About the Author: With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is an integral part of the RBI team — we’d go so far as to say we’d be lost without him! 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 2 years, and has worked at RBI for almost 3 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.

New Agent: How to Get Started

So you just got your Health Insurance License and now you’re wondering where you go from here.  Let RB Insurance Group help you avoid many of the pitfalls a new agent can fall into.

Prime the “Pump”

Zig Ziglar said it best, you have to think of your sales pipeline like an old water well. You’re going to have to work hard to prime that old well’s pump before anything starts coming out the other end. But once that water DOES start flowing, it doesn’t take much work to keep it going. The idea here is that acquiring new business is always the most difficult and typically the most expensive cost for an agent. Once you’ve built your Book of Business to a considerable size, you can use your existing clients to bring in new business!

If you’ve done your job right, your clients will trust you as their Senior Insurance Adviser and ultimately refer their friends and family to you. The key here is, you must be proactive. Agents across the US would all be starving if we just sat by our phones waiting for them to ring with a prospective client on the other end. In the famous words of (okay, maybe not so famous… YET) RBI National Sales Manager, Charlie Ferrell. “He who climbs the tree and hollers, is the one that gets the dollars.”

New Agent

Getting your First Clients

I can see it on your face, you’re thinking, “This sounds great and all, but where do I actually start?” Like I said above, when you’re first starting out as a new agent, you’re going to have to work for it. There’s a few different ways you can go about building that precious *Smeagle’s voice from LOTR* Book of Business.

Buying Leads

This is probably the first thing that goes through your head when I talk about getting started. There’s a reason why there are so many companies selling leads: it works. But there is a catch here that’s no secret, it’s expensive. There are a few different routes you can go when buying leads for Medicare Advantage: Direct Mail, Online, and more. Which avenue you choose is going to be largely determined by your target market.

Buying leads a fantastic way to “prime your sales pump”, especially if you have some extra cash to invest in your business. But your best bet is to combine a few different strategies to find new clients and not put all your eggs in one basket so to speak.

Educational Events

Educational events are a fantastic way to fill your sales pipeline with leads. The approach with educational events is more of a long term approach than simply just buying leads. The number one reason for that is, you can’t enroll or accept applications at a Medicare Educational event. So how effective are educational events you ask? Last year one of our agents made over 250 enrollments with leads from educational events. The goal is to put on an amazing event so that the attendees will look to you as a trusted adviser. It’s simple, people buy from people they trust. Now, you do have follow CMS regulations regarding educational events to remain compliant.

One of my favorite reasons for putting on educational events, especially for a new agent? They don’t break the bank!  Your local public library will typically have space available to hold seminars at very little to no cost.

So how do you get people to show up? I like to get permission and put up flyers at different businesses (that are close to your event) to advertise, think of places where seniors are more likely to be. Think of any groups you belong to, church, book clubs, golf buddies, etc. The trick is to let everyone know what you do! Even if they’re not Medicare eligible, I can guarantee you that they know someone that is. Word of mouth is hands down the cheapest way to get people to show up. Last but not least, cold calling. Just the words “cold calling” leave a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths, but it is a great skill to have, especially if you plan on doing Medicare educational events. You have to be careful here though, as you cannot discuss Medicare Part C and D plan specifics with prospective beneficiaries, even if they ask you about it. If you called them and they bring up Medicare Advantage, you cannot talk about specific benefits. You are ONLY trying to get them to attend your educational event, DO NOT try to sell these people over the phone.

Upcoming Webinar on Thursday, March 21st, 2019!

Join RBI National Sales Manager, Charlie Ferrell, for our webinar: “Medicare Educational Events for Newbies!” Use the Button below or click HERE to RSVP!

Also be sure to check out my blog post about the “Power of Voice Inflection” for great tips to improve your phone skills!

Words of Wisdom

Here’s a story from Bob Bever, CEO at RBI. It was November of 2017. Bob was pumping gas, filling up before heading to an appointment across town when the guy next to him asked him about his “Medicare Compare” shirt. Bob spends 3 minutes with him telling him exactly what he does and how he helps people, then hands him a business card. A few days pass and the guy ends up calling Bob and enrolls in a plan that fit his needs. Not bad for a lead that only cost him 3 minutes of his time.

Agents tend to minimize their experience and ignore the people around them every day. People you know, people who you meet in your daily life, have no idea what you do. Spend 3 minutes with these people and tell them exactly what it is that you do and how you help people. Then hand them a business card. Being a new agent doesn’t have to be a struggle! RB Insurance Group has the tools and experience to help you! With a little hard work you’ll be on your way to what we all strive for, that six-figure residual income.

Are you a new agent that’s looking to get started in the Medicare industry? RB Insurance is here to “Make it Happen for You.” We love helping new agents succeed in the Medicare market. Give us a call today to see how you fit in the RBI family at 1-800-997-3107!

Joy of Canvassing

The Joy of Canvassing: Be confident when prospecting life insurance

Important note: Canvassing can be used to market life insurance, but NOT Medicare Advantage. The Medicare Marketing Guidelines prohibit canvassing for any Medicare Advantage product. As a young child, a rainy Saturday afternoon would have me sitting in front of the television (before cable!) with four programming choices: CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS. "Sesame Street" would just be signing off and Bob Ross' "The Joy of Painting." would come on. He would stand in front of a blank canvas and say, "What do I see today? A happy little tree could go right here or a singing bird would go perfect there."
Limit free Medicare Advice

Limit free Medicare advice in your business

In my first few years in the field selling the old Medicare HMO products I assiduously avoided friends, relatives and their various cronies who wanted free help with their HMO. Having been advised by some old timer agents that working pro bono was a waste of time, I steered clear of helping these kinds of folks. After about 10 years into the Medicare insurance business I changed my tune when I met Ralph.
Power of Attorney Form

A free Power of Attorney form can spare loved ones from additional grief

The Power of Attorney (POA) form, often referred to as the Life Care Planning Packet, can be one of the most valuable extras senior insurance agents can provide to their clients. They're simple to complete — just a few printed pages or a website link. Agents know that building credibility requires constant effort, and providing these fillable documents to clients demonstrates a high degree of professionalism. In a distant, previous life I prepared POA forms and other documents for clients as a paralegal. I was a total convert to the art of preparedness then, and for the last couple of decades in the insurance business my respect for this status has served me well.
Referrals maximize your medicare book of business

Referrals maximize your Medicare book of business

Probably the most effective way to find your next client is by looking to the clients you already have. Referrals are the Holy Grail of building your Medicare book of business. The credibility and trust you have built with one client automatically transfers to your new one, so you start from a hero status, not at ground zero, if your first client is a raving fan. Closing rates on referrals have always been high, too, which means generating referrals maximizes your investment of time and energy into your business. And yet most agents still don't ask their clients for referrals!
Market Yourself

Get out there and market yourself! Part One

Here's my first post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. I've got a buddy who's been a successful senior insurance advisor here in Arizona for the past 20 years who just refuses to schedule or participate in any type of educational events. He likes to say his wife's the social worker, not him.