So you want to grow your Medicare client base through MAPD and PDP education and enrollments. Well, you can’t call anyone, even if they’re referred to you. Can’t email anyone, unless they give you permission to. Direct response can be effective, but requires an investment to yield response rates of approximately 1%.
Prospecting in the Medicare space requires creativity, professionalism, and optimizations of the remaining pathways to Medicare beneficiaries allowed by CMS and your state DOI. One opportunity that has proven to be a powerful way to engage new clients is through the Walmart workstations made available to authorized agents during AEP.
It is said that 80% of Medicare beneficiaries live within 15 minutes of a Walmart! Through Humana’s strategic alliance with the world’s largest retailer (3,700 stores), an agent may cover a shift in the store of their choice, provided they are equipped and certified to represent the portfolio of Humana products available in their market, and can commit to a predetermined shift of at least six hours per week (e.g. Monday/Wednesday 1pm-4pm). This pathway is deemed an unadvertised seminar by CMS, meaning hours committed to must be reported to CMS for secret shopping opportunities. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful resource for engaging new Medicare beneficiaries (or their friends and loved ones) in their quest to determine the best product available for their specific needs.
In our experience, over 70% of the best performing agents last year played a role at a Walmart workstation last season, so there’s a high correlation between productivity and this resource. Of course this is also predicated on the degree of effort and focus the agent demonstrates while present. Interfacing with the local store and pharmacy managers and staff also helps drive interested parties to your workspace accordingly.
Like anything else, you get what you put into it. We believe this to be a wonderful opportunity for ambitious agents out there in the Medicare space, and provide over 500 store coverage opportunities nationally on behalf of Humana.
