Benefits brokers and consultants outline the numerous tacticsthey're taking to overcome objections due to the state of the economy and the uncertainty over how the provisions of the Affordable Care Actwill be implemented—including the possibility that some or all ofthe provisions of the law might not be implemented at all if theindividual mandate is deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. SupremeCourt.

Benefits professionals also explain how they combat standardroadblocks such as reticence to leave existing brokers or the “ifit ain't broke, don't fix it” mentality. If prospects object to newservices or existing clients want to cut services because theirbudgets are constrained in the tough economy, the most unethicalthing a benefits professional can do is to give bad advice and tryto convince them that more services would be better without firstanalyzing what actually might be best, says John Kelly, director ofstrategic partnerships for Ceridian's human resource and payrollbusinesses.

“It is fundamental not to give bad advice just to generaterevenue,” Kelly says. “We should help our clients prioritize theirspending appropriately, for both today and for the future, becausethe lack of current investment can jeopardize future growth.”

Suggesting Cost Cutting

One way to overcome the objection of constrained budgets is torecommend services that can actually reduce costs—which the clientcan then reinvest into benefits services that ultimately help thebottom line by reducing absenteeism and increasing employee engagement, hesays.