Jake Smith of Judy Diamond Associates asked Kareim Cade, Elsa Glorioso and Amy Evans to share their strategies for prospecting and making the sale.
If there's one topic that's sure to draw a crowd at the BenefitsPRO Broker Expo, it's prospecting. It's a pain point that tops the list for nearly every benefits broker, and there's a reason for that: It's not an easy thing to do. Prospecting, much like dating, is about finding and connecting to people with whom you are compatible, striking up a relationship and then nurturing it.
"Relationship building to me is everything," Amy Evans of Colibri Insurance Services told attendees. "When we talk about prospects, new opportunities, many think of that as a company that they want to do business with, but it's people. I get excited by a person I connect with, in a business sense, a person I want to date."
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At this year's Expo in San Diego, Evans was joined by PeopleStrategy's Elsa Glorioso and Great Lakes Benefit Group Kareim Cade to share their insights into how they approach prospecting and what works for them. The three all serve different segments of the industry and approach the task differently, the result of recognizing that the business relationship requires the right fit on both sides. Or, as Glorioso put it, "If this were a dating app, would I swipe left?"
Making the connection
The three panelists all work with different client bases in different parts of the country, which affects how they approach seeking out new prospects.
"We do a lot of union work," Cade said "It's a tough business to get in, but very sticky once you're there–very tight." For his non-union clientele, Cade harkened back to old-school methods. "One thing we still do is if I see you in an article, I will cut that article out, handwrite a letter, congratulate you on what you're doing, and then next time I see you, I'm going to stand out from the other 2000 people who congratulated you on LinkedIn."
That personal approach is essential to standing out, Glorioso agreed. "You can send a bazillion emails and pull a thousand lists, but these days, no one is going to answer the phone," she said. "I want the person to know that I'm thinking about them. During COVID, how many of your groups have lost people? How impactful has that been to the HR director who has to deal with that? We're not thinking about that mental health piece. Just someone taking the time to have a human-to-human connection."
Evans' approach also involves investing in relationships, but not necessarily with prospects directly. Through her Mastermind group, she has cultivated a network of like-minded individuals with a similar client base. The ongoing relationship means that the members can share potential opportunities and refer each other to a client in need. "I also very affectionately recommend the concept of reciprocity," Evans added. "I'm a radiant fan of the women in my group and they, in turn, are fans of me. That has become my marketing strategy."
Getting them to fall for you
Top advisors know that getting a prospect to agree to a 30-minute meeting is just half the battle. Then the real work begins. "Amateurs show up unprepared," Cade said. "Folks who take the time to do the research shouldn't come in asking basic questions. We take the time to find out as much information about the process as possible. We're not wasting that time when we get that 30 minutes."
Glorioso gets right to the chase. "I really like to go in and ask for the BOR," she said. "You go through all of these different steps, but you never once ask for business. Have you asked them for the BOR, explained to them the next steps?" She likened it to getting under the hood of a car and being able to really dig deep to find out what's causing things to malfunction.
"I'm very direct, honest," she added. "I'm going to tell you that signing over the BOR is opening the door to me to see what's wrong inside."
Evans' approach to networking gives her something of a leg up, because she's being connected with people she knows are looking for a new solution, not trying to convince prospects to consider one. "I'm not often trying to convince someone who doesn't want to work with me that they should," she said. "I'm not trying to unseat an existing broker. They've probably already expressed dissatisfaction and the door is already open."
Okay, you're good at getting people's attention. How do they get yours?
The session ended with a question from the audience that turned the tables on the panelists and asked how solutions vendors could break through all the noise and sales pitches.
For Glorioso, it's as simple as an old-school phone call. "Our cell phone numbers are everywhere," she said. "If you took the time to call me and leave me a message, it's the personal, building-a-relationship piece."
Evans stressed the importance of following up. "I need to know who the right person to go to when my client has a problem that I need to help them solve," she said. "Maybe I make a connection with someone I might want to partner with in the future, but they have zero follow-up game. The relationship never gets built."
And speaking of the long-term, Cade wants to know that the vendor is committed to the product they're selling. "I meet so many people and they give me their card and six weeks later, they're at a different company," he said. "I'm looking at tenure. How long have you been in this space? Is this something you're committed to? Give me some proof, show me you're committed."
Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
