What gives when prospects will refuse to switch?

[LostDollar]

Exactly

I'll add that desperation breath doesn't help (thats actually a term I learned here many years ago---desperation breath--it stuck with me bc it's true that many younger agents emit that bad breath--its really a nervousness that shines through). Not saying that was what was up, just sayin...prospects pick up on that bigtime. "overselling" is a form of that bad breath.

Stay calm and educate and listen to the client. Mirror, parrot, repeat back to them what they are sayin so they know youre listening which shows you care enough to do whats in their best interest. Be a boss. Not a used car sales man.

Caveat, NOT an agent.

I am NOT saying book selling is anything like selling Medicare, but attempting to think back to a couple of summers trying to sell books door to door when I was in college, I would expect that is sometimes quite difficult for a new agent (of any age), with a lot of business and family financial concerns, to accomplish.

 

[rousemark]

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is loyalty. That is still a big thing with some older folks and if they have a company that they feel has treated them well in the past then they will not switch for a few bucks.

 

[LostDollar]

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned is loyalty. That is still a big thing with some older folks and if they have a company that they feel has treated them well in the past then they will not switch for a few bucks.

This ^^^^^^^ too.

My experience there is property, rather than Medicare, related.

When Kemper home coverage was still in Kansas, I had an agent that made consistent efforts to get me to switch, saying she could save me money. This went on for a period of somewhere between 2 and 4 years. I don't remember the exact timeframe.

I consistently refused, BECAUSE an adjuster and Kemper had treated me very, very well on a roof claim. I had no wish to change carriers or to hear her spiel. I did finally have to make a change when Kemper chose to drop providing coverage in Kansas.

 

[AgentGeneral]

Don't be pushy is my two cents.

Had one last week, I'm not even switching her carrier, just the plan. But when I said "we aren't doing anything today, you need to think on this" her entire attitude changed. And I did it at the beginning of the call. She was only calling so her friend would get off her butt about paying too much.

I will either close her after Thanksgiving (appt is already set) or not. And if not, I will ask if I can add her to my email "check in" list for Sept 2024. They always say yes and I will get her next year. Whatever.

I like this and use it often," we aren't doing anything today, this is just an introduction to..... " F and Gs I always wait. I aim for the longest paper trail and phone/text recordings I can get. 48 hour scope, then a meeting at least 3ish days later, equipped with printouts, med gov tutorials, and a few phone recordings with much talk about differences and meds/docs, PAs, differences btwn plans. Then and only then another few days and finally the enrollment. Anyone who ever worried about the recordings and medgov disclaimer, no need to. Doesn't scare them off. Neither does a friendly, mildly informative med gov tutorital with them sitting next to you following along (proximity breeds trust and rapport)....just saying, not directed at anyone in particular. I myself was worried about that first few months. They realize an agent helps. The ones who call us need help. They also do not balk at doing things your way and the most compliance laden way.

I also want to add, I can't count the people I walked from myself in 3 yrs. I'm picky. I have certain criteria of my own on whether I want to work with someone on a professional level with something so important. I won't go into it too much here, it might sound ridiculous, but for starters their meds give me a good clue as to who what when where.... And the state of mind/personality, another clue. Another one I walk from is G or F with no chance of a GTL, or no chance of copays waived at local facilities/communites. There's more but that's a gist.

 

[ValeRosso]

Where are these people coming from ... leads ... people you know?

You're dealing with Boomers and Boomers don not like change. Sounds like a trust issue to me. Like somebody already said. More rapport.

Some new unknown leads, some are people i've done other business with in the past and present. Really no rhyme or reason to who it is, but definitely not just people new to me. Im not sure how much more trusting I can be if someone trusts me with their retirement accounts, but wont switch to a much much better medicare plan, you know?

 

[mickeyma]

FEAR OF CHANGE!
Fear of making a mistake.

 

[policywonk]

FEAR OF CHANGE!
Fear of making a mistake.

I wonder if Dana Carvey has changed his plan yet?

 

[Dave G]

This can be an example of what I call "path of least resistance." People may seem like they can't be bothered. Or, they may have reasons to prefer the status quo. There is lots to be said at times for leaving well-enough alone.

Drug coverage is often the tie-breaker." Whatever savings may accrue on the medical side, you lose out the back door when that inexpensive Tier 2 drug is Tier 3 or even Tier 4 for the new plan. Another is folks using Mail Order who don't want to tell all their doctors to send prescriptions to a new service. One I'm cautious to point out; does any new plan require filing new "Pre-Authorization" requests for their drugs? What if the new plan denies it? People pay for convenience all the time....why should insurance be any different.

People also just grow comfortable with the plan they know vs. the devil the don't (or the agent they don't know) if you're not the incumbent. There's enough shady operators out there to justify a skeptical eye.

 

[bill3173]

Sometimes it's just someone else whispering in their ear. I had a lady call me out of the blue to discuss her Med Supp and pdp. She told me her health history, and I told her that she had to stay put for now. So we discussed her pdp, and I made a suggestion, based on her meds.

She called me back to discuss this 2 more times, so I questioned her on her reluctance to switch, since she couldn't stay on her current Rx plan (ending this year). She told me that a friend was tellling her to go with plan x, which was a poor choice for her. Naturally, I thought that it was another insurance agent, no, just a disinterested 3rd person, but for some reason didn't want to let her down, or something?

She sent me an email after three phone conversations to let me know she's taking the other plan. It was a hard thing to hear, I was counting on the $$ from the pdp sale.

 

[selfgen]

Looking for maybe some sales advice, I'm not sure. This is for MAPD. I see a recurring theme: person is on plan A, paying $20-40 a month premium, higher copays, less benefits, less coverage area, less everything. Plan B offers more in every regard, with less copays, less drug costs, and zero premium.

Clearly, logic has absolutely nothing to do with this, because a direct side by side comparison isn't working and rarely works with certain people. The advantage (no pun intended) is 100% clear, and I make sure of it.

The emotional aspect is important as well, maybe I need to work on this part of it with the people that logic isn't working.

What do yall do in these situations...just walk?

Forget about the product, Sell yourself. Tell them that the best part about switching plans is that YOU will be their agent. Tell them that they’re going to be on Medicare for the rest of their life, which can sometimes mean 20 to 25 years or longer these days, and from this point on they will now have a local agent that they can contact anytime they have a question or need help. A lot of seniors get caught up with all the constant bombardment of advertising during AEP, when they’re always being told that they are missing out on extra benefits and that there’s always a better plan for them. Tell them from now on, they will be able to rely on you, that you’ll make sure that they’re always on the plan that’s best for them. They won’t get stressed out during AEP; they can rely on you. Sell yourself, you are the difference, not the plan they are switching too. This is how I spin it if the client doesn’t want to switch, assuming you are not already their agent.