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How to realistically increase your app writing capacity during AEP

How many apps you write during AEP determines how big your commission is going to be in January, so you’re going to want to make sure you have a plan for the busiest time of the year if you really want to see success. The biggest challenge for most agents during AEP is the logistics: the number of appointments you make with Medicare beneficiaries to secure your sales goal and the fact you need to travel to their homes. It’s extremely easy for agents to get caught up in driving around town to all of the appointments they make and lose sight of the rest of the work they need to get in so they can get paid. What’s the solution? What’s the best way to realistically increase your app writing capacity during AEP?

The single greatest piece of wisdom you can glean from my three decades of experience in the field is that top producers don’t necessarily work alone. You’re going to have to bite the bullet and hire a temporary administrative assistant if you want to see phenomenal earnings. With the help of Diane, someone I hired to work out of her own home, I put in 1,800 apps during my best AEP. That’s about 600 apps a month, mainly in group meetings.

Increase your app writing capacity

I would get referrals from local churches for assistants. They were usually single parents who could work from home. There’s no need for them to come to your home, and if you are affiliated with RB Insurance they can use the Medicare Sales Engine to process your Leads, make outbound appointment calls and enter sales information for you that lets you track your commission. Calls will be recorded so you have backup in case you get audited.

You’re going to need a routine that ensures you’re filling out apps at a steady pace and that you’re filling them out compliantly and correctly, which is just part of the value of hiring an assistant. Showing your clients the utmost courtesy and respect is important, and that’s easier when you’re not scrambling back and forth to the fax machine. An assistant can call clients well in advance to reschedule if something comes up instead of you giving a “Sorry, can’t make it” to them 30 minutes before the appointment. Getting a beneficiary mad is the best way to lose a sale.

Before you tell me you don’t want to spend money on an assistant, let me tell you in plain English: If you’re writing 250 apps a month during AEP you’re going to be earning around $50,000. You can afford to hire someone to keep you sane and to help you reach that capacity during those crazy three months. After working on your feet all day, you’re not going to want to spend two more hours processing all the required paperwork.

The assistant can take some of the burden of the mundane stuff off of you, and as long as he or she isn’t discussing plan benefits with beneficiaries on the phone, no insurance license is required to do the job. Understand that you get to keep all the commission your assistant helped you earn in the second year when you get renewals.

You’re going to have to get used to the fact you can only turn in 80 or 120 apps a month if you’re working solo, and you’ll get a commission that fits those numbers. It’s all about your time and ability during AEP, and without an assistant my experience has shown me you’re going to be taking time and energy out of your appointments.

Call us 1 (800) 997 3107, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 5 p.m. MST, to learn more about how RB Insurance makes sales success happen for independent Medicare agents. Click here to see a list of carriers we work with, and get started!