How are sales Dec 26th to Jan 1st?
- Thread starter dvd493
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dvd493 said:
I normally take off the last two weeks of the year. However, this year I decided to work the Medicare market during the open enrollment season for Part D and Medicare Advantage plans. Because of this, I was unable to take any time off. This past week alone (12/26/06 to 12/29/06) I wrote 9 Part D, 2 MA plans and 2 Med Supp. And over the last two weeks (those that I normally take off) I wrote 36 Part D plans, 9 MA plans and 7 Med Supps. That's a little over $6k in commission I would have missed out on had I taken my normal time off. The great thing is that the majority of the business was written from my office in my home. Of the cases I wrote the last two weeks, I only had to go on two appointments for the MA plans. I had a couple of other appointments for small group and individual cases and a 412i plan. So I was at home most of the time.
Overall, this is the most productive December I have ever had. Mainly because I actually worked. I'm sure there are some who wrote much more than I did. I'd like to hear what others who work the MA market did the last couple of weeks and for the 6 week open enrollment season. What kind of production did you have?
I had planned on cutting back for the last 2 weeks. I put all my lead sources on hold starting on the 15th of the month. However, my vacation did not materialize as expected.
Since 12/18/06 I have submitted 6 health applications for $15,600 in AP. There are 4 more applications on hold pending additional information (dates, doctors names, etc.) from my clients.
Since 12/18/06 I have submitted 6 health applications for $15,600 in AP. There are 4 more applications on hold pending additional information (dates, doctors names, etc.) from my clients.
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I did much better than expected right before Christmas - everyone scrounging to get Jan 1 effective dates. I'm "off" right now - between Christmas and New Year which means I'm only dealing with past leads and not generating any new ones.
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All of the applications I wrote, as well as the ones that are pending, are all cases where the people called me.
Some were referrals. Some were folks I had been working with earlier. One was a guy who I had not talked to since May. He called on 12/28 and said he needed coverage in place by the end of the year. I sent him to one of my sites to get an STM and took an application on him for an HSA with a 2/1/07 effective date.
I did not meet with any of them. Everything done by phone & email.
Some were referrals. Some were folks I had been working with earlier. One was a guy who I had not talked to since May. He called on 12/28 and said he needed coverage in place by the end of the year. I sent him to one of my sites to get an STM and took an application on him for an HSA with a 2/1/07 effective date.
I did not meet with any of them. Everything done by phone & email.
All 11 cases that I wrote were fresh, shared inbound internet leads. I simply called them back, ran some quotes, addressed their concerns, informed them about rate increases if they wait until after the first, and closed them. I submitted every client online to the carriers. I dont think I worked that hard, but what I did do is "show up to the game". I called the leads where as other agents took this time off to be with their family like everyone else. I have 4 kids, a wife, but I work from home, so it is no big deal to call a prospect back whenever I hear my inbound email alert ring on my computer.
dvd493 said:
Well, in this case we can thank the government. They set the guidelines for Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans. So there were tons of people needing to enroll. Many were existing clients or referrals. I do have a lead source that was GREAT for this. One particular carrier sent me leads of people who had called them to enroll in their Medicare Prescription drug plan that they just couldn't get to. Last count, I enrolled 47 from that one source.
There was a sense of urgency for the product I was offering due to the short open enrollment season. Not so with Mortgage Protection. The same goes for the MA plans, Med Supps and the 412i. All needed to be completed before the end of the year.
From November 15 to today, I've written 26 MA plans, 20 Med Supps and 106 Part D plans. Of those, I met with 6 people. Everything else was done over the phone, through the mail, email or entered electronically.
I also managed to write 2 small group cases for about $45,000 AP, 4 individual health cases for about $15,000 AP, 2 life cases for about $2,000 AP, a 412i plan with a $100,000 annual contribution. Not to mention the retiree who has about $380k in his 401k he wants me to review.
All in all, it's been a VERY productive last 6 weeks.
Part of the issue with your situation is, as I said, the product you are selling. I used to write only life insurance. Then, about 9 years ago, I decided I wanted to do more so I got my Series 6, 63 & 65. That opened up some new avenues for income. Then I started having clients complain about their health insurance. I really didn't want to get into health insurance, but I also didn't want another rep in my clients ear. So I decided to add that to the mix as well. In the beginning, I only took care of my existing client base in regards to health insurance. But then I realized that people would talk to me about their health insurance long before I could get their attention on investments or life insurance. So now it's the door opener for me. One of the small group cases I sold last year has about $750,000 in a profit sharing plan that I will be bidding on soon. There are just so many opportunities when you can offer more than one product.
There are guys here who do mostly health insurance. I am not one of them. It accounted for about 25% of my income this year. Life accounted for about 10% and investment advising made up the other 65%. Ten years ago, it was 100% life. Now I can't imagine trying to make a living only doing life insurance. Not that I couldn't. It's just, as someone put it on a post somewhere, it's groundhog day every year with the life only business. With the investment advisory trails and the health renewals, the base is starting to look really good. It's nice to wake up January 1st and know that you have a nice income coming in without making a sale.
Well, that was a long answer for such a simple question. I know a lot of us bust your chops about NAA. I've never worked with NAA, but I have done the whole Mortgage Protection bit years ago. Some here have walked that road and decided there was something better. It's definitely not the road I would want to go down at this point in my career. I guess if someone can justify the product and get several producing agents under them, it could be a lucrative career. But there are only so many people you can call on in an area for mortgage protection. It's a one shot deal. With the other sources of income (i.e. - investments and health insurance), you can get paid over and over. So eventually you're not having to move on to the next person.
Oh well, I'll stop rambling. Happy New Year!
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