Rest of Year selling season for Medicare (ROY) is the time frame outside of Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) and Open Enrollment Period (OEP) and often presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities, especially this year with all the turmoil we have had.
ROY is when the most successful agencies lay the groundwork for growth and retention and I have personally found that many agencies fail to capitalize due to a few common mistakes, which are completely avoidable if you’re willing to put the work in.
Here are my thoughts.
Not Staying in Contact with Existing Clients
This part blows my mind, but hindsight is 20 20. When I first started selling Medicare plans, I was laser focused on sales sales sales, and for all the right reasons, survival. However, as you continue to grow, add agents to your team, and become a traditional insurance agency, communication with your book of business is just as important as bringing in new customers.
Many agencies shift their focus away from existing clients during ROY, which can lead to missed opportunities and client attrition.
- Mistake: Assuming clients are satisfied and don’t need assistance until the next enrollment period.
- Solution: Stay proactive. Conduct plan reviews, check in about changes in their health or finances, and remind clients about value-added services like dental or vision coverage.
- Why It Matters: Regular touchpoints build loyalty, reduce churn, and create cross-selling opportunities.
Ignoring Special Enrollment Periods (SEPs)
Leveraging SEPs in Medicare is all about education, so you need to understand which SEPs are impacting your service areas and how to communicate those to your customers and potential prospects. It’s something they expect you to know and understand well, and if you aren’t explaining it to someone, then another agent will and you’ll likely lose business.
SEPs can drive significant business during ROY, but many agencies fail to educate their agents or clients about these opportunities.
- Mistake: Ignoring SEPs for qualifying life events like moving, loss of employer coverage, dual-eligible status, and natural disaster impacts.
- Solution: Train your agents to identify SEP triggers and actively discuss them with their prospects and customers to ensure they have knowledge of the SEP and can take action if it impacts them. This can be as simple as a one page sheet per state that breaks down any SEP that currently exists.
- Why It Matters: SEPs allow agents to enroll clients outside of AEP and OEP, keeping revenue flowing during quieter months. This will also boost your agent’s confidence that you have their best interests in mind by keeping them supported in order to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Neglecting Lead Generation Efforts
During ROY, some agencies let lead generation take a back seat, waiting for AEP to ramp things up again. But, as things continue to change the way they are, you should be, if you’re not already, leveraging supplemental solutions to help make your practice more holistic. This opens up many doors to lead generation efforts in the offseason.
- Mistake: Pausing marketing campaigns or failing to build a pipeline of prospects.
- Solution: Invest in consistent marketing efforts like community workshops, local SEO, and social media campaigns to generate a steady stream of leads. Local SEO is great because it takes time to produce, so start it early and let it grow. Community workshops are great for consistency in your community and we say it all the time, familiarity breeds trust. The more you are visible, the more trust you build in the community.
- Why It Matters: Building your pipeline during ROY ensures you’re not scrambling for prospects when enrollment periods begin. Using additional products like hospital indemnity, final expense and short term care are great ways to round out your accounts and capture future Medicare opportunities.
Focusing Solely on Medicare Advantage
It only makes sense this comes next in the line up. I say it all the time, if you’re not bundling hospital indemnity with every single Medicare Advantage sale, you aren’t doing right by your client. And, when I say bundle, I don’t mean enroll, I’m referring to educating how the two plans work together.
While Medicare Advantage plans are often a primary focus during AEP, limiting your product offerings during ROY can leave money on the table.
- Mistake: Ignoring ancillary products like dental, vision, hospital indemnity, or cancer policies.
- Solution: Diversify your offerings and educate clients about supplemental coverage that fills gaps in their Medicare plans. Offer hospital indemnity solutions with every Medicare advantage plan and it will meet the need of a percentage of your customers. Every meeting you aren’t presenting it, you’re missing a sales and referral opportunity for an additional policy.
- Why It Matters: These products not only boost your revenue but also improve client satisfaction and retention. When you are presenting solutions in a holistic manner, you are showing your clients you care about them, even if they don’t buy. And, if they don’t buy, you’ll probably see your base product conversion rates go up because your prospects will have stronger trust and belief that you have their best interest in mind.
Poor Time Management
This one probably feels cliché for some people, but at it’s core, its the root of the problem for good agents becoming great.
Without the urgency of AEP or OEP, some agencies struggle with productivity during ROY, leading to wasted time and missed opportunities. There is a snow ball effect that occurs through out the entire sales cycle.
- Mistake: Allowing the slower pace to lead to complacency or disorganization.
- Solution: You need to set the standard. Create a structured ROY strategy with clear goals for client retention, lead generation, and training. Use your agency CRM to stay on track. Focus in on holistic sales training and help your team understand how to structure their schedules to account for critical additions such as 5-10 minutes extra per meeting to present hospital indemnity and supplemental products.
- Why It Matters: Consistency during ROY ensures your agency remains productive and prepared for peak seasons. Establishing the standard of excellence will spill over into all aspects of your team’s productivity.
Failing to Invest in Agent Development
ROY is the perfect time to make up for lost time and invest in your team.
- Mistake: You assume agents don’t need ongoing education or support outside of AEP and OEP. You assume they fully understand every concept.
- Solution: Stop assuming and provide training on new products, sales techniques, and regulatory changes. Offer mentorship programs or role-playing scenarios to sharpen skills. Be their leader, it’s what they want and need no matter how much you might believe they don’t.
- Why It Matters: A well-trained team is more confident, productive, and capable of seizing opportunities year-round. Accountability breeds trust, teamwork and toughness, all ingredients of maximum performing sales teams.
Ignoring Community Outreach
Like SEO, community engagement is a long-term strategy that can pay dividends, but agencies often deprioritize it during ROY because it doesn’t convert as quickly as leads. Remember, leads are converting better during AEP and OEP, the offseason always get’s harder and you don’t want get tunnel vision.
- Mistake: Failing to build relationships with local organizations, providers, or community centers.
- Solution: Host educational events, partner with local businesses, or sponsor community activities to increase visibility and build trust.
- Why It Matters: Strong local connections can drive referrals and position your agency as the go-to resource for senior insurance needs. Remember what I said earlier, familiarity builds trust…this is an easy way to keep up your momentum.
Conclusion
ROY isn’t just the time between AEP and OEP—it’s an opportunity to strengthen your business, nurture client relationships, and position your agency for sustained growth.
By avoiding these common mistakes and focusing on proactive strategies, your agency can thrive year-round and enter each enrollment period stronger than ever.
Take the time to plan, engage, and invest during ROY, and you’ll see the payoff in client retention, revenue growth, and team performance.
