Should I have Medicare Supplement policies sent to me as the agent or direct to the client?

Many agents, with their busy schedule, may choose to have policies sent straight to the policyholder to save delivery time. However, this can create situations that the agent may want to avoid. Here are some advantages to having the policy sent to the agent first:  

• Verify that the carrier has entered the client’s basic information correctly: Name address etc.
• Verify that the carrier has enrolled the client in the proper plan
• Enables the agent to make copies of key policy pieces, like the schedule page
• Since many carriers require delivery receipts it allows the agent to send instructions for completion
• Allows the agent to send extra business cards for referrals and other product information when mailing the policy

As agents we are always looking for ways to add value to our clients, these added touches of delivering the policy either in person or by mail gives us additional selling opportunities.

(This article was written by Dan Mangus of Senior Marketing Specialists.)

Welcoming Dan Mangus as National Sales Director at Senior Marketing Specialists!

We at Senior Marketing Specialists (SMS) are proud to announce our newest full-time addition, Dan Mangus. Dan has spent the past 20 years in South Eastern Missouri running his own family agency which has always been a top-producing agency in the Senior Market.

Two years ago, Dan began marketing within SMS as a consultant, speaker, motivator and trainer to some of our top agents. He has also played a critical role in the development of our state-of-art, online training campus, SMS-University. He then spent a year growing and leading our Advisory Council made up of the top producing agents in our distribution.

We are privileged to announce that Dan will be joining our office as our National Sales Director! He will be working with our internal marketing and recruiting staff, plus he will be available to assist all of the 7,000+ agents that we represent across the country. Please join us in welcoming Dan and his wife Kelly to Columbia and congratulate them on this new chapter in their lives!

Dan's Advice to Agents

"If we want to have credibility with our clients we must give advice only after we fully comprehend their situation. Ask, listen, confirm our understanding and then advise."

-Dan Mangus, Special Projects Coordinator

A simple exercise to help you structure your advertising efforts

This exercise is one that Dan Mangus uses himself and recommends to other agents in the senior market. He says "it helps to come up with a unique selling proposition first and then market that to clients." While the exercise is relatively simple, you may find it challenging too. But it pays off to spend some time determining how you are really different from your competitors.

So here's the activity:

Just fill in the blanks of this sentence:

______(Your Name)______ is ______(You are unique how?)______ .

We'd love to hear what you come up with, so let us know here or email Lindsey at lindsey@smsteam.net. Thanks and have a great day!

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” Zig Ziglar

Resources on Health Care Reform and Hospital Readmissions

Here are some excellent articles that Dan Mangus found Regarding Health Care Reform and Hospital readmissions:

http://www.eapdhealthcarelaw.com/providerreimbursement/

http://www.allbusiness.com/health-care/health-care-regulation-policy-health/12705887-1.html

http://www.vericle.net/?Medical-Billing-Network-Health-Reform-Takes-Aim-at-Hospital-Readmission-Rates&id=4327
(Note the last paragraph on this one)

http://www.hapnetwork.org/assets/pdfs/2012-fact-sheet.pdf

http://www.businessofgovernment.org/blog/making-health-care-reform-work/health-reform-targets-medicare-costs-trying-reduce-hospital-read

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Features/Insuring-Your-Health/Michelle-Andrews-on-hospital-readmissions.aspx

Did you know...

"When the tragedy happened on 9/11, 3000 Americans died. Do you remember the response? It reverberated around the world and will continue to reverberate through time. It will be something we talk about in 100 years. And yet, on that same day 1500 individuals in the United States died from cancer. And on the next day 1500 died and every day since then 1500 died from cancer. Today 1500 will die from cancer, and as agents we are not talking about that. We are not doing the job that we could in protecting our clients from the high cost of this devastating disease. But we can change that. We can change that today!" -Dan Mangus

How to transition from a Medicare Supplement presentation to a Recovery Care Presentation

Here is an excellent idea from Dan Mangus about how to transition from a Medicare Supplement presentation to a Recovery Care presentation: After your Medicare Supplement sale you could say this... “That takes care of filling the gaps when Medicare is involved with your care - but there is something very important that I need to discuss with you. Are you familiar with how Medicare works when you leave the hospital?”

A Great Way to Inspire Your Agents to Sell Additional Products...

During your next agent training session, you should conduct this experiment! Have an index card with these words written on it (or something similar): "Who do you have your cancer insurance with?" Ask an agent in the audience to read the card out loud then thank them and hand them $25. Next ask another agent to do the same thing, and also hand them $25. After doing this a few times tell the audience all they have to do is ask that question out loud to every client that they meet with, and if they sell only one in ten cancer policies, asking that question out loud was worth $25. Imagine $25 for simply saying one sentence out loud. That is just how valuable it is to ask questions or bring up additional products!

Contribution by Dan Mangus.

How to be a trusted advisor...

"To be a trusted advisor for our clients we must be a thought leader and a value provider."

-Dan Mangus

How have you gained trust as an advisor?

Where can you find 65 year olds???

ONLINE

The number of social media users age 65 and older grew 100 percent throughout 2010, so that one in four people in that age group are now part of a social networking site.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/11/15/national/main7055992.shtml

Product Training Anyone?

Making that first sale can often take the most effort and be the most challenging. That's why we're here...to help you take that first step and continue selling successfully!

What new product(s) would you like to know how to sell? If you give us a call, one of our marketers (Ryan, Kiley or Christine) would gladly take the time to answer your questions and provide you with the training you need to succeed!

1-800-689-28000


For a list of the products we offer, click here!

We love what we do at SMS

“If I knew today was my last day alive would I want to do what I will do today?”

"This question is why my being with SMS - working with agents, giving seminars, coming up with fun ideas together and having friendships with people like you and all of you at SMS - is important to me."

-Dan Mangus

I truly believe that everyone here at SMS can agree with Dan's statement. We, the "SMS Team," love what we do! We are passionate about finding new ways to help you exceed your goals as an independent agent. So don't hesitate to call us: 1-800-689-2800 or leave a comment here if you have questions. That's why we're here. After all, quality of service and training is what sets us apart from all other FMO's.

Why Have Cancer Insurance?

Why Have Cancer Insurance

View more presentations from Senior Marketing Specialists

Something to Consider

Which would you prefer?

Your client contacts you to say that they have cancer and you have never talked to them about cancer insurance. They have good health insurance but are still going to be out thousands of dollars for their care and related expenses.

or

Your client contacts you to say that they have cancer and they have cancer insurance with you. They have good health insurance and a good cancer plan so they will receive thousands of dollars to help pay expenses when they need it most.

Contributed by Dan Mangus

A way to add value to your social media sites!

"As agents we need to be involved in keeping our clients healthy. We can incorporate videos like these into our websites for added value to our clients." Click here to view video ideas!

-Dan Mangus, Agent and SMS Special Projects Coordinator

Why be in the senior market?

The growth in the 65-and-older population will be about 3½ times the growth of the nation as a whole, the Census Bureau predicts.

Source: http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p23-209.pdf

Contribution by Dan Mangus

A thought for Agents...

The feeling of isolation can be a major concern for our senior clients. Using the internet can be a great way for them to keep in contact with friends and family. If you see that one of your clients is lonely you might want to encourage a healthy use of the internet.

-Dan Mangus

Kiplinger Video on LTC - Recommended by Dan Mangus!

Dan Mangus comments that he "loves the expression this speaker uses: Purchase a short fat policy vs. a long thin one."

Find out what this mean by clicking here!

A Visit to Dan's Office...

Content Contributed by Dan Mangus:

We are in a changing industry. When I started working with insurance products twenty eight years ago one hundred percent of my sales were made in my clients home. Although I still see a few of my clients in their home the vast majority are seen in my office. This offers many benefits to both my clients and myself. Some of the benefits are:

-Professional setting
-Access to files
-Access to supplies
-Internet Access
-Opportunity to meet my staff
-Dramatic increase in number of clients I can meet with
-Availability of office equipment like a copier and fax
-Allows better use of presentation materials like powerpoint

The Steps I follow include:

1. A pre-appointment letter outlining their upcoming appointment and confirming what they will need to bring with them. For example a list of all of their prescription drugs.

2. A call is made to confirm their appointment.

3. When greeted by my assistant the client is presented with a clipboard that has a form for them to complete to update their basic data and collect information like their e-mail address etc. Also if needed forms like a scope of appointment will be attached.

4. Upon completion my assistant will bring the clipboard and the clients file to my office for the meeting.

5. During the appointment my clients are presented with a review of any Medicare changes and information regarding what is new with our agency. I usually will use a powerpoint presentation to do this.

6. A review of their current plans and any changes in these plans will be discussed. and completed. We then discuss any additional plans and complete the enrollment in those plans.

7. A meeting summary is then completed and referrals discussed.

8. A pending form is completed that is designed to track any new applications through the underwriting process. It is attached to the clipboard along with the applications.

9. I then walk my client to my assistants desk and give her the clipboard and client file. I ask her to schedule their next appointment and leave my client with her to complete the scheduling. She gives the client an appointment reminder form that has the date and time of the appointment. It also has a calendar with the appointment circled and well as bullet points about plans we offer.

10. My assistant then enters the appointment activities into our database, places the pending form into a ring binder to begin the application tracking and submits the applications.

Ideas for structuring a family agency - by Dan Mangus

With a family business it is very difficult to manage those we love, so it is very important to put accountability measures in place. The best way I have found to handle the situation is to form a "Department" for each individual.

Example: The Department of Dan Mangus.
I would have a percentage of the business that I was accountable for. The Department would have X # of clients. The Department would set production goals. The Department would be responsible for their percentage of operating expenses. The Department would report each month on it's status of profit and loss.

If the Department was being compensated on a percentage of commission and they were not able to meet their portion of expenses then the commission percentage would be reduced to recoup the funds for the agency.

Example: On a 60/40 split it may be changed to a 50/50 split until the department balances again. A semi-annual review of fixed expenses could be done to adjust for change in department requirements.