Benefits renewal season is fast approaching
To say there is a lot of uncertainty in the economy at the moment is an understatement, and the whole topic of jobs and employment is a hot potato. Many employers are grappling with the impact of COVID-19 on their businesses… Enter benefits renewal season.
Under normal circumstances, renewal season is the most stressful time of the year. But things are anything but normal. Benefits consulting teams and clients are all working remote. Limited budgets are placing more pressure to deliver strong financial results. And, in an environment where work can be more than a little disjointed, you need enough lead time to allow for effective implementation.
The underlying question underpinning these considerations is: How do you grow business, or at least hold onto clients, during a pandemic?
Employers have little wriggle room in their budgets and are looking for their advisors to bring their ‘A Game’, especially when it comes to benefits, the second largest cost for many organizations, after payroll.
So how can you ‘WOW’ employers that are not in a state to be easily impressed? By providing more insightful analysis, finishing renewals long before the deadlines, and upgrading your delivery vehicle to exceed their expectations in a remote environment.
Imagine flipping the current process on its head? What if you could provide real time analysis right in meetings? How about letting clients see marketing results that are updated instantly, rather than waiting for ‘the big reveal’ weeks down the road? And just suppose you could cut the time to finalize renewals by up to 50%?
In uncertain times, there is a greater need for forward thinking and planning. Clients taking it down to the wire on their renewal plan decisions is not going to be good for your business or stress levels!
Call them up with some good news
A good way of stirring real interest in people who are pre-occupied, and who may not be in a mood where they are easy to impress, is to stimulate them with something that really cuts through.
Just suppose, you called them up proposing a meeting and pitching something they haven’t seen before, a game-changer for renewal time?
“… Imagine… we model benefit plan and contribution scenarios in real time, live in your renewal meetings and video conferences?”
Vertical Fox puts plan data in the cloud, eliminating spreadsheets and binders. You present your client data in digital format, allowing you to show the data ‘live in action’.
A key feature here is modelling, where the platform lets you alter variables and recalculate plans on the fly. Being able to provide accurate figures, in real time and on the spot, often saving weeks of back and forth and negotiation.
For employee benefits brokers, we think this has something of a WOW factor. If anything can impress your clients and accelerate renewal cycles, Vertical Fox can.
Real substance beyond the WOW
There’s no need to worry clients might lose interest after their initial WOW. Real time modelling of complex plans is a feature that carries some really strong residuals.
First, you boost your consulting capability as you are able to explain the nuances of their employee population, costs, and programs, and analyze each by their different characteristics. This provides your clients with a thorough understanding of how their data shapes your recommendations.
With all the plan data in the system and verified, you have confidence that when you run the numbers you are getting trustworthy, actionable outputs.
Second, the Vertical Fox portal puts all the information you want at your clients’ fingertips. You no longer have to wait to have every single proposal in house to progress renewals and plan marketing. The portal shifts the emphasis to a process of continuous engagement, collaboration, and transparency.
Putting yourself in the client’s shoes at renewal time, it’s pretty much a certainty you would prefer a broker that presented your plan options with Vertical Fox.
Quite simply, you achieve a lot more in meetings in less time, with a more proactive and collaborative process that provides a better customer experience.
Imagine… accelerating renewal cycles with Vertical Fox
Vertical Fox takes the time and legwork out of organizing plan data and adds value with the Wow factor of real time plan modelling, unrivalled by any other management tools in the industry.
As an employee benefits broker, you demonstrate sound underwriting to clients and negotiate more effectively with the marketplace. With Vertical Fox, your clients can be sure of the bigger picture as you leverage the right information to drive the right decisions on their behalf and deliver results faster than ever.
Built by brokers for brokers, we designed Vertical Fox to fit in with the way that brokers need to work today. Why not book your personalized demo now to see what it could do for your employee benefits brokerage?
