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The problem with understanding Medicare comes from understanding how the Medicare billing process works since this will be your most common concern with clients both during and after the sale. You need to learn how Medicare works with providers and what regulations Medicare has on coverage. This the carriers won't teach you, you must learn this on your own. All the carriers will do is teach you about their company and how to underwrite their products. You need to have a good FMO/MGA to work with. They get a cut of your business and are their to train you when you have questions, but you have to take the time to learn about Medicare inside and out.
Next you need to get licensed with the top 2 or 3 carriers with each product type in the area you are selling. This can be an issue for some people with bad credit issues (many accounts in collection or outstanding court judgments) with many carriers. Then you need to learn the differences in underwriting amongst all the carriers you are licensed with so you know where you can place clients because some plans have looser underwriting guidelines than others do. Next you have to understand what Medicare Advantage is if you want to sell it or not and let me say this: you need to offer both Part C and Part D to your clients. The MA market is currently at 30% of eligible beneficiaries nationwide and is slowly growing. Seniors are on a very fixed income on the aggregate and it is wrong for healthy seniors to be on a Medicare Supplement who are struggling financially. Also you need to offer Part D. Yes it is low commission and a decent amount of work, but it is a service that further establishes trust with your client plus you don't want another agent to get in under you with Part D and also grab you health insurance client away from you.
Now that you have all this knowledge you need to learn how to cold call telemarket. If you buy leads, you will be most likely buying non-exclusive leads that have been handed out to 12 other agents before it was recycled to you. You don't want to hire a telemarketer to start, this is a job for you to do because of the sever regulations over this activity. You cannot telemarket Part C or Part D at all, but you can for Medicare supplements and then during your Medicare supplement pitch set an appointment for supplements. If during the appointment the client is better suited for Medicare Advantage you can get them to sign the Scope of Appointment form on your same visit. If you market supplements on the phone you must mail them out the Scope form first and get it back in the mail before you can call them again with marketing or selling a MA or PDP over the phone. Be warned you really want to stay away from selling Medicare Advantage over the phone as well due to the thin line you are walking regulation wise and due to the fact that you won't get many signed Scope forms back to you that you mail out and is a waste of money and time in most cases.
Finally comes your sales ability and closing technique to acquire clients. This topic has been discussed by thousands of people for ages so go find your favorite sales trainer. Then comes the real practice of doing all the above. Be careful with the regulations though as a sever slip up could cause your license to be suspended or terminated and you lose all your commissions and clients. This is not an industry for those with no knowledge of what they are doing.
Oh PS your commissions will most likely be between $12,000 to $25,000 your first year, so make sure you have some money saved or a part time job to help with your income the first year.
When I read this I hear blah blah blah this job is a piece of cake and I'm trying to scare newbies off! It gives me hope that I really need to stop tire kicking and dive in!
I have an established p&c agency so I don't need to get rich quick. I though I'd be making $100k by this time next month, but I guess your telling me different.
