Humana: New to Digital Marketing and Virtual Sales? Start Here.
Chances are, you’re doing more online than you have before whether it’s grocery shopping, visiting the doctor, or meeting with clients. In fact, transitioning to virtual client interactions is imperative to help them stay safe and healthy in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
We know that changing how you work overnight may sound overwhelming at first, but chances are, you’ve made big, perhaps even scarier or uncomfortable changes before, which means you’re adaptable. Transitioning to virtual sales this AEP is a must for your Book of Business and for the well-being of your clients. You’re not alone in this transition.
Humana can help you transition your workflow from in-person to remote. What you do stays the same even if how you do it changes. You don’t have to lose your personal touch just because you’ve moved client interactions online. In fact, maintaining that humanity will only help you in the digital realm. Let’s dive in.
Sales-cycle basics
First, we want to properly set the stage, so you understand the terminology we’ll be using, and how the various parts of the sales cycle work together. It’s important to note that the same sales cycle stages apply whether you’re online or offline. What changes is the ways you work in each stage from in-person to digital. The typical Agent sales cycle includes these four stages:
- Lead generation: finding prospects through marketing, referrals and events.
- Sales: understanding the prospect’s or client’s needs and finding and then presenting the right plan for them.
- Enrollment: using Humana’s online tools to enroll prospects or clients in their chosen plan.
- Post-enrollment: regular client follow-up, retention tactics to nurture clients and asking clients to tell friends and family about you.
Older adults continue to adopt technology
Forget the clichés you’ve heard about older adults and technology. The fact is, older adults are online:
- 81% of 60- to 69-year-olds own smartphones[1]
- 73% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet[2]
- 69% of Baby Boomers use Facebook[3]
If you’re not online, you could be missing out on a large portion of the Medicare-eligible population.
Lead generation
Generating leads is key to building your sales pipeline. Here are three ways you can generate leads:
1. Marketing
Marketing builds awareness and engagement for you and your services. It’s what you say about yourself and the images you share. Marketing includes, but is not limited to, the types of online and offline communication channels below. As more and more people move online out of both necessity and convenience, you should focus your marketing on digital channels; however, traditional marketing remains important and should still be a part of your marketing strategy.
- Online marketing channels:
- Website (External Partner Agents only)
- Social media*
- Offline marketing channels:
- Direct mail
- Advertising (online or offline)
- Posters and flyers in the community
If you’re new to digital marketing, choose one or two channels to start with. Once you get the hang of those channels, you can add others. If you’re looking for tips on creating a website or developing a social media* presence, read this. If you’re looking for ways to maximize your social media* efforts, read this. The resources below can help you get started and maximize your efforts.
Marketing Resource Center (MRC) is your one-stop shop for pre-approved, fully customizable and ready-to-use digital and traditional marketing materials for:
- Digital marketing:
- Social media posts*
- Email templates
- Traditional marketing:
- Direct mail: postcards, letters and more
- Print advertisements: posters, flyers and ads
- Sales support: conversation guides
Email and/or mail materials directly to your Book of Business from the MRC. You can also download materials. External Partner Agents can earn 10 Reach Rewards** points for every MRC material download or 30 points for every MRC order placement (Reach Rewards limits per month apply). Learn more about which sales and engagement activities earn Reach Rewards points here.
The MRC features both carrier-agnostic and Humana-branded materials as well as audience-specific pieces for dual-eligible, Veteran and Spanish-speaking prospects and clients with local-market features. Our MRC article gives you a brief download on everything that’s new with the MRC this AEP.
MRC Social Media Tool* helps to take the guesswork out of social media* marketing with ready-to-post content you can customize with your contact information. Since 2012, Facebook* use among seniors has grown exponentially, so it provides an opportunity to converse and connect with your existing Book of Business while generating new leads.[4] Plus, our educational resources will help you make the most of this channel*:
2. Events
Events, whether in-person or online, can help you reach new audiences and collaborate with local organizations and businesses. Events include educational presentations about health and wellness tips to Medicare 101 talks, as well as grassroots activities such as a table or a booth at a local business, fair or market. Virtual events, just like in-person events, help you connect with prospects and clients in an authentic and engaging way. While you lose that face-to-face interaction, you might be able to increase attendance through virtual events as those who otherwise couldn’t come due to having transportation or mobility issues can now participate. Virtual events still let you showcase your personality and services to build your brand. Virtual events typically occur through a video-conference platform like WebEx. Just because the place you’re giving the presentation from is different doesn’t mean the way you give that presentation or how you interact with attendees has to change. It’s the same event as before, it’s just online.
3. Referrals
Referrals or word-of-mouth recommendations from your existing Book of Business can play an integral part in generating leads. Of
all Americans, 83 percent say that a word-of-mouth recommendation from a
friend or family member makes them more likely to purchase that product
or service.[5]
Sales
Selling is problem-solving. It’s discovering what challenges your prospects and clients face and finding the right solutions to meet their unique needs. Whether you do the discovery and solutions presentation over the phone, on a video conference, or in person, the end goal is the same: finding a solution that helps your prospect or client select the best plan for their needs. How you do that might differ slightly between the phone, a video conference, or in person. We’ve developed these resources to help you in various remote or virtual sales situations:
- How emotional intelligence could make your job easier article
- Virtual sales webinar
- Learn how to compliantly discuss providers with these resources.
Enrollment
Going paperless with enrollment could be good for you and your clients. Online enrollment tools can help make the enrollment process faster. With Humana’s online enrollment tools, you can use them on any device or operating system and even print applications for hard-copy records. Humana’s suite of online enrollment tools helps you before, during and after enrollment.
Before enrollment
Mobile-friendly Digital Marketing Materials let you email required sales materials to prospects and clients before a sales appointment with the new pre-appointment email. Now with end-to-end Spanish experience and Veterans and dual-eligible-focused content, you can better communicate with specific audiences.
During enrollment
Enrollment Hub makes online enrollment easier and faster with prefilled CMS data and an end-to-end workflow from Scope of Appointment, Rx Calculator and Digital Marketing Materials integration as well as telephonic and electronic signature options. You can also use FastApp accessible via Vantage to complete online enrollment with telephonic and electronic signature capabilities.
After a fully compliant sales presentation, encourage clients to enroll themselves with Digital Marketing Materials. Send up three plans to let clients compare them side by side.
Earn an additional 30 Reach Rewards** points on top of the enrollment points when you or your client complete an enrollment using one of Humana’s online tools.
After enrollment
After completing the enrollment, perform a Member Care Assessment to
help Humana understand members’ health needs in a six- to eight-minute
survey. Agents can earn a $50 bonus for every survey completed within
two days of enrollment.
Use the My Humana Business Center to stay updated on a member’s enrollment status, submit service inquiries for customer service needs and confirm birthdays so you can send handwritten birthday cards to your Book of Business.
Use these resources to cultivate and retain your Book of Business all year long:
Keeping digital interactions human
You can still leverage your interpersonal skills whether or not you’re face-to-face with prospects or clients. Harness your same listening and empathy skills whether you’re responding to a comment or message. Figure out what the person needs and how you can help. That’s what Humana does to make healthcare more human. We want you to help us. Learn more here.
Need more ideas and tactics for virtualizing your sales process? Click here.
*Agents are only permitted to use Facebook with pre-approved Humana content. Agents must complete the required Social Media Training before using Facebook or the MRC Social Media Tool. Agents must comply with Humana’s social media policies and all CMS guidelines when using social media.
**Applies to eligible Reach Rewards activities. See Reach Rewards terms and conditions for details.
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[1]https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statistics/technology/2019/2020-tech-trends-survey.doi.10.26419-2Fres.00329.001.pdf
[2]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/18/americans-60-and-older-are-spending-more-time-in-front-of-their-screens-than-a-decade-ago/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=041770d7ae-Internet-Science_2019_06_27&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-041770d7ae-400310621
[3]https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-social-media-use-by-generation/
[4]https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/09/us-generations-technology-use/?utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Tech%20by%20generation%209.9.19&org=982&lvl=100&ite
[5]https://experiencematters.blog/category/roi-of-customer-experience/
