America's Benefit Specialist August/September 2023

Consequently, you will want to include only carriers needed to complement your portfolio. You will also need to attain and retain the state licenses required to service clients through out your geographic marketing area. The practice of early certification and license renewal will protect your business during both scheduled and unscheduled transitions. Once your business structure is in place and you have a portfolio of carriers and products, you can begin building a client base. The prospects who respond to your marketing efforts will likely be individuals who like your style of selling and often will be responding to the values and ethics you present. We tend to attract like-minded individuals, so when a transition needs to happen in the future, you will need to find someone to take over who sells like you do and values the same things you value.

copy your processes after the transition. It also allows you to continue growing. Organized processes create long-term success and dramatically increase the value of your business. All too often, agents become lax in building and maintaining their processes. Do everything possible to avoid that because it will make it difficult, if not impossible, for someone to main tain your hard-earned relationships if they need to step in. It also creates issues when you try to add administrative staff to help with processes or additional agents to your agency who will need to mirror your success model and maintain your agency’s brand. Reviewing your notes before meeting with a client gives you the information needed for proper analysis and recommendations. That means your initial and ongoing needs-analysis notes need to be readily available. You would not be comfortable with a physician who did not maintain your medical records to refer to, and you would not want a new physician to treat you without seeing your past records, tests, etc. Likewise, you are a professional and should main tain your records in a format that others can access if needed. Therefore, choose a customer relationship management system wisely and carefully maintain it. A client base without a proper recordkeeping system is of little value to someone else because of the difficulty of retaining clients without it. Your process and systems are also very important in the Medicare space due to the consistent activities required to meet CMS compliance regulations. Maintaining marketing and lead-source information, permission-to-contact forms, call recordings and enrollment records are required and beneficial for a compliant practice. They are also important to verify the accuracy of carrier commission statements and client data. Building a system for success in the Medicare space has its own uniqueness, but all activities still revolve around basic sound business methods. You want to be able to relax know ing that while protecting the future of your clients and their families, you are also protecting yourself and your family.

The “product” you are offering to clients is the peace of mind your advice and services deliver that is facilitated by insurance products. When designing your “product,” do so carefully to reach a balance that can be maintained when your client base grows. You do not want to put yourself in a position where your growth and success diminish your ability to meet the expectations of your clients. You are the one that will train your clients on what to expect from you and your agency. When the time comes for transition, the individual or company picking up where you left off will need to meet those same expectations. If you have set the bar unrealistical ly high, it can be expensive for a new owner to assume; thus, it will diminish the amount they will be able to offer you since they will have to factor in that future cost during valuation. The presentation, needs analysis, enrollment methods and recordkeeping you put in place are key to the stability of your client base. A consistent presentation, enrollment and recordkeeping method allows someone else to step in and

Dan Mangus joined Senior Marketing Specialists in 2012 as the national sales director, serving over 10,000 agents nation wide. He teaches Medicare courses at universities and keynotes national insur ance conferences. He also conducts Medi care certification courses for both the National Guardianship Association and the

American Association of Daily Money Managers. Dan has published numerous books and articles for advisors in the Medicare market.

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