8 strategies for finding new clients for your benefits practice
Some of these ideas get you short term results; others seek to put you in the right place at the right future time.
“I need new clients.” People selling benefits plans wake up to this challenge every morning. You also need to hold onto your current clients because your best client is another agent’s best prospect. How are you going to fill the prospecting pipeline? Here are eight strategies to try.
Some strategies you’ve seen before. Others are new. Some are short term. Others seek to put you in the right place at the right time in the future.
1. Talk to the sales department. The area of the company handling benefits plans gets prospected constantly. You want to know the person to reach, not the general mailbox.
Here’s an idea I saw shared on LinkedIn. When you have a product to sell to a company, call their sales department. Why? It’s filled with people just like you beating the bushes. There’s a “brothers in arms” feeling. Ask them who is the right person to contact. Will they share contact information?
2. Chamber of Commerce, option 1. You belong to the chamber. They likely offer a benefits package to members. If not, why not? How often is that relationship reviewed? Can you compete for it?
3. Right place, right time. You contact municipal groups like school districts. They periodically review their plan relationship and put out Requests For Proposals, just as businesses do. When you call, you learn they either just did it or will do it in six months. How do they get the word out? Notify potential bidders? Is there an ad placed in a publication? Can someone notify you? Ideally you learn where they post the RFP. You check on a regular basis.
4. Chamber of Commerce, option 2. They offer workshops. All businesses have a need for benefit plans. Look over the selection of breakout topics. Is there one on “How to Choose a Benefit Plan Provider?” You could do that.
5. Professional association. You cultivate specialty medical practices. They belong to a local medical society. You have joined as an associate member or sponsor. They have a state convention. It’s set up like a trade show. You take a booth. You collect business cards from passersby.
6. Chamber of Commerce, option 3. They have a newsletter. They do profiles on members. They have columnists. Do they have a column on benefit plans? Could you provide content for their quarterly letter that would be interesting to read?
7. Benefits managers are people too. They likely have a professional association with a local chapter. Do they have associate memberships? Obviously you sell a product utilized by its members. You join, become an active member and get to know people.
8. LinkedIn strategy. You build up a network of connections. They come from many places: college alumni, neighbors, community organizations. You get conversations going via messaging. You ask them about their company benefits plan. Is it any good? Do they like it? Who is their internal contact when they have questions? You reach out to them or try connecting on LinkedIn.
You have a product to sell. People need it. There are more ways to find clients than the same ones everyone else is using. You need to be creative.
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