COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – “It ain’t easy and it ain’tquick," acknowledged Don Cooper, president of TriFlex Corp., ofbuilding a fee-based insurance service.

"But it’s well worth it,” quickly added Cooper, whose firm hasbeen navigating the fee-based market for years.

If you’re a broker thinking about charging a fee, Cooper –speaking at the 2014 Benefits Selling Expo – you need to lay afoundation for charging one, he said. “You’ve got to add value (toyour company or your name) beyond transacting insurance.”

Some of those improvements include:

• Earning a professional designation like a Registered HealthUnderwriter or Registered Employee Benefit Consultant.
• Never stop expanding your knowledge base.
• Owning a quality resource library like Thomson ReutersCheckpoint or Registered Investment Advisor certificates.
• Finding a mentor and learn from him or her.
• Establishing strategic alliances with other professionals likelawyers and accountants.

Then you can take that knowledge and “put it in your pocket,” hesaid.

After you’ve checked with your state’s insurance board andconsulted with legal counsel, Cooper suggested creating acompliance risk analysis, fostering employee engagement andcreating a long-range strategic plan for the employer.

“You can lock out the competition with a three-year planningstrategy,” he told attendees.

When you’re ready to make your presentation “it needs to be madeto the C-office decision makers,” he cautioned. “Human relationsdoesn’t make financial decisions.”

Cooper said the presentation should be condensed into a two-pageor less executive summary and should provide adequate technicalsupport to substantiate your claims.

He also stressed the importance of getting employees involved,the better to change some of their behaviors like lifestyle abusesand over-utilization of services.

“It’s a long and difficult process,” he said.