Posts

UPDATED 2017: Agents Don’t Work Alone: Build a network of professional friends

Charlie Ferrell

National Sales Manager


NOTE FROM RBICharlie Ferrell, our National Sales Manager, is celebrating a work-a-versary today! On this day in 2015, Charlie made the switch from being an state manager/MGA to working full-time at RB Insurance Group — and we are so glad he did!  If you’ve called RBI for advice, you’ve probably talked with Charlie for help on individual markets, MAPS planning, or even real-time client advice. Today we celebrate Charlie’s amazing contributions to RB Insurance by bringing back one of his earliest blog articles as National Sales Manager. Though it’s newly updated for 2017, the content is as wise and relevant today as…well…as Charlie himself.

UPDATED 2017: Agents Don’t Work Alone

Build a network of professional friends

National Sales Manager: Charlie Ferrell



You may have heard the expression “You can’t be everything to everyone.” That’s just as true in the insurance business as it is in everyday life. In order to serve my clients, I’ve found I need to align myself with others who can fill in the gaps between my Medicare knowledge and expertise.

Breaking Bad Habits:

If you’re like me, you frequently find yourself fielding questions from clients on topics beyond your scope. I’m going to be totally honest with you: when I started getting more clients calls than I could handle on subjects like wills or Medicaid planning, my main referral source for years was Google. At a certain point, however, I started getting tired of hearing myself say, “Let me see if I can find someone who can help you.” There’s nothing I can do about not knowing absolutely everything about senior health insurance and finances, but I felt I could do better than sticking the duty of due diligence on my clients.

Build a network of professional friends

“Networking can be mutually beneficial for agents, lawyers, financial advisors.”

That’s why I decided in 2014 to get smart about networking. I knew it would be more helpful to my clients if I could recommend someone I personally knew and trusted for their financial or legal questions. I also knew I’d be investing in my book of business because networking can be mutually beneficial for agents, lawyers, financial advisors— their clients are probably going to need Medicare advice at one point or another!

Building New (and GOOD!) Habits:

I called a few of my longtime clients and asked them who they go to for advice. They recommended a few highly respected attorneys they had had good experiences with, one of whom deals exclusively with Medicaid planning. He helps families protect their assets when someone needs to go into a nursing home. Another attorney I reached out to specializes in wills and trusts: a perfect solution for me, since sometimes a client needs a simple will. Other clients need the whole package that puts all of their assets into a trust, especially if they have homes in multiple states and don’t want their kids to have to go through probate to spend if it isn’t necessary.

Lastly, I found a CPA to help my clients with their tax questions and financial planning needs. I now feel confident that my network has my clients’ best interests at heart and that I can depend on them returning the favor by sending their respective clients to me. I estimate that 10 percent of my new clients in 2015 came from my alignments with outside experts.

What I Learned:

It’s amazing what you can get when you ask your clients for their input. I noticed right away that my clients were much more engaged, and so were more likely to refer their friends and family to me. For these clients, it was clear that I valued their opinion. Second, I found this exercise reconnected me with some of my clients I hadn’t spoken to in a while.

Personally, I’m excited whenever I can help others. As agents, most of our clients are looking for someone they can trust to help them with life’s difficult decisions. You can be that trusted advisor for Medicare, and you can let others offer valuable advice on finances and legal arrangements. Your clients will benefit, you will benefit, and your new network will benefit as well. The bottom line is these professional relationships are a win-win-win.

Are you ready to get started? Build a network of professional friends to strengthen your business today! If you don’t know how to take the first step, click here to watch our recorded webinar “Finding Dual Eligibles” or call our team of experts today at 1-800-997-3107!


Updated: 3/2/2017; Original post date: 12/3/2015


2022 AHIP
2020 ahip discount certification
OEP

UPDATED 2017: Agents Don’t Work Alone: Build a network of professional friends

Charlie Ferrell

National Sales Manager


NOTE FROM RBICharlie Ferrell, our National Sales Manager, is celebrating a work-a-versary today! On this day in 2015, Charlie made the switch from being an state manager/MGA to working full-time at RB Insurance Group — and we are so glad he did!  If you’ve called RBI for advice, you’ve probably talked with Charlie for help on individual markets, MAPS planning, or even real-time client advice. Today we celebrate Charlie’s amazing contributions to RB Insurance by bringing back one of his earliest blog articles as National Sales Manager. Though it’s newly updated for 2017, the content is as wise and relevant today as…well…as Charlie himself.

UPDATED 2017: Agents Don’t Work Alone

Build a network of professional friends

National Sales Manager: Charlie Ferrell



You may have heard the expression “You can’t be everything to everyone.” That’s just as true in the insurance business as it is in everyday life. In order to serve my clients, I’ve found I need to align myself with others who can fill in the gaps between my Medicare knowledge and expertise.

Breaking Bad Habits:

If you’re like me, you frequently find yourself fielding questions from clients on topics beyond your scope. I’m going to be totally honest with you: when I started getting more clients calls than I could handle on subjects like wills or Medicaid planning, my main referral source for years was Google. At a certain point, however, I started getting tired of hearing myself say, “Let me see if I can find someone who can help you.” There’s nothing I can do about not knowing absolutely everything about senior health insurance and finances, but I felt I could do better than sticking the duty of due diligence on my clients.

Build a network of professional friends

“Networking can be mutually beneficial for agents, lawyers, financial advisors.”

That’s why I decided in 2014 to get smart about networking. I knew it would be more helpful to my clients if I could recommend someone I personally knew and trusted for their financial or legal questions. I also knew I’d be investing in my book of business because networking can be mutually beneficial for agents, lawyers, financial advisors— their clients are probably going to need Medicare advice at one point or another!

Building New (and GOOD!) Habits:

I called a few of my longtime clients and asked them who they go to for advice. They recommended a few highly respected attorneys they had had good experiences with, one of whom deals exclusively with Medicaid planning. He helps families protect their assets when someone needs to go into a nursing home. Another attorney I reached out to specializes in wills and trusts: a perfect solution for me, since sometimes a client needs a simple will. Other clients need the whole package that puts all of their assets into a trust, especially if they have homes in multiple states and don’t want their kids to have to go through probate to spend if it isn’t necessary.

Lastly, I found a CPA to help my clients with their tax questions and financial planning needs. I now feel confident that my network has my clients’ best interests at heart and that I can depend on them returning the favor by sending their respective clients to me. I estimate that 10 percent of my new clients in 2015 came from my alignments with outside experts.

What I Learned:

It’s amazing what you can get when you ask your clients for their input. I noticed right away that my clients were much more engaged, and so were more likely to refer their friends and family to me. For these clients, it was clear that I valued their opinion. Second, I found this exercise reconnected me with some of my clients I hadn’t spoken to in a while.

Personally, I’m excited whenever I can help others. As agents, most of our clients are looking for someone they can trust to help them with life’s difficult decisions. You can be that trusted advisor for Medicare, and you can let others offer valuable advice on finances and legal arrangements. Your clients will benefit, you will benefit, and your new network will benefit as well. The bottom line is these professional relationships are a win-win-win.

Are you ready to get started? Build a network of professional friends to strengthen your business today! If you don’t know how to take the first step, click here to watch our recorded webinar “Finding Dual Eligibles” or call our team of experts today at 1-800-997-3107!


Updated: 3/2/2017; Original post date: 12/3/2015


2022 AHIP
2020 ahip discount certification
OEP

Your integrity is priceless, especially amid market uncertainty

I’m on a mission to change the perception of sales through my 6 Hours to 6 Figures platform. As a veteran of Medicare Advantage and the senior health insurance industry I know that begins with my own attitude and with my own interpretation of the sales process. I was given an especially important opportunity to practice what I preach this Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which wraps up next week.

Balancing my travel schedule with the all important duty of tending my Medicare book of business has been my focus for the past eight weeks, aka the busiest time of year for agents. I was set to touch base with around 100 clients I had picked up through running appointments and enrollment meetings during the last two AEPs for a certain carrier. 

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If you’ve been keeping up with my weekly column for The Agent’s Advantage, you know that I pride myself on service and meeting the needs of my clients by keeping in touch with them throughout the year. Doing this became a real juggling act this year as I added developing corporate training platforms to my extensive resume.

I was about to travel for several weeks, scheduled to return on October 15 for the first day of AEP. While that was cutting it close, I had my plan and strategy all mapped out — send my very own Annual Notification of Changes (ANOC) letter, reach out to my clients via Skype (international calls are expensive!), and set up a few in-home visits as needed. I expected the turnover to be minimal since they had all been very satisfied with the carrier plan’s benefits, network and service. I wasn’t planning on actively selling to new clients this year, though that is a No. 1 concern for most agents. I was out to take care of my already existing book of business. In fact, I only certified with the carriers whose plans my clients were already enrolled in.

Just as I was putting stamps on my personalized ANOC letter, the carrier announced it was exiting the Medicare business. The timing couldn’t have been worse for my business. I knew my clients wouldn’t wait for answers, even though they had plenty of time to make a transition to another plan.

With my travel and the fact I did not certify with all the carriers I needed to help my clients find a plan that would best fits their needs, I had to do what was in the best interest of my clients.

I made a compliant introduction between each of my affected clients and a trusted colleague I have also had the privilege of calling a friend for the past 19 years. I trusted this agent and knew he would always do the right thing for my clients. He helped many of them navigate their options, answered countless questions, eased their concerns and enrolled most of them into a new plan.

Many of my former clients still called me, thanking me for helping them in the past. Others asked about my wife Natalie and our children. Each of my former clients who called wished me continued success. Some said they would keep in touch on a yearly basis to ask advice as they knew more changes would come.

I view these calls as my reward for service and integrity. Don’t get me wrong — commission is still important to me, and I took a substantial loss when I did the math. I’ll be perfectly honest and say I wish the carrier could have remained in the market so I could service my clients for years to come. I know that the real test of integrity isn’t when things are going right, though. The real test is when you have to make a choice in light of challenges and you do what is right for the client.

Want to be successful? Focus on service as your mission, not commission. Your integrity is priceless and should not be for sale.  Hold on to it and remember that as you do the right thing for your clients, you will have the reward of a good reputation, their gratitude, career satisfaction and — when all the planets in the sales universe align — commission.  Enjoy the satisfaction of your integrity and know that as you serve, you deserve.