Innovative Sales Tactics for Open Enrollment Success

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With the short OEP window and thousands of agents vying for the same business, open enrollment is a hectic and stressful time for brokers and agents. 

Open enrollment is the time of year when everyone gets inundated with ads and texts about health plans. Unless something catches their eye, they’re bound to move on without a second thought. 

The rising cost of healthcare is on your side as it keeps health insurance at the forefront of people’s minds. Peterson-KFF projects the median increase for ACA health plans to be 7%. 

To keep you at the top of your game, we’ve come up with some innovative sales tactics to capture the public’s attention and ensure you have open enrollment success. 

Shortcuts:

Answering the Unasked Questions About Open Enrollment

7 Innovative Ideas to Make Open Enrollment Engaging

Final Tips for Implementing Successful Sales Tactics for OEP

  1. Plan Early
  2. Be Inclusive
  3. Ensure Enrollment Is Accessible

Sales Innovation Breeds Success

Answering the Unasked Questions About Open Enrollment

People often have a host of questions about health insurance and open enrollment in their minds, whether they voice them to you or not. It helps to think like a consumer and consider what’s weighing heavily on their minds.

As a health insurance expert, you know the answers to questions about open enrollment. That’s information you can put out there to reel clients in. 

We’ve put together some questions you might not have thought about that may be looming in your customers’ minds about open enrollment and the new health plans.

What Are the Open Enrollment Dates?

You know that the open enrollment dates start on November 1st and run until January 15th, 2025, but customers may forget the exact dates. Customers should also be aware that if they sign up before December 15th, their coverage will begin on January 1st. Those who enroll between December 16th and January 15th will have coverage starting February 1st. 

Capture customers’ attention by reminding people of the open enrollment dates and highlighting how quickly the open enrollment period passes. 

Why Does Open Enrollment Exist?

Open enrollment exists because of adverse selection. Most insurance brokers and agents will be familiar with this term (or at least they should be). Your customers may not have heard this term or understand what it means.

As a refresher, adverse selection refers to people who forgo purchasing insurance until they have a need that prompts them to buy it. Once they no longer need it, they cancel the insurance so they can stop paying the premiums. 

The concept of anytime enrollment doesn’t work well for the benefit of the insured or the insurance companies. This was precisely the type of situation that prompted insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. 

The trade-off for insuring all people, regardless of their health, is instituting an open-enrollment period where people can only sign up for a health plan once a year. Insurance companies can expect consistent premiums, and people will benefit from year-long healthcare. 

If I Miss the Open Enrollment Period, Can I Still Get Coverage?

While you are familiar with the rules for the Special Enrollment Period, customers may not be. 

Leverage your marketing plan to remind people of the reasons they can get coverage if they choose not to act before January 15th.

These are the qualifying events that make someone eligible for the Special Enrollment Period:

  • They lost their health coverage or qualified for CHIP or Medicaid
  • They moved
  • They had a baby, adopted a child, or got married, separated, or divorced
  • They got a dependent or became one
  • Their household income changed
  • Their eligibility for Marketplace coverage changed
  • They detected an error in their enrollment or plan
  • They became eligible for a QSEHRA or Individual Coverage HRA benefit

You might point out that this is a relatively limited set of circumstances, which could lead to paying out of pocket for all health expenses for an entire year. 

What Options Do I Have During the Open Enrollment Period?

It’s also worthwhile to let people know that health plans change from one year to the next. Their premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses could change from their existing plan. 

A message letting customers know they have the option to sign up, adjust, or cancel their health plan could be timely enough to garner someone’s interest. 

Do I Qualify for an ACA Health Plan?

Some people may be afraid to ask if they qualify for an ACA health plan. Clarify who is eligible with a message that defines who is eligible, which includes:

  • United States residents who are citizens or nationals
  • Lawfully present non-citizens residing in the United States

Incarcerated individuals don’t qualify for coverage. 

Can I Get Help Paying for an ACA plan?

Before the pandemic, subsidies were often not high enough for people to feel they could afford coverage. Because of the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, the subsidies increased drastically, making coverage more affordable than before these laws were passed. The government also ended the subsidy cliff, which was a cutoff for the subsidy according to income. 

Today, more people can afford an ACA health plan, but these laws are set to expire at the end of 2025. Your messaging could include information about ACA updates and how they impact your customers. 

7 Innovative Ideas to Make Open Enrollment Engaging

Unfortunately, the public doesn’t perceive navigating the Marketplace as an easy task. 

A study showed that “a significant minority of enrollees overall and roughly half of enrollees with low health insurance literacy reported negative experiences both on and off the Marketplace.” You have a chance to change their experience. 

We’ve given you some great ideas about what to say. Now, let’s look at some innovative ways to present your knowledge and expertise.  

Set the Stage for Education

Aim to make yourself the “go-to” person for information about open enrollment. A good start is to create a glossary of health insurance terms and explain them in terms customers can understand when shopping for health insurance. 

Insurance terms make great material for trivia questions. For example, what is the difference between a copayment (the amount they pay for a covered service) and coinsurance (the percentage they pay after they’ve reached their deductible)? People are intrigued by trivia and quizzes because they like to challenge themselves. 

Another idea is to create an infographic that gives information using icons and images. Enlist a graphic designer’s help if you don’t have the skills to create one yourself.

You could also create blogs or individual guides that explain various aspects of the ACA in depth (e.g., subsidies, tax credits, essential health benefits, etc.). 

Host Open Enrollment Events

While most of your appointments may be virtual sales, customers still value face-to-face meetings. You could host an open enrollment event at your office, a restaurant, a trade show, or any public space. 

Some ideas are to serve refreshments or give away candy or other branded trinkets to draw people in. You might also consider asking a vendor to join you in answering questions. 

In-person meetings give you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise and build trust. They allow you to learn more about your customers’ needs to help them make informed decisions about their health plans.

Conduct Interactive Webinars

A good marketing strategy will bring lots of people to you. An interactive webinar with screen-sharing will allow you to present to many individuals simultaneously, which is a huge timesaver. CrankWheel also allows you to share your screen with up to 300 people at the same time. 

A group webinar is bound to draw out lots of questions, giving you opportunities to demonstrate your expertise. 

Be sure to do a CTA at the end of the presentation, inviting guests to schedule a personal appointment with you to review their health insurance needs. 

Online Q\&A Sessions

Screen sharing also works well for question-and-answer sessions. You could set this up by asking for questions beforehand or fielding questions as they come in. 

If the crowd is silent, you could have a few slides prepared that ask commonly asked questions. Make note of who people are and the questions they asked, so you can personalize interactions after the session. 

Again, be sure to have a CTA to schedule an appointment to close the sale at the end of the session. 

Personalized Health Plan Overviews

With so many health plans to choose from, your customer may request more than one meeting. The first appointment could focus on understanding their needs and budget. By the second meeting, you should be able to recommend two or three different plans. 

A second meeting gives you the chance to create a personalized overview of the recommended health plans, including coverages, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums. 

Personalized health plan overviews reinforce to customers that you view them as individual clients rather than one in thousands. 

Share Short Video Clips

There are many ways to use short video clips to engage and inform your target audience. 

You could create videos highlighting key benefits and features such as vision, dental, or life insurance coverage. 

You could also explain complex concepts, such as the differences between HMOs and PPOs or the coordination of benefits. 

Videos are also a good way to showcase client testimonials about your products and your excellent customer service. 

Distribute your videos using various channels such as social media, your website, and email. 

Allocate Time to Retention

While the open enrollment period is a great time to boost your sales numbers, it’s also a period when you risk losing current customers. Your existing customers also have opportunities to switch their coverage and change agents during OEP, causing your book of business to drop.

It’s critical to keep in contact with your existing clients and keep nurturing those relationships so you can keep them on your books for the long term. 

According to Focus Digital, the average cost to acquire a health insurance customer is $549.50. When you multiply that number by the number of customers you lose in a year, it can add up to a significant amount. 

Retention can also help with acquisition as your current clients spread the good word about the range of products you sell and your expertise in guiding customers with their health insurance needs. 

Happy clients will further assist your sales efforts when you ask for reviews and testimonials to promote your business online. 

Final Tips for Implementing Successful Sales Tactics for OEP

Successful implementation of marketing strategies is critical to ensuring success in health insurance sales.

We wanted to leave you with the following three tips for a successful OEP season:

1. Plan Early

Develop a communication plan for new and existing clients and put it on your calendar months before OEP. 

Communicate your messages clearly and frequently. 

2. Be Inclusive

Inclusivity has become a buzzword. That alone should tell you how important it is to be inclusive in your messaging. 

Create messaging that appeals to differences in race, gender, religion, ethnicity, disability, and differing socioeconomic backgrounds. Be sure your imagery also reflects diversity.

3. Ensure Enrollment Is Accessible

A good marketing strategy will entice someone to buy health insurance from you. Your next task is to make it easy for them. 

An “Apply Now” button on every page of your website gives customers a chance to buy as soon as they’re ready. Also, give them the option to purchase a plan over the phone or in person. Everyone likes options.

Sales Innovation Breeds Success

Without a doubt, open enrollment is one of the busiest times of the year for health insurance brokers and agents. Go into it this season with innovative sales strategies that build your business when customers shop.