- 7,066
No Frank, you just like the Vodka
Yep, you got that right.
It is best either on the rocks or with a little tonic and a huge squeeze of orange.
Is Medicare Supplement Sales Seasonal?
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Yep, you got that right.
It is best either on the rocks or with a little tonic and a huge squeeze of orange.insagentmike
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Yep, you got that right.
Frank,
What would be the best place for someone in Florida to get the edumacation on the med supps? Also what would be the best companies to sell in florida. I threw a bunch of money in the trash because I thought it was seasonal except for those turning 65.
- 7,066
I really don't know anywhere an agent can go to get really good training regarding Med Supps. That is why I started offering it to members a while back. I have been training agents to prospect for and sell Med Supps for a long time and have recently trained several on the board.
The "best companies" will vary from state to state. The best ones in Missouri may suck in Florida. Contact the Florida DOI and ask for a list of companies and their rates. I can get a list like that from the MO DOI. I assume Florida will have something similar.
The "best ones" are going to be the ones that are the most competitive.
Call if I can help.
- 9,744
I'm in Florida, and have done extensive research and planning on this over the last 9 months or so. Send me a PM and I'll be happy to help if I can!
insagentmike
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I'd like to get in on that training. Word is that you are the man for med supps. Living in Florida with all the seniors retiring here I would be stupid to walk away from that business.
- 7,066
Give me a call. Selling Med Supps is the same nation wide.
- 9,744
Based on the extensive research and testing I've done over the last six months, I've got to respectfully disagree.
There are HUGE regional variations - just here within the state of Florida!
We have a diverse (some rural, some urban) collection of markets. Miami and Jax are not just a bunch of miles apart geographically!
In some markets, if you don't do MA, you're gonna starve. Conversely, med supps do better in other areas.
Marketing is the area of greatest importance. You can have all the product knowledge in the world - but if you've got nobody to do it to...
My tests have confirmed that you need a plan of three or four different marketing methods for it to work. I know you've had success in phone cold calling, but the testing here in Florida shows as a sole prospecting method, unless you have three or four people calling all day - you're gonna starve!
The "contact ratio" (answering the phone) Florida-wide has only been 9%! Nine out of a hundred, averaged from the hours of 8AM to 8PM. Not much variation from hour to hour (although 8-10AM does a little better). Lots of wasted effort, and not at all efficient. As a part of your plan that's OK, but if it's all you do - you'll meet lots of frustration - and end up broke!
Moral of the story...
For maximum success, whether you're in Winnemucca, Nevada, or Weeki Wachee, Florida, there is no substitute for knowing your local market through testing and measuring!
- 7,066
My comments are directed to selling Med Supps only, MA plans are not mentioned in the title of this thread. I thought that is what we were talking about. I have stated many times in the past that Med Supps are most successfully sold in rural areas, not large metro areas where HMO's are predominate.
At least that is the way it has been in the past and is still that way presently. However, when PFFS plans go away, the govt stops subsidizing HMO's and Medicare releases Plans M & N I believe we are going to see a huge shift in sales in all areas of the country.
For a whole host of reasons Med Supps are going to be a lot more attractive to people in urban areas where HMO's have dominated for the past several years.
Doing my own telemarketing, the way I do it, has consistently, both in the past and present been the most successful way to sell Med Supps. In the last sixteen years I have tried it all. If one can think of a way to market Med Supps I have probably done it at least twice.
The agents I have trained, not just in Missouri, are having success doing it the way I do it. It is difficult for me to understand that seniors in Florida are so much different than they are in other parts of the country.
I don't doubt your findings but it just seems very strange to me. Maybe the difference is in the way I do it as opposed to the way your people are doing it.
All of the testing and the figures and percentages are very interesting. I have never kept track of such things because it isn't important to me. I know what is proven to be the most successful, most efficient and economical way to sell Med Supps and everytime I have dieveiated from that my salse have not increased, on the contrary, they have decreased.
I have both good weeks and bad weeks. That is the nature of this business. However, at the end of the year I generally reach my goal of writing one app a day that "stays on the books". That will translate to about $75,000 per year in commission. Not bad production when you add renewals from previous years.
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Thank you for taking the hour today, you pointed me in some great directions on where to take my business and how to prospect for it. You rock man!
- 9,744
So what do agents do that are in urban areas? Not write any business?
There may be less of a subsidy, but MA plans aren't going away totally. Too much political backlash! Seniors vote like mad...
Not all marketing is created equal. Many people conclude that various marketing methods "don't work", when the reality is that their marketing is stinky! (not saying this is the case with yours)
For one thing, many of our seniors here in FL are part-time residents and go north for the summer. That's a huge difference. Trying to market to them in the summer months is an exercise in futility - they're not here!
Not sure there's anything to doubt. I started it with no pre-conceived notions - the results, as they say, "are what they are".
I think you may be (well not you, but results!) atypical. If you've got the luxury of a big, mature book such as you do, it's a lot easier. Not all of us have that advantage however, and are starting from a different, more competitive place.
In terms of measuring your marketing, there is nothing more critical to success. Without it, there is no way to test, measure, adjust...and improve it!
PS-I love YIO. I'm a big fan!
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