Selling Medicare Over the Phone
Selling Medicare over the phone has quickly become the “new normal” in our field since the COVID pandemic began. For some agents this has been a major adjustment to their normal way of doing business and meeting clients face to face. The good news is Pinnacle Financial Services has every carrier and resource available in the market today to help you effectively sell Medicare products over the phone.
Be Prepared
When COVID-19 hit, a bulk of Pinnacle’s agents were ahead of the curve because they had already been trained and were using at least one of Pinnacle’s TWO Medicare Online Enrollment Platforms, Connecture or Sunfire. These two platforms have been a complete game changer for telephonic sales. Both allow the agent to write applications in person or remotely with multiple signature options including the Text to Sign feature. This feature allows an agent to send a scope to a client via text as well as the capability to simply text the client after the application has been completed for the signature. Along with the Agent guided enrollments, both platforms offer agents a “PURL”. A PURL is a consumer facing website which allows the client to browse, compare and enroll in plans unassisted. Every application that is submitted through your PURL goes directly to the carrier and the agent is paid on the application as they would any other.
Create New Sales Opportunities
While a lot of agents had to adjust to no longer having Face to face appointments, they also began seeing opportunities they never considered. Now there were no limits to where your clients could be located. If you were selling in a certain county or two now, you are open to the entire state or multiple states. While a lot of grass roots opportunities took a hit, being able to market to an entire state or multiple states without having any travel time opened its own set of opportunity. Pinnacle has various lead programs to support agents selling over the phone which were able to supply them with a stream of leads to maximize their production
Where to Start
You want to start by making sure all your contracts and appointments are in order. Reach out to your Marketer to help create a business plan. If you are expanding into new counties or states, they will be able to guide you to which contracts and products you should be offering. Your marketer is your best resource, do not be afraid to use them. If you are not up to speed on the online enrollment tools or how to sell compliantly they will do one on one training until you’re comfortable to begin selling over the phone. They will also train you on any relevant carrier enrollment options such as UnitedHealthcare’s voice signature feature. Take a look at Pinnacle’s Virtual office and reach out to your marketer today to get selling over the phone!
Nick Palo
Vice President, Health Sales
