Tips for Selling Medicare Insurance Successfully

As the U.S. population continues to age, the need for Medicare insurance plans is increasing. It’s estimated that there will be nearly 80 million Americans 65 years old or older by 2035, and many of them will need Medicare insurance plans to cover their medical needs.

As of 2019, there were 22 million Americans enrolled in one of the Medicare Advantage plans on the market, and that’s only expected to grow in the coming years. If you’re looking to start selling Medicare insurance, here are some tips on how you can be successful doing so.

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Get the Proper Licenses

To sell any insurance products, you will need to have the proper training and obtain the proper licenses. Each state has different requirements when it comes to what is needed to sell insurance. The first tip for selling Medicare insurance successfully is to make sure you are meeting those requirements.

The good news about selling Medicare supplemental insurance is that you don’t need any special certification or license to sell it.

If you want to sell either Part D prescription drug plans or Medicare Advantage, you do need to acquire an annual AHIP certification — which stands for America’s Health Insurance Plans. This certification will typically take eight hours to complete and cost roughly $150.

You’ll also need to make sure you’re certified with all the insurance carriers you want to sell Medicare plans through.

Study the Plans

Seniors have many different needs, and there are many different Medicare plans that can serve those needs. If you want to sell Medicare insurance successfully, you should be well-versed on all the plans you offer and why they are good for your target audience.

When you pick up the phone or meet with prospective clients in person, present them various options for how you can ensure they’re covered properly at the best possible rate.

Being able to quote specific plan features that could help them on a practical level will go a long way in your success. Seniors like to be told in plain terms how the Medicare insurance plans you offer will help make their lives easier.

Be Nice and Sympathetic

When selling insurance to seniors, it’s always a good idea to take a softer approach. Sympathize with your prospective clients’ needs and situation and explain to them how you can make it simple for them.

Medicare insurance can be quite complicated. If you take a gentle approach with seniors and simplify the plans for them, they’ll be more likely to trust you and the products you offer.

Use Technology to Your Advantage

While you may not think of your target audience as power users of technology, you should also keep in mind that today’s seniors are much more tech savvy than those in the past. It’s likely many of your prospects will at least have a Facebook page and know how to use it.

In addition, keep in mind that you’re not just marketing directly to the seniors themselves. You’ll also be marketing to their children, who often help make medical decisions for their parents.

Because of this, you should use technology to your advantage. In the back-end, utilizing a powerful CRM system will help you track the progress of your prospects and pipeline, and stay on top of those prospects who are most likely to turn into clients.

On the front-end, you can use digital tools to market your Medicare products to seniors and their children. Social media advertising is a great way to do this, as is search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). This will ensure that your services are in front of people when they’re searching for Medicare insurance products.

Become a Part of the Community

Seniors like to work with people they trust. They also are often very prideful in the communities in which they live.

As such, a great way to engender yourself to the senior community is to get involved. Have a booth at local events, farmers’ markets and other senior living events. Sponsor different events at senior centers or at grocery stores.

Networking in the community will help, too. As you build trust with other colleagues, they are likely to refer you to potential clients as they see you’re a Medicare expert. They may even directly refer you to their parents if they need help.

Work with Other Insurance Agents

It’s also great to network with other insurance agents, especially if they offer different products than you do. In this way, you’ll be able to learn from some of your colleagues in the field and try some of the tactics that may be working for them to attract clients.

In addition, if they don’t offer Medicare insurance plans, they can refer potential clients your way. In turn, you can refer them clients who are looking for products you may not offer.

Mutually-beneficial relationships like that can always bring a positive return on the amount you invest into them.

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