How to Retain Your Clients During Medicare OEP

Loyalty…it’s rare these days.

We have new plans every year competing with one another, and while you could make the argument that that is good (because it forces the carriers to improve their products), it also shapes consumer behavior.

So as you work hard to attract new clients, you’ve gotta make sure that they stick with you regardless of what health plan they are enrolled in.

You aren’t selling them on a product, but rather, you’re selling them on the trust and level of service they receive from you. 

Those initial Medicare Advantage commissions are a great foundational income, but if you want to build momentum, you’ve gotta keep them on the books. The longer you can keep them, the more income you’ll make in the long run.

Plus, the more happy clients you have, the more referrals you can generate. It’s kinda like the buy-and-hold strategy for retirement. 

Excerpt from “Good to Great” by Jim Collins

“Picture a huge, heavy flywheel—a massive metal disk mounted horizontally on an axle, about 30 feet in diameter, 2 feet thick, and weighing about 5,000 pounds. Now imagine that your task is to get the flywheel rotating on the axle as fast and long as possible.

Pushing with great effort, you get the flywheel to inch forward, moving almost imperceptibly at first. You keep pushing and, after two or three hours of persistent effort, you get the flywheel to complete one entire turn.

You keep pushing, and the flywheel begins to move a bit faster, and with continued great effort, you move it around a second rotation.

You keep pushing in a consistent direction. Three turns … four … five … six … the flywheel builds up speed … seven … eight … you keep pushing … nine … ten … it builds momentum … eleven … twelve … moving faster with each turn … twenty … thirty … fifty … a hundred. 

Then, at some point—breakthrough!

The momentum of the thing kicks in in your favor, hurling the flywheel forward, turn after turn … whoosh! … its own heavy weight working for you. You’re pushing no harder than during the first rotation, but the flywheel goes faster and faster.

Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort. A thousand times faster, then ten thousand, then a hundred thousand. The huge heavy disk flies forward, with almost unstoppable momentum.”

We also know that even though CMS has been cracking the whip on all of the Medicare scams out there, your clients are still being bombarded with advertisements telling them to switch plans, and as a result, switch agents, so you’ve gotta play defense. 

What can I do to boost my client retention?

Be a good agent

Reflect on the previous enrollment season and look for areas where you can improve, whether that’s your processes, interpersonal skills, or whatever you think needs improvement, and make that a priority this year.

Organize your client data

Get your client data in order, whether that’s a CRM or spreadsheet, leveraging the technology we provide here at The Brokerage…whatever works best for you.

Pull reports on those important details, like birthdays, the preferred method of contact, and spouse and kids’ names and ages.

You might think, “wow…that sounds like a lot of work.” I get it…but this stuff matters.

If you don’t do it, you can’t complain when people aren’t loyal to you. Remember…insurance is not their world…they all have lives. 

Send Birthday Cards

Send birthday cards…this can be automated using software like our friends at ClientCircle. There are several options out there. 

30-60-90 Day Check-Ins

Set up 30, 60, and 90-day check-ins to make sure your clients are taken care of. This could be through calls, texts, mail…whatever your client prefers. 

Monthly Newsletters

A lot of our agents have found success with a monthly email newsletter containing helpful health-related topics, insurance q&a, etc.

You could plan these out several months in advance, and there are also services like our friends at BrightFire where your blog is automatically updated each week with new content.

You could also share this same content on social media if your clients are connected with you there. 

NPS Surveys & Review Requests

This is also a good time of year to send an NPS (net promoter score) survey or a review request as part of your follow-up.

If a client leaves a good review, great, you just got some free marketing. If they don’t, then you know you need to follow up with them. 

Medicare OEP do’s and don’ts

Remember that this time of year, there are some rules to follow for OEP marketing.

You can market to people who are aging into Medicare, people who qualify for a SEP, 5-star Medicare Advantage plans, and Dual Eligible and Low Income Subsidy beneficiaries. 

But, you cannot send beneficiaries unsolicited communications about the ability to make any additional changes or reference the OEP.

If people are asking for your help to make a change during OEP, that’s fine.