Old school, tried and true trade secrets aren't cutting it anymore as a new generation of HR managers and their employees enter the workforce. The fact is millennials won't respond to yesterday's life insurance sales techniques. A savvy generation—always online with technology at their fingertips—demands a savvy broker.

The upside: This generational shift provides you brokers with an opportunity to easily upgrade your pitch and hopefully drive more sales. Here are three ways to leverage relationship building and high-tech selling skills to offer useful solutions to clients.

Don't lose out

Technology is your friend. It makes the enrollment process easier for you and your clients and has the potential to increase enrollment, contribute to customer retention and free up time to focus on selling.

It's an HR manager's friend, too. Automated tools can offer potential plan participants a better understanding of life insurance in a simplified way (helping them avoid countless employee questions). Online calculators can motivate employees to apply for coverage and protect long-term finances, contributing to higher plan participation.

New technology—such as online enrollment forms—allows employees to enter their personal data electronically. The comfort of confidentiality and the speed of a real-time response remove barriers, which can lead to higher enrollments, too.

On the housekeeping side, automated systems offer a better customer experience, as well. They can help keep member records up to date and streamline updates if an employee is terminated or would like to change beneficiaries. They also increase billing accuracy. Stronger is better

As easy as it is to let technology do the talking, you're not going to uncover the insight you need to provide your clients value without building a strong customer relationship.

The best way to use technology is to find opportunities to keep digging for knowledge about your clients' day-to-day challenges and what they are passionate about in their jobs. Check out your clients' social media activity, annual reports, philanthropy and more online to create a more accurate picture of who your clients are and what's important to them. The insight it provides when recommending a solution or looking to close a sale will be priceless.

Show them the money

By building a trusted relationship with your HR clients, you can help them implement plans to increase enrollment. For example, potential plan participants likely understand the purpose of life insurance but may not be aware of how valuable (and potentially fleeting) their opportunity to participate in a group plan is. Supporting your clients in highlighting life insurance as part of a robust benefits package and emphasizing the potential cost savings employees receive by participating will help maximize enrollment.

Showcasing the additional benefits offered by many plans—automatically or by request—beyond a simple claim payout also will help underscore the value of participation. Options include:

Travel assistance, which helps employees with medical care and other emergencies when traveling domestically and internationally
Accelerated benefits that assist with end-of-life planning
Beneficiary financial counseling to provide clients with financial goal setting and assessment of their current financial situation

Remember these three tips and you're on your way to maximizing new school sales. All in all, embracing the marriage of technology and relationship building can help you build your value as a broker and increase client satisfaction and plan enrollment.

Instant Insights /

Life Insurance: Three new school tricks of the trade

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