Tag Archives: business

SAP 115: Begin with the End in Mind with YOUR Insurance Business!

As Stephen Covey famously said (in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), “Begin with the End in Mind.”

What does this mean? Many things. In this context, if working in the Medicare niche, specifically, you should work to create a marketing model that can later be grown to scale. Once you find your marketing groove – something that works for you consistently – you can grow that marketing medium to double, triple, etc from what you did during your market testing.

Agents who do not have a marketing plan, or agents who are not having to answer the phones from their on-going marketing at all, often are swayed into spending the entire Annual Election Period (October 15 – December 7th) each year sitting in someone else’s business.

Like car salespeople, these Medicare agents have zero control over the marketing that will bring people by their table. They cannot overtly contact seniors walking by, even. Worse, they are limited to the brand(s) that they are there under contract with.

While it might yield some applications, I would argue that far better results can be obtained by having a marketing plan whereby people are responding TO YOU. You can remain independent. You can control the number of leads calling in. You can write what is truly in the best interest of these folks, rather than being bent toward only those carriers who you are contracted with for the purposes of manning their booth.

Many newer agents are told, “This is the way it’s done.” by their upline.
They are given a place to squat during this VALUABLE time, and told “Good luck.”
This is acting, for the FMO, as if you are a free employee. They do not pay you hourly, they just enjoy the very-generous overrides from the Advantage plans written. If it works, great. If it yields no applications, no worries.

Yes, there is a much better way.

I encourage you to be an independent agent – able to offer BOTH Medicare Supplements, Part D plans, and Medicare Advantage plans… Fully balanced in your approach and the offering to the senior based solely upon what their unique needs are. Being fully in control of your marketing means that you can create your perfect “avatar.”

That means you get to pick the income levels, interest levels, geography, etc. of the people you choose to target with your marketing. Yes, it is a good idea to actually INVEST in your business, if you choose to treat it like a business.

There are so many seniors during AEP that are desperate for individual attention that it is NOT difficult to get them to respond IF they are given the opportunity.

As always, for helpful agent information, visit MedicareAgentTraining.com. Listen below or watch here!

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SAP 113: Salespeople have to be HUNGRY, but not Desperate

How you do anything is how you do everything. If you have a consistent routine, every single day, where you are talking to seniors who could potentially help, you’re in the game. If you are doing ANYTHING other than talking with seniors consistently, you are fooling yourself into thinking you’re in the business.

Coming at any marketing business with an attitude of being hungry for results, in that it creates within you the drive to do what is necessary, means inevitable success. Whether it is selling Medicare insurance by phone, selling final expense insurance face-to-face, or selling anything to anyone – how you show up, or don’t show up, every day is what separates the superstars from those that barely get by or wash out of the industry.

As always, for helpful agent information, visit MedicareAgentTraining.com. Listen below or watch here!

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SAP 112: Be VERY Careful Here PLEASE

How you do anything is how you do everything. We need to increase the level of accountability and integrity in the insurance industry.

Medicare insurance underwriting and life insurance underwriting both require agents to ask health questions.

Neglecting to actually ASK the questions on the application, and winging it, hoping the client gets approved is NOT a good business plan.

As always, for helpful agent information, visit MedicareAgentTraining.com. Listen below or watch here!

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SAP 033: When to Hire Extra Help in Your Medicare Business

This is the question submitted by one of our members, and it is asking when to hire additional help as the business is starting to grow. (Read by speech-to-text with the computer voice!)

“So, I re-watched your video from a couple weeks ago about delegating authority. I know that I am very new, but I am trying to streamline the learning curve as quickly as possible and grow the business as fast as I can. I wanted to ask your advice…

If I were to hire one person now to help me, could you give me an idea of what duties would be most important?

1) Should I hire a licensed agent or an administrative person? Or hire somebody to perform admin duties who is also licensed so he/she can also write business?
2) How do you recommend I pay them? (hourly, flat fee per deals, etc.??)
3) Do you pay your staff as independent contractors, or do you W2 them and pay payroll taxes, etc?

I am currently working all day from about 7:30am until well into the night sometimes 10-11pm trying to do all my administrative chores while making cold calls in the am, and during the peak hours in the pm, and also following up on all the calls my telemarketers set up for me throughout the day (I bought trained telemarketers through http://TrainedTelemarketers.com )

I started doing this full time in the middle of October. So the first couple months were a bit slow, and now things are starting to come together, but I want to automate and delegate more. 2 weeks ago I had 5 new applications and last week I had 6. This week I have 0 so far. My goal each week is 7 new apps. I have not hit it yet. I’ll be happy if I hit 20 for the month. I’m having good conversations but I hoping you can give me suggestions to improve. I’d like to know how your business is set up. Perhaps your operation is too big, but maybe something like the way Eugene has set his up is something I can model. It’s my understanding he has himself, one or 2 agents and an admin person.

So if I could only afford to bring on one person now, where would my money be best spent, or am I putting the cart before the horse?”

See: http://MedicareAgentTraining.com

Listen below or watch here!

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