Expert Perspective Presented by BenefitsPro Expo
BenefitsPRO Expo preview: Fear of the unknown is costing you
Growing your knowledge or resources comes with risk, which begets fear.
Why do we avoid the things we know we should do? Is it self-doubt, a lack of resources, not perceiving value, or is it just that it often involves something outside of our comfort level? In 2019, I had a huge opportunity to keep one of my largest past clients. I had just left a carrier after 14 years and I was now on my own entrepreneurial journey, ready to be the agnostic enhanced/voluntary benefit specialist that brokers would love to work with.
I had a great relationship with the client and had worked well with their broker for many years. During the past several renewals, talk of changing carriers had come up. I now had the products and resources they were asking for, so after several months of preparing and gathering the courage to pick up the phone, I finally made the call. Now was my time! Then I heard the words that taught me a tough lesson: “Sorry Jack, you’re just a little too late.”
Related: 10 “not interested” objections you might overcome
Why did I fail to take action sooner? The truth was that I wasn’t 100% confident in my new model and didn’t want to test it with one of my largest cases. I no longer had the same level of resources or the big name behind me. I was unsure whether the broker would even want to hear about it, and I thought I had to know everything before I started a discussion. Fear cost me the case.
Brokers today are being asked to do more than ever. They must not only know about all the different types of core benefits, but they also are being asked about payroll, COBRA, tax laws, privacy laws, employment–the list goes on. There is just too much to know and keep up with for any one person. Because of this, enhanced benefits are deprioritized and are either not placed successfully or not placed at all.
Be sure to attend Jack Holder’s Education Track session, “One Big Lost Opportunity: Your Fear of Talking VB is Costing You” at the BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, August 18 at 9:30 a.m.
Some brokers even think there is no value in benefits beyond the core medical, dental and vision. I’ve heard statements like, “employees have enough decisions to make,” “they can’t afford them,” and “nobody uses these plans.” In some cases, they are probably right, if a lack of strategy has made it true.
The last reason some brokers may not offer enhanced voluntary benefits is fear. Yes, a fear that is completely justified. I wouldn’t describe any of the brokers I know as fearful people, but when you are hired to be the expert, you can only specialize in so many spaces. Growing your knowledge or resources comes with risk, which begets fear. Enhanced benefits are, rightfully, not always your top priority and speaking about them becomes risky. Or perhaps you had a past bad experience where participation was an issue, claims became difficult, issuing coverage was a challenge, the invoice was a mess or employees were pressured to buy. Any or all of this may have even cost you a client. The good news is enhanced benefits are evolving, and we can all learn from our past challenges.
In the past, brokers may have been able to avoid talking about enhanced benefits, but now they are part of most benefit packages and many more are adding them every day. Employee-funded benefits are becoming part of the entire benefit strategy and are being offered by brokers and vendors; they’re not just coming from the direct carrier reps anymore.
If you are not talking to your existing and future clients about enhanced benefits, someone else is. Here are a few suggestions that might make it easier to act now instead of waiting until it’s too late.
1. If you want to do it all yourself…
You become the specialist. Dedicate time to build relationships with each carrier and understand their advantages and disadvantages. This will take the most time and may make it challenging to reach your growth goals; however, you still control every aspect.
2. If you want to keep it simple…
Partner with a trusted carrier representative. Although one carrier is not right for every situation, this is much better than doing nothing at all and I have seen this work well for some. This would be similar to only offering one medical carrier to all clients. No matter how amazing the carrier is, is it really the best option for every case?
3. If you want to keep control and have the extra resources…
If you have the budget, your agency can take 100% control of the entire process and hire an in-house Voluntary Benefit Practice Leader that you manage. They specialize in understanding the different carriers and are able to dedicate their time to finding the best solutions for each situation and identifying engagement strategies that work for the client.
4. If you want to keep it simple and maintain control without capital investments…
The fourth option is a little different: Partnering with an outside firm that looks and feels somewhat internal. We call it a voluntary benefit outsource, or VBO. A VBO has invested time to build carrier relationships, specializes in negotiating solid underwriting, and has experience presenting the best options for each unique client. If you grow to trust each other, you can eventually become thought partners and create a more holistic offering, helping you to gain new clients and safeguard your existing book. Many times, an outsourced option will also be able to offer full employee engagement solutions to help increase awareness, appreciation, and participation in all lines.
Today, clients want us to know everything, but owning that personally may be a bit unrealistic. In a world of specialization, you can gain and keep more clients by finding a trusted partner that focuses on specific niches you have not or don’t want to become the expert at. By working together, there may be some revenue sharing but how much more volume will you be able to generate? Not to mention the time will you gain, allowing you to focus on the core of your business.
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