Senior Agent Podcast: Recent Episodes
Christopher Westfall
This podcast was created for the independent insurance agent who services the senior market with life, health, and investment products.
Brought to you by MedicareAgentTraining.com, the source for Medicare training for insurance agents.
Christopher Westfall obtained his license in 1991 after watching his grandmother battle a Medicare Advantage company over hospital payments. This led to Christopher entering the field part-time to help seniors, while he was a full-time law enforcement officer.
Yesterday, we had two clients that called us and said the same thing. The agent that they had ALREADY SIGNED UP WITH, had not really listened to them and they wanted a second opinion.
The other agent had not asked them any questions about their situation.The other agent tried to sell based on fear, alone.
Documenting our success journey in Medicare insurance sales since 2013.. from a one-man show to an agency sell worth.. .a lot.
medicareagenttraining
Started from the bottom, now we're here.
Documenting our success since 2013.
MedicareAgentTraining.com
I learned, early on, that success leaves clues.
One of the most important things I did, in building my agency, was to focus on enhancing the client experience before all else. That sole focus took us to successes that I thought were never, ever possible.
When starting a business, what kind of income goal do you set?
If you are setting a goal of just paying your bills or just replacing your old, full-time income, beware. It takes a MUCH larger VISION than that!
Know why they tell you to put your own mask on, first, on an airplane before helping someone else put theirs on? If you have no capacity to help - if you're empty - YOU CAN'T HELP OTHERS.
Success IS a choice.
I see young, new agents all the time talking about what is the fastest way to making a million dollars per year in the insurance industry.If money is your single, solitary reason for existence, I believe you will fail.It is not a big enough motivator to go through what you have to go through in order to succeed.It's just not.However, when the focus changes to how many people you can help, the money takes care of itself.You literally lose track of how much money you're making.When the bills are paid and you find yourself giving to people, constantly, you figure out that yes, there really is more to life than just accumulating things.The strange thing is, though, once you're at this stage, it begins to grow even faster.So, from the beginning - the best advice I can give anyone just starting in business - focus on what you can do for other people.Get seriously passionate about treating your business like an obsession instead of like a JOB.Act like your life depends on it.Behave as though FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION merely from the energy you are devoting to helping more people.Then, just like magic, you'll have all the money you need first.Then you'll have all the money you could possibly want... IF you started for the right reasons.https://MedicareAgentTraining.com is where I've documented my journey since 2008.
Documenting our journey for the last 8 years.. from hundreds to over 10,000 clients and thousands of agents. Come see what we've been up to.
In today's video, I covered the FIVE things we must cover in each sales call and remind them of, at the end. We have checklists to download on the "Tools You Need" page on https://medicareagenttraining.com
Many failing insurance agents spend 90% of their time and energy searching for the wrong thing. They are searching for the magic formula where someone else will their pipeline with prospects who will be ready to sign an application.
Instead, massive success in this or any industry comes from modeling those who have actually done it. Becoming an expert in your craft, the craft of marketing yourself, returns the largest payoff for your time and energy.
Regardless of where your contracts are, you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams IF YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE.
No one will do it for you.You must make the decision to make it happen, yourself.
Success leaves clues.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Many insurance agents have their license, they have dabbled in selling, but have never actually committed to going ALL IN.
For some - maybe you reading this- this is YOUR time.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
The importance of getting ready for the day, internally, before the onslaught begins. Raising the tolerance level each day where it takes a higher and higher threshold to knock you off of your agenda and control of your time, attention, and resources.
We can either be blown around or rock steady.
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Guard your time like it is the MOST important thing you have.
There are a LOT of distractions, tangents, and good-natured but time-wasting people that will steal your future from you - one minute at a time.
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
How we get raving fans and tons of referrals by providing value first.
We help seniors with Medicare insurance, from coast to coast.
Come see what we do here: http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
As Stephen Covey famously said (in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), "Begin with the End in Mind."
What does this mean? Many things. In this context, if working in the Medicare niche, specifically, you should work to create a marketing model that can later be grown to scale. Once you find your marketing groove - something that works for you consistently - you can grow that marketing medium to double, triple, etc from what you did during your market testing.
Agents who do not have a marketing plan, or agents who are not having to answer the phones from their on-going marketing at all, often are swayed into spending the entire Annual Election Period (October 15 - December 7th) each year sitting in someone else's business.
Like car salespeople, these Medicare agents have zero control over the marketing that will bring people by their table. They cannot overtly contact seniors walking by, even. Worse, they are limited to the brand(s) that they are there under contract with.
While it might yield some applications, I would argue that far better results can be obtained by having a marketing plan whereby people are responding TO YOU. You can remain independent. You can control the number of leads calling in. You can write what is truly in the best interest of these folks, rather than being bent toward only those carriers who you are contracted with for the purposes of manning their booth.
Many newer agents are told, "This is the way it's done." by their upline.
They are given a place to squat during this VALUABLE time, and told "Good luck."
This is acting, for the FMO, as if you are a free employee. They do not pay you hourly, they just enjoy the very-generous overrides from the Advantage plans written. If it works, great. If it yields no applications, no worries.
Yes, there is a much better way.
I encourage you to be an independent agent - able to offer BOTH Medicare Supplements, Part D plans, and Medicare Advantage plans... Fully balanced in your approach and the offering to the senior based solely upon what their unique needs are. Being fully in control of your marketing means that you can create your perfect "avatar."
That means you get to pick the income levels, interest levels, geography, etc. of the people you choose to target with your marketing. Yes, it is a good idea to actually INVEST in your business, if you choose to treat it like a business.
There are so many seniors during AEP that are desperate for individual attention that it is NOT difficult to get them to respond IF they are given the opportunity.
Come visit: http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Having documented my success since 2013, I continue to see agents struggle and, often, barely get by in our industry. There is no reason for that.
Frustration and anger come from: Unmet Expectations.
If you are expecting that, simply because someone responded to a lead card, answered questions on a phone call, or engaged in a polite conversation with you, that it's enough to move in for the sale - you will continue to experience frustration.
"Commission Breath" has crushed more agent dream than any recession ever has. No one wants to talk to an agent who is there to SELL THEM.
No one likes to be sold. Everyone, at one point or another, needs help. They would prefer that help to be free and without strings attached.
Follow us on Facebook, too, for more helpful posts about selling Medicare insurance products, including carrier and industry updates that you can use in your business.
https://www.facebook.com/MedicareAgentTraining/
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
How you do anything is how you do everything. If you have a consistent routine, every single day, where you are talking to seniors who could potentially help, you're in the game. If you are doing ANYTHING other than talking with seniors consistently, you are fooling yourself into thinking you're in the business.
Coming at any marketing business with an attitude of being hungry for results, in that it creates within you the drive to do what is necessary, means inevitable success. Whether it is selling Medicare insurance by phone, selling final expense insurance face-to-face, or selling anything to anyone - how you show up, or don't show up, every day is what separates the superstars from those that barely get by or wash out of the industry.
How you do anything is how you do everything. We need to increase the level of accountability and integrity in the insurance industry.
Medicare insurance underwriting and life insurance underwriting both require agents to ask health questions.
Neglecting to actually ASK the questions on the application, and winging it, hoping the client gets approved is NOT a good business plan.
One day, I hope that my grandchildren get to see this. I want them to be happy, productive people. One the best keys to being so successful is by making purposely, thought-out choices, as opposed to going wherever the wind blows and living in the misery that this brings.
Many new members of MedicareAgentTraining.com are coming from their independent discovery that there is a whole new world of Medicare out there that their agencies never told them about = Medicare Supplement. Many of these agencies are running ads on Indeed and elsewhere, advertising for "jobs" that are commission-only and have various methods of contacting seniors for the SOLE purpose of selling Medicare Advantage plans.
Why is that?
The override for a new-to-Medicare Advantage client is HUGE, let me tell you (over $600 at FMO level). Making over $150 to up to $300 per sale (the difference between what the agent will make) is a HUGE incentive to push Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare Supplement. These new agents are discovering that they have been misled, or at least, left out of the education about the alternative to keeping Original Medicare and using a Supplement plan to fill in the gaps.
See the Medicare Rights Center letter about the 2019 Medicare & You Guidebook draft here: https://www.medicarerights.org/guest-...
VIDEO: OIG Investigation on Medicare Advantage: https://youtu.be/9qpw27arcpI
See the OIG study on Medicare Advantage here: https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-0...
See the letter to CMS from 100 members of Congress: https://www.aans.org/-/media/Files/AA...
Medicare insurance agents are, or should be at least, a trusted resource and not merely a communicator and enrollment facilitator of the cheapest plan in the market.
Anyone can get a list from a quote engine.
What the trusted agent should be doing is the researching, ahead of time, of each and every carrier in the market and determine why or why not they will be recommending the carrier.
Being selective, having an affirmative recommendation AND warnings of what to NOT enroll in:
These are the facets of a valuable agent.
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
It is never fun having to fire someone, yet that's what we had to do again.
Each and every time, I try to analyze what we could have done better...
How to fire folks more effectively - Hire slow, Fire Fast.
One new idea can change your whole entire world.
One little nugget of information - how others have found to do things - can change everything.
Most agents spend all of their time looking for the next shiny object to sell instead of the best ways to market, present, and sell what they already have access to.
We are in the best growing market, with the best method of delivery (phone), in the best country in the world. There is absolutely zero chance of failure if someone is dedicated enough to learning what they do not yet know.
The internet is abuzz with promotion after promotion toward agents.
Everyone calls themselves an expert these days with the goal of recruiting more agents to follow them like the pied piper.
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S?o?m?e? ?q?u?e?s?t?i?o?n?s? ?t?o? ?a?s?k? ?y?o?u?r? ?n?e?w? ?f?a?v?o?r?i?t?e? ?i?n?s?u?r?a?n?c?e? ?w?i?z?a?r?d? ?o?n?l?i?n?e?:?
? How did YOU exactly start in the insurance business?
? What experience do you have in growing an agency?
? Is it possible to duplicate your agency's success today?
? What are your core values in dealing with customers as it relates to profits?
In 1999, four hurricanes hit my State of Florida, one after another.
As I had been relying in face-to-face interactions with my insurance prospects, I was stuck.
Roads were impassable and some if the local folks had no power. They were HARDLY receptive to someone showing up to talk about insurance.
The same thing has happened with the Corona Virus.
Seniors are hesitant to see anyone at their door, especially a stranger. They are sitting at home, all across the country, and wishing they had someone to interact with.
Those of us who have discovered that the telephone is the most effective tool to communicate and execute insurance policies are right at home. Business is booming, in fact.
Those who are resisting change and not learning to adapt are stuck, looming out the window and wondering how many more weeks or months lockdown will go on.
Will this be the last lockdown?
Will this be the last natural disaster that gets in the way of face-to-face interaction?
More importantly, is now the time to adapt.
Chris Westfall
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
25 years in insurance
12 years over the phone
Are You a SECRET Agent?
Can your prospects validate you by their search online?
What does your Facebook profile say that you do for a living?
How about LinkedIN?
These are two of the highest domain-authority search results for people.
Your results MUST be consistent or you WILL lose potential relationships because you have not gone all-in on your profession.
What is holding you back?
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Nothing to sell here. Absolutely no hype.
I will tell you why 90% of insurance agents fail when they are pursuing a new opportunity.
Why?
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If your reason WHY you are getting up every morning is not strong enough, you will be knocked out far too early. Only those with a desperate reason as to WHY they are going to get up and get out on phones will ever see any level of success, regardless of what you are selling or who you are helping.
If your reason WHY is to help a particular person (demographic) with a systemic problem that they have, and you show a level of interest in their situation that is real and not scripted, you cannot HELP but succeed.
Too may new insurance agents think that they are starting just another job.
They have nothing to hold themselves accountable and no one to report to.
This is very dangerous.
If the agent does not have the internal discipline to show up every day, to make the uncomfortable calls, to study marketing to become proficient, they will FAIL, every time. This discipline can come from developing a passion to help the next person in their situation.
"Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear." - George Addair
Matthew 12:34 quoted Jesus as saying, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks". Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
Luke 6:45 says, "The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks."
See also:
https://youtu.be/yvWb4JChOjc
Some insurance marketing organizations that are completely new to phone sales, thrust into its interest finally due to the Corona Virus, are suggesting that agents use online tools like ZOOM, Gotowebinar, and WebEx for video conferencing with clients.
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Why?
Because they do not know what the criteria should be in a tool that you use for financial transactions online. For teaching an elementary school class? Maybe. For financial transactions that can involve personal information?
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Not recommended: Zoom, GotoWebinar, Webex.
See what we recommend, here: https://medicareagenttraining.com/training_modules/selling-100-by-phone/
https://SeniorAgentPodcast.com
This is Episode 100, where we discuss selecting the right criteria for your buyer, selling from home vs. selling by phone - what is the difference and what is similar. The importance of habits and daily routine and what separates always-needy agents vs. those that continue to grow their business (it starts between the ears).
We sell Medicare insurance by phone throughout the country. My office has done so for the past 12 years. We share what we do on https://MedicareAgentTraining.com and help other agents generate their own leads at https://TrainedTelemarkers.com and through other means.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
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I shot this immediately upon arriving home from a mastermind training from the top insurance agents in the country that sell exclusively by telephone. Here are some great tips!
Christopher Westfall has an insurance agency focused on helping seniors with Medicare insurance. Having been licensed for over 25 years, he has been helping seniors through his agency, from coast to coast, entirely by telephone for over 12 years. In this podcasts, Chris and Eugene Marchenko discuss the daily operation of his phone-based agency and provide tips to other agents making the transition into telesales from face-to-face sales of insurance.
Here is how to fail in the Medicare insurance space, and also, how to succeed. Attributes of winners vs. losers in this niche of insurance sales are covered in this episode. Video version: https://youtu.be/JW3PKPdWybg
What is there was ONE most important, most critical factor in your presentation by phone that would make or break your ability to succeed?
{The Full, UnRedacted Video is on http://MedicareAgentTraining.com }
Whether you are effective at breaking through the glass-eyed wall of skepticism is the difference between whether your will make it or not make it in this business.
We help seniors on the phone with Medicare, from coast to coast. We do that by making sure that we are ready to provide valuable help to them FIRST and foremost. We are not calling to save them $2 a month. We are offering our service as their advocate for their Medicare journey.
Before any conversation, though, you had better justify your position of being on the phone with them, quickly.
Insurance Producer – A person required to be licensed under the laws of this state to sell, solicit or negotiate insurance.
Appointment – An agreement between an insurer and a licensee authorizing the licensee to represent the insurer in the sale of its insurance products.
AEP is here.. We have to be aware of the potential physical and emotional drain and give ourselves permission to take a break, as needed!
MACRA is officially here. Covered in great detail on https://MedicareAgentTraining.com , MACRA prohibits those newly eligible for Medicare to purchase a supplement plan that covers the Part B deductible.
As such, Medicare Supplement Plan C and Medicare Supplement Plan F can no longer be purchased by those newly eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2020. However, those who were older than 65 prior to January 1, 2020 can still continue to purchase Plan C or Plan F, if they so choose.
Communicating with our clients is paramount during AEP. They will be slammed with options from every different direction.
From the agent podcast with notes on what we have seen over time with working leads, etc. Our main site is: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
See our sales meetings (what we're up to, carrier updates, etc.) here: https://medicareagenttraining.com/mee...
We have our calls (edited for personal information) documented here: https://medicareagenttraining.com/tel...
Agent Updates: https://medicareagenttraining.com/upd... https://MedicareAgentTraining.com We help agents to be more effective when they sell Medicare insurance by phone.
Site is owned by Christopher Westfall. The opinions expressed on this channel and the secure, members-only website are exclusively those of the individuals expressing them.
Received a support ticket today from a very successful agent who is concerned whether or not he will be as frustrated THIS YEAR as he was LAST YEAR when he spent more time conserving and taking care of existing business instead of being available to take on NEW business during AEP.
This is a constant struggle that has a simple solution.
Hire Help.
No, it is not comfortable. When should you hire? When your lead mechanism and client onboarding process WORKS and you'd like to continue to grow. You cannot do it all on your own.
1) You get what you pay for.
2) Nothing is free, they will usually take it from you in a much more substantial way.
3) When the focus is quantity over quality, you will spin your wheels instead of making sales.
4) When an agent takes ownership of their lead generation, they are beholden to NO ONE.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
The views expressed in this video are solely those of Christopher Westfall, Sr. who has spent a substantial amount of time with the top producers in the Medicare and life insurance industry. Chris does not sell leads. Chris teaches agents how to generate leads, themselves.
1) You get what you pay for.
2) Nothing is free, they will usually take it from you in a much more substantial way.
3) When the focus is quantity over quality, you will spin your wheels instead of making sales.
4) When an agent takes ownership of their lead generation, they are beholden to NO ONE.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
The views expressed in this video are solely those of Christopher Westfall, Sr. who has spent a substantial amount of time with the top producers in the Medicare and life insurance industry. Chris does not sell leads. Chris teaches agents how to generate leads, themselves.
Chris owns an agency with more than 10,000 clients, serving 46 states from a home base of Charleston, South Carolina. He also has 3,200 independent agent contracts, helping independent agents build their own agencies remotely. For information, visit: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
While Medicare is creating a new direct-to-consumer tool, and Medicare insurance companies would like to cut out the insurance agent from the conversation, there will ALWAYS be a place for an insurance professional who is not just a transactional agent but someone who continues to bring value to the marketplace. Building an online presence that evokes instant credibility and value is a necessity today.
Here we grow again.. Biggest thing I've learned about generating success is to live right on the edge of your comfort zone. if things are too easy and things are going along too smoothly, it's time to re-invest in the business and put some money where your mouth is.
See our briefing on How to Get Found Online here: https://medicareagenttraining.com/get...
There are agencies 100 times the size of mine, and I am very happy for their growth. Rather than borrow money or take on partners or investors, I've chosen to grow organically with zero debt, profitable from day one. That has reduced the stress level by 90% and, as we continue to grow incrementally, there are some key things I look back on as to why we've been successful up to this point.
Keith Armbrecht has been very successful in the Medicare space. He has set up his business the right way, takes care of his clients, and provides education before asking for anything in return. It has been great working with Keith over the years! For information on Medicare Agent Trainining, visit this link: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Many agents feel better doing "busy" work and some even spend most of their days doing this busy work. In reality, the only way to grow is to have continuous exposure to LIVE human beings who have a very high likelihood of becoming clients. This is not busywork, this is maximizing the golden hours of the day. Jim Rohn famously said that too many people MAJOR in MINOR things. The ONLY thing that matters is being in the presence OF the client. Getting ready, going through leads, working on ad campaigns, building websites, writing articles - they are all MINOR things.
"A goal without a date is nothing more than a dream."
I have found the greatest successes in my business life have come from first, prioritizing the goals we have to accomplish, and then set a specific date for their completion.
Come see our behind-the-scenes videos at https://MedicareAgentTraining.com/upd...
So, I got a call last night from Eugene, who was working 12 hours at the office yesterday on our systems and processes that we have a bit of a problem that we have to address.
It's an interesting one, because it's one of the problems that you want to have in a business. We're there now, where we have too many leads and our process has chugged along because we have not automated every detail of the lead nurturing process.
We have really good processes in place, but we have processes in place to handle 10 leads a day, or 20 leads a day that are brand now. Now that we're getting more than that, the marketing thing has been refined so that we're getting a lot more. We have two new agents that just got licensed this week in our office. We're getting to the point where we have to fix our systems to be 100% automated lead distribution, down pat and all that. It's a great problem to have.
As we are learning more, the thing that's exciting to me is to get emails from agents that are like, hey, I implemented that tip that you gave and now we're doing more leads, we're doing more conversions, we're doing more attachments of ancillary third party products, like the dental, vision, hearing and that kind of thing.
I'm excited to share with you more of our process going forward. To that extent, we just posted the video from the Charleston live event that we had, the last one, May 31st and June 1st, where Eugene went into depth on the cross selling process. As we've been working more closely on an individual basis with our internal agents on the cross selling and what they should be doing on every case, we've seen that go up to a 25% attachment rate. One of the agents actually at 43%, which is incredible.
Everything that he has in that video, everything that you picked up on when you were at the Charleston meeting, it works, it really does work. Sometimes you have to put in practice what you preach, and sometimes that's like herding cats when you have everybody that's at a different level of experience, and different level of expertise in their own sales journey, as they get better and better, and more proficient at what they're doing.
That's our goal now, is to get everybody doing the same thing, and get consistency across the agency. I'm just letting you know that what we're putting on the page is the best practice. When we go back to the drawing board, and we go back to the system that we know is the best practice, we're seeing the numbers that we want to see. That's what's exciting to me.
When other people are replying back, and I'm really encouraging you, if you have implemented something that you have learned at one of our live events, or you picked up on the website recently with the addition of our sales calls that we're posting under the sales calls page on MedicareAgentTraining.com, please reply back. Send in your feedback, let us know how you're doing with that stuff. The encouragement road goes back and forth. I want to encourage you, and at the same time if things that you're finding value in, or you want more of, please do reach out and let us know. We want to share with you your successes, too, and find out what your struggles are, and where your difficulties are.
We have a full time videographer that's on staff now, working on both the client and the agent side. If there's more behind the scenes stuff that you would like us to focus on, that you might be struggling in, it's probably not just you, it's probably someone else, too. Please send your feedback and let us know what you would like to see more of, what you might be struggling in in your business where you are so we can focus more on that.
As we continue to develop more systems to take care of more leads, nurture more leads, and respond to them in a way that people don't get lost, and that we maximize every ad spend dollar that we're doing on digital marketing now, I'm just encouraged to share that stuff with you as we go along.
I hope you have a great day. What is today? July 3rd, before the big 4th of July weekend. We're taking our office staff out bowling tonight to celebrate. There's a place here called Stars and Strikes, it's so much fun. Huge, brand new bowling alley and arcade, and all that kind of stuff. We're taking everybody out to celebrate the new licensure of our two newest people who just passed with flying colors. It's going to be a great day. I hope you're having a great day where you are.
Take care. Christopher Westfall
Far too many agents are starting each and every day being blown left and blown right by what someone else, society, the government has done TO them.
They feel like they have no control of their lives so they stay in a constant state of frustration, envy, anger, lack.
This is a choice. It is a daily choice to make whether or not you are negatively influenced by the world or you are secure enough that you go out INTO the world and influence it.
Constantly staying in a state of negativity will destroy relationships, your health, and your business.
These are small clips of an agent consultation on June 11, 2019. As these are questions I get quite frequently, I wanted to pull them out and post them here, publicly. The opinions in this video are my own and just opinions based on experience. The statements made are not intended for any audience other than those in the consultation and may or may not apply to you.
My agency exists to help seniors through their challenges of finding their best Medicare insurance plan and to help like-minded agents to do the same when there is a fit of working together.
See what we're doing at https://MedicareAgentTraining.com for agents and https://SeniorSavingsNetwork.org for seniors
The reasons an insurance agent should begin to embrace technology are growing by the year.
if you are still using paper to track leads, ticker files for callbacks, and paper applications for carriers, you are falling further behind.
Behind the scenes at our recent Monday morning sales team meeting. This video has been redacted for proprietary content. The whole video is available to members on our website.
We sell Medicare and other insurance products to seniors in 46 states by phone. Many call into our office based on our online marketing.
We use Facebook, LinkedIn, Youtube, Google Pay-Per-Click ads, and organic social media marketing. Our organization helps 3,400 members of https://MedicareAgentTraining.com with updates in the industry, online tools, and LIVE events held annually.
I have two critical factors in whether or not a new agent will succeed in this, or any other niche within insurance.
1] Will they take action? Will they do the FIRST step to actually talking to a prospect on the phone? If not, they are proving themselves to be great at getting ready to get ready to help people, but lack the courage to actually have a conversation with someone that they could, potentially help.
and
2] The agent quits before seeing success. In the Medicare niche, it is important to realize that:
A) You start slow in any new endeavor; B) It gets easier as YOU get better; and C) Your new clients will start referring other folks.
Quitting, when you are just starting to have success, is ALWAYS premature. You have to realize that the ease of the business comes over time. The difficulty, when starting, is expected, and is part of the process.
We are here to help - a community of like-minded insurance professionals seeking to make a living while helping the greatest generation with their Medicare insurance needs. Join us: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
In Omaha, Nebraska meeting with top agents, marketers, and carriers like Aetna, Cigna, Mutual of Omaha, Foresters, Athene, Nationwide, Ameritas, and more.
We are here to help - a community of like-minded insurance professionals seeking to make a living while helping the greatest generation with their Medicare insurance needs. Join us: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
What will happen to agents if "Medicare For All" is passed into law? This video covers that topic and reminds us that agents need to be students of marketing, in every form that works, so that they can pivot, if and when necessary, regardless of which product line they develop an expertise in.
We are here to help - a community of like-minded insurance professionals seeking to make a living while helping the greatest generation with their Medicare insurance needs. Join us: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Chris Westfall here.. this morning I was looking at a post on Facebook, from a friend - Nick Ayres.
Nick pointed out that he has met several, unique individual agents in this industry that all have very different approaches to lead generation. Nick pointed out that it is interesting that other agents are often frustrated when they try the same basic marketing methods used by these huge producers, yet see nothing like the same results. What is the difference?
Here is the original text from Nick's post:
"There is a problem we face as insurance business owners.
This problem is debilitating, crippling, and lethal in some cases.
The problem is easily described as being able to have "sight" but no "vision"
Allow me to explain...
BUT first, make sure to join Adam and I live tonight for the 13th episode of COLLABCAST. We'll sit down with Travis Gensler and talk automation, technology, SEO, etc. We'll answer your questions LIVE on air...
It all starts at 6pm PST live online at www.iaoa.com/media
Here is an observation that I see unknowingly happening in our world.
We seem to spend more time looking at every rabbit trail, trying to hack our way through a jungle in order to find success.
We see guys like Brandon Smith and say "I need to be a Dave Ramsey ELP!"
Then get frustrated when we can't replicate his success
We see guys like Troy Thompson and say "I'll get back to door knocking!"
Then wonder why we aren't executing at the same level
We wonder if we should do paid ads like some others, then complain about lead quality and close rates.
We observe guys like Cory Schnabel who writes over $1.5mill in personal lines with no paid ads and think "That's the ticket, let's do that!"
Only to bang our head against the wall
We see guys like Travis, and Gary Paulson and make strong strides to go all in on automation...then get lost in the gadgets and sequences and give up
We chase the winds hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, only to end up frustrated, confused, jaded and cynical at best with the results.
Why do the others see success but not me?
It's complicated...but it's also simple!
These and others had a real vision for their strategies. They honed a craft, worked through their own mistakes, and stayed the course.
I'm sure if they were honest, they'd all tell you "we still miss the mark more than we hit it...but we learn and keep going"
Should you do the same things they do?...Sure
Should you attempt to do them all at once?...Probably not.
My encouragement to you, is find the style and mechanisms that work best for you and execute on them 100%
If you like direct mail and have success with it, don't let me or any guru tell you it's dumb and you're wasting your money
If you hate paying for ads, then embrace organic reach and be a content making machine!
If you're impatient and hate organic results, then put the whole can of gas on the machine and go full throttle with ads
Find you!...Do you 100% and only relent when you need to make left and right turns. Other than that, pedal to the metal
Should you add new stuff from time to time?...Sure. But do it when you have the last thing somewhat handled
There is no "right way" or "wrong way" in this game...only preferences
Find yours, seek out real vision, and stay the course.
When you try to replicate someone else and what they are doing, it will never be as good. You can copy methods, but you cannot copy results.
Instead of spinning around aimlessly, you can put your full attention onto what will work for you, your community, your clients, and your family
Vision Sight" - Nick Ayres
How much do you put up with, in a new potential client phone call? If they are nasty, super skeptical and not receptive to help at all, why waste your time?
Driving to work this morning and I'm reminded of the scripture that says that it rains on both the righteous and the unrighteous.
This tells me that each of us has the same struggles, especially in business, and what it is that you CHOOSE to do in those struggles is the decision that makes or breaks your business.
You are NOT the first person to have those problems
You are NOT alone
Your breakthrough is just on the other side of fear, desperation, and failure.
THIS is the struggle that separates those who succeed from those who quit just prior to their success.
Be encouraged! We all go through rain and sunshine. In the middle of the rain storm is where many forget that tomorrow will bring the sun. The horrible weather is there for all of us to be able to appreciate the good times, and yes, there will be good times in your business when you know that it works, you just might not have been at it long enough. Keep going! The prize is worth it!
Discussing residual income and insurance vs one-shot sales that must be repeated at all costs, in order to keep the income coming in.
On a weekend retreat with our office staff in a cabin in Almond, North Carolina.
Our site for agents: https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Proverbs 13:11
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
There's a reason for that.
From Grand Cayman today..answered two support tickets that might help someone else.
???? 1) What is THE script?
First, scripts can be found on this page to start the conversation, and there is also a flow chart at the top of the page for the call flow:
https://medicareagenttraining.com/tra...
You can hear Joe's awesome interview and his effective cold call presentation here:
https://medicareagenttraining.com/cold-call-demonstration-with-joe-from-florida/
???? 2) Keep getting the same objection and are losing the sale because of it.
You need to raise this continually-arising issue before they do. It should be addressed IN your presentation of whichever plan you are describing. If you leave it out, or describe it in weak or unresolved terms, it will continue to plague the sale. If you SOLIDLY incorporate the solution, in proper context, DURING the explanation of the an, it will not be a problem.
This is a good example video of this concept:
https://youtu.be/mUNT4dO9nxM
So, as we leave the Cayman Islands and head to Mexico to explore the Mayan ruins tomorrow, I hope you are having a great week!
-Christopher Westfall
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
?????????????
Definitely not:
???? Get Rich Quick ????
The niche we are in is build residual income slowly, over time. It is consistent, predictable, but it is
?? NOT FOR EVERYONE ??
Not everyone is supposed to be in one specific position. Not everyone was created with the disposition to throw caution to the wind, forsaking comfort and safety, for as long as it takes to turn profitable.
Selling possessions, working side jobs, delivering pizza, etc... whatever it takes.
???? THAT ???? is the 1% of folks that have nothing else to lose and know that, with faith and hard work, it becomes worth it when that light at the end of the tunnel becomes closet and closer and louder and louder..then one day you wake up and ????????BAM????????, "you got lucky" they'll say! ????????????
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
- Christopher Westfall
???? NOW is the time for some folks to step out in faith and grow your business.
???? YOU cannot do it all on your own.
???? YOU were not meant to do it by yourself.
???? When YOU are convinced it works:
???? GO BIG or GO HOME! ????
???? I want to personally encourage you that this business is just like any other, where you will soon reach the upper limit on how many clients YOU can acquire in a given day.
???? You will reach saturation with how many cases YOU can service and support.
???? When you reach frustration with doing it all, HIRE HELP! You will be glad you did.
????Hire Slow & Fire Fast (When you have to, and you will.)
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
These are small clips of an agent consultation February 6, 2019.
As these are questions I get quite frequently, I wanted to pull them out and post them here, publicly. The opinions in this video are my own and just opinions based on experience. The statements made are not intended for any audience other than those in the consultation and may or may not apply to you.
My agency exists to help seniors through their challenges of finding their best Medicare insurance plan and to help like-minded agents to do the same when there is a fit of working together.
I do not choose to help ALL seniors and do not choose to help ALL agents. This is a lifestyle business where I am reinvigorated by the ability to help people every single day!
See what we're doing at https://MedicareAgentTraining.com for agents and https://SeniorSavingsNetwork.org for seniors
Having a difficult time with the objection that the prospect does NOT want to give out personal information like their Social Security Number or Date of Birth for an insurance application sold over the phone?
This video is for you...things we have discovered that have stopped these objections when it comes time to doing the application, when selling insurance by phone.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
In Daytona Beach for a quick visit, reflecting on my time here in a completely different life!
It has become abundantly apparent to me that the most successful people in this business and many others involves immersing oneself in the culture of those on the same path.
To this end, we aim to have more LIVE events where agents can share, exchange, and learn together. Stay tuned!
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
What are the most important factors, going forward? The ONLY factor relevant in your business is the cost-per-acquisition of new clients and your growth plan, including growing to scale by hiring folks to help you.
The only thing that has held back those agents who are capable of GREAT things in this business is their lack of an execution plan to grow into the next phase of their business - by hiring people.
Too many agents are spending their profits, rather than reinvesting in the critical infrastructure necessary for significant growth.
"Put your head down, work your ass off for 5 years and you couldn't spend the money you're making, if you wanted to." - Chris Westfall
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
What lessons we are taking away from this year's AEP and how some ideas might help you and your business
Originally streamed LIVE on:
http://facebook.com/medicareagenttraining
Have you been told by someone telling you telemarketing leads or services that it is perfectly fine to do a "bait and switch" form of marketing whereby your cold call is merely asking them for a Medicare Supplement appointment?
You are then told that it is perfectly OK to get a piece of paper signed and, magically, it washes away the illegal source of the lead and it is fine to build your Medicare Advantage marketing empire on this premise.
It is not. Stay compliant, keep your license.
https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Very exciting news this Monday! Driving to the office and discussing what has made THIS particular Monday so special.
(Rebroadcast from Facebook LIVE at http://www.Facebook.com/medicareagenttraining
Struggling with your insurance business?
There might be a VERY simple solution that breaks down all of the complication in your world to the ONE activity that matters most.
"Great business owners focus on revenue generating activities while poor business owners focus on administrative tasks." -Shawn Thomas https://www.instagram.com/askamillionaire
Discussing Maslow's Hierarchy.. see the article on Maslow's Hierarchy for Entrepreneurs at http://medicareagenttraining.com/maslow
It is important to plan your route to avoid burnout. Share the pain and rewards. Take time for yourself, on purpose.
Come see what we're doing at https://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Analysis by Tai Lopez as to how much BUY IN makes all the difference in your business focus.
Many people "test the waters". They only try something part-time without a 100% commitment to the process.
Key takeaway: "Trust the Process". If the process works, and you are creating a "golden goose" by helping more people, how fast, how hard WILL you go?
Originally streamed LIVE on our Facebook page, this wisdom survives the ages. When adversity comes, and it will, do you react and throw your day into a reactionary tailspin?
Or, do you CHOOSE to respond WHEN it is appropriate to do so, in a measured way that is calculated, not flying off the handle, and is very thought-out?
I encourage you to do the latter.. make sure to not have YOUR day's agenda ruined by someone else's agenda for you.
Be encouraged! You're not alone.
What are you willing to risk for the lifestyle that you want? I see so many people held back by a need for security that they continue to bypass opportunities, left and right.
Different people have different risk tolerance for life, and that's totally fine. But some with amazing potential have chosen to be timid, and they should consider stepping out in faith.
What motivates you?
For some folks, material things spur them on to the next milestone in their business for the internal drive that achieving that goal brings.
For others, once they have reached the point where all bills are paid by residual income, they're good to go.
There is a story in the news this morning that says that our DNA is a significant, determining factor of whether or not we will be successful in life. BULL. The study goes on to say, at the very end, that 4% is influenced by our DNA.
I say that 96% is determined by our CHOICES.
This is an interview with Jacob, whom I met in person in Banff, Alberta Canada on the 2018 Cigna Top Producer's trip in June 2018.
Jacob started in the insurance field doing traditional, in-person meetings with clients. He then grew into an agency. Several years ago, he was exposed to the fact that you can do all of it via the phone and contact more clients in less time.
Now, Jacob's agency is throughout the country and operates 100% by telephone.
From Portugal
We are in Lisbon, Portugal on the Manhattan Life Chairman's Club trip. Last week, we were with Cigna in Banff, Alberta Canada. Both of these trips were the result of our entire agency's production, and they have provided great opportunities to network with other top producers from around the USA.
In this video, I talk about what is usually not talked about. The subject of where we all came from that has given us the drive to do what we do, long after the typical folks have gone home.
Each one of us has something that we're doing it for. Going away from the past, and moving toward a better future for our family, our kids, our employees, and the clients we can serve in a better way.
I hope you are encouraged. Thanks for watching.
It's about community - we need interaction with people at various stages of their business to be reminded that we are in business FOR ourselves but not BY ourselves. You are not alone! This business can make one feel alone and isolated. We have to break through that, reach out and make relationships, and encourage each other. Don't suffer in silence. You are going through what we have all gone through but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it's called RESIDUAL INCOME. Yes, it's worth it.
Should you sell Medicare Supplements?
Why should you sell Medicare Supplements
and How do you sell Medicare Supplements by phone?
These are questions answered in this 2014 webinar by Chris Westfall of http://MedicareAgentTraining.com, a membership site for Medicare Supplement professionals with tools, latest industry updates, and training on how to effectively market Medicare Supplements across the country by phone
Often lately, agents who had spent their entire Medicare career solely focused on Medicare Advantage are starting to add Medicare Supplements to their product offerings. Sometimes coming from a captive organization where MAPD was the only thing they could sell, they often have difficulty making the transition into offering Medicare Supplements. This video covers the integration of Medicare Supplements into an MAPD-only focused agent's practice and the fact that asking for the sale is a slightly different animal when a monthly premium is involved.
Who you choose to do business with, matters. It matters a great deal.
With MANY new Johnny-Come-Lately's to the internet-agent-education space, it's more important than ever to be careful about who you spend your most important investment (time) with.
How you approach each conversation makes all the difference in the world. Facts tell, stories sell. You have to learn to connect emotionally to the needs, desires, fears, and frustrations of the prospects before you can FACTUALLY communicate their options in an effective way.
If you try to communicate like Mr. Spock on Star Trek, or Joe Friday, the detective "Just the facts, Maam." you will never be able to scale your business effectively or generate happy referrals from your smaller-than-necessary client base.
The most effective thing you can do is work on your ability to EMPATHIZE and communicate based on THEIR world view, not yours. You can only do that with a huge emphasis on listening vs. telling every fact that you know.
The number one reason that agents fail in the Medicare niche market is that they have a misplaced expectation that every call will be a one-call close. Those "boiler rooms" that are PUSHING folks into the one-call close have a HORRIBLE persistency record with the carriers.
That is, when you shove a product down someone's throat, assuming the sale, assuming the application, building just enough trust where they will tell you ANYTHING to get you off the phone, you will not be in business for long. That is 100% SALES and 0% concern for the client.
If you want to build a GOOD, solid business for residual income, build relationships, not check-marks on a scoresheet of how many one-call closes you pulled off today.
Another big factor is that new agents believe that their first few conversations will yield that sale. It might take 30 people being put in your pipeline for weeks before you have one sale. If you quit just before the pipeline starts coming out the other side, you will NEVER see the residual income grow.
You get better, the pipeline gets more full, and people start coming back to you based on the way you made them feel. THAT is what this business is about - your obligation to build trust.
We all experience frustrations with carriers from time to time, BUT, you don't want to be the one having your contract terminated because you cannot control your mouth on the phone with the carrier, trying to fix a problem by creating new ones!
Please be nice to the folks that support us, even the commission folks when things get screwed up. Even the Underwriting department when they've screwed something up. We must remember that we are in the people business and people make mistakes. We all do.
The best advice is to make sure your reputation is one of someone they enjoy doing business with and that you don't cause someone working at one of these companies to have a crappy day because you have one issue. Your reputation, in this very small niche of Medicare insurance, will definitely get around - good or bad, over time!
What do you tell people that you do for a living?
Do you keep your financial practice top secret?
By telling others what you do, including friends and family, you COULD be turning on the faucet to opportunities to help those you care about and those they know, too.
Very common question, "Can I start as an independent agent with no money and very bad credit?" The short answer is: NO
This video seeks to answer one of the most common questions a new, potential agent has about starting as an insurance agent, either with Medicare Supplement sales or Final Expense life insurance.
With bad credit, companies are not likely to advance commissions.
With really bad credit (recent bankruptcies, pending/recent foreclosures, etc.) they are not likely to contract with you at all. Why? Because they see it as a fiduciary risk where your intentions might be to stay afloat, financially, at any cost, including costing them money by writing bad or fraudulent business.
Is it too much trouble to actually control the incoming prospects into your MARKETING business? No, it is a huge facet of any business, to control its marketing. In this, or any other MARKETING business, this is something best to NOT to pursue blindly with a credit card in your hand.
It is WORTH learning about marketing. It is WORTH testing different approaches until you find the one that fits you the best. It is worth attending conferences, networking with other agents, researching ongoing trends in lead generation so that YOU can cut out the "middle man" and do it yourself. Imagine, if your leads are marked up 100%, which is really around 500%, but if they were just marked up 100% and you continued to rely on that lead generation method for a 20 year career.
Much much have you lost in 20 years where you could have merely decided to invest once in the knowledge to do it yourself and reap the rewards month after month, year after year. Cut out the "middle man". Do it yourself.
If you are comfortable where you are, great! Keep doing what you're doing.
Whatever you're comfortable doing is your current state of limitation. Just outside of your comfort zone is where your BREAKTHROUGH is.
Choosing what state to sell in, how to sell (face to face vs. phone), etc. can mean the difference between $30,000 a year in income vs. $80,000 PER MONTH in income.
It's up to you. It works.
You do what you're comfortable doing.
Success and Failure in the Medicare niche of the insurance industry. This was a frank conversation on a recent Saturday morning.
For LIVE updates, make sure to "Like": http://Facebook.com/medicareagenttrai...
Key: Focus on your strengths, fill your weaknesses with others who are best in that area. You cannot be all things to all people. Knowing where I'm weak allows me to hire to compensate for that.
This is the question submitted by one of our members, and it is asking when to hire additional help as the business is starting to grow. (Read by speech-to-text with the computer voice!)
"So, I re-watched your video from a couple weeks ago about delegating authority. I know that I am very new, but I am trying to streamline the learning curve as quickly as possible and grow the business as fast as I can. I wanted to ask your advice…
If I were to hire one person now to help me, could you give me an idea of what duties would be most important?
1) Should I hire a licensed agent, or an administrative person. Or hire somebody to perform admin duties who is also licensed so he/she can also write business?
2) How do you recommend I pay them? (hourly, flat fee per deals, etc.??)
3) Do you pay your staff as independent contractors, or do you W2 them and pay payroll taxes, etc?
I am currently working all day from about 7:30am until well into the night sometimes 10-11pm trying to do all my administrative chores while making cold calls in the am, and during the peak hours in the pm, and also following up on all the calls my telemarketers set up for me throughout the day (I bought trained telemarketers through http://TrainedTelemarketers.com )
I started doing this full time in the middle of October. So the first couple months were a bit slow, and now things are starting to come together, but I want to automate and delegate more. 2 weeks ago I had 5 new applications and last week I had 6. This week I have 0 so far. My goal each week is 7 new apps. I have not hit it yet. I’ll be happy if I hit 20 for the month. I’m having good conversations but I hoping you can give me suggestions to improve. I’d like to know how your business is set up. Perhaps your operation is too big, but maybe something like the way Eugene has set his up is something I can model. It’s my understanding he has himself, one or 2 agents and an admin person.
So if I could only afford to bring on one person now, where would my money be best spent, or am I putting the cart before the horse?"
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Many of us are guilty of constantly seeking the next "shiny object", thinking that it will be, finally, the solution to easy profits with MUCH less effort.
While there is a lot to be learned from attending seminars, buying courses, and studying non-stop, there is a point where a successful person stops searching for the next-great-thing, and actually goes to work.
When you find yourself circling around to the things you've already seen before, and YOU have not implemented anything, it's time to look in the mirror and make a decision. Which way are you going to go?
Come see us... http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Every professional uses a checklist in their business so that important items are not missed on a regular basis. In this latest edition of Medicare sales training, Chris Westfall talks about how NOT having a checklist can bring liability, bad reviews, and angry clients.
See: http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
Over the years, Chris has learned the difference between just being busy for busy sake vs. doing things that will achieve the best, possible results for our time investment in this business.
Many agents still believe that writing applications all day is their only mission, and they’ll write an application on anyone that says, “Yes. Those anxious folks that are very eager to get going with you should be the ones you spend the most amount of time trying to find out why they are disqualified from the beginning.
The art of asking the right questions, in this case – all of the health questions, before moving into an application setting AT ALL, is critical if you want to have enough time to spend with those that are qualified.
Please excuse this long-overdue rant, that comes along about every six months, when a new agent presents to me a list of excuses as to why this industry, helping seniors, is not working for them.
MedicareAgentTraining.com is a site dedicated to best practices in the delivery of Medicare benefits to our greatest generation. It is run by Christopher Westfall, who has been a licensed agent for over 19 years. Christopher helps to facilitate the on-going discussion between insurance professionals who are constantly seeking the best for their practice and for their clients.
Even the Pony Express only lasted 19 months before a better method of communication was found!
"During its 19 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. From April 3, 1860 to October 1861, it became the West's most direct means of east–west communication before the telegraph was established and was vital for tying the new state of California with the rest of the United States."
What method have you settled on for the marketing and communication of your insurance proposal to clients? Are you still using the insurance version of the old Pony Express? Perhaps, if your horse is tired, it's time to change horses - or better yet, change methods altogether?
http://MedicareAgentTraining.com
The words you use can have an impact on whether or not conversations are productive or they are not. Sometimes, subtle things you say can influence the conversation in a negative way.
Here is one example in this video by Chris Westfall, talking about triggers that lead to an interruption in the flow of the telephone sale when it comes to insurance or anything else.
See: http://MedicareAgentTraining.com for more help on how to sell Medicare insurance by phone
Do you take the machine gun approach to leaving a voicemail?
Or are you thoughtful in the message that you leave, encouraging with your tone of voice, diction, speed, and message for the person to call you back?
This is a drastic example of what not to do..
1) Who are you?
2) What are you calling about? ("What's in it for me?")
3) Phone number given, twice, at writing speed.
Please excuse this long-overdue rant, that comes along about every six months, when a new agent presents to me a list of excuses as to why this industry, helping seniors, is not working for them.
MedicareAgentTraining.com is a site dedicated to best practices in the delivery of Medicare benefits to our greatest generation. It is run by Christopher Westfall, who has been a licensed agent for over 19 years. Christopher helps to facilitate the on-going discussion between insurance professionals who are constantly seeking the best for their practice and for their clients.
At the Coastal Carolina Fair in Charleston, SC, I saw some very interesting similarities between the marketing tactics employed by the fair and those used by some insurance agents in the Medicare Supplement market.
In this episode, we talk about some unexpected marketing tips observed at the fair and how you can use them to benefit your business.