Where to Find GROUP Leads for Health Insurance? (Aflac)

[billyg]

You don't need leads with AFLAC. Just go b2b at every business you can find in your hometown!

I am not focused on this market, so I may be asking a stupid question, but it seems to me that if Continental offers comparable products at better prices, then an agent armed with a Continental contract could do as you say "just go b2b" and every time he finds an AFLAC customer, switch them to Continental. Just a thought.

 

[Dave020]

I don't know CA HI laws, but last time I checked aflac was approved in CA. Most all aflac products benefits are direct payments to the insured, they are not considered a reimbursment, and they do not coordinate with health plans. So they are totally kosher to layer on top of existing benefits, usually, because they do not coordinate.

Depends on who pays the premium. If it is done pre-tax through the employer, it may technically constitute a 105 arrangement, which is not allowed on most small group plans in California, especially HSA plans.

If the employee pays the premium direct post-tax, it would not be construed as a wraparound product.

That's why I said be careful, not don't do it.

Also, I was responding to the OPs comment that he was going to eliminate deductibles and co-pays on "major health". The only way to do that is either fund an HSA for the employee or set up a 105 or 125. For HSA, no 105 no 125 (with Anthem same with everything but EPO).

 

[mfurlend]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, I really appreciate the criticism too. You are probably right that my phone skills need work; I think I specifically need some tips on getting past the gatekeepers. I have been trying a number of different tactics. For example,

Me: Hi, this is Mike, may I please speak to Firstname Lastname?

Secretary: May I ask who this is?

Me: Its Mike Furlender

Secretary: From...?

Me: From Aflac; we need to discuss payroll deductions with Firstname Lastname.

OR.....

Me: Hi, this is Mike. Is Firstname (or Mr. Lastname) in the office right now?

Secretary: I can check. What is this in regard to?

Me: Just tell him that it is in regard to Section 125 (payroll deductions)

Do you guys have any ideas on how I can improve that dialog?

I also posted this thread on the Independent Health Insurance Agent Association (IHIAA) forum. I received some very useful advice from them, as well as you guys. From what I gather, Aflac's business model is to burn through thousands of brand new insurance agents. Their turnover is huge, it seems. They expect their agents to work for a few months before realizing that they could be making more money elsewhere and leaving. The district managers then inherit the accounts that their newbie recruits established.

IHIAA gave me the phone number of the creator of their organization and I contacted him. He convinced me that the best thing for a new agent such as myself to do is to sell individual health insurance. He told me to sign with a particular agency called Health Choice One. This company is somewhat of an umbrella corporation for most of the major health insurance companies.

I also got in touch with an insurance broker that has been selling my parents their insurance for years. I told her my entire situation and asked for her advice. She told me that she mostly sells group health insurance since individual health does not provide commission in NY. She also told me (in contrast to what John the IHIAA owner said) that group health insurance is not necessarily harder to sell via cold-calling than individual health. After talking to her for a little while she told me that her agency's owner would be interested in speaking with me about signing me up with them.

So now I am in the process of being set up to sell individual health insurance through Health Choice One, and group health with that broker's agency.

From what I understand the broker's agency sells Aflac as well - which means that I can ditch the Aflac guys that recruited me and learn from people that sell more than just supplementary insurance.

I hope it was the right decision to give up on the Aflac-only b2b cold-calling that I was doing. What do you guys think - am I headed in the right direction?

 

[Josh]

IHIAA gave me the phone number of the creator of their organization and I contacted him. He convinced me that the best thing for a new agent such as myself to do is to sell individual health insurance. He told me to sign with a particular agency called Health Choice One. This company is somewhat of an umbrella corporation for most of the major health insurance companies.

I also got in touch with an insurance broker that has been selling my parents their insurance for years. I told her my entire situation and asked for her advice. She told me that she mostly sells group health insurance since individual health does not provide commission in NY. She also told me (in contrast to what John the IHIAA owner said) that group health insurance is not necessarily harder to sell via cold-calling than individual health. After talking to her for a little while she told me that her agency's owner would be interested in speaking with me about signing me up with them.

So now I am in the process of being set up to sell individual health insurance through Health Choice One, and group health with that broker's agency.

From what I understand the broker's agency sells Aflac as well - which means that I can ditch the Aflac guys that recruited me and learn from people that sell more than just supplementary insurance.

I hope it was the right decision to give up on the Aflac-only b2b cold-calling that I was doing. What do you guys think - am I headed in the right direction?

New York is a horrible state to sell health insurance in. New York is my resident state and I don't actively market there because the products suck, the commissions suck, the companies suck and too many people are after the business. I could be wrong, but that's just me. Most folks that aren't from NY don't really understand just how different it is.

b2b can be harder or easier depending on who you're talking to and how they're doing it. Group is a much longer sales cycle, but in many ways it's an easier sale.

My two cents, wherever you get contracted, try to contract with them on everything. Especially since you're just starting out, you should probably only focus on a handful of companies/products and master those and then move on. You really need to focus more on learning to prospect effectively than anything else.

Yes, youre dialogue is terrible. PM me if you want more specifics on how to clean it up so you can actually talk to someone.

 

[arnguy]

I am not focused on this market, so I may be asking a stupid question, but it seems to me that if Continental offers comparable products at better prices, then an agent armed with a Continental contract could do as you say "just go b2b" and every time he finds an AFLAC customer, switch them to Continental. Just a thought.

The competitor of AFLAC is Colonial Life and Accident, a subsidiary of UNUM, not Continental Yes, any Colonial agent worth his salt can probably just go in and replace AFLAC businessby going b2b.

 

[billyg]

The competitor of AFLAC is Colonial Life and Accident, a subsidiary of UNUM, not Continental Yes, any Colonial agent worth his salt can probably just go in and replace AFLAC businessby going b2b.

Meant Colonial and said Continental. Thanks for setting me straight.

 

[Dave020]

When I think of Continental....

 

[Tamera]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, I really appreciate the criticism too. You are probably right that my phone skills need work; I think I specifically need some tips on getting past the gatekeepers. I have been trying a number of different tactics. For example,

OR.....


Do you guys have any ideas on how I can improve that dialog?

I also posted this thread on the Independent Health Insurance Agent Association (IHIAA) forum. I received some very useful advice from them, as well as you guys. From what I gather, Aflac's business model is to burn through thousands of brand new insurance agents. Their turnover is huge, it seems. They expect their agents to work for a few months before realizing that they could be making more money elsewhere and leaving. The district managers then inherit the accounts that their newbie recruits established.

IHIAA gave me the phone number of the creator of their organization and I contacted him. He convinced me that the best thing for a new agent such as myself to do is to sell individual health insurance. He told me to sign with a particular agency called Health Choice One. This company is somewhat of an umbrella corporation for most of the major health insurance companies.

I also got in touch with an insurance broker that has been selling my parents their insurance for years. I told her my entire situation and asked for her advice. She told me that she mostly sells group health insurance since individual health does not provide commission in NY. She also told me (in contrast to what John the IHIAA owner said) that group health insurance is not necessarily harder to sell via cold-calling than individual health. After talking to her for a little while she told me that her agency's owner would be interested in speaking with me about signing me up with them.

So now I am in the process of being set up to sell individual health insurance through Health Choice One, and group health with that broker's agency.

From what I understand the broker's agency sells Aflac as well - which means that I can ditch the Aflac guys that recruited me and learn from people that sell more than just supplementary insurance.

I hope it was the right decision to give up on the Aflac-only b2b cold-calling that I was doing. What do you guys think - am I headed in the right direction?

i've been in telemarketing for years. there really is no easy way of getting around gatekeepers. follow up is key. if you keep calling it wears gatekeepers down. they get tired of hearing from you and you will get passed through. the other way around them is to call during the typical gatekeeper lunch periods or before gatekeeper hours early like 7:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m. when some bosses are in and answer their own phones or later 6:00 p.m, 6:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m. when gatekeepers have left and bosses answer their own phones. Other than that, letters of introduction sent to the boss, followed up by a phone call a few days later also helps. Most of the time with small businesses bosses are the ones who answer, but when you're calling into midsize and larger persistence is the key.

As an opening, i usually start the conversation out with, hello this is Tamera from xyz. I am looking for the person responsible for purchasing (in this case) supplemental health benefits. I have first name, last name's name as the point of contact for this company. Is this correct? Find out if you're even being screened out by the right gatekeeper. You might call for weeks or months to the wrong gatekeeper before finding out that your contact name isn't even the one responsible for the purchase and you've given your competition the edge of all those weeks calling in and talking to the right person.

hope that helps on the telemarketing side.

i am new to insurance, actually i'm pre-insurance. here to learn and see what is up before moving ahead with things. but thought i'd throw in my two cents on this one. insurance i dont know yet. telemarketing i do. good luck with it all.

 

[scagnt83]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys, I really appreciate the criticism too. You are probably right that my phone skills need work; I think I specifically need some tips on getting past the gatekeepers. I have been trying a number of different tactics. For example,

Me: Hi, this is Mike, may I please speak to Firstname Lastname?

Secretary: May I ask who this is?

Me: Its Mike Furlender

Secretary: From...?

Me: From Aflac; we need to discuss payroll deductions with Firstname Lastname.
OR.....
Me: Hi, this is Mike. Is Firstname (or Mr. Lastname) in the office right now?

Secretary: I can check. What is this in regard to?

Me: Just tell him that it is in regard to Section 125 (payroll deductions)

Do you guys have any ideas on how I can improve that dialog?

Im going to take a wild guess that this is what the aflac handbook has as a script in it.... am I right? How did you come up with this?

First, throw this script in the trash and forget you ever learned it.... seriously, if you wrote it down or its in a book tear it out and literally throw it in the trash!

Now; first think like a busy business owner/office manager/head of HR, since these are your target contacts to implement any type of group insurance.

Business owners are usually extremely busy people.
Keeping the business afloat is their number one priority day to day. Everything else is secondary. Always remember this.
Then comes the "have to do" stuff for the business, and while group health might be in there, supplemental insurance is not at all!

So even if they are interested in this on their own, it is near the bottom of their list of things to do. This doesnt mean that they will be opposed to talking about it, it just means that they wont be jumping out of their chair to meet with you tomorrow.
Actually on that note, asking for an appointment within the next 3 days just shows them that you have no understanding of their position; so always shoot for an appointment 4+ days away... (I usually shoot for the next week or even week after depending on who it is)
Not only does it show them that you respect their time and understand that they are busy, but mentally it seems like a greater length of time and like something far away. So they are more prone to putting something on the books.

The same goes for office managers and hr directors. They are often times just as busy... or almost. And often overworked and underpaid. You also have to realize that you are competing against every other salesman out there for their time (copy machines, beverages, paper, CPAs, attorneys, payroll companies, telecommunication systems, industry specific vendors, other insurance guys, etc. etc. etc.)
They are your competition; not for products necessarily, but for time. And time is one of the most valuable things to a business owner.


Gatekeepers can sometimes be hard to get around, but realize that they are trained to screen calls that the owner doesnt want, or doesnt have time for. And some preliminary homework on the business can help. If you call not knowing the owners name, dont expect to talk to them right then. Asking "who is the decision maker for..." is a huge red flag to the gatekeeper.
Google the business, check out the website, use info usa to get the owners name if they dont have a web presence. Or just plan to call back after finding out who you need to talk to. And i always shoot for the owner. Even if they talk to you and tell you to speak to the office manager or hr director, you can then tell that person that the owner requested that you speak to them. Even ask the owner to transfer you to them right then.

First and foremost be confident when calling. This is more important than your script. Expect to get through and to get the appointment, your confidence will show through.
Dont hesitate and be sure to tell them your name, dont wait for them to ask. You dont have to say the business name if you dont want to, but always be sure to introduce yourself.

And when speaking to the gatekeeper always refer to the owner by first name, not last (even if when speaking to him you call him by his last name). And say it like he is an old friend. This gives the gatekeeper a feeling that he already knows you. Keep the tone and phrasing casual as well.
Smile when you speak. It sounds stupid but it actually reflects in your voice (its a scientific fact), and people like to help other people who are nice and smile at them (its human nature).

If the receptionist asks who you are, tell them you are a "group benefits specialist". Even if you arent a specialist and dont brand yourself as this to the owner, it will sound better to her than "aflac agent" or "tell him its about cafeteria plans" or "insurance agent".


As far as an exact script goes, its my opinion that no one can tell you what your perfect script is. Its a personal thing that you need to be comfortable with, and it should be in continual development.

Lets say Im calling "Bob" the business owner... this is the type of script i would use with the gatekeeper when I did group health and aflac.


"Hi, this is Tyler Maddox, is Bob around today"
or
"Hey this is Tyler with Aflac, can I speak to Bob"
or
"Hi is Bob around today, tell him this is Tyler"

If she asks "what is this in reference to", then just say something like:
Im just calling to introduce myself to him

If she pries more, tell her its in relation to the businesses benefits. Nothing more, nothing less.

If he is not in then its your choice to leave a message or not, and I always try to leave a message on his voicemail (if I leave one), that way I know he gets it. And I just say who I am and ask for him to call me back, no details at all.

And if he isnt available then ask the receptionist when the best time to reach him is. If she is friendly over the phone and seems talkative, you might even want to ask how the benefits are there. Chat her up a bit and get her opinion; sympathize and agree with her opinions and even tell her how you can help her. Then she will want to get you in touch with them.


When it comes to talking to the owner dont go into a lot of details over the phone. Keep it short and sweet, and get to setting a time to meet.
Tell him:
"I specialize in voluntary employee benefits that are of no cost to the business"...... "They are great to help fill gaps created by deductibles, or to fill in for benefits that might not be offered now.


Also, timing is key. Early morning between 6:30 and 9 is a great time to reach owners since gatekeepers might not be there yet. Lunchtime can be effective too, since some owners eat lunch at the office, or take a late lunch (most gatekeepers dont). And after hours is a great time too. Many owners work until 6,7,8, even 9 or later.... I guarantee you the gatekeeper wont be there then!


Hope this helps, and good luck to you. I think combining the group health and supplemental is the best way to go. Also team up with an experienced agent, take them along on appointments.
And look in to Colonial instead of Aflac, much better products.

 

[mfurlend]

Wow thank you so much scagnt83, that is some excellent advice! The script I posted here is not what is in the aflac book; believe it or not their script is way worse. I kind of just pulled that one out of my ass, but your script seems clearly more effective. I had thought of using the owner's first name and speaking casually but I was afraid that the owner would be pissed when he realized that it was just a tactic to get past his gatekeeper. Also I LOVE the whole "I am just calling to introduce myself to him/I am a group benefits specialist" thing; I am going to try it today. I will tell you how it goes. Thanks a lot for the info!