CHAMPION CHAT

Nurturing and Growing Existing Accounts

In our recent polls, we asked about how you handle reworking existing accounts. All too often, these opportunities are squandered because we don't put the right systems in place to nurture and grow these valuable resources.

I equate this strategy with one of my hobbies that I find cathartic... gardening. When you plant a flower or vegetable garden, you start with seeds or seedlings using a quality mix of topsoil, garden mix, and fertilizer to promote growth. You water regularly and prune the plants to encourage healthy development. Working your existing accounts is virtually the same.

Consistent Communication

First, you have to develop a tool for monthly communication with your accounts. I started using a monthly fax in 1998 and with the advent of email it evolved into an email sent on the 15th of every month. This email was designed to express how important each company and their employees were to me. First, it thanked them for allowing me to offer programs and services to every employee. Then it had questions to help me provide top flight service. So the tool asked the following questions;

1. Have any employees left the company? (This aids greatly in conserving policies. If you can contact the former employee sooner the better the chances the insured maintains the policy)
2. Do any employees need assistance with filing a claim?
3. Are there any issues with your billing?
4. Do you have any new employees?
5. Do you know of any companies who might be interested in offering their employees the ability to protect themselves and/or their family?

This monthly communication is accompanied by a quarterly phone call to each account. If you would like a copy of this tool reach out to me and we can review it.

Laying the Groundwork:

It all starts in December. This is when you lay out your rework schedule. To determine the best time to conduct open enrollment, consider the following:

1. Busy Seasons: Avoid conducting open enrollments during the account's busy season.
2. Relationship Strength: Assess the solidity of your relationship with the decision make, the payroll administrator and any other key players.
3. Enrollment Conditions: Aim to improve enrollment conditions, such as conducting group meetings followed by mandatory individual meetings with every employee.
4. Communication Channels: Ensure you can post information and distribute monthly communications to employees.
5. Company Events: Seek permission to attend and contribute to company events, such as holiday parties, company picnics, and annual meetings.

Step-by-Step Nurturing Process:

1. Annual Rework Schedule: Set your annual rework schedule so your reworks are evenly distributed throughout the year. Ensure each account knows the specific week(s) you'll be there to review coverages and talk to every employee—no exceptions. Avoid the common mistake of scheduling all open enrollments in the fourth quarter, which can lead to a low-producing January and a poor first quarter. When I was an agent, manager, and agency owner, January was my highest producing month for first-year annualized premium. Why? Because my open enrollments were evenly distributed across all 12 months, which allowed me to prospect heavily during Q4 . A strong January leads to a strong year. It's how I became a life and qualifying member of The Million Dollar Roundtable.
2. Client Meetings: Take each business owner, decision maker, and payroll administrator out to coffee or a meal in the fourth quarter to thank them for their business and to set the open enrollment table. During this meeting, lay out your plan to communicate with every employee, set enrollment conditions, get permission for the payroll admin to distribute a monthly message (electronically and/or via memo), attend company events, and contribute to these events. Right there, establish the communication schedule with the team.
3. Consistent Nurturing: Draft 12 communications using emails, company pieces, service questionnaires, and memos. Regularly engage with the account and the employees so they remain receptive to you, your programs, and your services.
4. Personalized Gifts: Next, get a small gift and a personalized card for the holiday season (candy, a cookie, or a chocolate with a handwritten personal card for the holiday season, then cards for obscure holidays). If possible, attend the holiday party and distribute them to each person. This is a great PR move and boosted my average participation rate to 94% in my accounts.

Conclusion

By implementing these strategies, I was able to foster growth and engagement with our existing accounts, especially during open enrollment. Remember, the key to success lies in consistently nurturing these relationships and providing value at every touchpoint.

Folks, let me take this time to remind you that I am here to help. If you want to talk about your challenges or bounce ideas off me just reach out. You can text me at 708.870.7306, email me at [email protected] or take advantage of my offer to help you or your team by setting up a no cost, complimentary discovery coaching session by clicking on the Calendly link below and set up a 30 minute session on Zoom:

https://calendly.com/championcoachjoe/discovery-coaching-call

How do you handle reworking existing accounts? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below! We want and value your input!