The Value of Staying in Touch with Clients

You’ve met with a client, quoted plans, and completed and submitted the application. Your work is done right? Well, no. If you want to be successful in this business, you’re going to need to stay in touch with clients. It’s just good business.

No matter the business or what is being sold, clients and customers want to feel like they matter.

We’ll cover some of the how’s and why’s of keeping in touch with clients, so you’ll be prepared to start or continue a successful business.

How Can I Stay in Touch with My Clients after a Sale?

Keeping up contact with your clients does not have to be expensive and time-consuming. There are many different ways that you can easily accomplish this good business practice and uphold a superb reputation.

Have a Follow-up System

A conventional way to stay in touch with clients is by using Humana’s 3-30-60-90 conversation guide. This guide maps out how to follow-up after the close of a sale for a span of three months. The breakdown is as follows:

• 3: Three days after enrollment, call and thank the client for their business and go over any materials they can expect to receive in the mail.
• 30: 30 days after enrollment, make sure your client received the expected materials (e.g. their ID card) and briefly review some of the great benefits on their Medicare plan, and make sure they understand how to take advantage of them.
• 60: 60 days after enrollment, ask how your client is enjoying their plan and its benefits. Make sure they are aware of important phone numbers of their plan’s carrier. Also encourage them to reach out to you with any questions.
• 90: 90 days after enrollment, again, ask about how their plan is working for them. If necessary, inform them of any enrollment periods that may be approaching. Reassure them that you are available to help them at any time.

And as always, it’s important that you stay compliant when following up with your clients.

Ask for Comments and Feedback

After sales have been closed, implementing a small survey or general request for feedback is another great way to keep in touch with clients. Doing this will not only continue a relationship after the sale has been closed, but it will also provide you with valuable input for your business. There are numerous survey-generating websites that are free and easy to use for you to make your own personalized survey.

Keep Organized Client Records

A great resource to have to help you keep your clients in order for following up is a client relationship management (CRM) tool. A CRM can store and organize your clients’ personal health and contact information for easy access. Having your clients’ information right at your fingertips will definitely make any follow-up process that much easier.

Through Ritter’s partnership with Integrity, our agents have access to MedicareCENTER, which enables easy client management with compliant inbound and outbound sales call recording, at-a-glance client tracking, seamless access to your clients’ files using the mobile app version, and more. You can also autofill e-Apps using the saved client info in your CRM, saving you and your clients time during the enrollment process!

If you’re not a Ritter agent, then consider completing your free registration on RitterIM.com and signing up with MedicareCENTER so you can take advantage of this tool and plenty more!

How Can I Stay in Touch with My Clients Over the Years?

In addition to the compliant 3-30-60-90, touch base with your clients or a small survey, there are additional ways you can stay in touch with them.

Say Happy Birthday

Almost everyone enjoys a birthday wish on their special day. It makes them feel valued. Just sending a simple email — or, if it’s within your budget, a simple card — is a nice gesture. It’s also a great way to remind your clients of you. Maybe once they see your thoughtful birthday message, they will remember they have questions about their current plan. It’s a great way to stay in touch and show that they mean more to you then just another closed sale.

Write a Blog & Use Social Media

We have mentioned this before here on the Ritter blog — keeping up with some kind of presence on the internet is a great way to stay fresh in your client’s minds. By writing a weekly blog, you can provide helpful information on the industry, and keep clients in the loop about what your business has been doing.

With the number of seniors on social media steadily rising, there is a good chance that some of your clients have a Facebook page or an account on one of the many other social media platforms. You can use social media to remain present to your clients by promoting your business and sharing valuable industry information. You can also interact with your clients by responding and liking comments they have made on your posts. It’s important to remember that any plan discussion should not be done on social media, but in a meeting or over the phone after a Scope of Appointment has been collected.

Why Should I Stay in Touch with my Clients?

It’s a courteous gesture to check in on your clients and let them know you haven’t forgotten about them. In addition to being thoughtful, your business can also benefit from staying in touch with your clients.

Get Referrals

Referrals should not be the main reason you stay in touch with your clients, but it’s definitely a great motivator to do so! If your clients are impressed with your sales strategy, helpfulness and consideration, they are going to be more inclined to provide you with referrals and refer you to family and friends.

Be There to Help

We all know that Medicare has many moving parts and can be confusing at times. Months after the sale, a client might have questions about a certain benefit, or maybe they are planning a trip and can’t remember their plan’s policy for travel coverage. Your client will feel comfortable calling you for help because you ‘ve kept in contact with them. You’ve built a trusting relationship that will continue for years to come.

Going the extra mile does pay off. The simple gesture of a phone call or email to check up on your clients can make a world of difference for business success and client retention. The only thing staying in touch with your client has to cost you is a bit of you time and trust us, it will be time well spent!