Do you sell Med Sups, MAPD, or both?

[Todd King]

Thanks LD, although I don't think that anyone is doing anything other than providing constructive criticism, which I always appreciate. I wouldn't have come nearly as far as I have without tremendous help from many of the guys on this board especially @goillini52 . I do sometimes wish that people would think twice before posting some of the things they do on this board, but I guess it would be too boring to watch then wouldn't it?

The reason I was saying what I did about targeting Med Supps is because I was told you were to be the Medicare Guru at EFES. So, I assumed that is what you would be targeting. I took it as though EFES was really trying to get into the Med Supp market. I'm not sure if I was told wrong or just misunderstood. I'll go with misunderstanding and leave it at that.

 

[LostDollar]

Thanks LD, although I don't think that anyone is doing anything other than providing constructive criticism, which I always appreciate. I wouldn't have come nearly as far as I have without tremendous help from many of the guys on this board especially @goillini52 . I do sometimes wish that people would think twice before posting some of the things they do on this board, but I guess it would be too boring to watch then wouldn't it?

I agree about g52, as I read posts, there are times when his knowledge of insurance companies and medical conditions seems almost encyclopedic. (I think maybe his uncle sent him to his room without supper if he didn't memorize that stuff.)

I have no room to talk in terms of posts that were incorrect or not well thought out, I have done plenty of those myself. I have never sold an FE insurance policy. I chose to chime in on those posts for 2-3 reasons.

I stood in a telephone booth one afternoon or evening in the "wilds" of eastern Tennessee and listened to the sales manager back in Nashville tell me about how when I was making sales, I could tell him how field people should operate. Until that happened, he was going to be telling me how to operate.

As I read the posts in this thread and thought back, I seem to remember that you were taking 60 leads a week, driving all over Texas, and there were some posts by others about your success with those efforts. I don't think I have ever seen a post questioning your industry or success, and I did not think that level of experience was being properly recognized here.

I saw your posts clearly stating that you worked with your trainee agents on both MA and MediGap plans, ie - to my mind - you stated that you were training your FE agents how to crossell into the medicare market, not just crosssell MediGap plans. I also saw you clearly state that while you preferred to sell MediGap, that it was often not possible in your market.

I think the issue of cross selling MediGap to FE clients has been discussed quite a bit, so I did not think "new" information was coming out here. I thought the way it was being discussed here was inappropriate and did not think this thread needed to turn into another thread about how an agent selling FE is going to have a difficult time cross selling MediGap. So I said what I said.

(and don't be surprised when you see me making faux pas again next week )

 

[springbokhouston]

The reason I was saying what I did about targeting Med Supps is because I was told you were to be the Medicare Guru at EFES. So, I assumed that is what you would be targeting. I took it as though EFES was really trying to get into the Med Supp market. I'm not sure if I was told wrong or just misunderstood. I'll go with misunderstanding and leave it at that.

No problem Todd, I can understand why you might have assumed that. My philosophy is always to do the right thing for the client, if that's Med Supp with PDP great, if it's MAPD great. There's a huge unmet need for well trained honest agents in the Medicare market in general. It just so happens that the majority of our agents happen to be Final Expense based therefore they tend to see more clients that will lean towards MA. We field train our agents to be the complete package because in my mind there's no better complement to Final Expense than Medicare.

By the way I don't claim to be the Guru of anything. I happened to do quite well in FE and realized through personal success that Medicare was a huge missing piece that most agents were scared to touch. Because of this, I've helped EFES develop a platform by which we can field train agents how to better serve their clients in a compliant way. The individual agent wins because their ROI increases significantly, their client relationships are way more stable and best of all they are building a true book of business which will pay them for years to come. If all of that sets us apart and makes us more attractive then great, agents should expect more from their IMO's and that's what we try to deliver.

 

[Todd King]

No problem Todd, I can understand why you might have assumed that. My philosophy is always to do the right thing for the client, if that's Med Supp with PDP great, if it's MAPD great. There's a huge unmet need for well trained honest agents in the Medicare market in general. It just so happens that the majority of our agents happen to be Final Expense based therefore they tend to see more clients that will lean towards MA. We field train our agents to be the complete package because in my mind there's no better complement to Final Expense than Medicare.

By the way I don't claim to be the Guru of anything. I happened to do quite well in FE and realized through personal success that Medicare was a huge missing piece that most agents were scared to touch. Because of this, I've helped EFES develop a platform by which we can field train agents how to better serve their clients in a compliant way. The individual agent wins because their ROI increases significantly, their client relationships are way more stable and best of all they are building a true book of business which will pay them for years to come. If all of that sets us apart and makes us more attractive then great, agents should expect more from their IMO's and that's what we try to deliver.

Excellent! I'm glad to see that an upline thinks an agent is capable of selling more than one product!

 

[springbokhouston]

Excellent! I'm glad to see that an upline thinks an agent is capable of selling more than one product!

Todd, you are definitely one of the guys on this board that I've always admired. I know for a fact that you get it and I look forward to seeing you next time I'm up in your neck of the woods.

One thing I know to be true is that there's plenty for everyone, I just wish that more IMO's invested in their agents futures rather than perpetuating misconceptions in order to extend their own gains.