COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – “It ain’t easy and it ain’t quick," acknowledged Don Cooper, president of TriFlex Corp., of building a fee-based insurance service.

"But it’s well worth it,” quickly added Cooper, whose firm has been navigating the fee-based market for years.

If you’re a broker thinking about charging a fee, Cooper – speaking at the 2014 Benefits Selling Expo – you need to lay a foundation for charging one, he said. “You’ve got to add value (to your company or your name) beyond transacting insurance.”

Some of those improvements include:

• Earning a professional designation like a Registered Health Underwriter or Registered Employee Benefit Consultant.
• Never stop expanding your knowledge base.
• Owning a quality resource library like Thomson Reuters Checkpoint or Registered Investment Advisor certificates.
• Finding a mentor and learn from him or her.
• Establishing strategic alliances with other professionals like lawyers and accountants.

Then you can take that knowledge and “put it in your pocket,” he said.

After you’ve checked with your state’s insurance board and consulted with legal counsel, Cooper suggested creating a compliance risk analysis, fostering employee engagement and creating a long-range strategic plan for the employer.

“You can lock out the competition with a three-year planning strategy,” he told attendees.

When you’re ready to make your presentation “it needs to be made to the C-office decision makers,” he cautioned. “Human relations doesn’t make financial decisions.”

Cooper said the presentation should be condensed into a two-page or less executive summary and should provide adequate technical support to substantiate your claims.

He also stressed the importance of getting employees involved, the better to change some of their behaviors like lifestyle abuses and over-utilization of services.

“It’s a long and difficult process,” he said.