The average age of someone in the insurance business is 54, and for most firms, recruiting a younger generation into benefits has been very challenging, to say the least. I’m pumped that I was able to secure three millennial rock star benefit strategists who are breaking through the benefits status quo and taking their geographic markets by storm to speak …
Finding sales partners in unexpected places
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 …
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 adopt a time-proven sales closing strategy
Seventeen years ago, I was a college intern with zero sales experience and no insurance background. My manager was an old-school sales pro who preferred to have a conversation with prospects, and for the most part, shoot from the hip. To say he wasn’t a great closer, however, would be a lie. In fact, he remains one of the top …
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 …
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 …
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 …