When asked about Trey’s upbringing, he says that he “grew up everywhere.” His father is from Louisiana, and his mother is from Mississippi, although Trey spent most of his growing up years in Black Mountain, NC. Right out of high school, Trey went to the United States Naval Academy. Upon graduating in 2002, Trey was selected to be a Naval Aviator and was enrolled in flight school in Pensacola, FL. For his entire 12 active years in the Navy, he served as a helicopter pilot. While he was doing an instructor tour in Corpus Christi, TX, Trey met his wife. Interestingly enough, she was from Lafayette, Louisiana, but was living in Austin, TX at the time. Thirteen months later, they married.
Trey and his wife spent their last active Navy station in San Diego, and by that time, they had already given birth to their son. Soon after, they eventually decided to transition out of the Navy, but in doing so, they spent time as a family really looking into what industry was the right fit for them.
When people ask why he chose State Farm, he says there were a few important factors at play. One, he wanted to be an independent business owner. He also wanted the ability to choose his own team and help lead and develop them. Finally, he wanted the opportunity to help people, whether directly or indirectly. State Farm checked all of those boxes.
Trey and his family decided to go back to Lafayette, his wife’s hometown because they truly love the area. There, he worked for a local agent for a couple of years to learn the business and obtain all the necessary licenses to be an agent.
On January 1, 2016, Trey opened his own business.
Trey can’t express enough how much he loves his job, his team, and his customers. He loves working with people and taking care of them. He feels grateful to be there for his customers in their time of need.
Management Approach
Trey doesn’t really look at his role as an agent as managing. He looks at it as leading. Trey believes his team is made up of a group that is very capable and intelligent. He currently has six full-time employees. Each one of them is different from the other. They all have different goals and motivations. Trey spends a lot of time working with them individually to address their personal growth and how he can help them achieve that. At the same time, his team understands what is important to him and how he wants to run the business and take care of their customers. Essentially, it comes down to mutual respect for everyone’s goals.
“If you truly care about your employees,” explains Trey, “then managing takes care of itself.”
His team has a wide range of experience. Some want to grow into being agents, others will be long-term team members at Trey’s office, and each person has their own specialty.
Everybody brings something dynamic and unique to the table.
Services & Specialties
State Farm Insurance offers approximately 120 different products and services. Therefore, depending on his customers’ unique needs, Trey has a very broad portfolio of services to offer his customers. The portfolio is segmented into the following categories:
· Auto Insurance
· Homeowner’s Insurance
· Property Insurance
· Business Insurance
· Life Insurance
· Health Insurance
The great thing about State Farm, Trey explains, is that every customer has different needs; however, through a conversation with the customer and understanding their concerns and what’s important to them, they will be able to find a product that can address that need.
In addition, Trey’s customer base is quite diverse. Though there’s a big difference in age range, ethnicity, background, and languages in the Lafayette market area, Trey and his team are experts at understanding their diverse needs. Trey and his team pride themselves in building rapport, asking the right questions, listening carefully and then customizing the right State Farm solution to meet and/or exceed those needs.
Geographical Coverage Area
The Trey Hargrove State Farm Agency is licensed in the entire state of Louisiana.
However, the core geographical area of his insurance agency is Lafayette and all of the surrounding communities and towns.
Customer Satisfaction
Trey and his team pride themselves on being there for every customer in their time of need.
They recognize that sometimes crazy things happen. For example, one weekend, Trey got a call from a customer who said that a car veered off the road and ran into his house. The customer said, “Trey, you’re not going to believe this, but a car ran into my house while my wife was just sitting in our living room.” He didn’t know what to do. Trey immediately went over to his customer’s house and was there by his side within the hour.
Trey was able to get a contractor out that day and get in touch with claims that very same day, as well.
The real benefit to Trey’s customers is that the agency has a local presence. His customer knew how to get in touch with Trey, and that was his first call in his time of need.
Therefore, the agency is able to give that personal touch, along with the excellent customer service that State Farm offers.
Additionally, the insurance agency’s customers are appreciative that the team is able to take care of families during very difficult times. Families already have a lot to deal with when losing a loved one. After they have their time to grieve, the thoughts of “am I going to be okay financially?” start to kick in. In these instances, Trey is able to work directly with the funeral home during that time and is also able to provide that family with some piece of mind when he’s able to give them a life insurance check. It allows them to grieve with grace and not have to worry about their financial future.
Customers are comforted by the fact that their loved one they lost took the time to make sure their family was taken care of and financially secure in their future.
Community Involvement
The agency has a big community presence and is involved in festivals, fundraisers, and any community event where there is an opportunity to make the community better, he wants to take advantage of that.
Community Organizations
Board Member – Hearts of Hope
Give Trey Hargrove a call today at (337) 456-7564
