This is a year of big changes coming for employee benefits professionals. Here are some tips from our readers about how to survive and thrive.

Here are the best tips from BenefitsPRO readers on sales, communication, marketing, practice management and more.

Client relationships

01 “Being a broker is like being someone's best friend. To get someone to give you a chance, you have to convince them to break up with one of their best friends.” —Amanda Osburn, SullivanCurtisMonroe

02 “Identify who you are looking to rub shoulders with that can help build your business, find the activities and events they participate in, and focus on those for yourself.” —Nathaniel Garfield, American Portfolios Team APFS

03 “I tell my clients if they're thinking about buying a new pair of shoes, call me first. They feel comfortable calling or texting me at any time.” —Matthew Cate, Cobbs Allen

04 “Listen to the cues members are giving you about their expectations and needs and use those cues to fuel every member interaction with personalized content on every channel. This will make them feel special and want to become your brand advocates.” —Sudeshna Sen, Merkle

05 “Studies have shown that people will spend more money on a better experience versus a better product…It's about connecting on a human level. In that moment, care for them more than yourself.” —Brandi Tamor, Allstate Worksite Division

06 “Offer a $1.00 instant scratch-off lottery ticket to your clients for every referral or introduction they give you. You'll be surprised how fun this makes it for them to help you and how many referrals and introductions you'll end up with.” —Eric Silverman, Silverman Benefits Group

07 “All it takes is a conversation. Start each client conversation with some questions about how they're feeling about their life, business, or future. A lot can be learned that helps tailor solutions to their needs.” —Bruce Hentschel, Principal Financial Group

08 “Building a relationship with a client in one area can lead to selling insurance in the other. “When we do a great job for the client on the commercial side, and we help them lower the severity and frequency of claims on their workers' comp, we can then talk to them about severity and frequency of claims on the benefits side.” —Dan Thompson, Gulfshore Insurance

09 “Your role as a broker should not end after you earn the business. If you're not working monthly to earn your commission check from your client, you're not delivering the real role of a broker.” —Heather Bowers, Lone Star Benefits, Inc.

10 “I particularly like provocative questions that really get people thinking. Maybe that's just how my brain works, but I've also seen the effectiveness of a sobering provocative question when it's asked. But it isn't enough just to get your prospect thinking. The provocation should inspire the prospect to “DO SOMETHING.” —Josh Butler, Butler Benefits & Consulting

Branding

01 “If you don't have your niche, you just become like every other broker. If you learn a certain segment of the business, then you become an expert.” —Felipe Barganier, GAB International

02 “Define your target audience…if everyone is your target audience, no one is.” —Marty Traynor, Mutual of Omaha

03 “There's no substitute for a thoughtful, compelling story—a reason why your company exists, what you believe, and how you change the lives of your customers.” —Brian Harrigan, HealthFitness

04 “Look at your current block of business for commonalities. Do you have a natural niche in a particular industry or do you work with clients of a similar employer size?” —Adam Feltes, The Guardian

05 “Build your business by focusing on what you do best—double down on your strengths, and subcontract if there is expertise required outside of your niche.” —Kevin Kennedy, Tribe Insurance

06 “Know the current market landscape well, speak confidently about it and offer information on changes and trends. The ability to weed through and analyze information in the context of market trends and customer needs is where your expertise will shine.” —Rob Carnaroli, Sutter Health Plus

07 “Weird and unusual coverage requests [have made us] a go-to resource for business insurance, especially those businesses that don't fit an insurance carrier's typical profile.” —Susan L. Combs, Combs & Company

08 “Ask prospective partners about their ability to “white label” and brand all their services to match yours. You'll be able to differentiate your business while changing your client's perception of your firm's abilities.” —Eric Silverman, Silverman Benefits Group

09 “Many benefits brokers have developed a bad habit of giving away things for free or getting outside their lane. You'll see more of us peeling back out to one or two key individuals who have a thirst for learning and can develop a very robust fee-for-service strategy.” —Bret Brummitt, A.G. Insurance

10 “Provide benefits advice that is culturally aligned and mission-minded to support the culture and mission of your clients.” —Kevin Davis, Univest Insurance, Inc

Technology & data

01 “Companies that aren't incorporating AI into their businesses will continue to fall behind in productivity. Employee benefits, sales and marketing are all areas that can use technology to help you with analytics, personalization, segmentation and improving efficiency.” —Rick Ramos, HealthJoy

02 “As data analytics gets more sophisticated, remember that you shouldn't be at the bottom of the data food chain. If you take the time to uncover trends in your own business, you'll be more confident in where to focus your efforts.” —Gil Lowerre and Bonnie Brazzell, Eastbridge Consulting

03 “To design good benefits, you need good data. It's one thing to provide a client with data; it's another thing to know how to make it actionable.” —Bruce Whittredge, ADP

04 “Setting clear goals and arming yourself with the appropriate tools will enable you to stand out as a top performer. Simplifying your workflow with new technologies and movement towards clear milestones better positions you to retain clients.” —Sally Poblete, Wellthie

05 “Technology has a place in virtually every workplace, and it's crucial to a seamless enrollment and administration of employee benefits…By educating clients about online benefits administration platforms, advisors can help clients ease some of the tedious burdens they face day to day.” —Stephanie Shields, Aflac Group Insurance

06 “Businesses need and expect more from brokers.Those who provide insight through benchmarking data and analytics, offering set up, connection and optimization support, as well as a variety of ongoing service models, will gain market share over those who don't.” —Courtney Simpkiss, ADP

07 “Small businesses want technology that addresses the full scope of HR needs. Beyond ben admin, they are looking for tools that streamline onboarding/offboarding, time and attendance, PTO, applicant tracking and more.” —Alex Tolbert, BerniePortal

08 “Telemedicine is a service that brokers can no longer afford not to offer their groups. Being able to explain how to gain increased access, including how to get started, keep employees happy and cut costs in an industry of high deductibles will be key during open enrollment season.” —David Reid, EaseCentral

09 “Millennials and centennials are least likely to actively engage with insurers. They do not trust easily and need a lot of tangible research to arrive at decisions. They are twice as likely to buy insurance online, but are least satisfied with the current level of online experience.” —Rajesh Makhija, Mphasis Wyde & Eldorado Healthcare

10 “We're starting to see companies use all the well-being data they're capturing to more readily design experiences for employees. All this focus on personalization will help increase well-being program effectiveness and adoption rates and support the communications issues currently at hand.” —Ann Wyatt, HealthFitness

Words of wisdom

01 “I think that's the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.” —Elon Musk, Tesla Motors

02 “Be the buffalo. Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee nation, once told me how the cow runs away from the storm while the buffalo charges directly toward it—and gets through it quicker.” —Donna Brazile, political strategist

03 “Ignore the politics, focus on doing a good job.The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. If you do a good job, that will all take care of itself.” —Bobby Jindal, politician

04 “When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?” —Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

05 “Surround yourself with people who challenge you, teach you, and push you to be your best self.” —Bill Gates

06 “When you're listening to any prospect, do so as if you're hard of hearing. Visualize them, and listen as if you need to read their lips.” —Art Sobczak, sales expert and author

07 “Is it better for your prospects to be told how great you are or discover how great you are? Start practicing discovery-based selling.” —Charles Bernard, Criteria for Success

08 “My experience has shown me that the people who are exceptionally good in business aren't so because of what they know but because of their insatiable need to know more.” —Michael Gerber, author

09 “Try new things. Take prudent risks. Learn from people willing to share from their experiences. The person who is curious and nimble will succeed over time.” —Linda LeMura, LeMoyne College President

10 “Move fast and break things. Unless you are breaking stuff, you are not moving fast enough.” —Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

Enrollment

01 “While electronic enrollment is all the buzz and can be efficient, it is still overwhelming and people still want—and need—access to someone who can help them through the process.” —Bruce Hentschel, Prudential Financial Group

02 “Don't stop when open enrollment is over. One way to communicate regularly with employees about benefits it to leverage national events or recognition months, or continue the dialogue through financial education workshops.” —Ingrid Tolentino, Hyatt Legal Plans, a MetLife company

03 “Multiple communication strategies and touchpoints will help increase awareness and engagement. Encourage in-person interactions by using pre-enrollment reminders, such as posters and table tents. Then offer employees one-on-one access to benefit specialists.” —CrisDee Plambeck Voya Employee Benefits

04 “A mobile strategy allows employers to connect with employees on their benefits year-round, not just during open enrollment. This turns the underlying benefits engagement question from how to how often.” —Peter Mace, Hodges-Mace

05 “Don't overlook the critical need for life and disability insurance. Give employees every opportunity to help protect their income and take care of their loved ones during life's most difficult times.” —Steven Lynch, OneAmerica

06 “66% of workers think there is a 2% chance of being out of work for three months or more because of disability. In reality, there's a 25% chance. Many employees don't understand what they need and don't need. There's a wonderful opportunity to open the dialogue and offer holistic solutions.” —James Slotnick, Sun Life Financial

07 “While your clients may be using decision support tools already, persona-based decision support tools go one step further by layering in a way to provide employees with tailored messaging.” —Kevin McNamara, The Standard

08 “Bring benefits to life by showing how they can be used to solve specific challenges. Emotional, real-life stories can demonstrate how voluntary benefits work and how they've helped someone.” —CrisDee Plambeck, Voya Employee Benefits

09 “Open enrollment is a critical opportunity for employers to engage with their employees, but before they're able to do so, they must understand that employee health and wellness is a long-term, ongoing initiative. Consider shifting from a short-term, “check-the-box” approach, to focusing on the long-term impact.” —Dinesh Sheth, Green Circle Health

10 “Now that millennials dominate the workforce, they are driving the digitalization of benefits education and benefits communication…Optimizing benefits information and mobility to multiple screens will generate higher engagement and satisfaction.” —Elizabeth Halkos, Purchasing Power

Back to basics

01 “Commit to your 'Why.' As a benefit consultant community, the impact we have on employers and employees is so much bigger than insurance. Why do you do what you do? Be proud of your profound impact on the community in which you live and work!” —Reed Smith, CoBiz Insurance

02 “Don't bad-mouth the competition; win business fairly. Prepare and present solutions that will have the most positive impact on the prospective client's business, not the solution that has the most positive impact on your business.” —Brandon Scarborough, CobbsAllen

03 “Lean into the rejections. If everything goes exactly your way early on, you start believing you are doing everything right and you don't learn to pivot and flex.” —Sallie Giblin, Lockton Insurance Brokers

04 “If you are not true to who you are and the things you like, clients and colleagues will see right through you.” —Colleen Blum, Combs & Co.

05 “It's hard for young people to come into such a protected industry, where veterans often don't seem to open up and share secrets. Don't take for granted that we know all the lingo or tricks you do.” —Taylor Lindsey, Employee Benefits Consultants, Inc.

06 “Trying something new and failing can be just as valuable as trying something new that's successful.” —Jonathan Reaves, The Reaves Agency

07 “Being patient is a virtue; don't jump at the first thing that comes up. Sometimes, it's best to sit back and see what happens.” —Amanda Osburn, SullivanCurtisMonroe

08 “Get a sense of clients' administrative pain points. That way, when analyzing vendors to work with, brokers can ask the hard questions to see what a vendor is capable of.” —Kevin McNamara, The Standard

09 “Be honest, tell it like it is, even if you have to deliver bad news. Look at the bigger picture, not just what's going on right then and there.” —Lisa Boucher, Cross Insurance

10 “The key to providing a comprehensive solution is you have to do a great job from the very beginning. Once you earn their trust, they're going to trust you with other things.” —Donny Woo, Combined Benefits

Innovation & disruption

01 “Disruption is inevitable; it's your strategy and how well you prepare that helps mitigate that disruption.” —Jared Smith, Interactive Health, Inc.

02 “Chaos breeds opportunity. Many groups are begging for guidance. They don't want to get bad news every year. They are looking for cost containment and a more efficient way of doing things.” —Rachel Miner, Employee Benefit Advisors of the Carolinas, LLC

03 “Whether or not employers can see through the mediocre service they're getting from brokers, the system is still broken. It's on me to make sure I'm constantly sharing knowledge about how we can push the system to change.” —Cara Kirsch, SilverStone Group

04 “Differentiate yourself with a passion for creativity and reinventing the traditional approach. A progressive approach to designing, communicating and delivering benefit programs will allow you to deliver next-generation products, services and technology.” —Peter Marcia, YouDecide

05 “AirBnb doesn't call themselves a 'tech' company, they just use technology to get stuff done. We need to stop with this fascination over technology in health care and understand the problems we're trying to solve.” —Andy Slavitt, former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid administrator

06 “Let's stop calling it insurtech—going digital is no longer an option for insurance carriers and distributors.” —Charlie Horn, Genius Avenue

07 “The digital health revolution has yet to be unleashed because the digital health care ecosystem is fractured and fragmented…Only if these innovations are easy to use and tied to the benefit packages most people get anyway, will they be used.” —Derek Newell, Jiff

 

08 “If you're not embracing change, creativity and innovation, you're not going to be around in 10 years. Innovation and creativity are the currency of the future.” —Mark Gaunya, Borislow insurance

09 “Being vigilant and taking advantage of change are key hallmarks of the successful. But recognizing a new force at work is only half the equation. The other half is successfully predicting when the time is right to make a move.” —Gil Lowerre and Bonnie Brazzell, Eastbridge Consulting

10 “The Internet of Things is impacting the very core of the insurance business, which is risk assessment and product. Products are telling a story which helps insurers better understand risk, allowing for a paradigm shift from risk classification to risk personalization.” —Subhobroto Ghosh, VirtusaPolaris

Cutting costs

01 “Encourage clients to take credit for a portion of health care costs their organization covers. This demonstrates to employees a company's commitment to their health and financial security.” —Amy Christofis, Connecture

02 “We tell employers not to be penny wise, and pound foolish when splitting increases with employees. While this does cost the company, hearing that the company absorbed the increase so the employees wouldn't have to makes a positive impact that goes beyond the dollars spent.” —Renee Swint, FirstSource Solutions

03 “If we just trim plans and manage every aspect of them to the point where members aren't happy, it defeats the purpose. Advisors interested in polishing their clients' plans need to look at the price side of the equation, not just the volume side.” —John Simmonds, StrateBen Inc.

04 “Empower sophisticated buyers to seek transparency—to demand to be told why there is such a big price difference and to use their purchasing power to drive prices down.” —David Newman, Health Care Institute of Washington, D.C.

05 “As clients look to decrease costs in 2018, highlight how collaborating with a disability carrier could save them time and money. A workplace equipped to identify and support an employee with a health condition can be the help he or she needs to stay at work and avoid a disability leave, or return to work faster.” —Tom Foran, The Standard

06 “Recognize that when you benefit from the problems in our system, you are part of the problem… If you can't talk with your client about how much they're paying you, then you're being paid too much.” —David Contorno, Lake Norman Benefits

07 “Every year, we see additional options of narrow networks. It hasn't had the same traction of some cost-containment strategies, but the 15% savings definitely grabs an employer's attention.” —Ken Davis, Univest

08 “Performance-based compensation is something employers should consider moving their consultant to. If your consultant is confident, shouldn't they put their money where their mouth is?” —John Sbrocco, Questige Consulting

09 “Employers have begun to realize that investing in well-being can deliver more than just health care cost savings. There is less focus on the financial impact represented by traditional ROI models and more on workforce engagement, productivity and overall business performance.” —Jessica Grossmeier, Health Enhancement Research Organization

10 “A broker who doesn't thoroughly understand reference-based pricing is not only cheating his client, he's cheating himself. Brokers are fooling themselves if they think clients don't know about this, and eventually aren't going to seek a solution, with or without them.” —Mike Dendy, Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions

Online & social marketing

01 “Marketing is not some optional activity, it's the critical first step of the sales process. Skip this step and you likely will never get the face-to-face meeting.” —Kevin S. Trokey, Q4intelligence

02 “Probably the first thing people are going to do [after an introduction] is check you out online. If you don't have social media and a website, they might question how serious you are.” —Justin White, Brock and Spencer Benefits

03 “Don't just go out and do marketing. Begin with the end in mind. Define your goals and work backwards.” —Wendy Keneipp, Q4intelligence

04 “Use SnapChat and Instagram Stories for cutting edge social media marketing—perfect for recruiting and employee enrollment meetings, particularly with a younger demographic.” —Eric Silverman, The Silverman Group

05 “Original content is great, but takes time to develop, so finding articles targeted to your audience from sources is a great place to start. Express why you think the content has value. When one of your contacts posts something relevant, don't just 'like' it, comment.” —Marty Traynor, Mutual of Omaha

06 “You have to think like your target customer, and determine what networks they are more than likely to be active on. Then you need to become active and put out a serious effort.” —Fabrizio Moreira, VIP Music Records

 

07 “So many businesses and salespeople have confused 'social selling' with 'social marketing.' Social platforms certainly play an essential role for research and creating a strong personal brand…Use social media and LinkedIn to support your sales strategy but don't use it to hide like a coward from the phone.” —Tony J. Hughes, sales improvement consultant

08 “Many brands think it's too risky to bring humor into their messaging. A far worse transgression is long, stale content. Bring a little fun into your first conversation, make someone smile, and you'll be more likely to get a second conversation.” —Drew Mebane, Root Manifest, LLC

09 “Merely providing content to the masses and hoping for more followers isn't enough if you want to grow a thriving, interactive audience. You need to engage with them on a regular basis, through questions, conversations, and content shares.” —Jayson DeMers, AudienceBloom

10 “The best way to market is for people to feel you understand them, not try get them to understand your product and its value.” —Mark Lack, Shorten the Gap

Consultative approach

01 “Consulting and expertise on HSAs is an intersection between health care and the investment side. Continuing growth of HSAs is requiring benefits firms to see how they can serve that marketplace and what they need to do differently to satisfy the regulatory environment.” —Dave Evans, Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America

02 “Separate yourself from the pack by not only knowing the ins and outs of the [the ACA] and their implications, but by being able to translate them so businesses truly understand what it means for them.” —Marcie O'Dwyer, SyncStream

03 “A lot of brokers think they're in the products business, but they're actually in the advice and consulting business. Brokers need to understand that their fundamental value proposition is the advice they give.” —Kevin S. Trokey, Q4intelligence

04 “Good sales people offer answers to a problem. Great sales people offer consultative insight that makes sense for the prospect and company.” —Jon Reid, HMC HealthWorks

05 “Implementing a proactive approach to enhanced benefits can be perceived as rounding out the complete consultative picture…bring enhanced employee-funded benefits to the forefront of your client conversations.” —Eric Silverman, Silverman Benefits Group

06 “Businesses are investing in benefits and perks that attract and retain top talent, strengthen culture and engage diverse employee populations. Brokers and advisors can add value by providing strategic consultation to help clients become best places to work.” —Ann Clark, ACI Specialty Benefits

07 “If a broker wants to survive in the industry now, you have to have tools and resources to drive real value to your clients' bottom lines. The basic brokerage work, the blocking and tackling, should just be a client's minimum level of expectation.” —Brooke Runnion, Lockton Companies

08 “Benefits consultants must access workforce data and execute a plan that drives results for employees. Without real-time hiring trends, geographical changes, performance reviews equating to salary changes, trends in turnover, etc., it will be difficult to appropriately advise on a comprehensive benefits strategy and manage the compliance around it.” —Tim Cerimele, Zenefits

09 “You need to be an expert in what you do; take time outside of work hours to make sure you're talking to people and doing research. You have to really love what you're doing to be willing to take the time to do that.” —Matthew Cate, Cobbs Allen

10 “The ones who are thriving are consultants. They're leveraging tools within the industry, along with emotional and behavioral management. They are able to vet what's out in the marketplace and provide tangible solutions.“ —Jared Smith, Interactive Health, Inc.