Eat Seasonally Recipe Edition

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Graphics Designer/Freelance Blog Copywriter: Shannon Bever

Author Bio:

Many of you know Shannon Bever as the RBI graphics designer extraordinaire! Shannon’s vision and artistic talents shine on the RBI blog and website and in the RBI brand.  What you may not know about Shannon is that she is a trained chef with over 10 years in the culinary arts field. We thought that was so unique, we are featuring her expertise in a recipe series of blog posts over the next several weeks! 


Eat Seasonally Recipe Edition

Eat Seasonally Recipe Edition

Graphics Designer/Freelance Blog Copywriter: Shannon Bever

Hello everyone! Hopefully you had a successful week! As promised in last week’s post about eating seasonally, I have put together a beautiful four course meal to celebrate Spring! There are many beautiful things that you might not think about being at their peak in Spring, and we’ll dive in together. Whether you make these courses together and serve a fancy meal for guests, or if you choose to make the recipes one at a time to refresh your monthly meal planning, I hope you will try these recipes and introduce more seasonal eating into your diet. Your health and pocket book will thank you.  (I have included the recipes as a downloadable PDF at the end of this post.)

Enjoy, and Bon Appètit!

The Courses Explained:

First we start with the appetizer course: mussels.

Mussels’ prime season is between October and March so this is the last month for great prices and I want to take advantage. Since I live in the desert, these mussels will likely be coming from California but they are still delicious. This dish is served with a side of grilled bread. I prefer grilled baguette and a lemon wedge. The mussels are steamed in a white wine beurre blanc, which makes a delightfully refreshing dish with a nice bit of heat from some red pepper flake. I prefer to use Sauvignon or Fumè Blanc for its grassy, citrus, herbal notes that add a bit more flavor to the dish but just about any white wine will do.

Second we go to the salad course: spinach citrus salad with goat cheese and a champagne vinaigrette.

I love this dish because you could turn it into a full meal with a nice piece of fish or some beautiful grilled chicken. There are also a lot of things that you can do with this recipe for a great springtime lunch as well. This dish contains several flavors that are fresh in March. The base of this salad is spinach, which is at its best in spring and fall, although it is available most of the year. Cara Cara oranges and blood oranges are in season December through April. If you have never had them, they are fairly sweet and have red or pink flesh which can be striking at first. Cara Cara oranges have a little zip to them and are usually lower in acidity than navel oranges. Ruby red grapefruit are in season October through April and have a deliciously sweet pink flesh. Heirloom Navel oranges are in season from December to March, although the typical navel orange can be purchased almost year-round. Strawberries are just starting to come into season this month and will get a bit better as the season progresses into August with their peak being in April to August.

Here’s a little guide to a few other seasonal foods for Spring!

My recipe calls for a raw thinly sliced red onion, but I don’t personally care for them. Leeks are not often used in salads but I substitute them anyways! Raw and thinly sliced! Leeks are in season October through May, and the best type to buy for this dish are the very small, thin, newer ones. Be sure to wash them thoroughly as they often contain little pebbles of dirt and maybe even a few bugs within the folds of the leaves which aren’t always easy to get to with just a quick rinse. The best way I have found to clean them is to slice them the way you intend to use them then put them in a mesh colander, rinse and then finally in a salad spinner with a bit of cheesecloth to ensure that they are well rinsed and dried. Then for additional depth and flavor, I like to add avocado and some of that fresh goat cheese or chèvre from the local creamery. These are totally optional but it makes this salad well rounded and the added fat from the avocado and goat cheese help to cut the acidity of the citrus. Avocados are typically in season year-round between California’s peak season from February to September and Mexico’s crops being consistent throughout the year. I also like to jazz this dish up a bit and make some sweet and spicy pecans to add to this dish. Pecans typically are not in season this month as their season is around November but if you have them leftover in your pantry this is a good dish to use them in.  Are you hungry yet?  I certainly am! 

Third (Main) course: hazelnut-crusted halibut with roasted root vegetables and asparagus (YUM!)

Again a few of the ingredients in this dish are leftover from the fall, such as hazelnuts, which are at their peak in the fall months. This year, halibut season will run from March to November with commercial fisheries’ typical season from June to September. Asparagus is in season from late February to June with April being the prime month. It is quite delicious roasted with a bit of fresh lemon on top. Roasted root vegetables are a nice change of pace from the typical potato or pasta side dish, and are sometimes overlooked their peak season is from fall through early spring. They are very easy to work with and when they are roasted the sweetness of the flesh comes out. This side dish pairs beautifully with the nuttiness of the hazelnut crusted halibut. Parsnips have somewhat of a cinnamon-y flavor and resemble large white carrots. Another great way to use them is to puree them with some potatoes to add a complexity to them. Turnips and rutabagas are subtle in flavor and are very versatile. Beets are a super-food and are full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Carrots are probably one of the most popular root vegetables and I’m sure you already know how much better they taste when they are roasted.

Finally, we come to everyone’s favorite: dessert!

Strawberry Dessert

Our star tonight is almond shortbread moons with vanilla bean whip cream, strawberries, basil reduction and balsamic glaze. This light and delicious dessert will cleanse your palate and provide a great end to this seasonal meal. You should dig into your cellar for the almonds as their season is typically from August to October. For the vanilla beans, their season is typically in December through February, depending on where it comes from and how long it is cured. Basil grows just about year-round (especially indoors–hello, homegrown herb garden!) and when it is cooked down and strained to make this beautiful reduction, it adds a nice refreshing taste to this simple dessert. The complexity of the balsamic glaze will truly convert you from skeptic to believer. I know that at first glance this dish seems oddly paired but trust me once you try this dish you will be amazed how something so simple could be so complex and diverse in flavor.

The Recipes:

Spring Menu Recipes


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Video: Medicare Marketing Madness Roll-up

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So you registered for the Webinar Wednesday this week but couldn’t make it. (We get it, life gets busy.)

But just because you’re busy, doesn’t mean you should miss out on great advice! Watch this video Medicare Marketing Madness Roll-up to get the highlights in 1 minute!

Here’s just a few things to keep in mind with Medicare marketing, that Justin Bever (RBI Director of Marketing) highlighted:

  • As with any small business (but especially in senior insurance industry), marketing should be about getting your message in front of the most people compliantly, with the lowest possible cost.
  • The best bang for marketing bucks in Medicare is sending Direct Mail marketing. (Don’t know anything about Direct Mail? Watch now)
  • Direct Mail produces a consistent lead pipeline at an affordable and predictable price
  • The five key elements of Direct Mail marketing are the timing of your mailer, the mailing package (or type of mailer you choose), the copy or text, what the offer is, and the mailing list you choose.

And so much more! Watch the Medicare Marketing Madness Roll-up below now!

Now you’ve had the 1 minute sneak peak, click here and watch the full recording!

Don’t forget that next month starts our Carrier Spring Training month at RBI! Sign up to access the webinars! You can choose the webinars that are right for you by clicking here.


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Targeting Your Ideal List — the most misunderstood Direct Mail concept

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Justin Bever

Director of Marketing: Justin Bever

About the Author: In his 9 years since joining the family business in 2008 as a Broker Support Representative, Justin has made innovation his top priority. Justin is passionate about bringing technology into the agent’s toolbox, and has developed tools such as a direct mail program for lead generation (2011); Medicare Compare (2013), an online tool for beneficiaries complete with its own brand identity; and the Medicare Sales Engine (2014), a fully integrated Client Relationship Manager for agents.  Justin’s most recent accomplishment is the Agent Market Edge (2016), an online portal that integrates RBI and their print + fulfillment partners to make marketing accessible to agents. When he is not leveraging technology to produce exciting new tools for agents, Justin’s hobbies are skiing, hiking, and cooking exquisite meals in the company of his high school sweetheart and wife, Cassie. 


Targeting your ideal list

Targeting Your Ideal List:

the most misunderstood Direct Mail concept

Director of Marketing: Justin Bever


When you think about marketing for Medicare, you probably think of Direct Mail. Thanks to CMS Guidelines restricting outreach methods for Medicare Advantage, Direct Mail is a popular way to find new leads.  What you may not know is that Direct Mail is also very effective to reach other types of prospects in the senior insurance market. If you have been following our webinars this month, you’ll know that we tackled the basics of how Direct Mail works last week. Let’s take a closer look at the single most important part of a Direct Mail campaign: targeting your ideal list.

Targeting your ideal list matters

Building a list is not only the most important part of any Direct Mail campaign, but also the most misunderstood concept in Direct Mail. You can have the best copy, the best offer, the most beautifully designed postcard and if you send it to a list that isn’t relevant to what you are selling, you’ll get a 0% response. Think about this for a moment. Talk about a waste of marketing dollars.

Relevance drives sales

Why does this happen? Simply put, prospects buy what is relevant to them. Television ads are a great example of this: big companies pay lots of money to know what demographics are watching so they can target their ads to those consumers. In our business this concept is pretty obvious: you wouldn’t send a Medicare lead piece to an 18-year-old college student, because it is completely irrelevant to their needs and desires. So, how do you select a list that will be relevant to the piece you are sending?

Types of lists for Direct Mail

Targeting your ideal list

How do you select a list that will be relevant to the piece you are sending?

There are four primary types of lists that you can target in Direct Mail:

  1. House lists (your clients, past and present, and your previous responders)
  2. Consumer Lists (rented or purchased)
  3. Business lists (rented or purchased)
  4. Specialty lists (think specific magazine subscribers, for example)

Each type of list is going to require a different type of mailer or outreach. For finding new prospects specifically, in our industry we rent or purchase consumer lists. There are a number of ways that you can rent or purchase consumer lists, but the retail price you’ll find is typically between $0.05 – 0.08 per record. (Stay tuned for RBI discounts available to contracted agents!)

Not all lists are created equal!

When you purchase a consumer list, you want to look at three demographics (or selectors as list brokers call them): age, income and geography. Using geography as a selector makes sense: you don’t want to get leads that are out of state, for instance. Age and income are a little trickier, but a rule of thumb for a higher success rate is to target ages 64.5 to 85 for Medicare Advantage, and 64.5 to 75 for Medicare Supplement. Replacement Medicare Supplement plans are more effective up to the age of 75; beyond age 75 most beneficiaries choose a Medicare Advantage as a replacement. Why you ask? After age 75 there are higher costs on a supplement and stricter underwriting as well. Ultimately, targeting your ideal list dictates the success of your direct mail campaign.

Are you ready to get started?

We can help you! We work with print and fulfillment companies to bring you discounts and exclusive pricing on mailers. At RBI, we will make sure you get the right list for every mailer you send and the cost of the data is included in all our mailers. If you do feel the need to purchase a list separately, our cost to contracted agents is only $0.025 per record. Give us a call at 1-800-997-3107 if you want help selecting the right list for your campaign.

Still not convinced? Watch the webinar! “Direct Mail Madness” covered the basics of Direct Mail marketing, and “Medicare Marketing Madness” covered how to use Direct Mail for your senior insurance business! 


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Dual Eligible New Plan Member Outreach

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James Gramp

 RBI Sales Coordinator/Independent Agent: James Gramp

Pro Tip: If you can solve your client’s problems that have nothing to do with Insurance, you will be their hero.  It can even be as simple as remembering something that they have going on in their life and asking them about it.  I know an agent really went the extra mile from a conversation with one of their clients. The Dual Eligible member had mentioned that she wanted to get a bike for her son’s birthday that was coming up but couldn’t afford it.  The agent was able to find a local organization that gives bikes to under-privileged kids and the mother was able to get her son a bike, thanks to this agent’s work.  Treat Dual Eligible beneficiaries like human beings and not just a client and I promise you that you’ll see more business stay on the books.


Dual Eligible New Plan Member Outreach

RBI Sales Coordinator/Independent Agent: James Gramp


Are you tired of hearing about why you should be taking advantage of the great opportunity you have to sell Dual SNP’s year-round? No? Good, because I’m not done talking about it!  The biggest complaint I hear from agents that don’t want to bother with Dual Eligible beneficiaries is that DSNP members can change plans throughout the year, are harder to keep as clients, and agents eventually lose them much sooner than a regular MA client.  So what’s the secret to retaining your DSNP business?  Member outreach.

What does member outreach look like?

When dealing with your Dual Eligible clients, you need to be reaching out to them regularly. Make sure they know that you’re there for them when they have problems.  By following my new member outreach strategy, your clients will not only see you being proactive with their insurance, but you’ll solve problems before they even arise!

5 steps to great member outreach (with a timeline!)

Step 1: Thank you letters (Next day or end of the week)

The first thing I do after enrolling someone in a Dual Eligible plan (I do this for every client of mine, not just Dual beneficiaries) is to send them a thank-you card, showing your appreciation for being their healthcare agent.  To give it a more personal touch, I also like to include a picture of myself and hand sign the letter. Bonus points if you hand write the whole letter! (If you want to get some help on thank you letters, RBI works with print and fulfillment companies for huge agent discounts!)

Step 2: Call to follow-up (2 weeks after the appointment)

Two weeks after submitting the member’s application, give them a call and confirm that they got their member ID card.  It’s the perfect time to order a new member ID card from member services if they haven’t gotten it yet.  Just call member services with your client on the line.

Step 3: Ask how their coverage is going (30 days after receiving the member ID card)

After 30 days of their new coverage, remind your DSNP beneficiary of any outreach that carriers do for new members, like welcome calls or any Health Risk Assessments.  Ask if they’ve seen their Primary Care Physician yet. (Especially if they’re seeing a new doctor!)  Also confirm that they received any other materials related to plan benefits like OTC cards and catalogs.

Step 4: Help them contact doctors (2 months after enrollment)

Two months after enrolling them, if they still haven’t seen their doctor yet (when you asked them the previous month) then make sure and find any phone numbers they need to schedule a doctor visit.  Make sure your members understand how all of their extra benefits work and how to utilize them.

Step 5: Make yourself available like clockwork (every other month after first doctor visit)

After I’ve made sure my DSNP clients know exactly how their plan works and how to use it, I follow-up every other month just to make sure they’re not having any problems.

Your members will appreciate that you’re being proactive rather than waiting for a problem to come up with their insurance.  Keeping your DSNP clients (and all clients) on the books boils down to giving the best customer service possible. When you step up your member outreach and make sure your clients are utilizing the plans benefits to its fullest, you’re ensuring that your clients never need to seek out help from another agent.

Want more great Dual Eligible advice? Click here to see our webinar “Finding Dual Eligibles” and get started! Click here for a list of carriers in your area, or call RBI at 1-800-997-3107 to speak to our team! Let’s get YOUR Dual Eligible book of business activated today! 


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Life Hack: Eating Seasonally, Spring Edition

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Graphics Designer/Freelance Blog Copywriter: Shannon Bever

Author Bio:

Many of you know Shannon Bever as the RBI graphics designer extraordinaire! Shannon’s vision and artistic talents shine on the RBI blog and website and in the RBI brand.  What you may not know about Shannon is that she is a trained chef with over 10 years in the culinary arts field. We thought that was so unique, we are featuring her expertise in a recipe series of blog posts over the next several weeks! 

Eating Seasonally

Graphics Designer/Freelance Blog Copywriter: Shannon Bever

It might be a no brainer to some that eating seasonally and locally will help you save money, but did you know it helps keep you in optimum health? When you buy what’s in season, you buy food that’s at the peak of its supply, and it costs less to farmers and distribution companies to harvest and get to your grocery store. This creates a simple surplus in the supply, dropping the prices for the customer. Best of all, you can get wholesome fresh foods that are also at their optimum nutrient density (not the same thing as optimum freshness).

A whole new world

One of the great benefits of eating seasonally is that you get exposed to foods you may never see anywhere else! Farmer’s markets are my favorite place to get my hands on new ingredients and hidden gems. Many small farms and local purveyors bring their produce and goods to farmer’s markets, so you can find really unique specialty items. For example, here in Arizona there is a goat farm in the Pine/Strawberry area called Fossil Creek Creamery that has the best fresh made goat cheese and other artisanal products that I have ever had. They sometimes take

part in the farmer’s markets or festivals in the area–I would have never known about them had I not visited their stand at a local event!

Eating seasonally means supporting small business

Another great reason that I always seek out farmer’s markets, is that buying locally helps stimulate the local economy. When I buy locally, I know that I’m helping out my community, as well as getting the freshest produce and great local goods. And it’s not just vegetables, I have bought some of the best lotions at farmer’s markets.

A culinary tradition is born

Several years ago now, I was running my own restaurant kitchen in the Cleveland, Ohio area. My favorite part of the day was getting up early and visiting the farmer’s market. I would pick out the best fruits and vegetables that I could buy and create a dish based on those ingredients. It became a fun tradition at the restaurant, and one I continue today in my personal life.  You can join in! If you live in Arizona, you can visit this website by the Arizona Community Farmers Markets and find a market close to you! If you live in a different state, you can find a local market with a quick Google search.

Find your seasonal foods today!

While visiting farmer’s markets and eating seasonally and locally is very satisfying in and of itself, what do you do with the produce? Eat it, of course! To find seasonal foods in your area, you can visit Seasonal Food Guide and select your state and the current season. If you live in Arizona you can also use the Arizona Farm Bureau’s “Fill Your Plate” website. Next week I am going to talk about how to put together a beautiful meal around seasonal items that you might find in the Spring. From the appetizer to the main meal to a beautiful dessert for a finish, I hope you join me again next week!

Are you as excited as we are for these recipes? Talk about a Fun Friday for the whole family! Speaking of families, want to join the RBI family? Click here to get contracted today! Have questions? Call 1-800-997-3107 today and speak to one of our expert team!


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Video: Direct Mail Madness Roll-up

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Don’t you just hate missing amazing content? Now you don’t have to: watch Direct Mail Madness Roll-up now!



Have you thought about using Direct Mail to market your senior insurance business? Maybe you thought it was a lot of money for leads. Maybe you thought that it was too complicated for you. Perhaps you thought that tracking your investment would be impossible.  If any of these scenarios have you nodding along, you need to watch our 60 Second Roll-up “Direct Mail Madness Roll-up.” 

What are the things agents hate most about marketing?

  • Spending lots of money and not getting anything in return, or in other words, bad Return on Investment (ROI)
  • It’s tough to get the message to the right people, or targeting the message
  • Getting leads that are not effective

RB Insurance is here to help!  We de-mystify Direct Mail, and can help you determine ROI, targeting the right leads, and ultimately get leads that you can convert into a client for life.

Direct Mail Madness Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

Now that you’ve got a taste for Direct Mail, you should watch the full recording! Then you should check out your Agent Market Edge account and get started today!

Don’t forget to sign up for next week’s webinar, which talks about how to use Direct Mail to grow your Medicare business. Check out our Carrier Spring Training series starting in April and get started contracting for the selling season! Call 1-800-997-3107 to get more details! 


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Sharing Stories: why I specialize in Medicare sales

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Tom O'Neil's beloved puppy

Author’s Note: 

Occasionally, Charlie Ferrell the National Sales Manager at RBI/Medicare Compare asks me to whip up a blog post (read more here), often sharing stories about my years in the Medicare field.  I usually give a quick yes and just as quickly miss deadlines.  In this instance, I was challenged and intrigued when RBI Sales Coordinator Rebecca Howard suggested I write about my reasons for specializing for the last 20 years in the Medicare sales market.  At my advanced age and blessed with an overactive imagination, I thought I had self-queried on just about every subject!  But I had never really ruminated regarding my longevity in our strange and challenging business segment.  So last week, at Rebecca’s request, the introspection began!

Sharing Stories: Why I specialize in Medicare sales

Senior Agent Contributor: Tom O’Neil


My own history in Medicare

Although I had been licensed since college days in the late 70’s, it was in 1992 I reentered the insurance industry full time with FHP Healthcare in Tucson, AZ.  My job was in the appeals and grievance area due to my background with insurance and in regulatory legal areas as a former paralegal.  It was a great learning experience that led to a position with Intergroup of Arizona (later Health Net) working with the sales team and the senior programs VP.  There I worked with appeals as well as putting out the fires being regularly ignited by plan members and the state’s unfriendly press.  Finally, I moved into Medicare HMO sales in 1997 and have been there since.  Enough about me.

So why be a Senior Insurance Advisor?

Medicare Insurance product sales pays well for the hard working agent as do many vocations.  As an independent agent the hours are reasonable (except for AEP) and the work is interesting.  But as I now look back it wasn’t really the pay or the hours or the independence that kept me on the same path.  It was the people I have encountered.

My fellow agents, supervisors when I was an employee, mentors and support folks have on the whole been wonderful associates and were part of the satisfaction formula.  A lot of people took a chance on me and will I never fail to appreciate that fact.  But something was still missing while answering the question: why have I stayed in this market for so long?

Sharing Stories: The Flying Tigers

“A Chinese soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the `Flying Tigers,’ at a flying field somewhere in China.” (NWDNS-208-AA-12X-21) National Archives Collection. Accessed 3/23/2017.

Early in my career, while still serving as a military reservist, I had occasion to run a preset appointment in a low income complex in south Scottsdale, AZ. The widow I met had only Medicare and a lot of medical bills.  Nobody had helped her get many of the benefits which she was entitled to receive.  I hooked her up with the top local HMO to reduce her costs and
got her started with what was then the Medicaid equivalent, as well as some transportation and utilities assistance.  I told her I would drop off some additional social services info on Saturday when I got off work.

Saturday came around, and I showed up to the appointment still in uniform from my reserve drill.  She said she was military “too” and took me into her kitchen and showed me a really old “Steve Canyon” comic strip from the Los Angeles Times.  It featured her late husband by name.  He had been a combat pilot with General Claire Chenault’s “Flying Tigers” in 1942 in China, fighting the Japanese Imperial Army.  She took some time to share about her husband, who had actually been awarded many medals with the U.S. Army Air Corps later in the war.  Sadly, he died shortly after the war.  As a military history buff, I was so thankful that she told me about her husband.  She was effusive in her thanks for my assisting her, but really she gave me the gift: a wonderful day.

People like that wonderful lady sharing stories have kept me in this business.

Answer: My clients

My Medicare clients can be lovely, aggravating, generous, timid, brilliant, deranged and all things found in the American fabric.  The one thing that they never are, is dull.  Each new client’s door I walk through takes me into another challenge.  Not to sell something, but to learn something.  It really seems I owe them more than I could ever pay back.  These folks have made me a better person while at the same time allowing me to pursue a career.

Do you have some great stories of why you’re an agent in the senior market? We’d love to hear them! Call us at 1-800-997-3107 or email us with yours! Interested in more about the Flying Tigers?  Read more here or here. Want to get contracted? Click here!


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Spotlight on Outstanding Community Referral Sources

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James Gramp

James Gramp

Sales Coordinator / Independent Insurance Agent

With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is the other half of the RBI phone answering dynamic duo! An Arizona native, Jim manages agent relationships for the East Coast and specializes in the RBI agent tools, especially the Agent Market Edge. Jim has been a licensed health insurance agent for over a year, and has worked at RBI for 2 years. An accomplished bassoonist, he is known around the office for his amazing musical skills. In addition to keeping busy around the office, Jim frequently contributes to our blog, bringing a new agent’s perspective to the RBI online presence.

Spotlight on Outstanding Community Referral Sources

Sales Coordinator/Independent Insurance Agent: James Gramp


My focus for this part of the year is on the Dual Eligible population, something you would know if you read my last post (shame on you if you didn’t!), “Your Best Month Yet.”  The most successful ways I’ve reached this population are Direct Mail and Community Marketing.  Both methods are very effective but today I’ll be focusing on community marketing by building outstanding community referral sources, especially in the Dual Eligibles/Low Income Subsidy (LIS) market.

Community Referral Sources - do your homework!

To gain community referral sources, do your homework!

Do your homework: Prepare for the meeting

Effective referral leads are worth their weight in gold.  Think about it: they’re almost always referred to you by someone they trust, which helps you break through the most important barrier between you and making the sale; earning trust. If you want to succeed in gaining community referral sources, and then in appointments from these referral relationships, you must build a name for yourself as the “Medicare Expert” in your community. The first step is to obviously have the knowledge to be an expert. This means not just the ins and outs of Medicare, but also research the focus group you’re targeting. For instance, I’m targeting Dual Eligible/Low Income Subsidy members, and locations in the community that interact with them. I need to research both. Hint: If you don’t know where to start for your target market, call us! That’s what we’re here for.

Where’s Waldo? Find the Decision Maker

There’s a lot more to community marketing than going to provider offices/food banks and asking if you can put up a flyer in their office. The trick is to find and educate the decision maker or influencer, that is, the person or people that interact with the potential members on a daily basis. Community Referral SourcesThe influencer will be doing the actual referral, so they need to know what you do. How do you help seniors save money? The answer in my case is by helping enroll members in the ‘Extra Help’ or the state Medicaid (AHCCCS in AZ) program. Influencers also need to understand that your consultations are 100% free of charge. You do not want to go in to a networking meeting looking like a typical salesman looking for your next sale — that’s a great way to get shown the door. You want your “pitch” to be centered around the value you bring to the table: the education and extra financial help you provide your clients.

Show me the money! What’s in it for the influencer?

Not only do you have to show the benefit you provide to your clients, you also have to show the decision makers or influencers the benefit they have of working with you.  A lot of what you say at this point is specific to the type of facility. Take a dental office, for instance. Dental office patients who are on Medicare and Medicaid qualify to enroll in Dual Special Needs Plans, which can give them up to $xxxx.xx in dental coverage as long as that particular doctor ins “in-network” for that carrier.  If these potential members enroll, you’re literally putting money in their pockets that they can only use to fix their teeth.  In my appointments with dental office influencers, I make this statement: “Not only do I help my clients save money with these federal and state programs, but for my clients that qualify I can get them on a plan that gives them $xxxx.xx in comprehensive dental coverage. That would be additional dollars to your top line with minimal effort on your part. If I can get your patients more money to get their teeth fixed would you refer your patients that have questions about Medicare/Medicaid to me?” Patients will be more likely to schedule appointments for major work if they don’t have to cover the costs out of pocket, and the dental office will see this value. The decision for the influencer is very straightforward at this point, because I have shown them how the referral relationship will impact their bottom line.

At RB Insurance Group, we pride ourselves on our ability to help the Dual Eligible population! Our staff has personally enrolled thousands of individuals in Dual Special Needs Plans.  Trying to get into the D-SNP market? Watch this webinar! Give RBI a call today to get contracted and learn about the incredible opportunity you have to truly make a difference.


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Celebrate Being Irish (or at least wanting to be!)

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Celebrate being Irish

St. Patrick’s Day 2017

Let’s celebrate being Irish (or at least wanting to be!)

RBI Freelance Copywriter: Heidi


St. Patrick’s Day is here! Time to polish those shoe buckles, dig out Grandma’s famous corned beef and cabbage recipe, and tint the beer green! In honor of our favorite Irish holiday, we’ve rounded up an interesting collection of 17 random facts you probably didn’t know about Saint Patrick’s Day.

About the author:

Heidi  is our RBI freelance copywriter, and we are lucky to have her! She specializes in organizational/office shortcuts and tutorials for agents. Her zany sense of humor shows through in her Fun Friday contributions and her hilarious children are favorite visitors at the RBI headquarters.

— Image by © CORBIS

Number 1: March 17th, 461 A.D. is the date Saint Patrick died. St. Patrick’s Day is the Catholic celebration of his admission to heaven. In more recent years, it has been celebrated as a cultural holiday here in the United States. People of every background celebrate by claiming Irish ancestry for the day!

Number 2: Speaking of being Irish, Saint Patrick was not. He was actually born to Roman parents living in modern-day England. More specifically, Scotland or Wales (historians are still debating!)

Number 3: Saint Patrick is credited with driving all snakes out of Ireland. As legend goes, after being attacked by snakes during a 40-day fast, an angry (or perhaps “hangry?”) Saint Patrick chased the slithering serpents into the sea, forever ridding the land of their presence. Never mind the fact that there is zero fossil evidence to prove there ever were any snakes in Ireland- the climate is just too chilly. Most scholars consider “driving out the snakes” to be metaphorical. Regardless- no snakes! We think that sounds like a great place to visit!

Number 4: Why the booze? Saint Patrick’s Day originated as a celebratory feast. In his honor, most Christian churches lift the temporary dietary restrictions imposed by Lent. For that one day, it is permissible and encouraged to gorge and imbibe. And boy, do we ever…

Number 5: It is estimated that 13 million pints of Guinness will be consumed worldwide on March 17th. Approximately $425 million is spent by patrons on alcohol each holiday… and that’s before tipping the bartender. That is a LOT of beer.

Number 6: Despite all the green, Saint Patrick had a different favorite color. Most historical illustrations from that period depict him wearing blue.

Number 7: We hate to break it to you, but your odds of finding a lucky four-leaf clover are about 1 in 10,000.


Number 8: Cabbage, too! Corned beef and cabbage, anyone? Cabbage shipments spike 70% the week before Saint Patrick’s Day. Can’t find Grandma’s recipe? Try this one!

Number 9: Leprechauns are even stranger than you realized. In traditional Irish folklore, there is no such thing as female leprechauns, only males. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around this one…

Number 10: Shamrocks are not the official symbol of Ireland. Where did they come from? Saint Patrick used clovers as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity. They also grow all over the place in Ireland, contributing to the gorgeous green countryside.

Number 11: The harp is Ireland’s official symbol. It can be found on Irish currency, the presidential flag, state seals, uniforms and government documents.

Shamrock ShakeNumber 12: Still, marketers love shamrocks. Especially McDonald’s. Each season they bring back their famous Shamrock Shake. It has a cult following, with fan-created websites and mobile apps popping up to help you locate your nearest Shamrock Shake. We’re not kidding.

Number 13: So many calories. A large, 22-ounce McDonald’s Shamrock Shake contains 820 calories. That just about makes up for all the Lent fasting, right?

Number 14: Americans are a bit fanatical about Saint Patrick’s Day. Parades, parties, pub crawls, and green rivers. Yes, that’s right… the Plumbers Local 110 Union actually dyes the Chicago River Check out this incredible time lapse video of 2017’s dye job!

Number 15: Don’t worry, it’s harmless. Although the formula of the river dye is a closely-guarded secret, the formula has been thoroughly tested by independent chemists and has been proven safe for the environment. Phew!

The Plumbers Local 110 Union actually dyes the Chicago River green for St. Paddy’s Day!

Number 16: There are over 34.7 million Americans with Irish ancestry. That is nearly seven times the population of Ireland! You guessed it, Ireland is our nation’s second highest reported nation of origin, ranking only behind Germany.

Number 17: That probably helps explain why there are 16 US towns named after Ireland’s capitol, Dublin. Can’t afford an expensive transatlantic flight? Worry not! You can visit Dublin in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia!

What a journey! Thanks for sticking with us! As always, RB Insurance Group wishes you a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Love St. Paddy’s for the parties? RBI loves parties too! If you want to join in a special party at RB Insurance Group, you should check out our RBI Agent Social! Stop by the office and meet the team or get started contracting here!

A traditional Irish Pub, we’d love to be there on St. Patrick’s Day!

Kayakers enjoying the weather on St. Paddy’s Day.

A look at the beautiful countryside in Ireland.

Saint Patrick used clovers as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity.


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Video: Make Community Marketing Work for You Roll-up

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Did you miss Webinar Wednesday? Instead, watch Make Community Marketing Work for You Roll-up!

If you’re not known in your area as the authority on all things Medicare, this webinar is for you! We want to help you grow to be the person in your neighborhood that everyone goes to with questions…and of course, the agent who enrolls these members! To get you to this goal, we’ve prepared this week’s Webinar Wednesday to cover how to take charge of your education efforts, become an expert at working in the field, and start earning the trust of your community. Did you miss the webinar? We’ve got you covered with the Make Community Marketing Work for You Roll-up!

Make Community Marketing Work for You Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

Not sure how to get started? Take the first step by clicking here to watch the full recording. Then take a look at our carrier-partners to get started contracting.

If you have additional questions, call RBI at 1-800-997-3107 to speak to our amazing team!