"The costs are getting high enough that it's increasingly impacting employers' budgets," says Watson, who is also CFO and CHRO of Child & Family Support Services (CFSS) in Arizona. "Most brokers tend to talk in terms of percentages, but these percentages are now turning into hundreds of thousands of dollars that the CEO or CFO has to find funding for. And each year that the rates go up, the C-suite has to continue to pull money from other projects or push it onto employees, which no one wants to do, especially in today's economy where it's so hard to recruit and retain employees."

Nelson points out two important reasons for this new approach: "First, it's well-known that the total spend on benefits per employee has been hitting all-time highs year over year. Depending on the benefits offered, you better believe the C-suite is involved when profitability is at stake.

"There is also growing complexity in how to find the balance between saving the organization money while also not falling behind the offerings of the competition," he adds. "A tight labor market, coupled with employee frustration on health care spend, can make for some very difficult decisions."

Broker opportunities (and a few cautions)

This emerging trend is good news for brokers who are prepared to take advantage of it. "There are certainly positives to greater C-suite involvement, perhaps the most important being the ability to speak directly with the decision-makers," Nelson says. "Making a significant plan design change, implementing a total rewards campaign and effectuating employee well-being are all things that can make a massive impact on an employer, but it can also be incredibly difficult to get proper buy-in."

The added expertise that the C-suite brings is another plus. Each member has his or her area of expertise that can lead to better decision making. "For too long, the benefit decision has been siloed in HR, with a little help coming from the CFO/CEO at negotiation time," Watson says. Of course, the stakes are also higher when dealing with a CEO or CFO who may not be as familiar with benefits design and delivery.

"One pitfall is that employers really have little understanding of how an insurance plan works," Watson says. "What are the major components and how can they influence the rates? So as brokers see more people at the decision table, they are going to have to continue to educate everyone."

A good starting point is realizing that many concepts that are taken for granted when meeting with the HR department may require an explanation and context when dealing with the C-suite. Nelson recommends what he calls content marketing.

"What this means is targeting your opportunity not only with verbal and written communication, but also making sure you are providing things like video, infographics, guides, checklists and white papers," he says. "A CEO is still a human being with a preferred method of consuming information, and each individual consumes differently."

Nelson also recommends mining current successful relationships for data and information that can be applied to other business groups. "Today, the best brokers are combining content with data to shorten the sales process or make existing clients all the more satisfied," he says. Research by Zywave indicates that the C-suite is less likely than other stakeholders to recognize the value a broker brings to the table after enrollment. So, it is incumbent on brokers to make their case when they do get valuable time in front of the C-suite.

"Whether it's a prospect presentation explicitly calling out services offered or simply a more-robust stewardship or renewal presentation," Nelson says, "making sure the employer understands the breadth of what you provide is essential to success in 2020 and beyond."

Watson makes a similar recommendation. "I see the most valuable brokers as the ones who are bringing insights to the company rather than just a brochure showing their offerings," he says."Brokers who continue to add insights for the C-suite over time will be very successful with landing new clients. However, these insights need to help the business, so the more the broker knows about the business in order to add value, the more valuable those insights will be." Keep in mind that members of the C-suite are not as interested in specific products or services as they are in solutions.

"Brokers have made great strides in the past decade or so, changing the narrative from `look at all my services' to `how can my services solve a business problem for you?'" Watson says. "When you speak directly with the C-suite, this needs to become even more pronounced. Every value-add or plan design change needs to be tied to the key performance indicators they've developed for the business and/or solve a problem they have surfaced."

Finally, stay away from industry jargon that the C-suite may not understand.

"When a delta in vocabulary exists, most brokers are equipped to overcome these issues," Nelson says. "Top brokers are skilled at communicating with HR on plan design, but also the employee population they serve. Don't be afraid to add some Benefits 101 materials to a more intensive proposal or presentation directed at the C-suite."

Perhaps the best way to gain a better understanding is by pondering two questions:

1. What does the C-suite wish brokers knew?

Steve Watson: "I think the C-suite would say that all brokers tend to sound the same. They all say that they have all the services and can help lower the costs. And since all of them sound the same, it's hard to differentiate between brokers when they call. The C-suite probably wouldn't admit it, but they also know very little about how health insurance works or what they can do to improve it. Brokers tend to assume that we know what they are talking about, but a lot of it still goes over our heads since we're not involved in the system on a daily basis."

Jamie Nelson: "Every business, and thus every member of the C-suite, has a unique perspective, but I think it goes without saying that members of the C-suite would like brokers to know the burden they shoulder when it comes to benefits. The spend on benefits can make or break a business in 2020, and that means peoples' jobs, retirements and futures are on the line. This is a lot of pressure for a small population of business professionals."

2. What do brokers wish the C-suite knew?

Watson: "I find that a lot of brokers wish the C-suite would see that there are many ways to build a better plan if they were given the chance."

Nelson: "I can tell you what they should wish the C-suite understood: the sheer time, energy and dollar investment that goes into all the services a top broker provides a client. At no time in history has the benefits broker provided more value; but at the same time, our research indicates the C-suite lags behind HR professionals' level of awareness of said services." One key thing for brokers to remember is that the most important part of human resources is human.

"I've suggested a lot of actionable items around raising awareness of services, KPIs, multichannel content marketing and presentation investment," Nelson says. "However, my single biggest piece of advice comes down to one word: empathy. This trend is pervasive throughout nearly every industry vertical, from how HR crafts company culture and policy to how the C-suite and managers interact with an employee population.

"Members of the C-suite are still individuals with job pressures, family pressures and time pressures. So remember the person across the desk or on the other end of the phone is still a human being, and start by showing empathy for their unique role. Everything else will fall into place more easily if this person-to-person building block is strong."

And as Watson adds, the best way for a broker to look good is to make the members of the C-suite look even better.

"Remember that all of the key decision-makers think of themselves as the hero of their own journey," he says. "They don't care about how long you've been in business or what awards you have won. They want to be able to succeed in their lives. So the more that you can focus on giving them valuable insights and be a helpful guide on their journey, the more likely they'll hire you to help."

Read more: 

• 2020 sales & marketing tips: Building a stronger relationship with the C-Suite and HR
• Meeting with the C-Suite: Don't mention health insurance
• Why your C-suite needs to be talking about your benefits plan