I Need Help with Marketing to Insurance Brokers

[restrada27]

I am a new insurance agent with Colonial Life and we market employee voluntary benefits to companies. I know that there are brokers that deal with companies and reccomend certain benefits to employers and employees. Does anyone have suggestions on how to market to insurance brokers and/or a script to present to insurance brokers? Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

Ralph

 

[Josh]

Most brokers are aware of your companies products and may or may not like them. If they aren't working with them now, there is probably a good reason why. My suggestion, candidly, would be to find a different way to earn a living. It's extremely unlikely you'll do anything but starve out of it, you might as well start looking now.

 

[Guest]

Most brokers are aware of your companies products and may or may not like them. If they aren't working with them now, there is probably a good reason why. My suggestion, candidly, would be to find a different way to earn a living. It's extremely unlikely you'll do anything but starve out of it, you might as well start looking now.

When I wrote for Colonial they had all sorts of good training material on this... and it was the responsibility of your manager to TEACH you how to sell to brokers.

I have to agree with MedicarePlanSolutions above that this is a difficult market... not because worksite has been hammered by the recession... but also because brokers are NOT going to let you into their groups until they really trust you... and if you make it worth their while... like giving up half your commission (which Colonial suggests.)

Brokers are afraid that you will either "steal" the client, or piss them off... and no one wants to take that chance.

I have a Colonial rep as well as an Aflac and a TransAmerica rep whom I trust and who will do a good job. They cold-called me, took me to lunch a few times and spent the time to create a relationship and show me some of their wares.

When the time comes for me to suggest to a client that they open the door to worksite benefits I recommend the rep I think would be a good fit for the company and the personality of the owner.

Good luck with Colonial and worksite. It's a really tough road to walk down... and in my opinion there are easier ways to make a living... but that all depends on where you are, how the economy is, and how many Aflac guys are in your area... because while Colonial is a good company, they don't "get it" that they are selling against a company with marketing mavens who really know what they are doing... and Colonial could not sell water in the desert with their marketing programs.

One year they came up with blankets. They were really nice little "car" blankets with the Colonial logo. They brought them out in the spring. I live in an area that gets up to 110 degrees in the summer. Giving out free blankets in the summer to prospective businesses in my area is just plain dumb.

Aflac gives out stuffed ducks. Many years ago Colonial had a bear as their logo... but do you think any of the marketing people in Columbia, SC came up with the idea of a little plush bear give-away? Or maybe a print campaign of a bear eating a duck? I can't tell you how many reps begged them to do that... but it never got out of committee... if it even reached that stage.

Enjoy your time with Colonial. Get good training (which they should offer) as soon as you can. You probably won't be with them very long (unless they have changed their comp schedule which used to be crap... way to many overrides taken out for their bloated management structure such that the agent on the street is left with bupkis (BUP-kiss is Yiddish meaning "nothing" (I'm told literally it means goat sh-t but I only know a little bit of Yiddish and even less Hebrew... but I know the prayer for the wine quite well... Ba-ruch a-tah, A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, bo-rei p'ri ha-ga-fen.))

 

[ksigmtsu]

Premier Senior Marketing sold their broker list to a 3rd party benefits disability company, which made me wonder.. if we're licensed to sell their disability insurance products, and they already have several carriers, and if we know our products, why on earth would someone be cold calling us to sell us a product we already sell.

It's like calling up a travel agency to sell them a cruise.

 

[arnguy]

Thanks for the blessing, al, as I sit here sipping my Manischewitz wine!