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2 Simple Sales Tips: Listen and Observe

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Senior Agent Contributor: Tom O’Neil

Tom O’Neil has been in the Medicare industry since the 1970s!  Whether the topic is selling Dual Eligibles, or how to increase business cash flow, or simply the craziest Medicare Advantage home appointment he’s ever been on, he has a wealth of stories and enjoys sharing them. When he isn’t running appointments, writing for our blog, or planning his next sales, he enjoys spending time with his canine companion, Molly.

Pictured above: Tom’s sweet pup!

2 Simple Sales Tips:

Listen and Observe

Senior Agent Contributor: Tom O’Neil

This humble offering is directed at those brave souls who have decided recently to enter the rewarding and challenging Senior Insurance Market.


Let me preface this brief sales tip with a story:

Back in the 70’s I was lucky to score an Army school slot at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the home of Army Aviation.  The course of study was for those being awarded the designation of Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATC).  It was by no means a slam dunk.  About 25% of my enlisted classmates washed out during initial academic testing, live tower operations or by failing the FAA final exam. 25% was an unusually high failure rate for an Army school.  We all had to pass the same FAA ATC test taken by civil service controllers as well as completing the military portion of the training.  Almost all the soldiers had at least one or two years of college and a few were degreed.  The Army had only recently reclaimed the ATC training program from the Air Force ATC school at Lackland AFB.  To say the least, the Army was going through some growing pains getting things up and running.

Moving on to the sales tie-in:

Redstone Airfield Air Traffic Control Tower

This tower, at Redstone Field, is identical to the training tower I was assigned to, while at Ft. Rucker. — Tom O’Neil

In the initial academic training my scores and evaluations were excellent.  The staff awarded me and one other student a special “honor graduate” designation for stage one of training.  I was assigned to a cramped training tower with another soldier where we worked with American student pilots.  It was a very busy airfield from dawn to dusk.  We were both doing great as student controllers until the pilots from South Korea came in for my last week of live training.  The Koreans, speaking English, were hard for me to understand.  I was starting to panic and lose some confidence.  If I didn’t pass this final portion of my training I would be off to Jeep mechanic school!  My training partner, another “PFC,” was doing great with the Korean flyers.

When I asked my buddy how he was excelling he gave me some great advice: “Don’t just listen to them, look at the aircraft to see what they are doing.  By observation determine exactly where they are coming in from and anticipate in advance what they are doing and it will be easy to understand what they are transmitting and requesting.  They are all flying the same damn patterns!”  Wow.  By the next afternoon I was as comfortable as a minnow in a mountain stream.  We both graduated and went on to our unit assignments.  My old ATC buddy now runs a chain of pizza places back East.

The 2 simple sales tips: listen and observe

Our senior clients are “all flying the same damn patterns” as my buddy noted about the Korean pilots.  They have different starting points, may want a different runway, need to refuel, or might even have what they consider an emergency.  By listening and observing (body language, medical devices, meds) before we start the sales process we can identify where they’ve been and where they want to go.  As independent agents we can offer them a lot of different options (runways?) and add-ons.  Let them transmit what they want before YOU decide where to send them.  They always transmit the info, we just have to listen, observe, communicate, and then “control.”

NEVER ASSIGN A RUNWAY UNTIL YOU KNOW THE DESTINATION.

For access to the RBI library of great sales training and industry expertise, call 1-800-997-3107 or click here to get contracted. We do things differently: see the RBI difference in action in your business today! 



2022 AHIP

2023 AHIP Certification

2020 ahip discount certification

2020 Medicare Agent and Broker Compensation Announced | CMS | RBI

OEP

MA-OEP is back!

S.S.D.Y. – Same Stuff Different Year – Here’s Your 2019 AEP Checklist

2 Simple Sales Tips: Listen and Observe

/in , , /by

Senior Agent Contributor: Tom O’Neil

Tom O’Neil has been in the Medicare industry since the 1970s!  Whether the topic is selling Dual Eligibles, or how to increase business cash flow, or simply the craziest Medicare Advantage home appointment he’s ever been on, he has a wealth of stories and enjoys sharing them. When he isn’t running appointments, writing for our blog, or planning his next sales, he enjoys spending time with his canine companion, Molly.

Pictured above: Tom’s sweet pup!

2 Simple Sales Tips:

Listen and Observe

Senior Agent Contributor: Tom O’Neil

This humble offering is directed at those brave souls who have decided recently to enter the rewarding and challenging Senior Insurance Market.


Let me preface this brief sales tip with a story:

Back in the 70’s I was lucky to score an Army school slot at Fort Rucker, Alabama, the home of Army Aviation.  The course of study was for those being awarded the designation of Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATC).  It was by no means a slam dunk.  About 25% of my enlisted classmates washed out during initial academic testing, live tower operations or by failing the FAA final exam. 25% was an unusually high failure rate for an Army school.  We all had to pass the same FAA ATC test taken by civil service controllers as well as completing the military portion of the training.  Almost all the soldiers had at least one or two years of college and a few were degreed.  The Army had only recently reclaimed the ATC training program from the Air Force ATC school at Lackland AFB.  To say the least, the Army was going through some growing pains getting things up and running.

Moving on to the sales tie-in:

Redstone Airfield Air Traffic Control Tower

This tower, at Redstone Field, is identical to the training tower I was assigned to, while at Ft. Rucker. — Tom O’Neil

In the initial academic training my scores and evaluations were excellent.  The staff awarded me and one other student a special “honor graduate” designation for stage one of training.  I was assigned to a cramped training tower with another soldier where we worked with American student pilots.  It was a very busy airfield from dawn to dusk.  We were both doing great as student controllers until the pilots from South Korea came in for my last week of live training.  The Koreans, speaking English, were hard for me to understand.  I was starting to panic and lose some confidence.  If I didn’t pass this final portion of my training I would be off to Jeep mechanic school!  My training partner, another “PFC,” was doing great with the Korean flyers.

When I asked my buddy how he was excelling he gave me some great advice: “Don’t just listen to them, look at the aircraft to see what they are doing.  By observation determine exactly where they are coming in from and anticipate in advance what they are doing and it will be easy to understand what they are transmitting and requesting.  They are all flying the same damn patterns!”  Wow.  By the next afternoon I was as comfortable as a minnow in a mountain stream.  We both graduated and went on to our unit assignments.  My old ATC buddy now runs a chain of pizza places back East.

The 2 simple sales tips: listen and observe

Our senior clients are “all flying the same damn patterns” as my buddy noted about the Korean pilots.  They have different starting points, may want a different runway, need to refuel, or might even have what they consider an emergency.  By listening and observing (body language, medical devices, meds) before we start the sales process we can identify where they’ve been and where they want to go.  As independent agents we can offer them a lot of different options (runways?) and add-ons.  Let them transmit what they want before YOU decide where to send them.  They always transmit the info, we just have to listen, observe, communicate, and then “control.”

NEVER ASSIGN A RUNWAY UNTIL YOU KNOW THE DESTINATION.

For access to the RBI library of great sales training and industry expertise, call 1-800-997-3107 or click here to get contracted. We do things differently: see the RBI difference in action in your business today! 



2022 AHIP

2023 AHIP Certification

2020 ahip discount certification

2020 Medicare Agent and Broker Compensation Announced | CMS | RBI

OEP

MA-OEP is back!

S.S.D.Y. – Same Stuff Different Year – Here’s Your 2019 AEP Checklist

Medicare Supplements 201 Revisited for 2017

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If you read our Medicare Supplements 101 Revisited article last week, you know that we are all about understanding supplements. This week it’s time to go deeper: Medicare Supplements 201 covers more about the unusual or specialized plans you might need. This article has also been revisited for 2017, so you’re getting the latest of fresh updates.

Part 1 of our series went over what the different Medicare Supplements cover and how they work with Original Medicare.

Medicare Supplements 201 coverage A-N chart

In Part 2 of our series we are going to discuss the different enrollment periods for Medicare supplements as well as some of the underwriting criteria major carriers use in pricing their plans. Remember, in order to enroll into a Medicare Supplement policy, beneficiaries must have Medicare Parts A and B.

Open enrollment for Medicare Supplements is the 6 months following a beneficiaries Part B effective date. No health questions asked. Full commission paid according to contracted rates.

Guaranteed issue. According to federal guidelines, carriers must issue a Medigap Plan A, B, C, F, K, or L that’s sold by any insurance company in the state under the following conditions;

  • During a Medicare Advantage members 12 month trial period
  • A beneficiaries’ current Medicare Advantage plan is leaving the area either due to financial reasons or is no longer going to offer that plan.
  • Beneficiaries’ employer group plan that pays after Medicare is ending. This includes retiree and COBRA coverage
  • Beneficiaries leave a Medigap or Medicare Advantage plan because the company hasn’t followed the rules

Underwritten policies can be issued at any time after the open enrollment period and beneficiaries are able to pass underwriting questions. Some policies have relaxed underwriting for a higher premium. Full commissions paid according to contracted rates.

Underwriting guidelines vary from carrier to carrier. Some carriers allow diabetics with no issues and other carriers will not issue policies at all for diabetics. Almost all Medicare Supplement carriers have a “prohibited prescriptions” list that tells you the application will be declined if a member takes the medication on the list for a specific condition. Some carriers include this list in every kit they send out.

Medicare Supplements for Beneficiaries under age 65. Not all states require Medigap plans to cover beneficiaries under age 65. In some cases states may only require carriers to offer certain plans for those under age 65 or cover certain conditions such as ESRD. In all cases, under 65 policies are more expensive than a regular Medigap policy since carriers know the beneficiaries will be using more benefits than those over 65 on original Medicare.

This is just brief overview of Medicare Supplements. For an in depth explanation and more, click the button below for the recording of Part 2 of our webinar series on Medicare Supplements: “Medicare Supplements 201.”

Watch Recording Now

Contact us today to get contracted with the highest rated carriers in your area. Many plans are only competitive in certain zip codes so don’t be fooled by all their hype. Call us at 1-800-997-3107 and let us help you with all of your Medicare Supplement contracting needs.

Updated 3/13/2017; Originally Published 5/16/2016

Turn to the Girl Scouts for canvassing inspiration

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Important note for senior insurance agents: Canvassing can be used to market life insurance and hospital indemnity, but NOT Medicare Advantage. The Medicare Marketing Guidelines prohibit canvassing for any Medicare Advantage product. Canvassing of Medicare Supplements is regulated state-by-state.

Have you found your Joy of Canvassing yet, or do you need more proof that canvassing done right really works?

I’ve been putting deliberate emphasis on canvassing in my posts lately because if you don’t have much marketing money or need to get things moving quickly, canvassing is a direct to consumer activity that can yield immediate sales opportunities. It also builds important closing muscle while you develop your unique sales process and build your client base.
Canvassing may not be as sophisticated as using your combined CRM/virtual call center or dropping direct mail, but it is effective. Think about it this way: Girl Scouts sell their delectable cookies each year through well-coordinated canvassing.

I bet you want to read more now that I’ve mentioned these treats. (I’ll take two boxes of Thin Mints, please–and no, I won’t share!) Girl Scouts have been selling cookies for almost a century as part of their mission to become courageous, confident and capable leaders. They show support to their communities with generous donations they make with their cookie sale profits. Their official website lists goal setting, smart decision making, money management, people skills and ethical business practice on their website as the annual cookie sale’s major lessons. Does any of this sounds familiar to you?

Image courtesy of Girl Scouts official website

Canvassing Inspiration

As a sales veteran myself, I may have not sold tantalizing sweets, but I did sell everything ranging from luxurious perfume to final expense policies. The Scouts’ cookie canvassing reminds me of the sales process I’ve observed in my own fields.

Here are a few points sales professionals can take away from the Girl Scouts:

They believe in themselves. Girl Scouts willingly try new activities and take on challenges together discover their talents and strengths. Those are all important parts of growing up, but have you considered how you can do the same to strengthen your profession and win more clients? 

They pick strategic locations to canvass. All right, Girl Scouts may not exclusively go door to door anymore. They set up shop outside supermarkets where families stock up on food and snacks and Sunday church gatherings where people may want to extend their goodwill. They have even been spotted on university campuses, cheerfully announcing cookies for sale to college students overloaded with homework and in desperate need of a break. One Girl Scout had enough initiative to go off the beaten path and sell cookies directly outside a medical marijuana dispensary, selling 117 boxes in just two hours! The Girl Scouts think about where their hungry customers could be, and they have even increased their outreach exponentially by offering digital cookie ordering. How do you locate your target market, and how do you adjust your appearance, manner and sales pitch to ensure they’re the most receptive?

Girl Scouts believe in their product. They don’t just sell any cookie. They sell Girl Scout cookies, a name that rings in everyone’s ear, and they only do so for a limited time each year. Some of the cookies have cult-like followings, with people stocking up on Thin Mints or Samoas (also known as Caramel deLites) and freezing them. The organization responds to people’s questions about the nutritional value of the cookies, ingredients used and even whether cookies are an ethical product to sell given the national childhood obesity crisis. Girl Scouts have responded to people’s concerns not by doing away with selling cookies, but by innovating. This year, a gluten-free option called Trios will be available in select markets, while Cranberry Citrus Crisps and Rah-Rah Raisins offer dried fruit and whole grain to health-conscious consumers.

As a sales professional, are you knowledgeable enough about your product that you can confidently answer prospects’ objections with solid information? You have an amazing opportunity to interact directly with the consumer when canvassing. You can speak to them on their level!

They use the buddy system. There’s probably no better example of teaming up with like-minded associates and working an area together than the friendships Girl Scouts develop during their participation. They work together to  strengthen each other’s commitment to making their troop money, earning badges and serving their communities. You can work  with other sales professionals to tackle a market, learn from others and create a strong network.

Next week, I’ll share one more real-world example of how canvassing works. In the meantime, have you figured out how many boxes you’re going to order from your local troop?
Are you struggling to get your name out there? Call RBI at 1-800-997-3107 and get started on a marketing plan! Click here to take a look at the carriers we work with, and begin your fast-track today!

Tips for agents’ Job No. 1: Prospecting (Part Two)

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Here’s the rest of my Top 10 Things to Consider When Prospecting (Read the first five here):

6. Name recognition.  Is your company well known in the market where you are prospecting?  Does it have a good reputation? Do you represent a group of companies that includes household or obscure names?As you look at effective prospecting you have to be thoughtful of your company’s place in the mind of the prospect.  Lead with the strongest message possible.

7. How much time can you commit?  All forms of prospecting require effort — this means they require time.  We all have to eat while we hunt, which means you have to find clients while you are closing clients.  If you have a limited pipeline, you should block out specific days to devote to prospecting and the other days to full sales presentations.  If you have a steady stream of opportunity you have to devote time, as it is available, so your well doesn’t run dry!

8. How much money can you commit? If you have no money, then you have to engage prospecting methods on the left side of the “Y” axis (upper left quadrant of the graphic).  As you begin to have money to invest in your marketing efforts, you have to decide how much.  If you knew you could spend $500 on a direct mail campaign and close $2,500 in commissions, would you do it?  Are you doing it?  Invest in your business!

Image courtesy of Brandon Clay

 9. How effective have you been with prospecting?  Are you prospecting by giving it your all, or are you doing it with half-hearted effort? Are you pushing with tenacity and grit? Either way, if you are not measuring, monitoring and managing you could be spending precious time, effort and money on the wrong approach. Review where your last 90 days of sales came from and use that as a jumping off point for broader prospecting effort.

10. You need a plan. The real challenge I see with sales people is a lack of strategy and the corresponding tactics.  Each prospecting method requires a different approach so you would need to be agile in your execution.  More than likely, two to three prospecting methods fit your business model and, once perfected, you simply repeat, repeat and repeat!

Next week, I’ll take a step-by-step look at the strategies of each major prospecting method. Begin to review your current efforts and begin to devise an approach that can take your business to the next level. It is critical that you stay positive and motivated about your possibilities. You could be one simple change away from a higher level of success through the Power of Prospecting!

The Joy of Canvassing: Be confident when prospecting life insurance

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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.” 

Joy of Canvassing
His soft-spoken “don’t worry, be happy” demeanor belied his military background and was part of the charm of the show. At the end of 30 minutes, there would be an amazing scene that evolved right before your eyes from a blank canvas.  He believed you could do the same if you could find your happy place.
 
Pardon my pun here: Prospecting is also an art because it starts with a blank canvas.
Canvassing is basic. Primal even. To be good at it you have to find your happy place because it is hard work (that actually does work! More on that below). 

Depending on your age and industry, canvassing can be called door-knocking, soliciting, clover-leafing, hot-knocking, cold-calling and gold-calling. The more contemporary names are grassroots and community-based outreach and B2B marketing. Just remember that if you’re a senior insurance advisor selling Medicare Advantage, canvassing — no matter what it’s called — is not allowed by CMS.

For sales professionals like senior insurance advisors selling life products, canvassing boils down to you meeting a stranger, engaging them in a conversation about your business or product and anticipating that interaction evolves into a sale.

When you hear it said like that, no wonder most sales people turn up their nose at it. But there is one thing you need to know before you get a nose bleed: Canvassing works! Let me give you an example:

While I was in college I needed money. I needed a flexible schedule and a chance to make $10-$15 an hour. One day I saw an ad on the corner of Georgia Tech and North Avenue: College Students! Earn $10-$15 an hour! Flexible Schedule Call Today!

 My prayers were answered! I went for the interview and they told me I fit the profile: young, good-looking and energetic (Just telling you what I was told!). I was partnered with an extremely attractive female manager who took me out in the field and showed me the ropes.

I had no idea of the product or where we were going, but when this manager smiled and said, “It’s going to be a great day,” something inside me said, “Yes, I agree!”

I left my car at the office and drove with the manager to a less than desirable part of town. She had nerves of steel as she went door to door with an attaché case.  I had no idea what was inside.

“Is the lady of the house in today?” she would say if a man answered the door. If his answer was “no” then she hit another speed, “As I am sure you treat your woman like a queen, what I have today would be perfect for the person in your life.”

She took a velvet bag out of the attaché and pulled out an exotic bottle of perfume. She sprayed a light mist in her direction. She then stepped closer to the man as the door opened wider and she tilted her head to the side and back to give him a whiff of her neck. “Smells amazing, doesn’t it?” she asked.

Here are her results from 6 hours of doing this:

  • 200 knocks (she put tic marks on a page),
  • 40 people answering (she tic marked that too!)
  • She sold 9 bottles at $25 each
  • Her cost was $6 a bottle
  • Daily profit of $171 cash, making an hourly rate of $28.50
What lessons can be learned from my experience? You could say that sex sells — and it does — but this was not that simple. You could say men buy from beautiful women, and they do, but many men said “no,” and only some women  said “yes” to my manager.  She was neither overt nor acting with poor taste — she just exuded a confidence that I had never seen before or since.
The real lesson I have for you today is that canvassing works when you work it with boldness and confidence. Your approach to the sales process is built to not only your product, but your personality as well. To be truly effective you must find your happy place and embrace what I’ll call the Joy of Canvassing!
Want to get more confident with the Joy of Canvassing? We can help you with this! Call RBI today at 1-800-997-3107 for help on canvassing and other great community marketing ideas.  Click here to watch our recorded webinar on “Marketing for Success.”

Don’t give up on prospecting Medicare Advantage and life insurance!

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Prospecting.

The word alone conjures images of doors slamming in our face and telephone hang ups while we scramble to finish our sales pitch. And yet it’s the first stage of the sales process that can lead you to 6-figure senior insurance sales success.

Even if you’ve heard that 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day, you’ve probably wondered how you can even reach them with all the rules, regulations and market challenges that are part of the industry. To make matters worse, seniors are flooded with marketing materials during AEP from carriers and other agents and might not be in the mood to hear yet another pitch. This is why you have to reach them with smart prospecting.

How you prospect makes all the difference between making a sale, earning a client’s trust and generating referrals for your business or walking away without a sale, feeling the sting of rejection and self-doubt.

Death of a Salesman image courtesy of The New York Times (http://nyti.ms/1KZf4qg)

do-not-give-up-on-prospecting-get-smart-about-Medicare-Advatange-prospecting

Old-fashioned canvassing, leaving door hangers, telemarketing, sending small-batch mailers and pre-set appointments, direct mail campaigns, earning repeat business from existing clients and generating referrals are all methods of engaging prospects, and you will need to find the best method for your personal communication style. Be careful to comply with the Medicare Marketing Guidelines, as some of the methods I’ve listed above cannot be used for selling Medicare Advantage.

If you sell just Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplements, you must follow the Medicare Marketing Guidelines, which you can review here. I highly recommend that every senior insurance advisor I mentor add final expense or life insurance to his or her portfolio of products to maximize earnings from repeat business. You can cross sell both products and still be in compliance!

Stay with me as we head into the sales season as I review strategies for your prospecting efforts. You’ll have to suspend judgment on what you think will work and what won’t work because any of them can work for you if you’re willing to be diligent and persistent.

Although I will ask: Which methods should you predominantly spend your time pursuing? I hope you answered repeat business and referrals — they have the lowest cost (essentially free!) and the highest close ratio. That puts a higher importance on each sale that you close because these two sources can only come from a current client.

You have you stick to prospecting because it just doesn’t work automatically. Refine your methods to be smart about prospecting and watch your metrics improve. Giving up on prospecting after one day because “it’s not working” or because you feel the sting of rejection is not true prospecting. You’ve likely heard the saying, “Nothing begins until a sale is made,” but that really means that nothing begins until you are sitting down with the prospect.

Read my post on overcoming the fear of rejection when prospecting for Medicare Advantage and other senior products.

Medicare agents: You can master the sales process

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When I think back to my college days and the success of my friends who graduated with law degrees and MBAs, I feel proud of them and admire the hard work they put in to complete intense curricula. Part of me wishes I completed my degree with them.

I left Georgia Institute of Technology (Go Yellow Jackets!), the MIT of the South, in the middle of my junior year as a dual major in electrical engineering and information and computer sciences. I was and still am a nerd of the highest order, but when I entered sales as a profession shortly after I left college, many of my friends questioned my decision.

“Sales?!” they would always ask in bewilderment. “But Brandon, you had so much promise!” Rather than take offense, I was focused on becoming the most excellent sales professional I could be, regardless of whether I was selling security systems, high end jewelry, car service or insurance.

Image courtesy of Georgia Tech Facebook page

Georgia-Tech-courtesy-of-university-Facebook-page

Want to know what the reward of that hard work was? I was soon earning more money than all my friends — including the lawyer — and still do almost 30 years later.  In most organizations, the top sales professionals can make as much as or even more than company VPs and the CEO.

And yet there are sales professionals who barely make a living.

While there are many factors that influence whether sales professional earn 6 figures or struggle to get by, the fundamental difference between these two extremes is mastery of the sales process.

There are only a few university programs that teach students to think of sales as a process they can master. You’re lucky if the organization you work for provides actual sales training. The insurance industry expends most of its time and energy on licensing, continuing education and carrier product training for agents, but offering training on the actual sales process is hard to get from Broker Support. As a result, many agents are Ready To Sell, but not knowledgeable on how to sell.

I want to introduce you to the sales process with this post. You may have heard of a similar sales process from a different trainer because there are multiple versions of it. Here is my outline of the process that can make you a successful insurance professional:

This process likely covers what you’ve been doing instinctively, but refining how you do it will make better use of your time and make you more effective at finding and closing more prospects. That increase in effectiveness will increase your income and allow you to grow your business to 6-figure earnings and beyond.

Stay tuned next week for more on the sales process and RB Insurance’s special offer for FREE access to my 6 Hours to 6 Figures training program.

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