Compliance, HR resources andcommunication platforms have all taken turns as thebright-and-shiny of the day. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Benefits advisors are prone to chasing bright-and-shinies in away that makes most heads spin. The most recent trend to captureour attention is the re-emergence of value-based insurance design (VBID).

Not long ago, the industry's attention was focused almostcompletely on technology/ben admin. Compliance, HR resources andcommunication platforms have all taken turns asthe bright-and-shiny of the day. The spotlight blinds advisors toall of the other solutions that came before and are collecting dustin the toolbox.

Take advantage of the door opener

Recently, advisors are finding it easier to get the attention of the C-Suite. One of the mostobvious reasons is the potential for significant savings from VBIDideas.

Related: 7 cost-containment strategies for today's brokerworld

Kevin Trokey is founding partnerand
coach at St. Louis-based Q4intelligence.

Of course, you would be foolish to not take advantage of aconversation that can get you an audience with a prospect. However,it's critical to expand the conversation once in the door. Show upcurious, take the time to learn what it is about their currentsituation that is holding them back, and make it clear you have anynumber of strategies to help them.

VBID is producing another interesting phenomenon. As large asits bandwagon has become, there are advisors who push back againstit with equal passion. Too many advisors look at the more extremeversions of VBID and don't see it as applicable for theirmarket.

If they would reframe the idea as simply taking a creativeapproach to plan design, most would find a comfortable place on thespectrum. They would see that options like HRAs, level-funding andself-funding apply to much of the market.

We teach that advisors need to establish a standard as early inthe sales conversation as possible. There are two components tothat standard:

1. It must become very clear to both the advisor and theprospect that there is an opportunity for significant improvementto the prospect's overall HR/benefit program.

2. It must be clear to both the advisor and the prospect thatthey could effectively work together and that the advisor hasaccess to the right solutions and has the ability to implementthose solutions.

Forgotten bright-and-shinies

I am certain that most of you have made significant investmentsin other solutions—compliance, HR resources, technology,communication, etc. But do you think your clients need thosesolutions any less now?

Yet, because they are so excited about the potential of VBID,advisors are passionately introducing VBID to prospects but leavingother solutions to collect dust.

With the increased complexity of VBID plans, employers facegreater compliance burdens than ever before. Because of thatincreased complexity, having the right ben admin system to createconsistent operational efficiencies is absolutely necessary.

Addition by addition

You need to be having VBID conversations with your prospects.But to be the complete advisor your clients need, you can't be aone-trick VBID pony. No single solution should ever become theentirety of your conversation. They should be embraced only whenthey add to the conversation and allow it to evolve.

If you hunt with a silver bullet, you're destined to shootyourself in the foot.

More solutions to add to yourarsenal:

• 3 ways brokers can embrace technology to betterserve clients
• How brokers can help employers in the face of highemployment rates
• Broker Showdown: 3 case studies in health care costcontrol