Certifications and Planning your AEP

RBI Senior Sales Coordinator/Independent Agent: James Gramp

It’s that dreadful time of year again when millions of insurance agents across the US lament the very idea of certifications.  I know that I’m certainly not looking forward to taking the AHIP yet again and all of my carrier certifications.  At RB Insurance, we make certification season as painless as possible for agents.  We’re continuing our $50 AHIP discount this year for ANY and ALL agents that use our link.  If you were with us last year you already know that RBI agents also get the rest of their AHIP cost reimbursed by making only 5 sales during AEP. But wait, there’s more!

Don’t wait for September for carrier certifications

I like to get my certifications done and out of the way as soon as possible for a couple reasons.  The first being, if you wait until September or October, it can sometimes take up to a month before some carriers will process your certification results.  I can’t tell you how many agents I talk to that tell me, “Oh I wait until September to start my certifications” and then October rolls around and they want to pick up sales materials but they can’t because they’re still not showing as “Ready to Sell” due to the carrier still processing background checks.  I then have to politely remind them that September and October are the slowest months for processing certification because it’s when the majority of agents finally get it around to doing it and that they will have to wait to pick up materials until after they’re showing as “Ready to Sell.”

Get Ready for AEP!

The second reason is with my certifications all done I can start planning out my AEP.  My AEP planning involves developing a marketing strategy, and sending out Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) letters to my current clients.  I also begin lining up locations for any sales events that I want to do.  Remember, these must be submitted at least 14 days before the event.

Develop your Marketing Plan

Don’t have a marketing plan? Making sure RBI agents have a clear plan of where they’re going to get their next sales is a top priority for us.  We take the time to sit down with each of our agents who want to develop a custom marketing plan.  This is by no means a one-size-fits-all program, we take the time to learn about your current business and tailor it to your specific needs, and we will craft your plan so that your goals are Measurable, Actionable, Profitable, and Scalable.  We call it the MAPS method.

Finalize AEP Events

Want guidance on how to put on a successful sales event?  Our team of experts will make sure you have everything you need to have a successful event. Through our relationship with our print and fulfillment partner, Touchstone Marketing, we’re able to advertise your events to make sure you have a packed event at a discounted cost. Make sure you have all of your events submitted at least 14 days before the scheduled time.

Send ANOC Letters

The purpose of sending out ANOC letters is to let your clients know whether or not their plan is changing.  If they’re on a plan that is changing I will advise them that starting on October 1st, I will be able to discuss the benefits for the 2018 calendar year and whether or not they should consider switching plans.  These letters are especially helpful to agents that have a larger book of business, and are designed to not only keep your face fresh in your client’s mind but also to cut down on some of your outbound calls you will have to make to your clients.

Whether it’s giving you discounts and reimbursements on AHIP, providing you with the knowledge needed to pass, or giving you wholesale pricing on print and fulfillment services, RBI has the tools and expertise to make this your most successful AEP yet.  Click here to hear from RBI Director of Marketing, Justin Bever, on the unique benefits of partnering with RB Insurance Group.

Don’t Forget!

We will be airing our “Ace the AHIP” webinar on May 31^st at 9:00am MST (Arizona Time), click here to register.  We’ll teach you every trick in the (open) book to help you pass your AHIP.  We also record each webinar that we host, so that you can watch it when it’s convenient for you.  However, if you have questions, I would encourage you to attend the live webinar because we do open up our webinars for a live Q&A at the end.

Don’t let the Medicare certification season get you down.  RBI is here to take all the hassle and anxiety out of your certification process, click here or give us a call today to join the RBI team and see how we can help take your Medicare business to the next level! 1-800-997-3107