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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.
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.
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.
It's now February – the perfect time to take stock of where you are and where you are going.
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.
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?
Some years ago, I was a researcher for a major employee benefits educational association. I learned that changes in federal legislation mean big business for advisers because of the demand they create for education. So here is my educated prediction for the new year: the equation in 2011 will be education equals sales.
Boosting employees' take-home pay by providing voluntary benefits at significantly reduced premiums? That's a winner.
These are uncertain times for employee benefit brokers and consultants. "Obamacare" and the minions in the federal agencies are entrenching national health care with speed and design. Most recently, brokers found out that pay for the various services they provide employers will be placed on the administrative side of carriers' ledgers, making commissions subject to the law's medical loss ratio restrictions.
