Employee Benefit News

The relationship rule

There is no doubt in my mind that every benefit professional reading this column provides extraordinary service to his or her clients. There is also no doubt that every one of you possesses an abundance of benefit knowledge.

Health care reform has assumed room temperature: Now what?

The election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate drove the last nail in the coffin of the late, great health care reform debate, and the nation is better off as a result. This partisan fly-by-night charade that we've seen over the past several months has produced an un-American, unworkable, budget-busting, taxaholic megamonster that polls say most Americans don't want and don't need.

Marketing for the 21st century: Part three

I want to pick up where we left off in December and talk about two tools that, when combined with telemarketing, can fill your calendar with more high-quality appointments than you ever thought possible. Our focus this month is on effective use of e-mail newsletters and link tracking programs.

Make more money by selling greed

In the 1989 movie "Wall Street," the character Gordon Gecko made a memorable statement: "Greed is good." While I would not go that far, greed does sell group benefits. Last month, we looked at fear as one of those Maslowian primal motivators. This month, we'll look at another sales motivator - greed.

The end of the group health insurance agent is coming

Be scary good at sales

Fear sells. This month we'll look at the power of selling fear to generate more AORs for brokers and fees for consultants. It is crazy what innovative selling techniques have come to, but this is the reality of today. While we were not looking, the federal and state governments have ratcheted up fines for noncompliance for just about everything associated with employee benefits, human resource management and compensation administration. Take advantage of these downers and watch your differentiated sales presentation catch the eye of potential buyers. Selling fear will result in more AORs, especially at this critical point where many brokers and consultants are losing financial ground because of the reduced headcount seen in these waning days of the recession

Marketing for the 21st century: Part two

Last month, I discussed that most benefit professionals market themselves (if they do so at all) based on 20th century techniques. Unfortunately, most of these techniques are expensive and no longer deliver the results they once did. In 1991, I built a solid six-figure income selling voluntary dental insurance while relying almost exclusively on direct mail with postage-paid business reply cards and cold calls. Where I once routinely received a 3% to 5% return, today I can expect less than a 1% return with any direct mail campaign. This month, I want to focus on some 21st century tools and techniques that can fill your calendar with high-quality sales opportunities.

Strategies and tactics for a banner year of selling

Economic recessions come and go. A nasty one just ended, as noted in part by the terrific run-up in equities since March and third quarter growth in the GDP. It doesn't feel like the recession is over, however, because unemployment statistics continue to rise. Truth is, unemployment figures always go up in the initial stages of an economic recovery. Labor markets are a lagging economic indicator and often the last to show signs of recovery.

Marketing for the 21st century - Part one

Are you happy with your sales productivity? In speaking with hundreds of benefit professionals every year, I have found that few people answer this question directly. Instead, I hear answers such as these:

The problem with Mr. Plaid

Old-school producers don't serve themselves or their agency well. But you can change a Plaid's stripes.

Putting the client first

There is no doubt that every benefit professional reading this article wants to put the client first when making product and service decisions.

For more commissions, stop selling insurance

Start selling HR. In the mid-1990s, I launched a company that offered value-added sales technology aimed at improving the effectiveness of all benefits consultants and brokers.

Marketing 2.0 - Why the Internet is an untapped marketing opportunity

One of the most under-utilized marketing tools available to benefit professionals (both core and voluntary) is the Internet.

Have you taken self-service too far?

With open enrollment just around the corner, chances are you're working on process and communication for your clients. Chances also are good you're trying to save as much money as possible for them. Sending employees to enrollment Web sites and automated calls centers to make elections, trimming down on costly and time-consuming in-person meetings and trying to create the shortest line from educate to enroll definitely makes financial sense. But it might not be what employees want - or need.

What if social media is just a fad?

Even with millions of people flocking to social networking sites, more and more money being poured into developing applications and a Time cover story devoted to Twitter, plenty of people are still brushing social media off as just a fad.