Sure, you're ethical. But do you tell the truth? π
Most employee benefits professionals are ethical. [Dramatic pause] But, they don't always tell the truth.
Getting the right employee benefits solutions to the right customers (at the right time) isn't easy. It's further complicated by the fact that many brokers don't tell the truth to sales reps who've pitched solutions for their clients.
I'm not talking about dropping waivers off a census or forgetting to disclose large claims. Those are rare, sleazy moves that should be dealt with swiftly and surgically.
I'm concerned about the hundreds of times a day companies believe they've received feedback on a proposal when it may not even have been evaluated by the broker, let alone their customer. Sometimes there's no feedback at all.
I recently met with a national sales team to discuss how to get actionable feedback about their position from a broker.
Their minds were blown at my suggestion that sometimes a broker's polite way of breaking up is to relay that the client "has a lot going on and can't move forward this year." Maybe. π
The truth is that not all proposals end up getting a thorough review and/or presented to the client. It doesn't mean brokers aren't open to new ideas or are only motivated by compensation. Sometimes the clock just runs out on the process. β°
There are a bunch of people in the benefits ecosystem who care about products, pricing and positioning, though.
When they don't have the truth about why they're not in the mix, they waste a lot of energy trying to solve problems they don't have. That inefficiency makes me crazy. π€―
Let's commit to being honest about where a proposal stands, even if that means you have to tell a group rep that it wasn't reviewed or included in your recommendations. Or there wasn't time in the client meeting to review it. At least then they'll know that their obstacle to growth has more to with gaining mindshare than with terms & conditions.
I'd like to get this conversation started with these requests:
β Always close the loop with any company that has provided you a proposal
β Be honest about how far along in your process they traveled and why they're not moving forward
What hits a nerve here? What did I miss? Let me know what's on your mind.
