|
4 Racing Tips to Help You Win This AEP
TIP #1: STUDY THE COURSE
Keep your book of business organized from day one. Know the plans and products available to you so that you’ll have time to map out a strategy. The more you can prepare now, ahead of Oct. 15, the less you’ll be scrambling at go-time. It’s also important to lighten your load at home. Knowing your work will become much busier in October can be helpful when planning your work-life balance for the next few months. Consider any potential personal commitments or important family holidays — like Thanksgiving — now. Plan ahead and minimize your stress during AEP. TIP #2: START YOUR ENGINES
Friendly, pre-AEP reminders to Medicare beneficiaries are a great way to get ahead. Just remember: Communications can’t include anything specific regarding plans, like pricing or benefit details. AEP lasts 54 days. It’s a race to Dec. 7, where your focus could be the difference between achieving your goals and not. How are you planning to fuel your growth this year with a goal of 25% YoY growth in your submitted app count? TIP #3 STAY EFFICIENT
Leverage available technology for important services like scheduling and comparing plans. You have access to the YourMedicare Enrollment Center — a multicarrier platform where agents can compare plans, get quotes and enroll their clients. Agents have turned to the YourMedicare Enrollment Center as their “goto” platform for enrolling beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans. And with AEP coming up, using the YourMedicare Enrollment Center is a double win: For every submitted application mad through the platform, YourMedicare donates at least 10 meals to Feeding America. With more than 550,000 meals donated already, YourMedicare is well on its way to reaching its goal of donating 1 million meals in 2022. Agents also have access to YourFMO.com, a one-stop shop for growth with Medicare TIP #4 ALWAYS LOOK AHEAD
Remember: Your contacts are also someone else’s prospects. If you’re not planning ahead, chances are, someone else is. Year-round communication can help you stay top of mind. Try things like birthday cards, newsletters or quarterly mailers. The simple act of following up can help create lifelong customers and relationships. And remember to keep preparing for AEP all year long. When one AEP ends (or even during this AEP), start thinking about the next. Mastering the art of the AEP sale comes with practice. As you find what serves the client’s best interest, you’ll build on your success and your business will thrive. Have a great 2023 AEP!
 |
Preparation is key. Use the tools available to you to your advantage and learn what’s worked in the past, applying best practices to fuel your own success. If you’re new at this, talk to some industry veterans. If you’re tenured, reflect on what’s worked well for you in the past and explore opportunities to take your efforts to the next level this AEP.
Get a head start as much as possible. 
Knowing how to do business across multiple platforms can help boost your visibility, as well as your overall efficiency. Whether you’re conducting business in person, over the phone or sending personal emails, it’s all important and impactful — and they all go hand-in-hand. And don’t dismiss the power of social media. You can reach a lot more people in a more efficient manner with a quick, well-crafted social media caption.
A strong focus on being personable and showing empathy can go a long way toward business retention. Your future success depends on how well you do during this AEP, and you want to build on this success year after year.
Soaring complaints and aggressive sales efforts result in tighter rules from regulators
If it’s football season, you can count on seeing Joe Namath on television, along with William Shatner and Jimmie “J J” Walker. They are the most prominent pitchmen for what has become an annual fall selling frenzy for Medicare Advantage policies.
After a surge in consumer complaints, and stiffer government rules, the sales pitches will likely be tamer this year. If there is confusion, “we’ll change things so it satisfies everybody and eliminates the confusion,” said Mr. Shatner, best known for his role as Captain Kirk in the “Star Trek” franchise
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services toughened its oversight after consumer marketing complaints surged 165% last year to 41,136 compared with 2020. Brokerages, agents and other marketing businesses tried to convince Medicare recipients to switch plans, with promises of perks in their new plans such as home-delivered meals, rides to doctors’ appointments and cash.
In some cases, beneficiaries would effectively pay for the perks with more-limited provider networks, forcing them to find new doctors, regulators say. The celebrity pitchmen haven’t been accused of violating any rules.
The aggressive sales efforts by marketers are the result of billions invested by private-equity firms, financial-services companies and stock-market investors into virtual call centers, internet-based lead-origination firms and other marketing businesses over the past several years.
The investors all focused on the annual sign-up period for Medicare Advantage plans, which are an alternative to the traditional fee-for-service Medicare plans. Enrollment in the plans, which are offered by private insurers and paid for by the government, grew 8% last year to 28.4 million in 2022, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Consumers can sign up for new plans every year, making them a prime opportunity to generate sales commissions for brokers. “Seniors are being bombarded,” said Ron Henderson, a deputy insurance commissioner in Louisiana. The sign-up period runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.
The stiffer rules are targeted at marketers that sell policies on behalf of health insurers. They will need to disclose more to their customers while CMS clarified that insurers will be responsible for what their marketers say.
