Genuine Discussion on MA Regulations

[LostDollar]

Guys, I am not new to this. I have been in the business 15 years. I get 25 FE DM leads per week and do well with it.

Forget that I am an FE agent. That's not important.

But it IS.

What these men and women are telling you is that the best answer to your question is not something you do in your office. The best answer for YOU, given your business model and experience is YOU. What you train yourself to do in the field with prospects your business model has already acquired for you.

 

[LostDollar]

I buy fe dm leads and ask them one simple question who takes care of your medicare, the question will get me 250 MA policies this year, the training is knowing what and where to go when you get an answer

If this is not a good question, please tell me and I will delete the post.

With the thought of potential MAPD cross-sell, do you put different filters on your lead mailings than you would if you were solely focused on FE?

 

[Newby]

If this is not a good question, please tell me and I will delete the post.

With the thought of potential MAPD cross-sell, do you put different filters on your lead mailings than you would if you were solely focused on FE?

No need to. Same base of people. And quite a few of the 55-65 FE people will be on disability so they are a potential cross sell too.

 

[UKTX]

All good responses here

Some conflicting advice. But that's ok ALL advice is good

FE is simple. Buy DM leads weekly, set apts, sell em, rinse and repeat.

Medicare is a little more complex. DM to T65's, DM to 66+, Educational events.

If you are a Medicare agent: cross sell to your book for FE.

If you are an FE agent: cross sell to your book for Medicare.

So going to delve a little deeper here if you will indulge me a little.....

Anyone care to share what their acquisition cost is for each line?

Mine (FE) is approx $125 per sale.

 

[Life Hawk]

Anyone care to share what their acquisition cost is for each line?

Mine (FE) is approx $125 per sale.

Do you mean to say that you pay $125 for each FE sale you make?

 

[Chazm]

All good responses here

Some conflicting advice. But that's ok ALL advice is good

FE is simple. Buy DM leads weekly, set apts, sell em, rinse and repeat.

Medicare is a little more complex. DM to T65's, DM to 66+, Educational events.

If you are a Medicare agent: cross sell to your book for FE.

If you are an FE agent: cross sell to your book for Medicare.

So going to delve a little deeper here if you will indulge me a little.....

Anyone care to share what their acquisition cost is for each line?

Mine (FE) is approx $125 per sale.

I'm probably about $100

 

[Midlevel]

I spent $2500.00 last year on newspaper advertising and 3 seminars during AEP and wrote 332 applications during the 8 week AEP period. Not all were new clients obviously but goes to show you don't have to spend a ton on DM's,etc to make it in this occupation. Helps having a nice book of business and several referral connections with lawyers, CPA's, P&C agents, etc. I got at least 100 new clients last year so I guess that would put me around $25.00 per client acquisition but think of the new commission generated from the other applications during AEP moving them to MA, etc. I have not done DM for over 15 years. Majority of my new business is referrals.

 

[LostDollar]

FE is simple. Buy DM leads weekly, set apts, sell em, rinse and repeat.

Medicare is a little more complex.

(Again--caveat--not an agent)

IMO there is a significant perspective issue here. Your discussions of "complexity" seem to me to center around the process of obtaining prospects with whom to discuss insurance products, not the relative characteristics of the insurance products themselves.

To my way of thinking, in regard to obtaining prospects, variety equals opportunity, not complexity. It means there is a larger variety in categories of prospects, hence many different prospecting tools can be used. It does NOT mean one has to become a master at every single prospecting methodology known to insurance agents.

In the sense you are talking about, I think selling Medicare products can be just as "simple" as selling FE. You just have to find the prospecting method that works for the combination of your personality and the market segment you want to reach, and then use it. And then find a way to progress from "buying the information" you need to "exchanging it" in business and personal relationships for which the "cost" is your courtesy and your professional knowledge.

 

[Chazm]

I'm not counting AEP in my cost per acquisition

 

[KRobby]

All good responses here

Some conflicting advice. But that's ok ALL advice is good

FE is simple. Buy DM leads weekly, set apts, sell em, rinse and repeat.

Medicare is a little more complex. DM to T65's, DM to 66+, Educational events.

Based on your questions and the feedback I don't see how you conclude that marketing medicare is a little more complex. Maybe you should just ask for conservative metrics of consistent medicare DM campaigns and analyze it based on your experience (you won't know your numbers in the market of course, but you'll get an idea). Maybe it is as "simple".

As you know, if you poised your questions as ways to market FE, you'll also get some responses that include a variety of methods from telemarketed leads, educational seminars at senior centers, facebook leads, tv leads, referrals, cold door knocks, different age filter preferences etc etc that doesn't mean every agent does all those things, and you'd agree that it wouldn't make it "a little more complex".