I found myself yelling at the TV again. Former NBA star Alonzo Mourning was on, interrupting a pick-up basketball game. But he wasn't there to sign autographs or play. He was there to encourage the guys to sign up at HealthCare.gov. As the kids would tweet, #smh (that means “shaking my head”).

I thought millions of Americans were craving this. I thought all they needed was access. I thought they’d stand in line for hours to sign up for a policy. And now Alonzo Mourning has to show up and beg people to enroll?

John Heywood, 16th century British dramatist, is credited with coining the phrase, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.” I first heard it from my grandfather, and again when I took my first management job. I was 25, and most of the agents on my team had kids older than me. It was intimidating, so I began recruiting younger agents.

But I soon was frustrated because they weren't succeeding — in fact, they were failing at a ridiculously high rate. I spent enormous amounts of time with these rookies, but their results were less than stellar. As I lamented this with my top producer, he said, “Well, you can lead a horse to water…”

As frustrating as it is, here's a simple truth: Until someone desires it for themselves, they will never make the required effort.

So what are you to do? Do you stop setting appointments? Do you stop presenting to employees? Do you throw up your hands and say, “If they wanted benefits, they’d have them already,” and do you assume that if they were unhappy with their provider, they’d call you?

Now you’re #smh.

Of course you don't give up. When you see a horse that won't drink, eventually you have to go find another horse. But it doesn't mean you’re off the hook right away. Before you search for another horse to scream at, ask yourself why the horse isn't drinking.

Take a minute today to analyze your presentation. Record it. It's easy and it doesn't take long. As you review it, look for “slow” spots where you might be getting bogged down with numbers, or ramble a bit. With practice, you can have a shorter and better presentation. The more you do it, the better you’ll get. You’ll be able to say more with fewer words and your horses will be more inclined to drink.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.