Medicare agents can save beneficiaries with limited incomes a significant amount of money for their healthcare coverage. For that, many will be grateful. Some may offer to write a positive review or leave a testimonial. Another way they can help connect you with more beneficiaries in need of Medicare plans is to personally spread the word.
You can ask your clients to refer Medicare prospects your way. Identify your satisfied clients and request that they leave a review; you can even automate this online, like apps do. If your clients are happy, it couldn’t hurt to ask that they share your business card with others.
What You Can Ask from Referrals
Referrals are a huge help in getting the word out to your target base. Once they have offered or agreed to refer their friends, you can help them by providing business cards or even specialized referral cards with your business information and the referring client’s name. Encourage them to spread the word and give your business card to other friends or acquaintances in need of a Medicare plan.
Although it may be tempting to take down the prospect’s phone number, you are not allowed to keep that information from your referral source. Medicare agents can only be given the prospect’s name and address. You cannot accept phone numbers or email addresses.
How to Communicate with the New Prospects
What do you do with a name and mailing address? You can set aside a small part of your marketing budget for print mailers. This conventional mail marketing is perfectly acceptable in the eyes of CMS, and may even remind the prospect to contact you if it slipped their mind.
The real communication will be coming from the prospect themself, if your client gave a promising referral. Wait for the prospect to contact you or your business. At that point, you can add their contact information to your sales funnel and database and go on to pursue the lead.
How to Compliantly Thank Your Client for Their Referral
Satisfied clients can bring you a great deal of value for your business. When these clients give testimonials and refer new prospects to your business, it only makes sense to thank them for their kindness and support for your services. Take care to follow the Medicare gift rules when you select your form of repayment, and do not promise or give the impression that they will receive a gift for referring a prospect.
Medicare agents can only give gifts of nominal value, amounting to $15 or less per person or no more than $75 per person over a year. These gifts can not be cash, but they can be gift cards to businesses that are not big-box stores. Many agents who hand out gift cards choose local businesses. Gifts can also not be meals, so any food you serve at marketing events has to be in the form of light snacks. One final rule: you must gift without discrimination.
