At ASCEND, find the new model that will change your business and your life.
It’s been life changing being there.
It definitely opened a lot of new concepts, languages, and a lot of things that I wanna learn more about.
Premier vendors who have sponsored ASCEND
Elan
Aimm
Cas
Benepower
Assured Benefits
AFR LIFE
Chronilogix
Check my spot
Coterie
Degrees Health
Everguide 360
Connect
ILMEDS
Elan
Aimm
Cas
Benepower
Assured Benefits
AFR LIFE
Chronilogix
Check my spot
Coterie
Degrees Health
Everguide 360
Connect
ILMEDS
Frequently asked
Questions
Got Questions?
Say less, we’ve got answers!
ASCEND is built for independent benefits advisers and agency leaders who refuse to compete on the carrier's terms — the NextGen advisers taking mid-market groups from the national brokerages. Whether you're a first-timer looking to escape the fully insured trap or a veteran sharpening your edge, you'll be surrounded by the people rewriting how healthcare gets bought and sold.