Prospecting with Benchmarking

The objective of prospecting is not only to quote benefit packages to employers, but to ultimately prove that you are better equipped to look after their benefits year after year.

To win over a Prospect, an Advisor must show their value by providing advice that their current Advisor has not. The Advisor will first need to gain an understanding of the current benefits plan and the organization they are prospecting. Benchmarking with CloudAdvisors is a great way to engage a new employer, it offers a compelling reason to obtain their current plan information to receive a detailed comparison report in return.

Advisors can offer complimentary Benchmarking reports through the Prospect’s website, media, or in direct conversation. By asking open-ended questions, they can create opportunities to offer benchmarking and request plan data. Benchmarking is the first real opportunity to demonstrate value as an Advisor, while other Advisors may only make plan recommendations, these reports can educate employers on their comparison groups to create curiosity and uncertainty.

Curiosity comes from generating how and what questions:

•     How do our current benefits stack up?
•     What are other employers offering?
•     How does the benchmark change nationally versus my province, industry, and size?
•     What about coverage such as definition, maximums, deductibles, coinsurance, schedules?
•     What about our retirement plan? How does our matching contribution benchmark?

Uncertainty is expressed typically in why questions:

•     Why do we offer a benefit that benchmarks so high?
•     Why do we offer a benefit that others do not?
•     Why are we missing common benefits?
•     Why is our coverage middle of the road?
•     Why are we under benchmarked in some benefits?
•     Why did we decide to offer this type of coverage?
•     Why hasn’t our current Advisor offered us an industry comparison?

These questions should increase interest and the want to learn more, such as a comprehensive benchmarking and a full plan audit report with recommendations and considerations. Initiating the Prospect with benchmarking and generating curiosity and uncertainty will earn access to information but will also set the stage for an employer to make an informed decision. It’s time for a change!