Ratherthan assuming you know the concerns of prospects and clients, usecritical thinking and research to learn as much as you can aboutthem and their organizations. (Image: Shutterstock)

Benefits advisors have long partnered with HR in an effort toprovide employees and their families with the best and mostaffordable benefits possible. Recently, there's been an increasedfocus on bringing the C-Suite into that dialogue.

Yet one of the biggest roadblocks when it comes to conversationsbetween brokers and prospects and clients is probably as old ashuman communication. As Rachel Sapoznik notes in this month'sAction Reaction (page 36), “The biggest mistakes I see arebrokers not listening to clients' needs. They focus on delivering amessage … as opposed to what is in the best interest of theclients.”

BenefitsPRO editor-in-chief Paul Wilson discusses theconversational gap between brokers and clients.

In his role as both CFO and top HR person at a 500-employeecompany, Steve Watson describes himself as the perfect “guinea pig”for advisors who want to know more about the people they talk toevery day. Just as importantly, he offers a key perspective on whatyour clients want you to know. At the recent Q4Live conference, he shared his insiderknowledge with a room full of very curious brokers.

“I get frustrated because so many brokers are missing the boaton a lot of things,” he said. “They call me and say 'benefits arethe number two item on your P&L statement.' They always leadwith those kinds of things, but sometimes, that's not the problemI'm dealing with.”

Related: Fear, relevance and the future ofbrokers

Rather than assuming you know the concerns of prospects andclients, use critical thinking and research to learn as much as youcan about them and their organizations, he continued. Lead withwhat matters to them.

Checkout the full edition of the July issue of BenefitsPRO Magazine

Watson asked, “How many of you have car insurance with Geico?”Only a few raised their hands. “But 15 minutes could save you 15percent, right? So why don't you call them?” Attendees citedskepticism about the claim, or prior relationships with insurerswho treat them well. “I want you to think about that lizard everytime you lead with how much you can save a company,” he said.“Because I think about the same thing. Yes, it's a lot of money,but there are other factors.” He said although he now lovesvalue-based design, the first time he heard about it, he thought,“This looks hard. I don't understand it. If I mess up and itdoesn't work, will I lose my job?”

The C-Suite and HR have very different concerns and motivations,but in order to move ahead, you need buy-in from both sides, headded.

“We all have to come together. Health care is a huge nationalproblem and we need everyone on board to fix it.”

Judging by the openness and lively conversation that took placein Nashville that day, it seems there are a growing number ofpeople who are striving to do exactly that.

Read more:

• Meeting with the C-Suite: Don't mention healthinsurance
• Why your C-suite needs to be talking about yourbenefits plan
• 4 critical questions to ask every health plansponsor