Working late one evening, my office cleaning guy, Jeff, popped in to tidy up. He had been cleaning my office for nearly a year, but I never see him since he usually does my space last. While he was cleaning, I struck up a conversation with him about how his business operates. I found out that he works alone and …
Join the ‘voluntary’ revolution
To say that I’m a bit humbled and overwhelmed with the incredible honor that has been bestowed upon me as the 2017 Voluntary Adviser of the Year by Employee Benefit Adviser would be an understatement. I’ve had the privilege of working with and being surrounded by some of the most talented and amazing colleagues in the enhanced benefits industry throughout …
How to maximize enrollment with enhanced benefits — with Eric Silverman
Originally published on BenefitsPRO.com by David Saltzman. You may have been calling them voluntary or ancillary, but Eric is passionate in his belief that neither of those words make the case for a benefit offering that is more important to clients and employees than ever before. Eric Silverman is one of the most disruptive forces in the area of “enhanced …
Voluntary disruption, Part 2: Products
As you begin to have proactive conversations with your clients to ensure they have a proper enhanced benefits offering that complements your recommended overall health care strategy, its important that you understand all of the products and services that are available within the marketplace. Last month, I discussed how the most influential disrupter to the enhanced benefits industry must be …
Voluntary disruption
I would argue that the most influential disrupter to our industry must be the willingness of the broker community at large to adjust, adapt, and embrace our ever-changing market. “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. These consultants, …
How to close deals faster
Give me a “yes.” Give me a “no.” Just don’t give me a “maybe.” “Seems like a good idea, but we’re very busy right now.” “Thanks for coming in; call me in two weeks to discuss.” “I like what I hear so far; I’ll call you after I read everything.” “Sounds good; I’ll think about it.” Sound familiar? Whether I …
3 simple ways to crush enhanced benefits open enrollments
Raise your hand if you’ve ever had an enhanced benefits (formerly known as voluntary benefits) open enrollment not go exactly as you envisioned or would have liked. If you’re one of the few who has never had this happen and you have a perfect open enrollment season score, then I applaud you with a raised and very suspicious eyebrow. For …
How ‘ancillary’ and ‘voluntary’ are hurting enhanced benefit sales
As an intern, green as can be, I found out the hard way that words are very powerful things that have intense meaning. I’d 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 …
Change client lives through small talk and soft questions
“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 …