David Letterman's "Top Ten" lists have been a constant for many years. Only, his are funny. Here's another list intended to provide some useful ideas that will help build voluntary benefit success.
- Know your products and services. The most successful voluntary sales people have mastered the products, services and vendors they offer. Since you plan to present a product to your important clients, they will expect you to demonstrate the highest standard of knowledge.
- Know your customer. If this is an existing client, review the entire file before walking in to present a voluntary plan. If it is a prospect, learn whatever you can from team members, press releases, Web sites, etc. Think about similar clients you may have served, and ask your insurance carriers representative about their experience.
- Listen before you present ideas. The most basic rule for success is listening to what your customer is concerned about first. You may have the world's greatest new product or service to offer, but if it is off-center to the employer's area of interest, there is no sale.
- Be prepared with scalable presentations. Decision makers often don't want to hear all the details of your proposed voluntary product, but they may want to watch you present the details to detail-minded staff members. So while you will often want to present a high level concept to a decision maker, be prepared. In the event that they ask you to cover details of the package for their benefits staff, you will want to have more detailed product descriptions and implementation schedules ready for presentation.
- Clearly link proposed products to specific needs of the employer. Voluntary benefits are designed to meet needs for both employers and their eligible employees. Employers should understand how the proposed plan will help them. There are many areas where this could be the case: improved benefit communications, value added services provided during enrollment, education on wellness programs, workplace safety education, and so on. The employer needs to understand why they are getting value out of the voluntary package.
- Clearly link proposed products to specific needs of the employee. Eligible employees should be able to make an educated, efficient decision as to whether the product meets their needs for personal and family financial security. They need to understand what the product covers, and what exclusions and limitations apply.
- Create and manage key event timetables. Employers expect us to be the experts in installing voluntary plans. They look to us for guidance in identifying the key events involved and expect us to manage the process. Good communication here and management of "what to expect" pays big dividends in client retention.
- Make sure the employer knows all of their roles and responsibilities. One item that can derail the success of voluntary programs is an employer's lack of understanding of the work they are committing to do to support the plan. The complaint is "no one told me what to expect." Make sure the employer knows their role in enrollment support, understanding and reviewing necessary paperwork, and their role in supporting payroll deductions and changes.
- Hold checkpoint meetings that reinforce the timetable. This both insures that all the installation steps are being followed, it also positions you as part of the employer's benefit planning team. You are helping them make sure that everything goes smoothly.
- Schedule a post-installation review. You and your client will both profit from putting metrics around the enrollment successes (or failures). This helps identify plans for the next campaign and gives you a great opportunity to set up additional enrollments.
