“No, I’ll just sign a waiver.” Six words an enhanced benefit enroller never wants to hear. We all know that employee, the one who doesn’t have time to meet, already knows everything, and just wants to sign a waiver. I was enrolling a multi-thousand employee group and in walked a gentleman whom I’ll just call ‘Mr. Waiver’ — the employee …
How benefit advisers can use negative enrollment to achieve some very positive outcomes
How can advisers use automatic benefits enrollment to better support their clients? Here’s a real-life case study provided by Matt Berger, who heads the Philadelphia market for Aflac. An employer was seeing the bulk of its employees abuse the ER or similar urgent care facilities for mundane ailments like colds and stomachaches. The employees’ $50 copay wasn’t much more than …
When it comes to sales staff, is more better?
We all know that when sales are down benefit agencies commonly hire more sales people. I was probably as guilty of this as anyone for more than a decade. But just because it’s a common practice, doesn’t always make it the best idea. I was part of and even led an organization that recruited more new inexperienced agents in a …
When it comes to referrals – don’t be afraid to ask
So you’ve found what I call your “owner advocate,” that decision maker on your client’s team who believes in you and what your products and services stand for. Now what? Why not tap your advocate for referrals to other potential clients within their professional and personal network? These are people who would gladly meet with you, if the introduction is …
Blizzard marketing: A prime opportunity to reach decision makers
What do catastrophic blizzards and major federal holidays have in common? If you guessed days off of work for millions of people, you would be correct. However, the real question is who gets the ‘luxury’ of taking the day off — employees or employers? If your sole weekly objective is to book appointments with potential commercial clients, then I suspect …
Boy am I stupid: Assumptions wreak havoc
Before you blindly agree with the beginning of my headline, please allow me to defend myself. Has anyone else ever rocked an enrollment — and I mean, really crushed it — only then to have the owner of the company call you unexpectedly when the enrollment is complete to tell you they need to meet with you immediately? Let me …
The science behind ‘the magic thank-you note’
Anyone else find it terribly ironic that I’m the one preaching the importance of writing personalized handwritten thank-you notes, and now I’m writing, via a keyboard, a mass thank-you to everyone who has expressed genuine interest in what my original note said? I guess that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite — please forgive me. I’ve shared my story with thousands …
Jimmy Fallon shouldn’t be the only one writing thank you notes
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 most is that Jimmy hand writes each note one-by-one. Riddle me this: You just had …
The most critical characteristics of an enterprising adviser
Lou Holtz is widely known as a legendary college football coach and mentor, but it wasn’t until late 2006 that I finally learned of this brilliant and extraordinary coaching icon. At a management meeting in Atlanta, I noticed that Lou Holtz had been hired to motivate all of the sales managers in attendance. The only thing that went through my …
How to run a successful sales internship program
College kids are referred to as millennials these days, but the top two questions that I get asked by agents and agencies who want to start or better their insurance sales internship program haven’t changed at all. Let’s remember why millennials need an internship in the first place. The sharpest ones seek an internship to garner professional experience in a …