Top 100 Sales and Marketing Ideas

Be the expert on health care reform. And talkabout it. Most Americans—and businesses—don’t understand it.
Use emotional connections duringenrollment.
Astound yourself today.
Don’t blame the economy. Or PPACA. Or whatever. Keepgoing.
Make calls. Repeat.
Remember: Success is a journey, not adestination.
Network.
Build your reputation by blogging.
Hold volunteer positions in organizations thatinterest you. It’ll help you stay visible.
Follow through quickly and efficiently onreferrals you are given.
Tap into the Hispanic market. The Americanpopulation has been shifting over time demographically to a muchlarger percentage of Hispanics.
Give life insurance a shot.
Embrace technology. It’s not goinganywhere.
Remember the three P’s: Patience, patience,patience.
Learn to say no. Don’t chase opportunitiesthat aren’t a good fit with what you do well. By saying no to thewrong opportunities and yes to the right ones, you’ll have moresuccess and earn more clients. You’ll find you’re building deeper,more compelling, and longer-lasting relationships while having morefun.
Learn to handle rejection.
Don’t ask yourself, “Is it convenient?” Ask yourself,“Are you capable?”
Know how—and when to—cross sell products.
Learn how to communicate across generations.“The one-size-fits-all approach does not fit at all anymore—it’s awhole different conversation with each generation,” says JoeNavarro, marketing director for Warner-Pacific in Westlake Village,Calif.
Ask open-ended questions in networkingconversations.
Generation tip: Matures prefer a more personalapproach to communication with their benefits providers and in plancommunications. Matures are less comfortable with electronic andmobile forms of communication and as well as interactions they viewas impersonal.
Forget best practices. Think nextpractices.
Embrace voluntary products.
Become an expert on Medicare.
Choose your partners wisely. We all canbenefit when we partner with the right carrier, the righttechnology company, enrollment firm or broker.
Attend conferences.
Have an enrollment strategy and are-enrollment plan. Rushing through a situation without properlyplanning for the proper set up, the meetings, the first, second,and third-year product mix, the effective communication with theemployer and everything that’s necessary for a successfulenrollment will spell disaster for your clients and you. They willbe soured on the concept of worksite and you might have a negativebalance sheet.
Don’t be afraid to walk. If a deal is not a win for everyoneinvolved, it’s better just to walk away.
Be a great communicator.
Show your appreciation for people that helpyou.
Don’t be afraid to help and accept help fromothers.
Be an HR liaison.
Generation tip: Mix communication methods with babyboomers. While they like person-to-person communications,they’ll also want details to arm themselves to make a decision.Boomers will take part in webinars, watch videos and use theInternet, too, but agents and brokers should be prepared to answerquestions.
Create a LinkedIn account. And aFacebook account. AndTwitter.
Teach a class.
Attend a class.
Be loyal.
Don’t interrupt.
Ask for referrals. This one action tells theclient that you believe in your product and you would be proud tooffer it to their friends and relatives. Referrals also validatethe sale for the consumer (especially when they are willing to tellsomeone else about their purchase decision).
Adopt the old business principle: The customercomes first.
Consider how you fit into the exchange puzzle.
Bring out your inner Superman. Make the extraphone call. Follow up one more time. Do more research about thatnew law. Send one more email. Arrive early. Don’t wait to beasked—offer help. Be the first one to cross the finish line.
Be a mentor. Share your expertise with youngergenerations getting into the business. Be understanding of whatyounger generations need and do to be successful. Reach out. Beactive in organizations. Hire the best and the brightestpeople.
Be a partner to your employer.
Generation tip: Members of Generation X preferonline forms of communication and interaction. E-mail is thepreferred medium, they say, but agents and brokers better beprepared to correspond electronically, too, as Gen Xers will wantto ask questions over e-mail.
Think like an employer. Employers don’t careabout commissions or fees; they just need services.
Have lunch-and- learns.
Know stagnation isn’t an option. “You need togrow,” says Donna Joseph, CEO of Rhodes-Joseph & TobiasonAdvisors. “Stagnation isn’t acceptable anymore.”
Think (and talk) wellness. Help benefitmanagers explore the advantages of a strong wellness program.
Stay current. Watch what the new productsare—they may surprise you.
Seek out financial statements and annualreports.
Don’t give up too easily.
Don’t be too proud to go to an enrollmentperiodically to make sure you know what’s going on out there.
Recognize you can’t sell everybody. If you doyour best and they still don’t get it, you’ve got to let go andmove on. The next person is important, too.
Post news articles on your Facebook page toengage in conversation.
Shake hands with clients.
Own your own mistakes. If you screw somethingup, explain it to the client.
Surround yourself with people who are expertsin areas you aren’t.
Find—and use—some apps that are popular withinyour selling community.
Focus on the reasons we have employee benefits—to meet the lifeneeds of employees in ways that attract and retainthe best and most productive talent.
Survey clients. Find out what their interestsare.
Send handwritten notes. Because most peopledon’t.
Be emphatic.
Continue to build relationships. Don’t losecontact during the year. Don’t only reach out during enrollmenttime.
Contribute to LinkedIn discussions on worthysites where your colleagues might be.
Generation tip: For members of Generation Y,be prepared to use just about every kind of electroniccommunications tools they have, including social media, texting,instant messaging and email. Millennials place weight in onlinecomments and message boards, too.
Know your return on investment.
Have any negative people in your life? Get ridof them.
Are you the negative person in your life? Grow out ofit.
Once the next question has been asked and answered to the pointthat you’ve identified an opportunity, don’t stop asking the nextquestion, and never stop asking it of yourcustomers.
Invite a client (or two) todinner.
Talk about voluntary products. A lot.
Send out cards to clients for holidays thatare unexpected (like Thanksgiving or Labor Day).
Learn about medical tourism.
Always remember the customer is alwaysright.
Know your products.
Know your competition.
If you don’t know the answer to a specific question,don’t fake it. Simply tell the client you need toresearch it and get back to them on the answer.
Spend your time listening to the clients,instead of working on your pitch.
Recognize the value you bring to clients andemployers.
Try your hand at Medicare sales.
Generation tip: New information about each generation seems toemerge every day. Most brokers and agents should do their best tostay abreast of all the information about their clients as theycan, but it all basically comes down to understanding youraudience.
Teach an educational course at a localuniversity, or host a seminar or track session at a conference.
Discuss with clients the negative aspects of cancelinga policy that has been in force for a period of time.Understanding how the premium and contestability period may changeif a policy is cancelled and then re-written could determinewhether or not a client decides to keep their current policy. Fromthe agent’s perspective, renewal commissions are protected whenpolicies stay on the books.
Mail postcards.
Offer Social Security planning.
Sell ethically.
Participate in local charities. It shows thatyou care about people and your community.
Use newsletters or send emails about importantindustry news.
Create a bio sheet. Use a professional photoand share both your professional resume as well as personalinformation on what makes you unique within the industry and whyprospects should work with you.
Mail birthday cards to clients.
If someone tells you no, ask why. You’ll gaugehow the client perceives your proposal.
Do thorough homework before developing a proposal. Then, createan offer that is impossible to decline.
Consider showing spreadsheets of recent enrollmentratios of voluntary benefits by other local companies. Notonly do clients see that employees are selecting benefits such asgap health insurance or life insurance, they also realize they mayneed to offer these things to remain competitive in the labormarket.
Speak clearly and slowly. Look into a person’seyes.
Keep your clients up to date on new rules andlimits involving flexible spending accounts.
Consistently update your social media pages.Ensure your content is ongoing and high quality. If you are onlyupdating once every few weeks or every month or so, don’tbother.
Remind clients of important dates. Send acalendar with deadlines and such circled or pointed out.
Read trade magazines and newspapers.
Make cold calls at least an hour per day.

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