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Video: Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up

Did you miss Webinar Wednesday this week? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up!

You look like a person who loves getting a great value for your money, without sacrificing quality.  We are too!  That’s why we have partnered with print and fulfillment companies to bring our agents exclusive pricing on marketing!  When you contract with RBI, you get access to the Agent Market Edge online portal, where you can watch your marketing credits stack up, and plan flyers, mailers, business cards and more! If you haven’t heard how it works, don’t despair!  Watch our Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up and get the short-and-sweet.

Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

Want to get the full details? Click here to watch the full recording! If you would like to get access to our bargains and marketing co-op dollars, click here to get started contracting!



Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

Video: Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up

Did you miss Webinar Wednesday this week? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up!

You look like a person who loves getting a great value for your money, without sacrificing quality.  We are too!  That’s why we have partnered with print and fulfillment companies to bring our agents exclusive pricing on marketing!  When you contract with RBI, you get access to the Agent Market Edge online portal, where you can watch your marketing credits stack up, and plan flyers, mailers, business cards and more! If you haven’t heard how it works, don’t despair!  Watch our Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up and get the short-and-sweet.

Agent Market Edge Basics Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

Want to get the full details? Click here to watch the full recording! If you would like to get access to our bargains and marketing co-op dollars, click here to get started contracting!



Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

ICYMI Contracting for Success Wrap-up

Charlie Ferrell

National Sales Manager


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! 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!”

ICYMI Contracting for Success Wrap-up

Charlie Ferrell, National Sales Manager



If you know anything about RBI, you know that we are passionate about saving YOU time and money. One of the ways that we do this is by helping you to work smarter not harder! Our most recent Medicare Intensive “Contracting for Success” was all about building a portfolio of products that does the heavy lifting! If you weren’t able to attend, here’s the ICYMI Contracting for Success Wrap-up! 

ICYMI Contracting for Success

What we covered:ICYMI Contracting for Success Course

Would you like to sell to 80% of the people you meet? With our portfolio approach to senior insurance, this goal is within reach. Most insurance agents focus on a single product, and stay in their comfort zone to try and make sales. Instead, we urge our agents to work smarter, by picking up a few other types of products.  When you have a portfolio that is more extensive, you have the ability to convert more of the people you meet, because you’ll have the plans that they need.

We help you convert 80% of your leads to clients

The three types of products we focus on are

  1. Final Expense
  2. Indemnity Products – such as Hospital Indemnity, Dental and Cancer policies
  3. Medicare products – such as traditional Medicare Supplements and Medicare Advantage products

We suggest that you pick up 3 or 4 carriers for each category, and become the expert in who those carriers are and how they work together.  Clients will be able to tell that you have done your research. As an added bonus, when you have more to offer to clients, you’ll be able to spend more time with fewer clients, with better results. In essence, you inoculate them from being poached by another agent. This means that your clients are less likely to move to a different agent because they recognize your commitment to their needs.

What’s the bottom line?

Agents who approach their business as a whole portfolio are more successful! Consider this powerful example: this past AEP, one of our agents in MI added Hospital Indemnity to his portfolio. During AEP, he included this additional product in his client meetings and 90% of his new clients signed up for a hospital indemnity product! This translated into over $20,000 in commissions received before the end of AEP.

RBI – We Make It Happen for You

If you weren’t able to attend the Contracting for Success class this week, you can watch the recording by clicking here. You can learn more about RBI’s carrier partners by clicking here. Call our office today at 1-800-997-3107 if you want to get more information on how to get started! We are here to make it happen for you!


Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

Medicare Supplements 101 Revisited for 2017

If you’re not an expert in Medicare Supplements, it’s time to get educated! Our Medicare Supplements 101 article and webinar is here to help! Newly updated for 2017, this article will help you get started now!

A Brief History

Medicare Supplement (Medigap) plans have been around almost as long as Medicare, and just like Medicare, have transformed over the years. It began as a variety of different coverages state by state, and was ultimately standardized by Medicare in 1992. The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 replaced many voluntary guidelines with new Federal standards. Nearly all states adhere to these standards with a few exceptions. Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are three states complying with Federal guidelines without using the standardized A through N plans.

Medicare Parts A and B cover most medically-necessary inpatient and outpatient services. Unfortunately for consumers, Medicare does not cover all medical costs, leaving beneficiaries responsible for a portion of the costs. Let’s take a quick look at Medicare Part A and B, and then take a look at Medicare Supplements 101!

Medicare Part A

The two largest costs associated with Part A are the Hospital Deductible ($1316 in 2017) and days 21-100 ($164.50 co-pay per day) of the Skilled Nursing Benefit. There are also some costs associated with Hospice care which Medicare does not cover. Medicare DOES NOT cover the cost of room and board if someone is using a private hospice facility. While the Hospice benefit does cover the doctors and additional care needed, it does not cover the facilities charge of around $300 per day in a nursing home or skilled nursing facility. As you can imagine, the bills pile up quickly!

Medicare Part B

Part B has a yearly deductible ($183 in 2017) and 20% coinsurance for all Part B-covered services, including chemotherapy. There is no cap on how much a beneficiary is responsible for under traditional Medicare Parts A and B so chemotherapy treatments for example, could be financially crippling.

Medicare Supplements 101 to the Rescue!

 Medicare Supplements 101 coverage A-N chart

Depending on the plan, Medicare Supplement A through N policies cover all or a portion of the gaps in Medicare coverage. Because of the Federal standardization, the included benefits for each plan type is identical across all insurance carriers. The only difference is the premium. It is no coincidence that 57% of all Medicare Supplements have enrolled on Plan F policies- the benefits are generous and the added coverage provides financial protection.

  • National Guaranteed Issue rights only apply to Medigap Plans A, B, C, F, K, or L . Some states have their own Guarantee Issue periods. With Plans D, G, M and N, the beneficiary will likely be subject to medical underwriting.
  • Excess charges can occur when a doctor does not accept Medicare assignment. The beneficiary can be charged up to an additional 15% of the Medicare allowable rates.
  • Plans C, D, F, M and N all include a Foreign Travel benefit.  Beneficiaries pay a $250 deductible and their Medigap policy will pay 80% of the remaining charges, up to $50,000.
  • HD-F, K and L all have deductibles and maximum out of pocket expenses which are set by CMS every year.
  • Plans C and F cover the Part B deductible. For those of you familiar with the Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization of 2015 (MACRA for short), Medicare Supplement plans C and F will not be available for sale to new Medicare beneficiaries after Jan 1, 2020.
  • Plan N has a $20 co=pay at a doctors office and a $50 co-pay at the Emergency Room

Keep an eye out for more information on Medicare Supplements 201, Open Enrollment, Underwriting and Guaranteed issue situations.

This is a just brief overview of Medicare Supplements. For an in depth explanation and more, click the button below for the recording of Part 1 of our webinar series on Medicare Supplements.



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 1-800-997-3107 and let us help you with all of your Medicare Supplement contracting needs.

Updated 3/6/2017; Originally Published 5/16/2016

Video: Marketing for Success Roll-up

Did you miss Webinar Wednesday this week? Catch up by watching our Marketing for Success Roll-up, below!



We couldn’t close out the work week without telling you about our fantastic Webinar Wednesday topic this week! If you’ve been following along on our webinars, you’ll know that we love bringing you amazing (and useful!) content to help you improve your sales! Our Marketing for Success Roll-up is here to tell you exactly what you need to know in order to increase your ROI on marketing!

Many agents think about marketing on an as-needed basis.  The problem with approaching marketing in such a haphazard way is that there is no way to track your results. Instead of practicing the “RAM” method of marketing, RBI is here to help our agents follow the MAPS method.

What is the RAM method? Random Acts of Marketing

What is the MAPS method? Building a marketing system that is Measurable, Actionable, Profitable and Scalable.

Watch our roll-up below for more information!

Marketing for Success Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

Like what you heard? Click here to watch the full recording of “Marketing for Success.”  To learn more about how RBI can help you be a better agent, click here.

Want to get started? You can see a list of all our carrier partners by clicking here. For more details, call us at 1-800-997-3107 and speaking to our experienced sales team!   



Sales Champion Summit
2018 Anthem Certification

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

Charlie Ferrell

National Sales Manager


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

UPDATED 2017: Agents Don’t Work Alone

Build a network of professional friends

National Sales Manager: Charlie Ferrell



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

Breaking Bad Habits:

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

Build a network of professional friends

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

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

Building New (and GOOD!) Habits:

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

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

What I Learned:

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

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

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


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


Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

Your Best Month Yet – Starting off right on day 1

James Gramp

James Gramp

Sales Coordinator & Independent Agent


With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is the other half of the RBI phone answering dynamic duo! An Arizona native, Jim manages agent relationships for the East Coast and specializes in the RBI agent tools, especially the Agent Market Edge. Jim has been a licensed health insurance agent for over a year, and has worked at RBI for 2 years. An accomplished bassoonist, he is known around the office for his amazing musical skills. In addition to keeping busy around the office, Jim frequently contributes to our blog, bringing a new agent’s perspective to the RBI online presence.

Your Best Month Yet

Starting off right on day 1

RBI Sales Coordinator and Independent Agent: James Gramp



Earlier this week I talked about how to wrap-up your month and make sure you’re getting the money owed you from products sold over the month. But how did I get those sales in the first place? There’s a process to making sales, and it starts with day 1 of the new month!

Here’s how I’m going to be preparing to reach my sales goals for March, to have my best month yet!

Pro-Tip: Determine a Focus Area: The first thing that I need to do is determine a focus area. It does no good to plan marketing efforts if I haven’t first determined a focus area. I’m going to continue to focus on Dual Eligible and LIS beneficiaries for the next few months because it’s still a very underserved market and because of the pro-rated MA commissions. Here in Arizona 50% of Dual Eligible beneficiaries are actually enrolled in a Dual plan, which means there is still plenty of opportunity to write business.

Plan Your Best Month Yet

Making sales starts with day 1 of the new month!

Now that I know my focus area, I’m ready to look at my 5 sales strategies.

  1. Set Goals: Some of you may have a yearly sales goal that you aim for each year (which is great, don’t get me wrong!), but I find it best to set smaller monthly/weekly goals. For instance, 5 sales a week is more manageable than 260 (52 x 5) enrollments for the year. Smaller weekly/monthly goals will help keep you on track and ultimately help you reach your yearly goals.
  2. Research: It’s always good to refresh your knowledge of the MSP/Extra Help limits. Read up on carriers in your area, or (in my case) D-SNP products or other plans. If you’re not sure where to start with Dual Eligibles or Low-Income Subsidy, watch RBI’s recorded webinars by clicking here or here.
  3. Review Marketing Strategy: Food pantries, senior housing units, HUD housing, and provider offices (dental, optometrists, etc.) are all great places to find Medicare beneficiaries.  If you’re not hitting your sales goals through community marketing, then I would suggest looking at running a Direct Mail campaign to keep a steady flow of leads coming your way.  Give RBI a call to learn how to be successful with Direct Mail!
  4. Own your backyard: You want to be known as the Medicare Expert in your neighborhood. Some great ways to get this credibility are volunteering, or just taking time to chat with people you see day to day. Your next lead could be someone in the elevator, or getting gas at the next pump. Strike up a conversation and let them know what you do, you never know what you’ll get out of it. A good example of this comes from RBI’s CEO during this past AEP, when Bob Bever spent 3 minutes with a gentleman while in line at K-mart, explaining what he does, and gave him a business card. A few weeks later Bob got a call from the man’s father and was able to help him enroll.
  5. Be consistent: I cannot stress enough how important consistency is.  Especially if you have a connection with a food bank or provider office, you need to have a schedule of when you go in and setup your booth in their facility.  If  you’re not consistent with your schedule the influencers at these locations won’t know when to tell their customers that have Medicare questions when you will be there next.  With educational events I recommend doing them at least once a quarter, the more consistent you are with scheduling these events the more attendance you will see.

The best single piece of advice I can give is to treat your insurance business as a full-time job.  If you plan on doing this as a career, then you have to treat it like one and show up eight hours a day, five days a week. Many agents get discouraged after a month or two of not bringing in consistent sales. Don’t fall into this trap! Instead, ask yourself: “do I have a marketing plan to generate leads?” and “am I consistently working my plan?” One of my favorite quotes is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Let’s plan to succeed and make this our best month yet!

RBI believes your marketing plan should be Measurable, Actionable, Profitable, and Scalable. We call it the “MAPS method to success.” If you don’t have a marketing plan, give RBI a call today at 1-800-997-3107 and plan your best month yet! You can also click here to watch the “Marketing for Success” webinar and get started! 


New Agent
Sales Champion Summit
Senior Insurance Acronyms

Video: The Power of the Portfolio Roll-up

Did you miss Webinar Wednesday this week? Catch up by watching our The Power of the Portfolio Roll-up, below!



Do you know how to make your contracts work for you? It’s not uncommon for agents to only contract with a single carrier or type of product. RBI wants to help you put more dollars in your pocket. If you are not sure where to start, watch our The Power of the Portfolio Roll-up below.

Cut back on stress during certification season, and build a portfolio that works for you.  Here’s what we covered:

  • Planning your sales around product types
  • Using Final Expense and Hospital Indemnity to find leads
  • Working with RBI can get you marketing support that you won’t find elsewhere
  • Join Justin Bever, Director of Marketing in our 60 Second Roll-up below for more details!

Reboot: Finding Dual Eligibles Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

As you heard, there is a lot of opportunity to grow your business by being intentional in how you contract with carriers. If you would like to get more details, you can watch the recording of the Webinar Wednesday, by clicking here.

Click here to attend our event “Contracting for Success” to learn even more about how to build a portfolio that works for you! You can follow this link to see a list of our carrier partners and get contracted with additional product in your area.

Still not quite sure what’s next?  RBI has resources for you! Click here to sign up for our Medicare Marketing Crash Course on March 28.  Attend in person at RBI’s Chandler, AZ office, or join us via live stream!  Call RBI at 1-800-997-3107 to speak to our expert team! 


Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

Top Compliance Mistakes in Home Visits for MA Agents

As RBI’s Director of Training and Compliance, I hear all the time from agents that have gotten into compliance trouble.  So here’s my shortlist of the biggest compliance mistakes in home visits for Medicare Advantage Agents.

Number 1: Failure to collect the Scope of Appointment before presenting the product.

As odd as this sounds, many agents still struggle with the SOA requirements. The CMS requirement is to obtain scope of appointment at minimum 48 hours prior to the appointment whenever practicable. Many agents still fail to complete one prior to the appointment.

Compliance Mistakes in Home Visits

Here’s my shortlist of the 4 biggest compliance mistakes in home visits for Medicare Advantage Agents.

Number 2: Failure to complete a needs analysis.

Many agents view MA sales as an order taking exercise.

  1. Are your doctors covered?
  2. Are you drugs covered?
  3. Is the premium/copay less than what you have now?

While those are good questions to ask, you need to find out what is most important to the member. Find out what services they use most often. Are they worried more about premium or unforeseen costs? Do they plan to travel? If you do this step properly, you will avoid allegations and grievances by vetting them out on the front end.

Number 3: No Cross Sell of Other Products.

I still talk to agents every day that are very wary of cross selling any product during an MA appointment. Cross selling is perfectly fine as long as the products are agreed to on the SOA form. Hospital Indemnity pairs perfectly with MA plans and in many cases can double or more your first year commission on that member. Just remember you can only cross sell health related products. See our blog posts for more info. No Life, burial or annuity sales allowed in the same appointment.

Number 4: Did Not Ask for Referrals

There is a common compliance misconception going around regarding asking for referrals in appointments. In fact, several carriers have been training agents to never ask for a referral in an MA appointment. While soliciting names and phone numbers is prohibited, you can absolutely ask clients to refer their friends and family to you. Many agents leave only one business card and don’t follow up with a letter or even a call after enrollment. Leave at least 5 business cards at every appointment, even if you don’t enroll them and always include a few in any letters you send to your clients. Not only will you get some word-of-mouth marketing, but this ensures that you answer any lingering questions that otherwise may cost you in a disenrollment.

Are you concerned about compliance?  RBI is here to help! Our contracted agents get access to our support team, including Rob Bever, Director of Training and Compliance.  If you would like to get started today, click here to see a list of carriers.  You can also call and speak to the team or Rob directly, at 1-800-997-3107.

Video: Reboot: Finding Dual Eligibles Roll-up

Did you miss Webinar Wednesday this week? Catch up by watching our Reboot: Finding Dual Eligibles Roll-up, below!



Our Dual Eligibles webinar was so popular we brought it back with this reboot! Dual Eligibles are a very under-served market, due in part to a lack of training for agents. RBI is here to fix this problem. If you are not sure where to start, watch our Reboot: Finding Dual Eligibles Roll-up below.

Here’s a few things you may not know about Dual Eligibles:

  • A Dual Eligible client is someone who qualifies for both Medicare (a federal program) and Medicaid (a state program).
  • Dual Eligibles have a year-round SEP, or Special Enrollment Period, which means they can be enrolled into a plan year-round.
  • Dual Eligibles are a very underserved community, with many members not fully understanding what help is available
  • Join Charlie Ferrell, RBI’s National Sales Manager, in our 60 Second Roll-up below for more details!

Reboot: Finding Dual Eligibles Roll-up

Look for this symbol on all our new “60 Second Roll-up” videos!

As you heard, there is a lot of opportunity to grow your business by serving this community. If you would like to get more details, you can watch the recording of the Webinar Wednesday, by clicking here.

Click here to attend our event “Contracting for Success” to learn how to build a portfolio that works for you! You can follow this link to see a list of our carrier partners and get contracted with a Dual Eligible product in your area.

Still not quite sure what’s next?  RBI has resources for you! Click here to sign up for our Medicare Marketing Crash Course on March 28.  Attend in person at RBI’s Chandler, AZ office, or join us via live stream!  Call RBI at 1-800-997-3107 to speak to our expert team! 


Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation

The Power of Voice Inflection – the simple change that goes a long way!

The Power of Voice Inflection

– the simple change that goes a long way!

Sales Coordinator, James Gramp

James Gramp

James Gramp

Sales Coordinator

With his signature common sense, quiet good humor, and brilliant customer service, Jim is the other half of the RBI phone answering dynamic duo! An Arizona native, Jim manages agent relationships for the East Coast and specializes in the RBI agent tools, especially the Agent Market Edge. Jim has been a licensed health insurance agent for over a year, and has worked at RBI for 2 years. An accomplished bassoonist, he is known around the office for his amazing musical skills. In addition to keeping busy around the office, Jim frequently contributes to our blog, bringing a new agent’s perspective to the RBI online presence.

Zig Ziglar once said “Selling is essentially the transference of feeling.” I’m not a naturally boisterous kind of guy, so I have to remind myself of how I sound and how I am coming across when I’m interacting with clients. I’ve learned through personal experience that if you speak without any voice inflection not only will you sound like a robot, but you WILL miss out on sales. This is something I’ve been working on since I started at RB Insurance Group and it’s something you should never stop practicing!The Power of Voice Inflection

Listen to Yourself

Whether you’re in a one-on-one home visit or setting appointments over the phone, it is imperative that you master voice inflection. The best way to do this is follow another Zig Ziglar tip. Record yourself giving your sales presentation/script and listen to yourself.  There is a certain initial shock value to how different you sound on a recording versus inside your own head (Here is a great article if you’ve ever wondered why you sound so weird on a recording). Once you’re over the shock, however, listen to your inflection and start to really figure out where you can emphasize certain words to drive your message. I know it sounds silly but just do it! You’ll be surprised at how you perceive your own presentation and immediately start improving your skills as a communicator.

Just Smile!

One way to help improve your inflection, especially over the phone, is to smile while talking.  You may be surprised by why, though. It has more to do with physiology than psychology. For those of you who have sung in a choir, you know that the wider you open your mouth and the more teeth you show, the better tone you get. The same applies over the phone. Smiling helps your voice sound more friendly, warm, and receptive.

Changing the Emphasis of your Words

Be aware of how stressing certain words changes the feeling of what you’re saying. For example, take the following sentence, “What would you like us to do about it?”

  • “What would you like us to do about it?”
    • Emphasizing “would you” makes you sound defensive.
  • “What would you like us to do about it?”
    • Emphasizing “like us” makes you sound curious as to what you can do about it.
  • “What would you like us to do about it?”
    • No emphasis makes you sound apathetic.

Simply by changing your sentence inflection you completely change the perceived meaning or connotation of what you say. Understanding how you are perceived by your clients and prospects is just as important, if not more important, than your mastery of the materials you present.

Breathing is Everything

The inflection in your voice can be greatly affected by your breathing. Typically the more stressful a situation you’re in, the shallower your breathing will be. Your vocal cords tighten and  your voice goes up in pitch — then you just sound strained. Slow down and take deeper breaths the next time you’re in a stressful situation. You’ll notice that your pitch will come down and immediately make you sound more warm and calm.

Voice Inflection Increases Your Sales Effectiveness

As insurance agents, it’s important to provide the best education and explanation we can to our clients. For most of us, our primary route of communication is our voice.

Think of your voice as a tool and inflection as a skill that you can fine tune into an educational instrument, especially if you find potential clients lacking understanding or confidence in what you are telling them. When you properly use inflection to communicate key concepts about a client’s insurance policy, they will have a better understanding of their coverage and more confidence in you as their advocate.

If you’d like more useful tips on how to practice your voice inflection, give me a call at 1-800-997-3107, or send an email!

Are you loving the content and tips you see here? Our contracted agents benefit from our amazing support on a daily basis! Get started contracting today by clicking here for a list of carriers!


Short Term Home Health Care
2019 United Healthcare
USA Senior Care Network
2019 Medicare Broker Compensation