Losing Clients, what to Do?

Thanks for all the responses guys. I probably don't do as good of a job as I should've keeping in touch with clients. Our agency mails out an Rx questionnaire right before AEP every year that offers to do a complimentary analysis for their PDP to see if it makes sense for them to move PDP's for the next calendar year. All they have to do is fill out their drug list (drug name, quantity, dosage, etc.) and we do it for them. Other than that, I haven't established a system yet where I send out birthday or Christmas cards, haven't created a newsletter, etc. I'd say with the majority of my clients this annual PDP questionnaire has been the only contact they've had from me or our agency.

That's the key word "offers". Nope. You need to touch every client. Most of them will take about 30 minutes. Run the PDP. The goal is that they don't talk to another agent. They don't need to. They are already done, because they talk to you. Plus, remind them that you are growing your business and would love some referrals.

As far as adding people, I don't add a lot of new people at AEP. (I only do Med Supp). There will be a list of people who I spoke with throughout the year who were on MAPD plans who want to switch that I contact in September, but other than that, its T65's/Retirees for 4th quarter. Just like the other 3 quarters. Chasing the 10% isn't going to get you anywhere.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys. I probably don't do as good of a job as I should've keeping in touch with clients. Our agency mails out an Rx questionnaire right before AEP every year that offers to do a complimentary analysis for their PDP to see if it makes sense for them to move PDP's for the next calendar year. All they have to do is fill out their drug list (drug name, quantity, dosage, etc.) and we do it for them. Other than that, I haven't established a system yet where I send out birthday or Christmas cards, haven't created a newsletter, etc. I'd say with the majority of my clients this annual PDP questionnaire has been the only contact they've had from me or our agency.

I've been selling medsupps going on 3 years this July, so a lot of clients are getting to the point where I can save them $20/month or so. So I will be starting to contact a lot of these clients I haven't spoken with since we filled out their T65 apps. Also, in Michigan, all ins companies (except AARP) only pay renewal commissions for 3 years, so I'll need to contact these folks anyway or stop getting paid on them.

It's not like I've lost a ton of clients. Not counting the ones I wasn't sorry to see go, it's maybe a half a dozen or so. And most of these cancelled their plans around or within the first year, so it's not like being neglected caused them to leave. But I just want to try and learn from these situations, so I can try and prevent others from leaving in the future.

Anyway, lots of good ideas in this thread. Also like WCMason and sman said, it seems well worth the time and money to put forth this extra effort because of the referral business alone.

Are you guys putting a lot of time in trying to protect your book before/during AEP? The folks at my agency say time is better spent trying to get new clients during this point rather than servicing existing ones, but just wondered what other successful agents do.




be careful about having a paper trail proving you asked medicare beneficiaries to list their drugs.not that most agents including myself are usually informed by prospect what meds they are taking before recommending the most cost efficient plan but technically it is a CMS marketing violation to ask for a list of current medications .
 
be careful about having a paper trail proving you asked medicare beneficiaries to list their drugs.not that most agents including myself are usually informed by prospect what meds they are taking before recommending the most cost efficient plan but technically it is a CMS marketing violation to ask for a list of current medications .

Not if you are "advising". I don't sell PDP.

But its good advice if you are :)
 
That's the key word "offers". Nope. You need to touch every client. Most of them will take about 30 minutes. Run the PDP. The goal is that they don't talk to another agent. They don't need to. They are already done, because they talk to you. Plus, remind them that you are growing your business and would love some referrals.

As far as adding people, I don't add a lot of new people at AEP. (I only do Med Supp). There will be a list of people who I spoke with throughout the year who were on MAPD plans who want to switch that I contact in September, but other than that, its T65's/Retirees for 4th quarter. Just like the other 3 quarters. Chasing the 10% isn't going to get you anywhere.

I agree with kgmom on this - I communicate with my existing clients all year and that produces many referrals throughout the entire year. I don't count on AEP to add new clients - they usually appear, but my goal is to retain my existing base & service them by making changes they may have to implement during that time. I do all of it - Medicare Supplements, MAPD, and PDP. My people get my reminder mailing in early September, so that they can get on my call list for AEP and we can have a conversation to determine whether or not they need to make changes.

During the year, as they call about service issues/or tell me about their experiences with their current plan, I build my list of those I KNOW need to make adjustments in the coming AEP, and I get reminders posted into my CRM software so I remember to get them scheduled for a review early on.

Maintaining the relationship all year will always yield new business, provided you service your clients well. Don't give them excuse to leave you, and they won't.
 
...I communicate with my existing clients all year and that produces many referrals throughout the entire year.

Are you doing anything different than that's already been mentioned (e.g. newsletters, birthday cards, etc.)?

My people get my reminder mailing in early September, so that they can get on my call list for AEP and we can have a conversation to determine whether or not they need to make changes.

So do your clients respond to your mailing in order to get on your call list, or are you simply mailing them a reminder that you'll be contacting all of your clients during AEP?

Just looking for ideas.
 
Are you doing anything different than that's already been mentioned (e.g. newsletters, birthday cards, etc.)? So do your clients respond to your mailing in order to get on your call list, or are you simply mailing them a reminder that you'll be contacting all of your clients during AEP? Just looking for ideas.

I'm not cadylou, but let me address the last question. You definitely want to put the responsibility on them to contact you. And maybe even set it up as a specific appointment time to call. I don't set up appointments, but I do let them know they will need to contact me (via phone call or email). They also know AEP is a hectic time of year. I've explained it to them in the beginning and ask them to be patient when I send out the reminder in September.

You have to find what works for you. The biggest thing is you want them to think of you when the subject of Medicare comes up. If you haven't had any contact with a client in 2-3 years, they likely aren't going to remember your name, phone number and email address when the topic of Medicare is brought up while talking with friends.

It really is amazing how referrals come in. I got one a couple of weeks ago from a person in a town 5 hours away. She had gone to the vision place in Walmart. The eye doctor, who isn't a client but her husband is, referred her patient to me. I had another one not long ago from a daughter of a client. She was at the doctor with her mother and overheard someone talking about coverage and she gave them my name and number. That person called me and she and her husband are both clients now.

I'm sure other agents here have similar stories. The key is to build a relationship with your clients. Don't treat it as a transaction.
 
You gotta remember...if they let you in the house they probably will let someone else in. I've had some respond to mailings "Medicare changes" that they got in the mail by another agent trying to grow their book. They mail it in, then the agent shows up to tell them they are "eligible for extra benefits they are not receiving". If they are LIS or have an unused SEP, the agent will do their best to change them. I have had to go back over and change them back to what was the "better" plan all along. I always focus my first part of AEP focusing on existing book of business,due to the fact they are getting robocalls(which are illegal) and a wheelbarrow full of Medicare lit daily. Grow your book with what's left over during AEP and the other 300+/- days when most agents are working their 2nd job:D
 
I'm at the point in my career where I seem to notice with some frequency on my commission statements that a client has dropped off. It could be for any number of reasons. I've noticed a handful the last few months as the clients changing during AEP have finally been updated in the statements.

What do you guys usually do in situations like this? Do you always call the client to see what happened in hopes of winning back the business? If you do, is it ever successful? I'm sure if the client is a pain in the butt, you're fine with them walking, but do you ever reach out to the client to at least see why in hopes of not making the same mistake with another client? I think if I did this, it would be an awkward conversation for both of us, and I'd come across as a little confrontational.

A certain amount of loss is inevitable. No matter what what you do, you will lose some clients. Thats why its important to always be taking on new clients. You should be, at a minimum, growing your client base at a rate of 2 new clients for every 1 client you lose.
 
A certain amount of loss is inevitable. No matter what what you do, you will lose some clients. Thats why its important to always be taking on new clients. You should be, at a minimum, growing your client base at a rate of 2 new clients for every 1 client you lose.
If we're talking about Medicare 5 new to 1 lost is more of a passable minimum for moderate success. But I'd get depressed and reevaluate my methods if my persistency ever dropped below 95%.
 
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