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The easiest (and most effective) Medicare marketing practice? Staying in touch!

Last week I wrote that referrals maximize your hard-earned Medicare book of business and shared just five of the best ways to stay in touch with your clients as part of your Medicare marketing. This week I’m sharing five more tips that should get you thinking about marketing your Medicare business the way big companies think about their campaigns.

Why do you think big companies spend millions of dollars on TV commercials, newspaper inserts and other promotions? They know that building a successful brand requires a consistent approach to reaching consumers. In our world of information overload, you may not notice most of the ads on the sides of your favorite web sites, print magazine pages or even the ads before the latest viral YouTube video, but some of them are bound to capture your attention. My wife just bought a 20 oz. Coke simply because it had my name on the bottle — part of  Coca-Cola’s instantly effective Share A Coke campaign.

Balancing innovation with consistency in messaging is vital to any brand’s success, and that includes your senior insurance business. Having a great product for sale is only a beginning — you  have to reach out to consumers with advertising to succeed. It also takes continuous messaging to enter consumers’ consciousness. What if a big brand like Coca-Cola stopped its marketing efforts after the first try? It would have wasted precious time, energy and money. So will you if you don’t commit to marketing your Medicare business!

It’s possible your clients have forgotten you just three weeks after giving you apple pie and ice cream at the kitchen table when you went over Medicare Supplements with them. It’s much more likely they have forgotten about you if the last time you contacted them was your initial appointment last AEP. That’s why you have to conduct your business like the big corporations do — stay in touch! 

Think of your business, your products and your clients.  What types of ongoing communications yield greater client satisfaction, repeat business and referrals? Here are the next five in My top 10 ways to stay in touch with clients:

6. Hold educational sessions. Depending on your industry and product, your current clients might benefit from additional education.  If you’re in insurance or financial services, the list of topics is endless. These meetings are not designed to be sales events, but are set you up to let your clients know you’re there for them as a trusted advisor.

7. Connect with social media. OK, so your clients probably shouldn’t be adding you as a friend on Facebook, but they can follow your business and “Like” it.  There When used effectively, social media can help you reach clients in innovative new ways.  Of course, make sure to keep these outreaches strictly business!

8. Video messages. YouTube, Vimeo and other services make it possible for anyone to present relevant information to a worldwide audience.  You can make a message or series of messages that provide greater insight into your products and your services.  You can even create your own channel that your clients can watch and refer people to. I know a life insurance agent that does short, information-packed videos to teach his clients about the different forms of insurance.  This establishes his credibility and allows new clients a way to get to know him prior to calling.

9. Send emails. We all get more emails than we can read each day.  You could use form emails to send to your entire client base through a CRM, but a personal email is more effective.  You could send a “thinking of you” email that contains an interesting article.  You can also send new product information that attaches all the company bells and whistles to make it compelling and interesting.

10. Conduct a survey. Do you really want to know what your clients think or what they want? You should, because that’s the key to determining how to get them to buy more or refer more people to you.  Several online survey platforms like Survey Monkey will allow you to send a simple, short survey and even offer an incentive for their feedback.

As you stay in contact with your clients, not everything you do will be a hit. Some things will miss.  What matters is being consistent and being motivated to serve. The effort is worth it, so stay in touch!

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My community marketing story: Special Olympics Utah

Community marketing was one of the easiest, but also one of the most challenging things I did when I was actively writing new business for my agency in Utah. As an agent selling Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplements, Dual Special Needs and now final expense products for the past 10 years, I’ve found that being actively involved in my community was rewarding spiritually, but also in the sense that it helped me market my business.

Community marketing is a fairly simple concept. It means getting yourself in front of as many individuals who could use some advice about their health insurance coverage options as you can. The best part is connecting your business with your interest in giving back to your community can still be compliant with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.

It’s fairly inexpensive to market yourself to the community. You may have to pay for a booth at informal events like senior expos or join a group, but it has a great return on the investment if your volunteering leads to even one sale. Community marketing requires a bigger investment of time and energy, so be forewarned: Staying with it for the long haul can be tough, and not always having the advice and guidance you give lead to a sale can be discouraging.

Members participate in the Unified Relay Across America in anticipation of the Special Olympics World Games, held July 25-August 2. Image courtesy of Special Olympics Utah’s Facebook page

Medicare and other health coverage options for children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities

I volunteered with special Olympics Utah when I first got started in the business after an appointment with a parent whose son had Down Syndrome. She told me there were a lot of parents like her who had no idea what programs were available for their children for health insurance other than Medicaid. In fact, Medicare serves individuals over the age of 18 who also have a physical or intellectual disability. One thing led to another, and that Saturday I showed up for an event was a timer for the 100-yard dash. I watched the kids and teens all afternoon, and they introduced me to their parents.

I went to several Special Olympics meetups in the next few weeks and was introduced each time as The Medicare Guy because I knew a lot about Medicare and Dual Special Needs Programs that I could share. Whenever I got a phone call about “Where can I take my daughter to get her teeth cleaned?” or “Where can I find hearing aids for my son?” I had the answer. I knew which DD case managers did the best job of helping their clients manage things like adult day care and how to apply for community grants to help them pay for the cost.

I met a lot of people and listened to many stories as I helped out with events. Sometimes I couldn’t do anything for them other than listen and help them figure out what the best fit for their health and financial situations were, but the fact that I helped them breathe a little easier means a lot to me.  I never walked away without asking people to refer their friends and family to me for their own questions.

There’s nothing better than saving someone $300 per month when they make $,1000 or less or helping a family find the right coverage for their special-needs children. You will be their friend for life, and they will tell all of your friends about you.

Call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me to learn more about serving Medicare’s many members through community marketing. Click here to subscribe to our blog for more insights on how you can build a portfolio of products to market yourself and build your Medicare book of business.

Dual eligibility is your sales opportunity

Seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, otherwise known as dual eligibles, are truly an untapped market. It’s estimated that approximately 8.3 million people in the United States are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, including low-income seniors and low-income individuals with a disability who are 18 or older. CMS recently reported that 11 percent of these dual eligibles nationwide are enrolled in a Dual Special Needs Plan, which agents can sell year-round as part of their portfolio of products.

Dual Special Needs Plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan administered by private carriers like United Healthcare and often include extra benefits not covered by Medicare or Medicaid such as Dental, Vision, Hearing Aids, OTC and non-emergency medical transportation. In addition to these needed extra benefits, having a Medicare Advantage Special Needs plan simplifies things for the enrollee — he or she will have to worry about just one card instead of three to access health benefits and prescription coverage, and he or she will have just one customer service line to call should there be an issue. Another selling point is that Special Needs plans offer care coordination so clients have help managing multiple or chronic conditions.

One of the best ways to reach out to dual-eligible prospects is with community marketing. Community marketing simply refers to getting yourself in front of as many individuals who could use some advice about their insurance options as you can. Whether it’s volunteering at a food bank or a Special Olympics event (something I enjoyed doing when I lived in SLC), people see that you really care and are much more likely to send potential clients to you when you give back to your community and let people know you are there to help. So many families are looking for a helpful guide because they often don’t know where to start when it comes to benefits.

You can focus your marketing efforts at key places I’ll list below if you are interested in selling dual-eligible plans. Remember I’m just giving you a starting point — I’ve known agents who have expanded their community marketing beyond what I have here. Also, some carriers expect you to let them know you are marketing to potential beneficiaries in HUD or Section 8 housing.

Here are the Top 10 places for dual-eligible marketing and Lead generation:
1. Section 8 housing
2. County housing authorities apartment buildings or HUD housing
3. Senior centers
4. Area agency on aging or counseling groups
5. Faith-based organizations or churches
6. Food banks or pantries
7. Support groups for foster grandparents
8. Thrift stores like Goodwill
9. Senior expos and health fairs (Check out Senior Broker Trainer Tom O’Neil’s post on marketing yourself at these events)
10. Non-profit organizations supporting those with disabilities (Click here to read my community marketing story with Special Olympics Utah)

For more specific information about marketing to dual-eligible seniors as part of your senior insurance business, give me a call at (800) 997 3107 or email me with your questions. I’m happy to give you more specific advice for your market.

Get out there and market yourself! Part Three

Here’s my last post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. Read Part One and Part Two.

Many agents are avoiding formal sales meetings because they’re anxious about CMS oversight, carrier rules and secret shoppers. However, they can be a compliant way to generate more Leads, and very few carriers will disallow agents from conducting formal Medicare marketing sales events.

Running one of these events can be fairly simple. Here’s how to get rolling:

Review the rules regarding formal sales events in the official Medicare Marketing Guidelines.

  • Always contact your carrier’s local Broker Sales Manager for rules and procedures for registering or reporting and conducting the event. I’ve noted lately that Humana, in some areas, will send their folks out to actually do the presentation for you while you still get the sales. Our local Cigna and Aetna broker managers in Arizona are always available to attend formal events and lend a hand at the meeting.
  • Find a centrally located meeting room. In my region, our city libraries rent meeting rooms to help balance their budgets. Don’t forget to consider the local VFW, American Legion, Moose or Elks Lodges for room rental as they also can be a good source of attendees. They’re all trying to raise some funds for their respective budgets. When all else fails, check some local restaurants and motels.

 

  • Always utilize the carrier-recorded presentation. Often these are available as a Power Point presentation or a link that can be easily replayed on screen at your event. These recordings usually cover all the points that need to be made to be CMS compliant. You almost certainly will be secret shopped, but don’t let that worry you. After getting through all that boring, but important compliant info you can start selling yourself by engaging the audience.
  • Use a voluntary sign-in sheet for your guests. Always have permission to call (PTC) and Scope of Appointment forms handy. If you’re anticipating a good crowd, take an assistant with you. They can gather PTC forms and Scopes, assist attendees to fill out enrollment forms and just be generally helpful. I doubled my sales at events when I started taking agent trainees with me. Most of those added sales were from follow-up home appointments my helpers set up.

I’ll give you a more complete rundown on secret shoppers in an upcoming post, so make sure you subscribe to our blog.  In the mean time, here is a check list
that can give you an idea of how they evaluate. It’s not rocket science. We understand that some agents experience trepidation at doing these events, that’s why we are here to make it happen for you.

RB Insurance-affiliated agents who have questions regarding the planning and execution of sales events or compliance issues can call me at (800) 997 3107 or email me. We make it happen for you, so ask how we can assist you with advertising your event.

Get out there and market yourself! Part Two

Here’s my second post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. Read Part One here.

I loved working informal sales events when I was in the field full time because it’s an effective and compliant way to set appointments.

Informal sales events include popular senior expos, county fairs, church meetings and just about any gathering that’s likely to attract groups of Medicare beneficiaries. I’ll go over a few simple dos and don’ts below that can help you set more appointments, but you should always check CMS’ Medicare Marketing Guidelines for the complete set of regulations regarding marketing yourself at informal sales events

 

If you’re going to work an event, you’ve got to register as soon as possible. Choose one of your contracted Medicare Advantage carriers to represent and use their registration process (Call us at (800) 997 3107 if you’ve never done this before or need an assist). You only need to register with one carrier even if you are displaying materials from several plans. Captive agents can only offer the products from their company, but independent brokers and agents can offer a broad range of products from multiple companies.

By all means, do not sit down at your table or booth. Instead, have a chair or two for attendees to sit down so you can then start a conversation. Greet seniors as they pass by with a good morning or hello. Always make eye contact, and for goodness’ sake, smile! Seniors can be reluctant to discuss their health, well-being and finances, so it’s up to you to break the ice.

Contacting your carrier broker reps and asking for all the gewgaws and brief plan brochures they can muster is another great way to prepare. Get them from all your carriers and restock the table after a while. Who among us doesn’t love free stuff?

Have an Internet-connected laptop at your table. You can show a senior anything displayed on a carrier’s website or demonstrate Medicare.gov’s plan finder features. However, try to avoid researching docs, drugs or copays at the event. Offer to do the research for them and promise them a call back or appointment.
You should use a Permission To Contact Form (PTC) to collect seniors’ call back information in a compliant manner. Most carriers have these available. Try to get a Scope of Appointment if you’re working with Medicare Advantage, but keep in mind the PTC is a lot less intimidating to the average senior. Why most agents don’t use PTC forms is a mystery to me. Let me be very clear, though: Do not do enrollments at informal events. Keep a minimum number of enrollment packets available from the event registering plan (especially for Secret Shoppers, something I’ll cover next time).

Remember, the goal of your attendance at the event is to set as many appointments and call-backs as you can. Provide seniors with enticing factual hors d’oeuvres, not the full meal! Plan a call-back or make a home appointment to look up docs or medications or to report back any research. You’re much more likely to close the appointment with a sale if you can show you’re able to do due diligence for your clients.

For more informal sales event tips, call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me. Subscribe to our blog here. RB Insurance-affiliated agents can call us for pointers or assistance with planning sales events.

Get out there and market yourself! Part One

Wondering about marketing opportunities? Well it’s time to “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.

I’ve attempted to change his mind about how valuable this type of marketing is — and it is marketing — but he just can’t see it. I have regaled my agent friend with the example set by a successful Las Vegas agent I know who only does educational event meetings to market himself. This guy works home and office appointments gleaned from those encounters all year long. My Sin City agent friend does at least two events a week and has contacts with just about every professional, fraternal, veteran and charitable organization in the county.

His CMS-regulated business consists of about 50 percent Medicare Advantage and about 50 percent Medicare Supplements with a Part D plan. He loves presenting final expense and add-on hospital indemnity products. Not bad for an agent who’s a senior himself. He never leaves a venue until he has answered every lingering question, and he tells me he goes through more than 500 business cards a month.

Market Yourself

“What?” you say, “you can’t sell or market at an educational event?” You are absolutely correct! The Medicare Marketing Guidelines tell us specific CMS-regulated products cannot be sold or discussed at these events (Here’s a much shorter compliance cheat sheet). While CMS does not require formal registration for these events, they are regularly evaluated by Secret Shoppers.

No marketing activity is allowed at educational events like those my Las Vegas friend puts on. What does that mean? It means you cannot steer to a specific plan, hand out marketing materials, gather Scopes of Appointment or Permission To Call forms.

So how does this agent generate leads and referrals from events?

He or she makes an announcement at the end of his or her formal presentation. Something like this does the trick: “This is an educational event, so I can’t put my business cards on the table, but some of you have asked for one. I will be at the back of the room as you leave, so if you want a card just ask. If you have any other questions just give me a call — I don’t charge for advice!”

That’s all it takes to successfully market yourself at educational events.

For more detailed training on conducting compliant and profitable events, our affiliated agents can call me at 1-800-997-3107 or email me. I don’t charge for advice, either.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about informal sales events, stay tuned!

Want to get more information on how to market yourself? We love helping you out! Give us a call at 1-800-997-3107 or watch this great webinar! Sign up for the “Make Community Marketing Work for You” webinar and go even further!

Measure, monitor and manage your direct mail for maximum ROI

My daughter is entering her junior year in college at University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!).  She’s pursuing a dual degree in Russian and history with a 4.0 GPA.  Needless to say, I’m extremely proud of her for being so smart and hardworking.

What do you think her focus is on? If you said grades, you would be right!

She doesn’t just pay attention to them at the end of the semester, either.  She measures, monitors and manages her grades from the beginning of the semester all the way to the final exams.

You should do the same for every marketing campaign you conduct, and I can show you how.

Measuring, monitoring and managing allows you to know in real time what is is working in your campaigns so you can do more of that activity. It also tells you if you are getting less than acceptable results in an area so you can change your approach.

Let’s review a typical mail campaign and the various metrics you would want to analyze. In this example, you spent $400 on your marketing campaign to profit $400. You can check out the infographic below, too!

Your first sale paid you back for the investment of the campaign, and the other $400 goes to you as potential profit or for more marketing activities.  There will be times you will do better (or worse) than a 1 percent response rate, 60 percent appointment rate and a 30 percent closing rate.

Again, the goal of measuring, monitoring and managing is to know where you are, what you can improve and what needs to be changed.

Take a look at your last marketing efforts. What could you have improved on to increase your results?

In upcoming posts, I will show you the most important parts of your campaigns and how to consistently exceed the most critical metrics.

Why you should believe in marketing money magic

I always ask the Agents I meet what they think they need to be more successful. You can probably predict the No. 1 answer I get — Leads. Then I ask them what they are doing to generate them. Most times their response is, “I can’t afford it.”

The reality is, you can’t afford not to market your business.  As I mentioned in my last post, marketing money is a seed.  When done correctly and consistently, it generates a real return on your investment. That’s why I want to share another allegory this week to make it clear to you that investing in marketing yourself is worth it.

Have you ever heard the story of the magic penny? There are several versions, but my personal favorite is the one where a boy finds a penny. The penny speaks to him, explaining that if he works hard and believes, the coin he’s holding would double every day for 30 days.

“I could buy candy with you,” said the boy.

I will buy you a couple of sticks of peppermint, but then what will you have? replied the penny.

“You are right.  I want you to grow, so I will give it a try,” the young boy enthusiastically said.

That first day he found a store owner and swept off his sidewalk to do a good deed.

“Thank you, young man, here is a penny for your effort,” said the store owner with gratitude.

The penny winked at the young boy, who was now holding two pennies, and said to him, “Continue to work and believe, and  I will continue to double.”

The story follows the boy each day as he continues following the penny’s instructions. True to its word, each day the pennies double in count. At the end of 30 days, the boy has $5,368,709.12 (Get out your calculator, it works!).

So, how does this relate to your marketing efforts?

If you work diligently and believe in your business, the money you put into even a modest marketing campaign should grow. Ask entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos of Amazon or Sara Blakely of Spanx — they put all they had into marketing something they believed in.

You can start small with investing in marketing yourself.

Take the next $100 you earn and invest it in a marketing campaign.  Work diligently and believe.  If you close even one sale from that activity, that generates a commission of $500. That means you’ve made a 400 percent profit!

Take that $500 dollars and do a 1,000 piece mailer.  Generate 5 sales.  Now you have a $2,000 profit – another 400% return!

Finally, take that $2,500 dollars and do a broader marketing campaign. Done correctly and consistently, with a lot of work and belief, that would generate another 400% return of $10,000 profit!

Believe in marketing money magic!

Marketing your senior insurance business pays

When you tell someone you vacationed in Las Vegas, as I recently did with my wife, they inevitably ask if you gambled.

My answer may surprise you: No, I did not gamble. I hate losing money! Instead, I took a blackjack class. I did some research before I put my heard-earned money at risk.

This week, I can’t help but share what I learned in Vegas because of the similarities between how we can play the odds in a game of cards and how agents should approach marketing themselves. In both cases, I’m here to tell you it can pay to place a bet!

Before you spend money, allow someone to show you the ropes!

My teacher’s name was Tony, and, for some reason, I was the only student for his 15-minute session. He ran me through several scenarios, and, being naturally inquisitive, I asked questions that extended the class to 45 minutes. Armed with basic knowledge, I was more confident about approaching the gambling table.

But I still wasn’t quite ready. I spent $2 on one of those Blackjack scenario cards.
Get all the knowledge and insight you can

The little card had numbers all over it — most of them were too small to be read without my reading glasses.  The information was invaluable, and I was becoming more comfortable with the game. That little card showed me there was a scientific element to the game. 

Now that it was beginning to make sense, I — wait for it — downloaded a blackjack app on my tablet.

 

Prepare before you spend money

I played over 1,000 hands on the app as I sunbathed with my wife by the resort’s sparkling pool. I tried to use my instincts for the first 500 hands and was down $1,000 on $5 dollar hands. At that point, I hated gambling!

Then I played 500 hands using the $2 card and what Tony taught me in the class. I was up $750 on $5 hands as I split cards, bought insurance and doubled down. At that point, I loved gambling!

What did I do next? I finally walked up to a blackjack table with $50 of chips in hand and sat down.

You can laugh if you want to, but with my preparation and dedication to learning I felt ready to play the odds.

When it comes to marketing your business and spending your hard-earned money, I have one question:

Are you ready to invest your money into a marketing strategy and play the odds?

Trust me, I know what I mean when I say they are in your favor!

Producer Profile: Successful Medicare agents market themselves in more than one way

Medicare cost-sharing

RBI National Sales Manager: Charlie Ferrell

Charlie started his senior insurance career after a brief 30-year stint in the restaurant industry. In the 12 years since then, he has been blazing trails and setting standards for excellence all over! A native son of Utah, he has been a state manager for RBI as well as a managing general agent for UHC, Coventry, Molina and other carriers! Charlie came to RBI as the National Sales Manager in 2015, and is an invaluable resource for our agents and staff for marketing, compliance, and sales topics! Charlie’s field experience with senior insurance sales has made him an expert in our insurance CRM: Medicare Sales Engine. If all of that wasn’t enough, Charlie specializes in the Dual-Eligible market and is leading the charge behind RBI’s new “Dual Eligibles for Newbies” seminars!

Successful Medicare Agents market themselves in more ways than one

Today I want to highlight three outstanding examples of our affiliated agents’ success as we get ready for our 3rd annual, Sales Champion Summit. These Medicare agents come from different backgrounds, but all of them have three common strengths: They’re driven to succeed, they go the extra mile for their clients and each of them are able to take advantage of different opportunities to market themselves.

Jim: The Man, the Myth, the MACHINE

Jim has been an insurance agent for over 30 years. He started out as a Farmers agent working with his father in Kansas City, Mo. After his father passed away he started his own successful marketing company, but missed interacting with clients. Jim got back into the insurance business a few years later and has steadily been growing his sales since.

He has over 900 clients and is still actively selling. Because he loves to travel, Jim has combined it with his passion for serving low-income seniors. He has been working out of state to help deserving people while he checks out new places on a regular basis. Jim typically enrolls between 10 and 20 new clients each month, mostly by sending out discounted Business Reply Cards and advertising in free local papers. He sets up a Bingo event at least once a month to keep his name on his clients’ lips as they refer friends and family.



Rich: Gotta pay for the kids

Richard has been working in the senior market for more than 10 years and loves every minute of it. He loves to travel, too, but keeps things local in Arizona, driving from Prescott and Globe all the way to Tucson to meet with prospects and clients. You could say Richard really gets around. He works year round, selling hospital indemnity products to compliment his Medicare Advantage portfolio.

He also has what he calls two seasons: Summer is for Medicare Supplements, and fall is for Medicare Advantage. Richard loves to do seminars in the fall because they’re an easy way for him to reach a large audience quickly. He carefully schedules his seminars around the Annual Enrollment Period to leave enough time after events to answer personal questions and follow up with in-home visits when needed. Richard usually targets his seminars to under-served, outlying markets that rarely have Medicare presentations. They truly appreciate the time and expertise Richard brings to their communities.



Susan: I’ll never retire

Susan has also been around for a long time. She is passionate about her work and her clients and is now a senior herself. She hasn’t let that slow her sales down at all, though. Susan finds that clients find her more relatable, which explains why most of her business now comes from referrals and word of mouth. She augments this most fundamental marketing strategy with mailers from RB Insurance’s Medicare Compare brand as well. Her target market is looking for Medicare Supplements, but she also sells Medicare Advantage plans in the fall during AEP. When she’s not in the field as an agent, Susan loves to volunteer and help other small businesses in her community. Susan earns clients’ trust by being careful not to mix Medicare and senior insurance discussions with her volunteering so she does not violate the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.



As you can see, each of these agents have three different personalities and strategies for introducing themselves to dozens of potential clients. Each of them use simple marketing techniques to expand their customer base, ranging from newspaper ads to volunteering with a nonprofit organization supporting seniors who may also be looking for a great health plan. These affiliated agents go above and beyond by helping out in their communities. Give me a call for tips on how to succeed in the Medicare market, 1-800-997-3107!



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The easiest (and most effective) Medicare marketing practice? Staying in touch!

Last week I wrote that referrals maximize your hard-earned Medicare book of business and shared just five of the best ways to stay in touch with your clients as part of your Medicare marketing. This week I’m sharing five more tips that should get you thinking about marketing your Medicare business the way big companies think about their campaigns.

Why do you think big companies spend millions of dollars on TV commercials, newspaper inserts and other promotions? They know that building a successful brand requires a consistent approach to reaching consumers. In our world of information overload, you may not notice most of the ads on the sides of your favorite web sites, print magazine pages or even the ads before the latest viral YouTube video, but some of them are bound to capture your attention. My wife just bought a 20 oz. Coke simply because it had my name on the bottle — part of  Coca-Cola’s instantly effective Share A Coke campaign.

Balancing innovation with consistency in messaging is vital to any brand’s success, and that includes your senior insurance business. Having a great product for sale is only a beginning — you  have to reach out to consumers with advertising to succeed. It also takes continuous messaging to enter consumers’ consciousness. What if a big brand like Coca-Cola stopped its marketing efforts after the first try? It would have wasted precious time, energy and money. So will you if you don’t commit to marketing your Medicare business!

It’s possible your clients have forgotten you just three weeks after giving you apple pie and ice cream at the kitchen table when you went over Medicare Supplements with them. It’s much more likely they have forgotten about you if the last time you contacted them was your initial appointment last AEP. That’s why you have to conduct your business like the big corporations do — stay in touch! 

Think of your business, your products and your clients.  What types of ongoing communications yield greater client satisfaction, repeat business and referrals? Here are the next five in My top 10 ways to stay in touch with clients:

6. Hold educational sessions. Depending on your industry and product, your current clients might benefit from additional education.  If you’re in insurance or financial services, the list of topics is endless. These meetings are not designed to be sales events, but are set you up to let your clients know you’re there for them as a trusted advisor.

7. Connect with social media. OK, so your clients probably shouldn’t be adding you as a friend on Facebook, but they can follow your business and “Like” it.  There When used effectively, social media can help you reach clients in innovative new ways.  Of course, make sure to keep these outreaches strictly business!

8. Video messages. YouTube, Vimeo and other services make it possible for anyone to present relevant information to a worldwide audience.  You can make a message or series of messages that provide greater insight into your products and your services.  You can even create your own channel that your clients can watch and refer people to. I know a life insurance agent that does short, information-packed videos to teach his clients about the different forms of insurance.  This establishes his credibility and allows new clients a way to get to know him prior to calling.

9. Send emails. We all get more emails than we can read each day.  You could use form emails to send to your entire client base through a CRM, but a personal email is more effective.  You could send a “thinking of you” email that contains an interesting article.  You can also send new product information that attaches all the company bells and whistles to make it compelling and interesting.

10. Conduct a survey. Do you really want to know what your clients think or what they want? You should, because that’s the key to determining how to get them to buy more or refer more people to you.  Several online survey platforms like Survey Monkey will allow you to send a simple, short survey and even offer an incentive for their feedback.

As you stay in contact with your clients, not everything you do will be a hit. Some things will miss.  What matters is being consistent and being motivated to serve. The effort is worth it, so stay in touch!

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My community marketing story: Special Olympics Utah

Community marketing was one of the easiest, but also one of the most challenging things I did when I was actively writing new business for my agency in Utah. As an agent selling Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplements, Dual Special Needs and now final expense products for the past 10 years, I’ve found that being actively involved in my community was rewarding spiritually, but also in the sense that it helped me market my business.

Community marketing is a fairly simple concept. It means getting yourself in front of as many individuals who could use some advice about their health insurance coverage options as you can. The best part is connecting your business with your interest in giving back to your community can still be compliant with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.

It’s fairly inexpensive to market yourself to the community. You may have to pay for a booth at informal events like senior expos or join a group, but it has a great return on the investment if your volunteering leads to even one sale. Community marketing requires a bigger investment of time and energy, so be forewarned: Staying with it for the long haul can be tough, and not always having the advice and guidance you give lead to a sale can be discouraging.

Members participate in the Unified Relay Across America in anticipation of the Special Olympics World Games, held July 25-August 2. Image courtesy of Special Olympics Utah’s Facebook page

Medicare and other health coverage options for children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities

I volunteered with special Olympics Utah when I first got started in the business after an appointment with a parent whose son had Down Syndrome. She told me there were a lot of parents like her who had no idea what programs were available for their children for health insurance other than Medicaid. In fact, Medicare serves individuals over the age of 18 who also have a physical or intellectual disability. One thing led to another, and that Saturday I showed up for an event was a timer for the 100-yard dash. I watched the kids and teens all afternoon, and they introduced me to their parents.

I went to several Special Olympics meetups in the next few weeks and was introduced each time as The Medicare Guy because I knew a lot about Medicare and Dual Special Needs Programs that I could share. Whenever I got a phone call about “Where can I take my daughter to get her teeth cleaned?” or “Where can I find hearing aids for my son?” I had the answer. I knew which DD case managers did the best job of helping their clients manage things like adult day care and how to apply for community grants to help them pay for the cost.

I met a lot of people and listened to many stories as I helped out with events. Sometimes I couldn’t do anything for them other than listen and help them figure out what the best fit for their health and financial situations were, but the fact that I helped them breathe a little easier means a lot to me.  I never walked away without asking people to refer their friends and family to me for their own questions.

There’s nothing better than saving someone $300 per month when they make $,1000 or less or helping a family find the right coverage for their special-needs children. You will be their friend for life, and they will tell all of your friends about you.

Call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me to learn more about serving Medicare’s many members through community marketing. Click here to subscribe to our blog for more insights on how you can build a portfolio of products to market yourself and build your Medicare book of business.

Dual eligibility is your sales opportunity

Seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, otherwise known as dual eligibles, are truly an untapped market. It’s estimated that approximately 8.3 million people in the United States are covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, including low-income seniors and low-income individuals with a disability who are 18 or older. CMS recently reported that 11 percent of these dual eligibles nationwide are enrolled in a Dual Special Needs Plan, which agents can sell year-round as part of their portfolio of products.

Dual Special Needs Plans are a type of Medicare Advantage plan administered by private carriers like United Healthcare and often include extra benefits not covered by Medicare or Medicaid such as Dental, Vision, Hearing Aids, OTC and non-emergency medical transportation. In addition to these needed extra benefits, having a Medicare Advantage Special Needs plan simplifies things for the enrollee — he or she will have to worry about just one card instead of three to access health benefits and prescription coverage, and he or she will have just one customer service line to call should there be an issue. Another selling point is that Special Needs plans offer care coordination so clients have help managing multiple or chronic conditions.

One of the best ways to reach out to dual-eligible prospects is with community marketing. Community marketing simply refers to getting yourself in front of as many individuals who could use some advice about their insurance options as you can. Whether it’s volunteering at a food bank or a Special Olympics event (something I enjoyed doing when I lived in SLC), people see that you really care and are much more likely to send potential clients to you when you give back to your community and let people know you are there to help. So many families are looking for a helpful guide because they often don’t know where to start when it comes to benefits.

You can focus your marketing efforts at key places I’ll list below if you are interested in selling dual-eligible plans. Remember I’m just giving you a starting point — I’ve known agents who have expanded their community marketing beyond what I have here. Also, some carriers expect you to let them know you are marketing to potential beneficiaries in HUD or Section 8 housing.

Here are the Top 10 places for dual-eligible marketing and Lead generation:
1. Section 8 housing
2. County housing authorities apartment buildings or HUD housing
3. Senior centers
4. Area agency on aging or counseling groups
5. Faith-based organizations or churches
6. Food banks or pantries
7. Support groups for foster grandparents
8. Thrift stores like Goodwill
9. Senior expos and health fairs (Check out Senior Broker Trainer Tom O’Neil’s post on marketing yourself at these events)
10. Non-profit organizations supporting those with disabilities (Click here to read my community marketing story with Special Olympics Utah)

For more specific information about marketing to dual-eligible seniors as part of your senior insurance business, give me a call at (800) 997 3107 or email me with your questions. I’m happy to give you more specific advice for your market.

Get out there and market yourself! Part Three

Here’s my last post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. Read Part One and Part Two.

Many agents are avoiding formal sales meetings because they’re anxious about CMS oversight, carrier rules and secret shoppers. However, they can be a compliant way to generate more Leads, and very few carriers will disallow agents from conducting formal Medicare marketing sales events.

Running one of these events can be fairly simple. Here’s how to get rolling:

Review the rules regarding formal sales events in the official Medicare Marketing Guidelines.

  • Always contact your carrier’s local Broker Sales Manager for rules and procedures for registering or reporting and conducting the event. I’ve noted lately that Humana, in some areas, will send their folks out to actually do the presentation for you while you still get the sales. Our local Cigna and Aetna broker managers in Arizona are always available to attend formal events and lend a hand at the meeting.
  • Find a centrally located meeting room. In my region, our city libraries rent meeting rooms to help balance their budgets. Don’t forget to consider the local VFW, American Legion, Moose or Elks Lodges for room rental as they also can be a good source of attendees. They’re all trying to raise some funds for their respective budgets. When all else fails, check some local restaurants and motels.

 

  • Always utilize the carrier-recorded presentation. Often these are available as a Power Point presentation or a link that can be easily replayed on screen at your event. These recordings usually cover all the points that need to be made to be CMS compliant. You almost certainly will be secret shopped, but don’t let that worry you. After getting through all that boring, but important compliant info you can start selling yourself by engaging the audience.
  • Use a voluntary sign-in sheet for your guests. Always have permission to call (PTC) and Scope of Appointment forms handy. If you’re anticipating a good crowd, take an assistant with you. They can gather PTC forms and Scopes, assist attendees to fill out enrollment forms and just be generally helpful. I doubled my sales at events when I started taking agent trainees with me. Most of those added sales were from follow-up home appointments my helpers set up.

I’ll give you a more complete rundown on secret shoppers in an upcoming post, so make sure you subscribe to our blog.  In the mean time, here is a check list
that can give you an idea of how they evaluate. It’s not rocket science. We understand that some agents experience trepidation at doing these events, that’s why we are here to make it happen for you.

RB Insurance-affiliated agents who have questions regarding the planning and execution of sales events or compliance issues can call me at (800) 997 3107 or email me. We make it happen for you, so ask how we can assist you with advertising your event.

Get out there and market yourself! Part Two

Here’s my second post in a series of three about different kinds of events you can be a part of to market your senior insurance business. Read Part One here.

I loved working informal sales events when I was in the field full time because it’s an effective and compliant way to set appointments.

Informal sales events include popular senior expos, county fairs, church meetings and just about any gathering that’s likely to attract groups of Medicare beneficiaries. I’ll go over a few simple dos and don’ts below that can help you set more appointments, but you should always check CMS’ Medicare Marketing Guidelines for the complete set of regulations regarding marketing yourself at informal sales events

 

If you’re going to work an event, you’ve got to register as soon as possible. Choose one of your contracted Medicare Advantage carriers to represent and use their registration process (Call us at (800) 997 3107 if you’ve never done this before or need an assist). You only need to register with one carrier even if you are displaying materials from several plans. Captive agents can only offer the products from their company, but independent brokers and agents can offer a broad range of products from multiple companies.

By all means, do not sit down at your table or booth. Instead, have a chair or two for attendees to sit down so you can then start a conversation. Greet seniors as they pass by with a good morning or hello. Always make eye contact, and for goodness’ sake, smile! Seniors can be reluctant to discuss their health, well-being and finances, so it’s up to you to break the ice.

Contacting your carrier broker reps and asking for all the gewgaws and brief plan brochures they can muster is another great way to prepare. Get them from all your carriers and restock the table after a while. Who among us doesn’t love free stuff?

Have an Internet-connected laptop at your table. You can show a senior anything displayed on a carrier’s website or demonstrate Medicare.gov’s plan finder features. However, try to avoid researching docs, drugs or copays at the event. Offer to do the research for them and promise them a call back or appointment.
You should use a Permission To Contact Form (PTC) to collect seniors’ call back information in a compliant manner. Most carriers have these available. Try to get a Scope of Appointment if you’re working with Medicare Advantage, but keep in mind the PTC is a lot less intimidating to the average senior. Why most agents don’t use PTC forms is a mystery to me. Let me be very clear, though: Do not do enrollments at informal events. Keep a minimum number of enrollment packets available from the event registering plan (especially for Secret Shoppers, something I’ll cover next time).

Remember, the goal of your attendance at the event is to set as many appointments and call-backs as you can. Provide seniors with enticing factual hors d’oeuvres, not the full meal! Plan a call-back or make a home appointment to look up docs or medications or to report back any research. You’re much more likely to close the appointment with a sale if you can show you’re able to do due diligence for your clients.

For more informal sales event tips, call RB Insurance at (800) 997 3107 or email me. Subscribe to our blog here. RB Insurance-affiliated agents can call us for pointers or assistance with planning sales events.

Get out there and market yourself! Part One

Wondering about marketing opportunities? Well it’s time to “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.

I’ve attempted to change his mind about how valuable this type of marketing is — and it is marketing — but he just can’t see it. I have regaled my agent friend with the example set by a successful Las Vegas agent I know who only does educational event meetings to market himself. This guy works home and office appointments gleaned from those encounters all year long. My Sin City agent friend does at least two events a week and has contacts with just about every professional, fraternal, veteran and charitable organization in the county.

His CMS-regulated business consists of about 50 percent Medicare Advantage and about 50 percent Medicare Supplements with a Part D plan. He loves presenting final expense and add-on hospital indemnity products. Not bad for an agent who’s a senior himself. He never leaves a venue until he has answered every lingering question, and he tells me he goes through more than 500 business cards a month.

Market Yourself

“What?” you say, “you can’t sell or market at an educational event?” You are absolutely correct! The Medicare Marketing Guidelines tell us specific CMS-regulated products cannot be sold or discussed at these events (Here’s a much shorter compliance cheat sheet). While CMS does not require formal registration for these events, they are regularly evaluated by Secret Shoppers.

No marketing activity is allowed at educational events like those my Las Vegas friend puts on. What does that mean? It means you cannot steer to a specific plan, hand out marketing materials, gather Scopes of Appointment or Permission To Call forms.

So how does this agent generate leads and referrals from events?

He or she makes an announcement at the end of his or her formal presentation. Something like this does the trick: “This is an educational event, so I can’t put my business cards on the table, but some of you have asked for one. I will be at the back of the room as you leave, so if you want a card just ask. If you have any other questions just give me a call — I don’t charge for advice!”

That’s all it takes to successfully market yourself at educational events.

For more detailed training on conducting compliant and profitable events, our affiliated agents can call me at 1-800-997-3107 or email me. I don’t charge for advice, either.

Next week, I’ll tell you more about informal sales events, stay tuned!

Want to get more information on how to market yourself? We love helping you out! Give us a call at 1-800-997-3107 or watch this great webinar! Sign up for the “Make Community Marketing Work for You” webinar and go even further!

Measure, monitor and manage your direct mail for maximum ROI

My daughter is entering her junior year in college at University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!).  She’s pursuing a dual degree in Russian and history with a 4.0 GPA.  Needless to say, I’m extremely proud of her for being so smart and hardworking.

What do you think her focus is on? If you said grades, you would be right!

She doesn’t just pay attention to them at the end of the semester, either.  She measures, monitors and manages her grades from the beginning of the semester all the way to the final exams.

You should do the same for every marketing campaign you conduct, and I can show you how.

Measuring, monitoring and managing allows you to know in real time what is is working in your campaigns so you can do more of that activity. It also tells you if you are getting less than acceptable results in an area so you can change your approach.

Let’s review a typical mail campaign and the various metrics you would want to analyze. In this example, you spent $400 on your marketing campaign to profit $400. You can check out the infographic below, too!

Your first sale paid you back for the investment of the campaign, and the other $400 goes to you as potential profit or for more marketing activities.  There will be times you will do better (or worse) than a 1 percent response rate, 60 percent appointment rate and a 30 percent closing rate.

Again, the goal of measuring, monitoring and managing is to know where you are, what you can improve and what needs to be changed.

Take a look at your last marketing efforts. What could you have improved on to increase your results?

In upcoming posts, I will show you the most important parts of your campaigns and how to consistently exceed the most critical metrics.

Why you should believe in marketing money magic

I always ask the Agents I meet what they think they need to be more successful. You can probably predict the No. 1 answer I get — Leads. Then I ask them what they are doing to generate them. Most times their response is, “I can’t afford it.”

The reality is, you can’t afford not to market your business.  As I mentioned in my last post, marketing money is a seed.  When done correctly and consistently, it generates a real return on your investment. That’s why I want to share another allegory this week to make it clear to you that investing in marketing yourself is worth it.

Have you ever heard the story of the magic penny? There are several versions, but my personal favorite is the one where a boy finds a penny. The penny speaks to him, explaining that if he works hard and believes, the coin he’s holding would double every day for 30 days.

“I could buy candy with you,” said the boy.

I will buy you a couple of sticks of peppermint, but then what will you have? replied the penny.

“You are right.  I want you to grow, so I will give it a try,” the young boy enthusiastically said.

That first day he found a store owner and swept off his sidewalk to do a good deed.

“Thank you, young man, here is a penny for your effort,” said the store owner with gratitude.

The penny winked at the young boy, who was now holding two pennies, and said to him, “Continue to work and believe, and  I will continue to double.”

The story follows the boy each day as he continues following the penny’s instructions. True to its word, each day the pennies double in count. At the end of 30 days, the boy has $5,368,709.12 (Get out your calculator, it works!).

So, how does this relate to your marketing efforts?

If you work diligently and believe in your business, the money you put into even a modest marketing campaign should grow. Ask entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos of Amazon or Sara Blakely of Spanx — they put all they had into marketing something they believed in.

You can start small with investing in marketing yourself.

Take the next $100 you earn and invest it in a marketing campaign.  Work diligently and believe.  If you close even one sale from that activity, that generates a commission of $500. That means you’ve made a 400 percent profit!

Take that $500 dollars and do a 1,000 piece mailer.  Generate 5 sales.  Now you have a $2,000 profit – another 400% return!

Finally, take that $2,500 dollars and do a broader marketing campaign. Done correctly and consistently, with a lot of work and belief, that would generate another 400% return of $10,000 profit!

Believe in marketing money magic!

Marketing your senior insurance business pays

When you tell someone you vacationed in Las Vegas, as I recently did with my wife, they inevitably ask if you gambled.

My answer may surprise you: No, I did not gamble. I hate losing money! Instead, I took a blackjack class. I did some research before I put my heard-earned money at risk.

This week, I can’t help but share what I learned in Vegas because of the similarities between how we can play the odds in a game of cards and how agents should approach marketing themselves. In both cases, I’m here to tell you it can pay to place a bet!

Before you spend money, allow someone to show you the ropes!

My teacher’s name was Tony, and, for some reason, I was the only student for his 15-minute session. He ran me through several scenarios, and, being naturally inquisitive, I asked questions that extended the class to 45 minutes. Armed with basic knowledge, I was more confident about approaching the gambling table.

But I still wasn’t quite ready. I spent $2 on one of those Blackjack scenario cards.
Get all the knowledge and insight you can

The little card had numbers all over it — most of them were too small to be read without my reading glasses.  The information was invaluable, and I was becoming more comfortable with the game. That little card showed me there was a scientific element to the game. 

Now that it was beginning to make sense, I — wait for it — downloaded a blackjack app on my tablet.

 

Prepare before you spend money

I played over 1,000 hands on the app as I sunbathed with my wife by the resort’s sparkling pool. I tried to use my instincts for the first 500 hands and was down $1,000 on $5 dollar hands. At that point, I hated gambling!

Then I played 500 hands using the $2 card and what Tony taught me in the class. I was up $750 on $5 hands as I split cards, bought insurance and doubled down. At that point, I loved gambling!

What did I do next? I finally walked up to a blackjack table with $50 of chips in hand and sat down.

You can laugh if you want to, but with my preparation and dedication to learning I felt ready to play the odds.

When it comes to marketing your business and spending your hard-earned money, I have one question:

Are you ready to invest your money into a marketing strategy and play the odds?

Trust me, I know what I mean when I say they are in your favor!

Producer Profile: Successful Medicare agents market themselves in more than one way

Medicare cost-sharing

RBI National Sales Manager: Charlie Ferrell

Charlie started his senior insurance career after a brief 30-year stint in the restaurant industry. In the 12 years since then, he has been blazing trails and setting standards for excellence all over! A native son of Utah, he has been a state manager for RBI as well as a managing general agent for UHC, Coventry, Molina and other carriers! Charlie came to RBI as the National Sales Manager in 2015, and is an invaluable resource for our agents and staff for marketing, compliance, and sales topics! Charlie’s field experience with senior insurance sales has made him an expert in our insurance CRM: Medicare Sales Engine. If all of that wasn’t enough, Charlie specializes in the Dual-Eligible market and is leading the charge behind RBI’s new “Dual Eligibles for Newbies” seminars!

Successful Medicare Agents market themselves in more ways than one

Today I want to highlight three outstanding examples of our affiliated agents’ success as we get ready for our 3rd annual, Sales Champion Summit. These Medicare agents come from different backgrounds, but all of them have three common strengths: They’re driven to succeed, they go the extra mile for their clients and each of them are able to take advantage of different opportunities to market themselves.

Jim: The Man, the Myth, the MACHINE

Jim has been an insurance agent for over 30 years. He started out as a Farmers agent working with his father in Kansas City, Mo. After his father passed away he started his own successful marketing company, but missed interacting with clients. Jim got back into the insurance business a few years later and has steadily been growing his sales since.

He has over 900 clients and is still actively selling. Because he loves to travel, Jim has combined it with his passion for serving low-income seniors. He has been working out of state to help deserving people while he checks out new places on a regular basis. Jim typically enrolls between 10 and 20 new clients each month, mostly by sending out discounted Business Reply Cards and advertising in free local papers. He sets up a Bingo event at least once a month to keep his name on his clients’ lips as they refer friends and family.



Rich: Gotta pay for the kids

Richard has been working in the senior market for more than 10 years and loves every minute of it. He loves to travel, too, but keeps things local in Arizona, driving from Prescott and Globe all the way to Tucson to meet with prospects and clients. You could say Richard really gets around. He works year round, selling hospital indemnity products to compliment his Medicare Advantage portfolio.

He also has what he calls two seasons: Summer is for Medicare Supplements, and fall is for Medicare Advantage. Richard loves to do seminars in the fall because they’re an easy way for him to reach a large audience quickly. He carefully schedules his seminars around the Annual Enrollment Period to leave enough time after events to answer personal questions and follow up with in-home visits when needed. Richard usually targets his seminars to under-served, outlying markets that rarely have Medicare presentations. They truly appreciate the time and expertise Richard brings to their communities.



Susan: I’ll never retire

Susan has also been around for a long time. She is passionate about her work and her clients and is now a senior herself. She hasn’t let that slow her sales down at all, though. Susan finds that clients find her more relatable, which explains why most of her business now comes from referrals and word of mouth. She augments this most fundamental marketing strategy with mailers from RB Insurance’s Medicare Compare brand as well. Her target market is looking for Medicare Supplements, but she also sells Medicare Advantage plans in the fall during AEP. When she’s not in the field as an agent, Susan loves to volunteer and help other small businesses in her community. Susan earns clients’ trust by being careful not to mix Medicare and senior insurance discussions with her volunteering so she does not violate the Medicare Marketing Guidelines.



As you can see, each of these agents have three different personalities and strategies for introducing themselves to dozens of potential clients. Each of them use simple marketing techniques to expand their customer base, ranging from newspaper ads to volunteering with a nonprofit organization supporting seniors who may also be looking for a great health plan. These affiliated agents go above and beyond by helping out in their communities. Give me a call for tips on how to succeed in the Medicare market, 1-800-997-3107!



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