Imagine if there was a way that you could change your clients perception of your firms size without signing any new office leases and going on a hiring spree. The word “disrupt,” according to dictionary.com, is a verb used to express “disorder or turmoil,” while “disruption” is a noun that, in business, means to bring “radical change in an industry …
How brokers can disrupt voluntary
Disrupter is the term most often used to describe health care industry thought leaders like Mark Gaunya of Borislow Insurance in Boston, Massachusetts and Andy Neary of VolkBell in Longmont, CO. “Disrupter” is the term most often used to describe health care industry thought leaders like Mark Gaunya of Borislow Insurance in Boston, Massachusetts and Andy Neary of VolkBell in …
Is the largest enrollment firm hiding in plain sight?
Most 1099 contractors mistakenly believe they are beholden to one insurance carrier for enhanced benefit enrollment services. Most folks who consult on voluntary or, as I call it, enhanced benefits, have an enrollment arm to their business that acts as an in-house enrollment firm. They also have in-office counselors who conduct one-on-one meetings with employees to educate them on various enhanced …
Create urgency to close the deal
Have you ever seen, around Thanksgiving, a TV commercial for the local car dealer that says, “Come in for a test drive, and receive a free 30-pound turkey. No purchase necessary.”? There’s a reason they make those crazy offers. It works, and it happens all the time. In the insurance world, I encourage advisers to follow suit — within their …
Disrupting the voluntary benefits market
BenefitsPRO published this article in June about my BenefitsPRO Broker Expo. In his BenefitsPRO Broker Expo presentation, voluntary expert Eric Silverman outlines what advisers need to do to move beyond a status-quo enhanced benefits strategy. When it comes to creating a new vision of voluntary benefits where the products play a central role in the lives of employees and the …
Defined contribution = benefits shopping spree
The concept of defined contribution (DC) is not widely used in the enhanced, or voluntary, benefit space. But communicated properly, approaching enhanced benefits from the DC perspective is a powerful and innovative tool that brokers can bring to their clients. I start the conversation by asking employers, “Why do you pay for benefits such as life, dental, vision and disability?” …
Jimmy Fallon Shouldn’t be the Only One Writing Thank You Notes!
Have you ever considered sending a handwritten note to thank a prospect for hanging up on you? One of my favorite comedy bits on the new Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is his Friday night “thank you notes” segment. Sure, they’re hilarious and witty, and the musical interaction with his band member and his cohost is comedy gold, but what I like …
How ‘National Cupcake Day’ built my social brand and how other advisers can do the same
One Tuesday morning in December 2015, I sat at the kitchen table with my daughter Dylan as she ate her “daddy’s cereal”— Special K with Red Berries. With the morning news on in the background, we both heard the anchorman say, “It’s going to be a delicious day. It’s National Cupcake Day!” At six years old, Dylan thought this was …
Be coachable: how brokers can stay out of their own way
Trust the experts to know how to overcome objections and close the sale. When I take on a new client, I start by telling them how the relationship works — and how it doesn’t work. In other words, I’m a big believer in laying down ground rules: What I expect from them as a partner, and what they can expect …
For Benefits, Word Choice Can Prove Paramount
How “Ancillary” and “Voluntary” may be hurting your enhanced benefit sales I just closed my first 50-life case and couldn’t wait for the employee group meeting. Visions of 80% employee participation were letting my mind cash checks that inevitably my mouth hadn’t yet written. While presenting, I proceeded to, innocently enough, refer to the majority of their employees as “tow …