Sales and marketing

Commentary: Follow this step-by-step process and columnist Mel Schlesinger says you’ll be swimming in sales calls.

Commentary: Performance management doesn’t have to be painful, but it is necessary, says Wendy Keneipp of Q4intelligence.

Commentary: Follow this step-by-step process and columnist Mel Schlesinger says you’ll be swimming in sales calls.

Commentary: It all starts with a mindset, says EBA Advisory Board member Mark Gaunya. Do you begin each day with a mentality of scarcity or abundance? One is a recipe for failure.

Commentary: Most benefit administration tools have proven to be unsuccessful for the effective deployment of voluntary benefits, says EBA Advisory Board member Tinker Kelly. To overcome a system that is “inconsistent at best,” Kelly suggests a new approach.

Employers from Starbucks to ConAgra have begun partnering directly with academic institutions to create specialized programs for their employees. It’s a new spin on an older system, as benefit managers are trying to evaluate the long-term benefits of helping to pay for their workers’ education.

Commentary: If you want to be successful at voluntary sales, columnist Nelson Griswold says you should concentrate on selling a solution, not a product — much like the Girl Scouts aim to solve your cookie craving.

Commentary: Columnist Jack Kwicien shares how to transform your business by differentiating your processes and services to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Commentary: Benefit advisers hoping to maintain satisfied clients after the first open enrollment period should avoid these common bad behaviors that could cost accounts in the long run.

There is no distinction between client and prospect for benefit broker Will Glaros, managing partner of the Meyers Glaros Group in Dyer, Ind. — he’s there to help them all.

Commentary: When the discussion about retirement plan costs focuses too heavily on fees, Blogger Aaron Friedman says it's up to advisers to demonstrate the value employers receive in return for the price they pay.

Recognizing that benefit brokers play a key role in the marketing of voluntary benefits, insurers are beginning to offer them more flexibility in the marketing process.

Commentary: Columnist and management consultant Craig Davidson discusses what your prospect wants from you now, and in the near future, in return for an agent-of-record letter.

A day in the life of benefit adviser Bob White from Plan Benefit Analysts of Tulsa, Okla.

While the logistics of health care growing increasingly complex, benefit advisers could and should play a crucial role in helping employers and employees understand the new health care delivery system.

United Benefit Advisors has named insurance veteran Les McPhearson its new chief executive officer. In a Q&A with EBA he talks about trends in the benefits industry and the future role of the trusted adviser.

Employees are increasingly dissatisfied with their benefits, and therefore dissatisfied with their employers, but new research shows better benefits education can help.

Commentary: Blogger Sam Fleet says that in addition to offering new services to current clients to expand your business, brokers can prospect through new mediums and social networking platforms.

As some brokers continue to wait for their payments, it seems no one carrier is better or worse at this issue across the U.S. What is clear is that advisers who previously worked in group need to learn a new system to track and monitor commissions.

While there’s a great deal of industry hype about the rise in voluntary sales, some experts say that benefit brokers and advisers are still hesitant to sell it. Here’s a way in that one expert views as “a way to free up money” for voluntary.