Medicare Agent Training: 5 Things To Keep In Mind

Are you thinking of selling Medicare insurance?

With 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, Medicare is a growing industry that holds a lot of potential for agents.

Not only is the US population aging at a rapid rate, but medical coverage is also becoming more crucial than ever. Healthcare costs have risen, and chronic health problems are increasingly widespread. Estimates state that healthcare spending is expected to grow to $6.8 trillion by 2030.

Insurance sales is also one of the few well-paid industries where you don’t need a college degree. But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest in training.

The right Medicare agent training is pivotal to honing your sales skills, marketing strategies, and more. 

Unfortunately, not all Medicare training programs are created equal. As a new agent, it can be hard to know which training programs will actually move the needle, and where to find them. 

If you want to learn more about the value of Medicare agent training, and what to look for in a training program, keep reading.

1. Mandatory Training Isn’t Enough to Make You A Top-Producing Agent

One of the first things to know about Medicare agent training is that the mandatory training you need to get licensed isn’t enough.

Before you can start selling Medicare insurance, you will need to apply for a health insurance producer license. Different states have different training requirements. But, most states require agents to complete some level of fundamental training before they can sit their licensing exam.

Pro tip: Have you yet to get licensed and aren’t sure where to start? Check with your state’s insurance department about what coursework is required. To find your state insurance department, you can consult this insurance department directory from the NAIC.

Mandatory training will equip you for your licensing exam. But, it won’t teach you how to become a top-producing agent. 

Most state-required training covers areas like:

• Compliance and professional ethics
• Healthcare laws
• Co-insurance
• Deductibles
• Networks

These are all important topics that are essential for any insurance agent to know. However, they center mostly around healthcare compliance. A thorough knowledge of healthcare compliance will keep you out of legal hot water, but it won’t help you generate business. 

2. Good Medicare Agent Training Will Teach You How to Sell

If you want to learn how to sell Medicare insurance like a pro, you need to invest in the right training. 

Currently, there are over 138,000 Medicare insurance agents in the US. This is a lot of competition. 

Of course, most Medicare agents don’t operate nationwide. Your direct competition will be far lower, but you still need to know how to stand out from the crowd and close sales.

Are you worried that you’re not much of a salesperson? Don’t.

There are those few rare people who were born to sell. They could sell ice to Antarctica, and have an innate knack for closing.

But, these types of people are rare. A big percentage of salespeople are good at what they do not because of an innate selling superpower. Instead, they invested in themselves and honed their skills and strategies. 

In other words, becoming skilled at selling is definitely something you can learn, not something you need to be born with. 

And if you do happen to be one of those people who has an innate ability to sell, training is still critical. The very best salespeople are usually the ones that are both gifted and well-trained.

A good Medicare agent training program will equip you with all the fundamental information you need to sell, including:

• Advanced Medicare insurance sales techniques
• Proven sales systems
• Training on the latest insurance technology and software solutions
• Case design
• Underwriting
• Audience targeting

If you sign up for Medicare training with us, you’ll also get access to case studies, one-on-one coaching, discounts on tools, and more. 

3. Uplines Don’t Always Provide Accessible Training

Another important thing to know about Medicare insurance agent training is that uplines aren’t always the answer.

After receiving their insurance license, most agents sign up with an FMO. A lot of FMOs and uplines provide agents with additional training. But, the training they offer is often expensive or restrictive, especially for new agents.

For instance, uplines might have production thresholds on certain types of training. In other words, instead of being able to freely further your knowledge, you first have to reach a specific level of sales. This can be very frustrating and counterproductive for agents.

The reason why some uplines do this is that they prefer to concentrate their resources on top-performing agents.

But how are you supposed to increase your sales if you can’t get the training you need?

Another issue agents can encounter with upline training is cost-prohibitive fees and inconvenient training structures. Instead of charging a once-off fee, uplines typically charge recurring fees. They may also charge a percentage fee on your commissions while nickel-and-diming you for every bit of training you receive.

What’s more, training is often only held in person. This can be inconvenient for agents, and incur extra travel costs.

Take note, not all uplines and FMOs are like this. Some concentrate on empowering and supporting all agents. One example is TR King Insurance Marketing.

Here at InsuranceSales101, we don’t believe that Medicare agent training should be expensive, exclusive, or inconvenient. 

We charge a once-off amount that gives you instant access to on-demand training, including resources like:

• Digital tools
• Downloads
• Planners
• Worksheets
• Spreadsheets
• Action guides
• Templates 

We will never nickel-and-dime you. In fact, our training gives you access to discounts on tools and bundling discounts if you decide to purchase all of our courses together.

4. Medicare Agent Training Will Also Teach You Valuable Marketing Strategies

Besides teaching you how to sell, a good Medicare insurance training program will also equip you with comprehensive marketing strategies.

It doesn’t matter how good you are at sales, if you aren’t getting new leads on your desk to work, you won’t be able to grow your earnings or your business. 

Whether you’re a brand new agent, or a seasoned one looking for increased success, the right marketing and prospecting strategies can catapult your lead numbers, increase brand awareness, and boost your revenue significantly. 

Nowadays, marketing for insurance agents is more complicated than distributing fliers and placing ads. If you want to create a seamless sales funnel for your Medicare insurance business, you’ll need to fine-tune your lead generation methods. You may also need to marry multiple approaches, including:

• Paid online ads
• Social media marketing
• Email marketing
• Content marketing

Ideally, you should tailor your strategies to target every stage of the buyer journey, from awareness to conversion. By the time leads are ready to buy, you’ll be well-placed to be the agent they choose.

5. You’ll Learn What Tools You Need to Get Started Selling Medicare

One of the things new agents often find the most daunting is deciding what tools and solutions to invest in for selling Medicare.

As a Medicare agent, you will need:

• A customer relationship management tool (CRM)
• A Medicare quoting tool

If you sign up for our Medicare training program, you will get both of these for free with the purchase of the program. We also give you a more extensive list of software in our discount library, as well as discounts on things like E&O insurance. 

Instead of having to research all of these solutions from scratch, you can access a complete list of pre-vetted options at a discount.

6. Medicare Training Can Also Help You Hone Your Overall Business Skills

A comprehensive Medicare agent training course won’t just arm you with marketing and sales strategies. It will also help hone your general business skills. 

Statistics show that 90% of business failure is due to poor management.

Have you run a successful business or worked for yourself before? If not, gaining some basic business skills before you branch out on your own is a good idea.

On the other hand, if you already know the basics of running your own business, it can never hurt to level up your knowledge. This will help you:

• Scale effectively
• Provide standout customer service
• Remain compliant
• Improve your leadership skills
• Manage costs
• Outline a clear roadmap and set milestones

Here at InsuranceSales101, we know that general business acumen is critical for independent insurance agents. Therefore, all of our training programs are dedicated to helping you learn the best practices of both business and insurance. 

7. The Right Training Can Supercharge Your Revenue

The biggest overarching benefit of Medicare agent training is that it can supercharge your revenue in a relatively short space of time. If you choose the right course and dedicate yourself to the material, you’re almost guaranteed to boost your sales and revenue numbers.

Instead of being yet another agent who’s struggling to attract leads, you can use the strategies you learn to quickly build a larger and more profitable book of business. 

8. A Comprehensive Training Program Can Help You Pick the Right Carriers

Another benefit to enrolling in a good program is that your training provider might be able to help you select what carriers to contract with.

Contracting with carriers is one of the first steps you’ll need to take after getting certified and licensed. Before you can start selling, you have to select the carriers you want to get appointed with. This will determine what products you can sell.

Deciding this as a new agent can feel overwhelming. If you’re not sure where to start, we can help.

Once you enroll in any of our training programs, you get access to dedicated support. If you want help picking which carriers to contract with, you can call us, set up an appointment, or use our live chat feature. 

Our staff members will then help you narrow down your carrier choice by zip code. We also ensure that the carriers we recommend are all:

• Customer-centric
• Known for good agent support
• Competitive for your area

We can also answer any questions you might have about the appointment process.

9. Once You Find a Good Training Provider, It’s Easy to Branch Out Into New Types of Insurance

A lot of new agents start out selling one type of insurance, such as Medicare or annuity insurance. But, once you’ve learned the ropes of a certain insurance type, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t branch out into other insurance categories.

In fact, expanding the range of products you sell can be very good for business. The more types of insurance you sell, the better you’ll be able to serve your clients. 

A client might come to you needing Medicare insurance. But once you get talking, you may find they’re also thinking of taking out final expense insurance. If you can fill both these needs, you’ll earn more commission, and they’ll be able to streamline their insurance affairs.

This is what’s known as cross-selling. Even if a client doesn’t explicitly state that they want final expense insurance, you can trigger cross-sells by discussing the benefits of final expense coverage and walking them through a few plan options.

Once you start offering different insurance products, you’ll also need to tailor your marketing and sales approach to each one. For instance, selling life insurance requires a very different approach to selling annuity plans. 

Here at InsuranceSales101, we offer specialized insurance sales training for:

• Final expense
• Medicare
• Annuities 
• Life insurance

These programs are available individually, or as together as a discounted bundle in our Advisor Elite Training Program. 

Are You Looking for Impactful Medicare Agent Training?

The right Medicare agent training can provide you with sales, marketing, and prospecting strategies that work. Instead of wasting time and resources on methods that don’t move the needle, you can supercharge your sales and consistently grow your revenue.

Finding a good training program isn’t always easy, especially if you’re working with an upline that’s nickel-and-diming you or restricting training access based on sales volume.

Fortunately, not all uplines and training providers are like this.

With InsuranceSales101 you can gain affordable access to comprehensive, in-depth training. Our programs are designed for both experienced and new agents. 

Check out our Medicare insurance training program to get started.