Advice on building out a multi-State Medicare agency

[AmaboCare]

I have been a licensed agent for years but instead of enrolling beneficiaries myself I got involved with marketing, generating leads and selling them to agencies.

I am now looking to build out my own agency and already have an LLC entity setup licensed in many States. At first I will be the only agent but over time the plan is to build a small team.

I have experience with Medicare but I have zero experience acting as an agent. Any advice on building out a multi-state agency and navigating my situation would be greatly appreaciated - working with an FMO/IMO, upline/downline, etc.

I am going down this path to earn more income and "own" the client commision renewals as opposed to earning a one time marketing fee. I will essentially be a telesales agent answering inbound calls. I'm not the type of person who enjoys talking on the phone for hours so I am a bit nervous about that. Any suggestions for bringing on agents, downline structure, would help so that I could eventually shift my role back to marketing. Thank you

 

[Bevo]

Not going to lie, you're in for a shit show of stress. But, you likely know that. With the coming changes to MAPD (and <insert here> in regards to Medicare), the best course is to take 2024 and do nothing but sell yourself, no matter how much you don't enjoy it. Watch ROI all the way through, then see how much you can afford to pay an agent going into AEP with all the marketing dollar cuts. I'm a marketer, and it's 3 full-time jobs. So your marketing will suffer while you sell, but you simply cannot go from zero to 100mph overnight.

You'll then need a sales manager, even to look over a small team of just a few people. The biggest headache in business is walking on two legs. In THIS business? When marketers are telling every agent how much better they can do without you, it's a huge PITA.

Read the E-myth if you haven't. Then read it again. I have a small agency now, but a huge marketing company, relatively speaking. That's the perfect balance I've found to meet my goals and peace of mind, after 15 years in this business. Id' have no agency if I could, but I have the best team in the world and it works, very well. Your mileage will vary.

With compliance, non-stop administrative B.S., and varying commission structures measuring up to a desired CPA, WHILE hanging on to hopefully top producers...it's a first-class BITCH. Not saying it can't be done, and hey, I'm absolutely the guy who says dream big. It's all about having your reason WHY you want to go big. And it better be a damn good one.

Then, it's all about planning, execution, tracking whether you're getting further or closer to your goal and making adjustments, and expecting people to try to, or succeed, in screwing you over along the way. Fun stuff.

 

[DonP]

I have been a licensed agent for years but instead of enrolling beneficiaries myself I got involved with marketing, generating leads and selling them to agencies.

I am now looking to build out my own agency and already have an LLC entity setup licensed in many States. At first I will be the only agent but over time the plan is to build a small team.

I have experience with Medicare but I have zero experience acting as an agent. Any advice on building out a multi-state agency and navigating my situation would be greatly appreaciated - working with an FMO/IMO, upline/downline, etc.

I am going down this path to earn more income and "own" the client commision renewals as opposed to earning a one time marketing fee. I will essentially be a telesales agent answering inbound calls. I'm not the type of person who enjoys talking on the phone for hours so I am a bit nervous about that. Any suggestions for bringing on agents, downline structure, would help so that I could eventually shift my role back to marketing. Thank you

Not to piss on your dream . But your 5 yrs late to the “ get Rich selling Medicare party “ . 10’s of1000’s of agents have entered this the last 5 yrs . What Bevo didn’t mention is the massive changes coming to Medicare override and marketing compensation on 2025 . The proposal right now ( most proposals become law) is all overrides above the $610 max mapd commission will be no more . Also as devastating for agents and agency’s is no more marketing dollars . I built a big business in 3 yrs for zero cost . Without marketing dollars I don’t even know if I’d have done much Medicare . Irregardless of what the final cms law looks like most renewals and marketing dollars over with for next aep and beyond

 

[Bevo]

Not to piss on your dream . But your 5 yrs late to the “ get Rich selling Medicare party “ . 10’s of1000’s of agents have entered this the last 5 yrs . What Bevo didn’t mention is the massive changes coming to Medicare override and marketing compensation on 2025 . The proposal right now ( most proposals become law) is all overrides above the $610 max mapd commission will be no more . Also as devastating for agents and agency’s is no more marketing dollars . I built a big business in 3 yrs for zero cost . Without marketing dollars I don’t even know if I’d have done much Medicare . Irregardless of what the final cms law looks like most renewals and marketing dollars over with for next aep and beyond

Yeah, I bundled it into my "coming changes to MAPD" sentence, but looks like we're saying the exact same thing here. A big-azz uphill battle that "could" be done, but should it?

 

[jack3454]

Not to piss on your dream . But your 5 yrs late to the “ get Rich selling Medicare party “ . 10’s of1000’s of agents have entered this the last 5 yrs . What Bevo didn’t mention is the massive changes coming to Medicare override and marketing compensation on 2025 . The proposal right now ( most proposals become law) is all overrides above the $610 max mapd commission will be no more . Also as devastating for agents and agency’s is no more marketing dollars . I built a big business in 3 yrs for zero cost . Without marketing dollars I don’t even know if I’d have done much Medicare . Irregardless of what the final cms law looks like most renewals and marketing dollars over with for next aep and beyond

I don’t understand this. So youre saying if an agent below me sells a new to medicare policy I wont get any Money from it? Or if the agent below me gets paid over $610 I wouldn’t get anything from it because it hit the threshold?

 

[straightnochaser]

I don’t understand this. So youre saying if an agent below me sells a new to medicare policy I wont get any Money from it? Or if the agent below me gets paid over $610 I wouldn’t get anything from it because it hit the threshold?

That will be the "max" payout - if you have an agent under you you would take a portion of that $610 and payout the remainder at whatever rate you agreed.

 

[jack3454]

That will be the "max" payout - if you have an agent under you you would take a portion of that $610 and payout the remainder at whatever rate you agreed.

Oh ok thats not too bad

 

[straightnochaser]

Oh ok thats not too bad

Again that's the max payout - you move someone in July and they already have a plan you're getting much much less than that.

 

[DonP]

Oh ok thats not too bad

The $610 is just for “new to Medicare” . Only 20% of Medicare apps are new to Medicare . What about the 90% that pay $300,$275,$250,$225,$200 as the months go on. There’s no overrides allowed above the “street” paid to the agent . Right Now wether an agent makes $150 or $600 there’s $250 of total override paid out on that agent . Before CO’s get any ideas to take some of the agents commission. What agent who makes $150 for a mapd to mapd sale( This is 80% of all sales) in July will allow 20-30% of his pay to be allowed to go to the fmo? He’ll have zero Incentive to sell.

 

[sshafran]

The $610 is just for “new to Medicare” . Only 20% of Medicare apps are new to Medicare . What about the 90% that pay $300,$275,$250,$225,$200 as the months go on. There’s no overrides allowed above the “street” paid to the agent . Right Now wether an agent makes $150 or $600 there’s $250 of total override paid out on that agent . Before CO’s get any ideas to take some of the agents commission. What agent who makes $150 for a mapd to mapd sale( This is 80% of all sales) in July will allow 20-30% of his pay to be allowed to go to the fmo? He’ll have zero Incentive to sell.

Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, are you saying that this thing I've been hearing about (have not paid attention, too busy) will basically eliminate "upline overrides" and/or marketing?

So the YouTube and Facebook recruiters who built businesses around "join my downline" will basically poof?

That would be hilarious.

As long as writing agent (you know, those of us actually working and writing policies) keeps @ $600ish/$300ish I'm good