Med Supp 2-3 Hour Appointment?

[motorcyclegogo]

I wouldn't give it another minute. If a member of my family wanted what I sell they'd have to ask after the initial explaination. Don't build your business on friends/family.

I agree that there might not be that air of confidence that one gets from STUDY. Yes, I'm going to whip you on this. You shouldn't be talking to anyone until you have a complete knowledge of all plans and the basic Medicare Rights and Protections afforded every beneficiary.

Don't make any one sale more important to you than it is to the client. For example you might make $12-30/mo depending on the contract with that particualar company. Don't put more effort into a sale than that income level deserves. Increase your sales activity and that "one" sale that didn't happen won't matter as much. Be professional; move along to the next target.


Personal story: My own MIL was T65 and came over with a mountain of stuff that typically gets mailed to T65 people. I explained in detail the differences between the MedSupp side and the MA side not giving any more credit to one or another. I did explain that if she wanted a supplement that we could write that for her, but if she wanted the particular MA plan that I had a friend that could write it (metro humana plan, no independents allowed) and I would get a 50% share and therefore be here to help if/when she had questions. She signed up for that MA through someone else. My wife came to me that her mother had some questions... well she needs to call her agent. The thing is she has bitched about MA ever since and is still on it. She has asked about a supp, but beyond quoting her the current price I don't go beyond that, not out of spite, but she knows everything there is to know already. Her decision is money based.

Now we're 18 months down road and she's making healthcare decisions based on what she may have to pay for. This is causing her daughter some stress. She'd be getting all of her healthcare needs taken care of if she had $0 out of pocket like on a supplement. She's referred three clients to us that have all bought supplements, two of which due to the limiting nature of their MA plans. I emailed her last night that a supplement would cost $100/mo for her, we make $60/mo from the referrals, we'd make $20ish off her supplement, so we could get her a supplement for $20/mo net. I told her we'd like to put her on one as a gift and she could take care of her own drug plan cost.

I'm betting there is less than a 40% chance that she'll go for it.

 

[Frank Stastny]

If a member of my family wanted what I sell they'd have to ask after the initial explaination. Don't build your business on friends/family.

My parents are the only family members I have sold a Med Supp to. My uncle is a GM retiree. When they recently found out they would have to get their own insurance my aunt called me. I answered all her questions. She told me that a "GM representative" called them and recommended MOO for a Med Supp.

She asked me if their Med Supp was a "good one" and said the "GM rep could sign them up over the phone. I told her that I thought that sounded like a good deal. I really don't like doing business with family members. They can be the most difficult clients one has.
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I'm not lazy, just don't like to read.

You're not the only agent who "doesn't like to read", at least when it comes to learning about insurance. I use to have agents working under me. I would give them information to read, ask them to study it, , much like I still do and then tell them we would talk.

What I discovered is that they may have looked at it but not taken the time to digest it. It doesn't make for the most scintillating reading I will admit.

Most people learn best by talking about it and listening to someone talk about it. That's why there are teachers and why teachers lecture.

I have an idea. I love to hunt, been a long time since I have had a chance to go duck hunting. Invite me duck hunting and we can talk about Med Supps and shoot ducks all at the same time. This training thing is starting to look up.

 

[Winter_123]

I never find that they don't have Part B. Just about the only ones who will not have Part B are those who declined it mostly because they were employed and had a group health plan. t.

It's all an adventure. I had a physician a few months back and it turned out he did not have part b so I got him in motion but he died before his med supp was issued. I enrolled his wife at the same time. However, it turns out that he also needed to have part b to make his small group plan work that he was enrolled in. (his practice was the group and he lost it when he became to sick to work so I moved him over to a supp). Now it turns out that aetna won't pay the part that part b was supposed to cover and he had major medical bills before he died of prostate.

Also, you have clients who want to sign up for a supp but just suubmitted their paperwork for part b yesterday but want to know if they are going to hear back on their supp application before the beginning of next month, which oh by the way could be in three days. So, knowing what is going on with their part b status helps me to set expectations better. I would rather send the app in and let the part b catch up with it rather than wait for the part b to come through and have someone else sign them up. Gets untidy sometimes but it is doable at least with the carriers I work with.

 

[Frank Stastny]

It's all an adventure. I had a physician a few months back and it turned out he did not have part b so I got him in motion but he died before his med supp was issued. I enrolled his wife at the same time. However, it turns out that he also needed to have part b to make his small group plan work that he was enrolled in. (his practice was the group and he lost it when he became to sick to work so I moved him over to a supp). Now it turns out that aetna won't pay the part that part b was supposed to cover and he had major medical bills before he died of prostate.

Also, you have clients who want to sign up for a supp but just suubmitted their paperwork for part b yesterday but want to know if they are going to hear back on their supp application before the beginning of next month, which oh by the way could be in three days. So, knowing what is going on with their part b status helps me to set expectations better. I would rather send the app in and let the part b catch up with it rather than wait for the part b to come through and have someone else sign them up. Gets untidy sometimes but it is doable at least with the carriers I work with.

"However, it turns out that he also needed to have part b to make his small group plan work that he was enrolled in."

If the group has fewer than 20 employees Medicare is primary and the group is secondary. One would think that a well educated individual like a doctor would have done some research regarding that However, many times that is the problem. Many well educated people don't think that they need the advice of a professional insurance agent.

That is definitely a very unique situation. Since I am almost always contacting people who have been on Medicare for a while and for the most part already have a Med Supp it is very seldom that I encounter someone without Part B.

I can only think of a very few instances, less than a handful, where that has occurred since I have been selling Med Supps.

 

[retread]

I am putting in my 2 cents.... (with tax, that's $2.95) :

I show up at the client's with their name, address, and phone number, so after introducing myself the first question I ask is "can I see your red, white, and blue Medicare card?" The next question is "what do you presently have to cover your gaps in Medicare coverage?" When they start digging for their policy and/or Medicare card, I am at the kitchen table, so I call out, "By the way, what is your birthday?" This is 90% of what you need for any MA plan, and a good part of a beginning on a Med Sup. Even if they don't buy that day, I have valuable info (I learned this from Frank).

Armed with their age, I can begin pricing a Med Sup. By the time they plop down their policy (if they can find it) or come up with their Medicare card, I construct a quick matrix of costs for the plans. I sell on the math.

To handle questions, I simply say, "I'll get to that in a few minutes as I go down the list of benefits of this plan"... and just keep explaining Medicare or the benefits, whereever I am in the presentation. I found that if I start answering their questions, they will jump around to everything under the sun. To keep the presentation on track, I follow a script that I constructed around a checklist of the important talking points. If they ask a question that is about the subject I am on, I answer it briefly, but not in detail, and move on.

My presentations usually run about 2 hours including writing the app. I am very thorough, and usually the comment made is "boy, you really covered a lot..." or "I've never had all this explained to me before"... or something to that effect. It would take all day to cover the ground I do if I stopped to chase every rabbit that crossed my trail.

 

[medx]

Going on 18 years of selling Medicare Supplements, and most of my appointments average an hour, although some do take up to 2 hours.

Medicare supplement insurance information guide website and Medicare supplement Insurance website
American Seniors Insurance
www.americanseniors.com (American Seniors - Medicare Supplement Insurance Quotes)

National Medicare Supplements
medicare supplemental insurance guide
Get answers about medigap plans in your state
www.nationalmedicaresupplements.com

 

[retread]

Going on 18 years of selling Medicare Supplements, and most of my appointments average an hour, although some do take up to 2 hours.

Yeah, a sale can be done in less than an hour... but do your clients have all the required info? I consider it my responsibility to make sure they have enough information to make an informed consent.... not just a sale.

 

[WestVirginiaagent]

Yeah, a sale can be done in less than an hour... but do your clients have all the required info? I consider it my responsibility to make sure they have enough information to make an informed consent.... not just a sale.

I like to sit and talk to my customers if they want me to. I never want to appear too busy for them, even if it takes three hours. When I set my schedule, I mark off 3 hours for every appointment.

 

[5pill]

Frank, these ducks down here in Texas are SMART! I mean, just think about it. They have made it past everybody in Mn., N.D., Ill., Mo., and the places they worry about the most. That dreaded Ark. and La.

If they were able to slip past Ark and La., By then, they have a PHD in funny looking and sounding "DUCKS".

Kinda like a skeptical SIL with a lot of questions about med supps!

I'd have to set you up with some training first.

We don't want them banking hard left 100 yards out....... and climbing straight up .......Qulaughing at us as they speed away.

Cause then, the only thing left to do is settle back down in the boggy mudhole we were in, and wait on another group....well we could sip on some cold rank coffee.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank, these ducks down here in Texas are SMART! I mean, just think about it. They have made it past everybody in Mn., N.D., Ill., Mo., and the places they worry about the most. That dreaded Ark. and La.

If they were able to slip past Ark and La., By then, they have a PHD in funny looking and sounding "DUCKS".

Kinda like a skeptical SIL with a lot of questions about med supps!

I'd have to set you up with some training first.

We don't want them banking hard left 100 yards out....... and climbing straight up .......Qulaughing at us as they speed away.

Cause then, the only thing left to do is settle back down in the boggy mudhole we were in, and wait on another group....well we could sip on some cold rank coffee.

Those sound just like the ducks I've hunted in Missouri. Especially the part of them banking hard left at 100 yrds. However, we get mostly Republican ducks here and most of them bank hard right.

Is there any other kind of coffee permitted in a duck blind except "cold and rank"? All this time I thought is was a law that only that kind of coffee was permitted.

Sounds like way too much fun. Where do I sign up and pay?