Increasing demand for 401(k) advice
Almost 80% of employers anticipate that there will be an increased demand for access to savings and investment advice about their 401(k) plans, according to a new survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Marketing
Creating killer content
Run a website primed for sales by putting yourself in the mindset of customers and prospects.
If you want to sell, sharpen your grammar
We talk for a living. We should be experts at talking to prospects, but not everyone is an expert. Let's devote this column to discussing how we can improve our grammatical skills to improve our ability to present and close more sales.
A paperless solution for I-9 forms
Thorough knowledge of this HR necessity will set you apart as a benefits administration partner for your clients.
States benefit squeeze may also pinch brokers
The New Jersey Assembly on June 23 approved a bill that will require 750,000 government employees and retirees to contribute substantially more for their health insurance and pensions.
Use your best sales tactics to bring the C-suite onboard for wellness
One skill that epitomizes the successful benefit adviser is selling. From the dollar-and-cents results to the art of persuasion, benefit advisers understand the sales process. So why not use that skill to assist human resource professionals in selling their C-suite on a corporate wellness program?
By
Beth Taylor
Lessons from the Internet marketers
One of my hobbies is searching the Internet for sales and marketing ideas. In this quest I look at virtually every industry imaginable.
If you want to sell, mine the data
Stop working harder at sales. Instead, turn on your computer. When the dots are properly connected, data can open a whole new world of selling for you – a smarter way. Once you get over the paper tiger of scary data, you'll discover a new method of locating and working prospects that you never dreamed of before. You'll make more money with this technique.
The right approach to networking
For the benefit professional who hates making cold calls or following up on direct mail, networking can be the next best alternative. But, like any marketing strategy – and yes, marketing is necessary – networking requires consistency of action over a period of time. Too many benefit professionals join a local Chamber of Commerce, go to one or two events and fail to generate even one appointment and then never return, believing that networking is a waste of time and energy.
If you want to sell, generate sales momentum
Iwould rather be poked in the eye with a sharp stick than sit through a humdrum and aimless sales presentation that goes nowhere. What needless pain that is. There is something to say for sales momentum and pursuing a goal in everything you say and do.
Under-35 crowd becomes more benefits savvy
The economy and health reform may have prompted the youngest workers at U.S. companies to take a deeper interest in workplace benefits, according to online research conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Unum.
Three paths leading to increased sales
This is a time of significant change for the employee benefits industry, but rather than respond with panic, consultant Alan Katz urges brokers and advisers to prepare for whatever lays ahead by learning from the habits of successful producers.
How to capitalize on ancillary benefits
There are numerous reasons to move the sale of ancillary products to the forefront of your sales strategy, not the least of which is a significant increase in your revenue.
If you want to sell, paint a picture
In this month's installment in our sales training series – which follows February's and March's columns on buyer motivation ("If you want to sell, do this …" pgs. 56 and 68, respectively), we'll look at the art of painting mental pictures for your buyer – an art that can result in an AOR.
Embrace fee transparency!
Unless you've been living under a rock, you are already aware that at least one major carrier has announced that premiums for groups of 51 employees or more will no longer include commissions. The agent can specify the commission level desired and it will be billed by the carrier, but it will be a line item visible to the client.
If you want to sell, do this: The two-factor technique of buyer motivation, Part 2
In last month's column we detailed the three psychological states that benefits buyers find themselves in, especially the one you want to lead a buyer to – "satisfied." If you missed my last column, you may want to pick up a copy of the February issue of EBA or read the digital edition on the EBA website, eba.benefitnews.com.
Under-35 crowd becomes more benefits savvy
The economy and health reform may have prompted the youngest workers at U.S. companies to take a deeper interest in workplace benefits, according to online research conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Unum.
Write your own success story
It's now February – the perfect time to take stock of where you are and where you are going.
If you want to sell, do this: The two-factor technique of buyer motivation (part 1)
In the next several columns I will be putting on my benefit sales trainer hat, with a series of columns called, "If you want to sell, do this." These will be detailed selling techniques that producers in my firm's FutureOffice Network use every day with great success.
Make marketing fit into your 2011 plan
With the new year in mind, I have a question for you: Are you working from a blueprint for success in 2011, or are you simply doing exactly what you did in 2010 and hoping for a different result?