Open enrollment season may have just ended, but now is the right time to start talking to prospects about how you can help next year’s open enrollment run more efficiently. Starting the conversation early will allow you to take advantage of the challenges they recently faced and help them build a strategy for a better open enrollment this year and beyond.
Before the 2020 open enrollment season, more than half of brokers estimated that 75% or more of open enrollment activities would be fully digital. If your prospects had to shift from paper to platform quickly, they may have been caught off guard and likely faced frustrations along the way.
Right now, they’re open to speaking with a knowledgeable benefit consultant who can provide a technology solution without the headaches of last season. This allows you to change the script and lead the conversation with technology. Since the pandemic struck, brokers who included BenAdmin software as a part of their service offering won BOR at a rate of nearly 2 to 1 over brokers who did not.
If you’re ready to win new BOR in Q1 this year, here are three steps you can take to wow prospects (and help retain clients too).
1 – Change the narrative
Employers are used to hearing the same conversations surrounding price and plan offerings. When you head into the prospect meeting, they’re expecting you to let them know that rates are likely increasing but that you can find some ways to save them money, and that as legislation changes you’ll keep them up-to-date.
Now is a better time than ever to lead with technology to provide a real solution to a pressing issue they face. Are they having technology regret? Were they forced to cobble together a solution for their remote employees? How much time did tech cost them last year… and shouldn’t it be the other way around? These kinds of questions break away from the typical broker conversation and allow you to stand out as a proactive adviser.
2 – Be flexible
Employers have various needs when it comes to employee benefits solutions—that’s why it’s so crucial they have a benefit consultant who can navigate through plans and carriers to find the right fit for their employees. The same philosophy also applies to how those benefits are administered and managed at open enrollment and throughout the year.
Some brokers offer a single solution when it comes to tech, but why is that the case? Look for software solutions that can be tailored to the client’s specific needs and helps solve their unique pain points.
When you aren’t tied to a single platform, you can offer a dynamic solution that truly helps them in the ways technology should, by:
- Saving time
- Increasing convenience for employee and employer alike
- Streamlining employee benefits communication
- Creating a one-stop-shop for all things employee benefits related
This allows you to make the conversation about them and not about a single software product you want to squeeze them on to.
3 – Don’t bear the tech burden
Benefit consultants are used to being the go-to for all of the client’s needs and traditionally have brought quality employee benefits at the best possible price. The fact is technology has been entering the insurance world for decades and now more than ever employers have an urgent need for reliable tech solutions. As their needs grow, so should the service offerings from their benefit consultant.
This changing trend doesn’t mean that benefit consultants should or even want to become technology experts. Teaming up with the right technology partner can provide your clients and prospects with a full scope of employee benefits administration expertise. When the you have the right partner, it’s like having an entire tech department for that business—without needing to take on the time burden or spend.
Now is the time to open up the conversation about next year’s enrollment and introduce solutions that will be the best fit for providing their employees with access to their benefits. A Better BenAdmin platform helps employers stay compliant, organized, and in communication with the whole organization year-round. The right BenAdmin solution also gives employees a one-stop-shop for accessing important forms, documents, evidence of insurability (EOI), benefits information, and enrollment options.
Bring a full-spectrum solution to the table in your prospect meetings to help you win BOR in 2021. ebm offers multiple best-in-breed BenAdmin software solutions (along with full-service implementation and ongoing support) to clients without you having to worry about the tech. Learn more at https://getebm.com/brokers/.
