On June 30th, GHG hosted a panel discussion with Bill Stapleton of HPOne, Dwane McFerrin of Senior Market Sales, and Tom Richert of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana to discuss the challenges of selling during an election year with the possibility of no “kitchen table” sales.

Our speakers shared their unique perspectives on the best strategies to deploy for a fruitful 2021 AEP and beyond.

If you did not get a chance to attend the webinar, click here to view the recording.

Some of the key questions answered in this discussion include:

• How has the current climate impacted your brokers? Organizations that are able to utilize distributors are being impacted far less than organizations that are dependent on face-to-face agents. These face-to-face agents are discovering that they must they find ways to adopt new technologies to stay competitive in today’s selling landscape. – Dwane McFerrin, Vice President of Medicare Solutions, Senior Market Sales

• How is this push to adopt technology impacting your senior population? Some are fairly quick to adopt, while others are more resistant. Many carriers have had to introduce alternative enrollment methods that don’t require high levels of computer literacy, and “agent-aided self-enrollment” may very well be a crucial part of AEP this year. – Dwane McFerrin, Vice President of Medicare Solutions, Senior Market Sales

• What kind of support have health plans been asking for since things started changing in March? In short, plans are asking for support in three critical ways: 1) flexibility on staffing and scripting, 2) more robust technology, and 3) marketing assistance. – Bill Stapleton, CEO, HPOne

• When developing a marketing strategy, how can plans ensure that their ads are reaching their target audience? Now more than ever, plans need to stay flexible and be willing to move media dollars around to accommodate the current and evolving political climate. – Tom Richert, Vice President of Marketing, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

The answers to these questions and many more are discussed at length in GHG’s June 30th webinar titled, “AEP Sales Strategies for a Pandemic & a Presidential Election.” Click below to receive access to a recording of the webinar and explore the various insights from the panelists.

Where Do We Go from Here?

Now more than ever, MA plans must be prepared to adjust and pivot sales and marketing strategies to address a post-COVID-19 world and this busy election year. For help building a strategy for 2021 AEP, get in touch with GHG’s Sales and Marketing experts.

Special thanks to Dwane McFerrin of Senior Market Sales and Bill Stapleton of HPOne for joining GHG and contributing to such engaging conversation!

As a full-service insurance marketing organization (IMO), Senior Market Sales is dedicated to helping independent insurance agents leverage time, make more money and put their business in a position of distinction. Contact SMS to learn more about their services.

HPOne has quickly become one of the highest performing marketing, member acquisition and retention companies in the health insurance industry. Contact HPOne for more information on their custom sales, marketing, and contact center solutions.