Ultimate Guide to Selling Medicare Over the Phone

Insurance sales continue to change as Baby Boomers are spending more time online and engaging in various social media platforms, in fact, 40 percent of seniors use smartphones. Since Baby Boomers readily familiarize themselves with technology, you should make your phone a huge component of your overall marketing and sales strategy. Many of your prospects may actually prefer to use their phones rather than meet face-to-face or use paper forms when engaging with your insurance agency.

Let’s dive into what you need to know about the opportunity of phone sales for both Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans.

Selling Medicare Plans Over the Phone

This article discusses the two paths agents can take a customer when educating on their Medicare choices.

1. Medicare Supplements
2. Medicare Advantage plans.

You can sell Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplements, and prescription drug plans over the phone with ease thanks to emerging technology that supports the customer experience.  

Selling Medicare insurance plans over the phone gives you the unique opportunity to connect people with quality and affordable health coverage, and most people don’t want to spend time sorting through thousands of plans online. They want someone to point them in the right direction and make suggestions based on their budget and lifestyle needs.

How to Sell Medicare Advantage Plans Over the Phone

Medicare advantage sales have exceeded Medicare supplements in 2023, so knowing how to sell Medicare Advantage plans over the phone is a critical skillset for independent agents as consumers are more comfortable making insurance purchase decisions using technology.

The base level of qualification is a beneficiary must have original Medicare which consists of Part A and Part B. Part D is required, but it’s not uncommon to come across someone who doesn’t currently have part D, which will require some additional education.

The process to sell over the phone is as follows.

1. You must be a licensed health insurance agent.

2. Become AHIP certified for the current year.

3. Contract and certify with the various insurance companies.

4. Implement technology to meet compliance requirements.  This includes quoting and enrollment software, CRM, and a VOIP phone system with recording backup and storage.

5. Submit sales scripting for compliance.

6. If you are starting a call center, you’ll need to connect with your FMO on the specific compliance requirement checklist. If they don’t have a checklist for starting a call center, you should work with an FMO who has that subject matter expertise.

Lastly, most Medicare-eligible individuals will have only two enrollment periods during which you can sell to them.

1. The Initial Enrollment Period (IEP), which is the seven months surrounding their 65th birthday. These plans pay the highest commission as it’s the first time an individual is enrolling in Medicare, but it’s the most competitive target market.

2. The Annual Enrollment Period (AEP), which is from October 15 to December 07. Some beneficiaries may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP), which allows you to sell to them at any point during the year.  These will be 80-90% of your sales, so you’ll want to forecast your earning accordingly as “replacement” commissions are lower than “new to Medicare”.

How to Sell Medicare Supplements by Phone

Learning how to sell Medicare Supplements is not overly different, but you need to know that Medicare beneficiaries cannot enroll in both a MA plan and a Medigap plan, so it’s important to determine your client’s needs so you aren’t offering something they can’t use.

The process to sell over the phone is as follows.

1. You must be a licensed health insurance agent to sell Medicare supplements.

2. Contract with the carriers that are competitive in your target markets for both Medicare supplements and prescription drug coverage.

3. Complete sales training for the various Medigap plans available from your upline.

4. Implement technology that allows you to ingest leads and support the sales cycle.

5. Create an insurance marketing strategy to execute through out the year to generate Medicare leads. Lead generation is a moving target and must be closely monitored to avoid operating outside of budget.

You can sell Medicare Supplements (Medigap) plans at any time of the year without having to wait for the AEP, which gives you an opportunity to earn commissions all year.

How Do I Get Paid?

Getting paid for phone sales is the same as field sales.

In order to sell any Medicare plan, you have to contract and certify for the current year with the carrier. Once a beneficiary enrolls in a plan, and the plan becomes effective, the carrier will pay you the first year commissions. Subsequently, renewal commissions will start on the 13th month paid on an as earned basis.

You can get paid faster if your clients are open to e-enrollment, because it eliminates sending paperwork through the mail. Baby Boomers who use smartphones will likely be less skeptical of digital enrollment than those who don’t, so it’s important to learn your clients’ comfort level with technology.

Commissions are either paid directly by the insurance carrier or your upline, but that is all carrier specific and something you should talk to your FMO about.

How to Talk to Medicare Beneficiaries

In order to effectively sell Medicare by phone, you’ll have to speak your prospects’ language in terms they understand and connect with.

Medicare sales requires both subject matter expertise and a high level of patience when explaining how the various types of plans work.

• Speak confidently. Your prospect will think you’re hiding something if you stumble over words.

• Be polite. Baby Boomers appreciate good manners and proper phone etiquette.

• Listen. If you are asking the right questions, you’ll have an abundance of information from your prospects.

Baby Boomers like details and information, which is another reason you have to be an expert in Medicare plans. You don’t want to have to continuously put a client on hold while you research their questions about plan details. Go into the meeting organized. Use a CRM to remind you when to call people.

Building Rapport

You want to build rapport as quickly as possible with your Baby Boomer prospect. You want to be friendly and approachable, but be careful about becoming too informal. Keep your conversations professional. Ask probing questions and demonstrate that you understand the answer. Use phrases such as, “So from what I understand, you’re looking for a plan that features [insert benefit here].”

Show your clients you care. Health insurance is confusing, and if you’re patient with answers to prospects’ questions, they’ll be more likely to trust you. If your clients go into long stories about their personal lives, gently guide them back to the topic at hand. Your conversations should be intentional, but not stiff.

Word of mouth is huge among Baby Boomers. If you provide a great customer experience, they’ll recommend you to their friends and family. While you aren’t allowed to explicitly ask for referrals in regards to Medicare Advantage, your clients can forward your contact information.

Develop a Medicare Sales Script

Face-to-face vs. a phone call creates the urgent need to have a dedicated sales process and script as you can’t rely on other sales tactics such as body language to help you.

A script is a useful tool for guiding a conversation and staying on-topic. Scripts will also help you stay compliant with CMS and your carriers.

Your script should start with an introduction including your insurance agency’s name. It should explain why you’re calling and should get to the point quickly. To allow the client to feel empowered, ask if the caller wants to talk to you or if there is a better time to call back. Ask about your client’s current insurance plan and make notes in your CRM. Once you’ve learned what they’re in the market for, you can offer matching plans.

Speak to your clients on their level and keep things casual. They don’t understand Medicare like you do. You want your client to forget that they’re on a sales call and feel like they’re just having a normal conversation. Avoid jargon and typical sales phrases. What may look great on a one-sheet may sound forced over the phone.

Once you have a great script, commit it to memory. You should speak extemporaneously rather than reading the material. If you absolutely must read, vary your pitch so you don’t sound robotic.

Start Selling Medicare Over the Phone and In-Person With Senior Market Advisors

Senior Market Advisors provides its agents with the tools they need for success in Medicare phone sales.

• Access to competitive plans in your area.
• Quoting and enrollment software.
• Sales training and mentorship.
• Lead generation.
• Road map to a six-figure residual income supporting customers with their needs.

This post was originally published on June 4, 2019. It was last updated on February 12, 2024