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[somarco]

"A rising tide lifts all boats"

eHealth, Sicko, left wing news about a perceived health care crisis . . . all these things make my business increase.

You can take a negative and turn it into a positive (turn lemons into lemonade) or you can fall for the rhetoric, run and hide.

I have been running into the fire for over 30 years and plan on doing this for a few more.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

"A rising tide lifts all boats"

eHealth, Sicko, left wing news about a perceived health care crisis . . . all these things make my business increase.

You can take a negative and turn it into a positive (turn lemons into lemonade) or you can fall for the rhetoric, run and hide.

I have been running into the fire for over 30 years and plan on doing this for a few more.

What type of suit do you wear

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

The "healthcare crisis" always makes me laugh. I would love to take one of those left wing reporters with me for a day. We could walk into 100 businesses and talk to people about saving them possibly 60% off their premiums and getting people covered who don't have insurance. Then he could watch as 95% of them don't have a care in the world.

I've love him to try and watch me close "Bob - age 42, no coverage" as I talk about an $80 a month premium from Carefirst and "Bob" needs a few weeks to think about it.

 

[wilkin]

Do the math.

Now if you assume that 60% get their benefits from group, (is that a fair assumption? Anyone know?)

Al

I read somewhere recently, don't remember where but I think it was a credible source, that 5% of the population purchases individual health insurance. The rest get it through their employer, union, welfare or some other social program.

-Bill

 

[BKrocko]

In grad. school, we were taught never to refer to obstacles/roadblocks/competition etc. as "problems". Instead, we were disciplined to refer to them as "opportunities for improvement".

It may seem like a far stretch but it works. When faced with a situation, if you put your energy into developing a creative solution rather than waste time dwelling upon the obvious/negative barriers at any given moment, you will find new ways to "punch a hole through the defence".

John and Somarco et al are exactly on target. They view eHealth, Sicko, etc. as a means to get the main message out - "HEY PEOPLE, THINK ABOUT HEALTH INSURANCE!"

How can we improve on the situation? Easy, first I think we should thank them for providing enormous amounts of marketing money to further our cause = awareness of Health Ins. Next, we can thank them for providing absolutely no qualified customer service at all = something we can improve upon and demonstrate to our clients.

Furthermore, I thank them for making me a better agent. Because of them, I know that I need to study my plans harder - I must know each plan inside and out. It makes a difference to be viewed as an expert/professional agent vs an unknown "insurance advisor" somewhere on the other end of the computer. It really helps to know which carriers offer maternity or how underwriting guidelines are different between each company.

We can also applaud them for the upset customers that were misled/misinformed while using their service and have decided to use a "real life" agent for now on. The list can go on and on but I think you get the point. In fact, after thinking about it, I'm with Somarco - I'm not sure how we could ever exist without them! - they make our lives so much easier. They make looking for ways to "improve upon the situation" as easy as 1-2-3. Thanks for all the business you've sent my way guys, I would have never been able to reach that many people just on my own.

As a side point, I don't think that Esurance or Geico has put to many P&C agents out of business. I guess this is just my long way of saying the same thing as Somarco "make lemonade".

 

[J.R.]

Well put. Perception is key. Is the glass half empty or half full?

Same thing can be said about words like budget and cheap. Similar phrases such as "monthly financial plan" and "affordable" make a difference when talking to people in general. You also want to avoid using the word "why" and replace it with "what."

 

[arnguy]

This is a great thread. Senior-advisor, I did take Peeler to task on another thread. He types as if this were a "chat room." That is the bullshit way the users of chat rooms type---all lower case letters and no punctuation. I believe that this forum has a higher standard and should reflect professionalism by contributors making an effort to make clear postings with a modicum of decorum and using proper grammar and style. So there Peeler, take that!!!

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Thank you Barney Fife

 

[arnguy]

Who is Barney Fife?

 

[headcoach]

Never see competition as a threat, but instead as an opportunity to improve and enhance your business is my motto..........I have worked in the individual medical market for over 30 years and it and constantly provided a 6 figure income and sometimes a 7 figure income.

I agree with Somarco this business will continue to exist and I am going to stick with it