Help Me Close the Deal

[SouthernComfort]

Competing against BC/BS POS plan 90/10, 47 employees. Their current PPO BC/BS shows roughly a 23,000 annual increase. The POS plan shows a 95,000 decrease. I am presenting a Humana PPO at a 48,000 decrease from current rates. And am waiting on Assurant to come back. What is my biggest advantage over the BC plan? My rep told me service and the wellness program. That's it?

Anyway, for that big of a change in price, they are giving up something...

 

[kgmom219]

This is generic (and may change based on state), but I would sell it as:

1. Staying a PPO, with a decrease. Doesn't require a Primary Care Physician or referrals to see a specialist.

2. Network differences between current BCBS PPO to POS (with that big of a drop, I'm guessing there's a massive shift) vs the Humana PPO. List the hospitals they are giving up?

3. No one cares about wellness at $50K annual savings

Just asking....why don't YOU sell them the BCBS plan? I sell group. And I sell every carrier. I don't care which carrier they choose (well, I do, but that's another issue) as long as I'm listed as the agent. This may be state specific, though.

Good luck!

 

[Ann H]

Go to your Humana rep and get ammunition. They know how their plan compares to (or is superior to) Blue's PPO and POS plans. Give the client more reasons to move than just price. Make sure you're using Humana's best network for the area. Usually Humana has NPOS and Choice Care as their large PPO networks. Don't use a smaller local network for this size of group. If the group has out-of-state employees (or their kids in college), make sure the Humana network that you are using has providers in that state. Accessibility to national providers is one reason a group of this size stays with BCBS. Be sure to know your 50+ rules, since this group is right on the margin. Knowledge sells with this size of group.

You've got 3 options. BCBS PPO at $28k more, your Humana option at $48k less, and BCBS POS at $95k less. You're positioned perfectly in the middle. Sales techniques tell us that people usually choose the middle option when given 3 choices. So, call them "high, middle, and low" when talking to the client. It's a subtle hint. Like KGMom said, pump up the fact that Humana is a PPO and the BCBS cheaper option is a POS. Then, compare Humana's PPO against BCBS PPO, and hammer on how it is just as good, but $48k less than current in comparison to BCBS's $28k more than current.

GOOD LUCK!