Having issues selling Medicare

[Travis Price]

. I hate to "quit" after just starting with the low income side, so I'll probably stick with it for a while to see if I can iron out what I might be doing wrong

Don't look at it as quitting. Look at is as making a business decision for profitability. A lot of people throw good money after bad because it'll work eventually.

I don't do DSNP. It's not the low income aspect, which is totally part of it, it's the fact that business isn't sticky. In my mind, it's just not worth the hassle to market it. Others may disagree and I could be completely off base, since I don't write it, but someone that could bail on you after a month doesn't seem appealing to me.

Finally, insurance isn't a logical sale.. it's an emotional one. You need to find what worries, excites, or frustrates them and fix it.

 

[sshafran]

If you ever do jump into the T65 market, just know (a) these people are inundated (and confused) and (b) the sales cycle can be long.

Jump in with eyes wide open that it's a long process.

Case in point: this week I wrote about 11 "re-connect" letters (this is not unusual) to people that I had helped with Medicare Part A-Only enrollments in 2020, 2019, & 2018.

All of these people were "turning 65" when I first got in contact with them. They all had EGHP that they were keeping for one reason or another (EGHP was better, IRMAA issues, Spouse covered by EGHP and not Medicare-eligible yet, Rx's on Part D were blah compared to EGHP --- etc., etc., etc.). I helped all of them get Part A set up (unless HSA) and explained that they didn't need to worry about penalties, etc., and told them that we'd keep in touch.

No commission on any of those (yet).

The re-connect letter is simple and just reminds them that I helped them w/ Part A - and that I'd like to help them with Part B & supplemental once they retire - and asks if there are any updates on their situation....

I set up my CRM so that I get reminded yearly after helping someone w/ Part A to do this.

I'm farming.

And the letters are in a template that I have so to write all 11 took about 30 minutes... so it's not like I spend the day doing it.

Several of these 11 people will wait until their spouse is Medicare-eligible to retire. Those will be 2 policies....

Will I get all 11? I doubt it. But, I'll get several of them - and their spouse. When? Who knows. When they finally retire. It could be this year it could be 2022 - it could be 2024. But each person has a little over $1,500+ in commission that will be awarded to the agent who properly follows up and patiently farms.

It's quite unlike other sales where you get paid right away. I'm looking for commissions in 2025+...

It wasn't until I had about 400 clients or so that I quit my other sales job to jump into this full time - you may want to do other lines that "pay faster" or have other sources of income as Medicare can be a grind your first few years with very little payout.

 

[somarco]

I'm farming.

Farmer Scott . . .

This business (insurance in general but ESPECIALLY Medicare) is mostly hurry up and wait.


For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

 

[Travis Price]

Case in point: this week I wrote about 11 "re-connect" letters (this is not unusual) to people that I had helped with Medicare Part A-Only enrollments in 2020, 2019, & 2018.

This is exactly true. Especially with full retirement age hitting 66.5, a lot of people T65 that reach out literally want to know if they need to sign up for Medicare with their work insurance or not.

My primary goals on those calls is to gather an email and send out my thank you package. Those calls are really great opportunities for referrals. 1 in 3 people send me a referral of some kind.

Most T65 agents are trying to set an appointment with the call. That seems like a waste of time unless you know they need to make a decision.

To OP, if you're going to do T65, you can do two things:

1) Go at it full time, spend thousands of dollars, and starve for a year or two.
2) Get a job and market slowly.

I like option 2 because I'm not desperate to make sales to eat. That means I make better decisions on clients which saves me a lot of headaches.

You'll find that there are some people that want you to everything for them. If they aren't willing to full out a scope, (which I send online) then they need someone that's more hands on than I'm going to be.

Figure out what you're willing to accept, and don't compromise. They need you more than you need them. If they can't see that, it's their problem.

 

[DonP]

What I find is people are confused as Medicare is so complicated and so many choices and rules . People are desperate for professional advice . It's refreshing to sell a product all must have . I tell people I'm not a salesman but an advisor .

 

[alohakevin]

If you are new especially my thought after reading your post was to focus on selling yourself. Its nice to have facts and benefits etc obviously but the sizzle here is you. Be sincere and ask alot of questions. Listen 70% of the time and talk 30% of the time. Most of these folks dont know their agent ( DSNP) be their advocate.
Find their pain or pleasure point and focus on that. The only way to do it is to ask questions and listen. You as an agent have value as well.

 

[vic120]

What I find is people are confused as Medicare is so complicated and so many choices and rules . People are desperate for professional advice . It's refreshing to sell a product all must have . I tell people I'm not a salesman but an advisor .

Some are confused because they are confused but Many are confused because they don't like the answers

How many times I speak on the phone hey I saw this plan has no copays how much is it

$108 ohh but this commercial said no premiums

That plan has copays

but I want $0 premium $0 copays

this only exist if you have Medicaid


Ohh this is so confusing

 

[Todd King]

Never sold Intangibles, I used to sell cars though. Basically standard cars sales, build rapport, know the customer, find the need, budget, timeframe, listen, ask open ended questions, etc. maybe that's the problem, the people I'm seeing don't have a need?

can you please explain the last part about pre-sold?

I think you should be concentrating more on Med Supp sales right now. You can only work with dual eligibles or ageing in right now. This limits you.

You also may want to check out MedicareTraining101.com, as you can get some one on one help as well.