featuring Rhonda Bills, LTCi Specialist
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Rhonda Bills, an outstanding LTCi specialist in the BuddyIns community. During our conversation, Rhonda shared details on how she has been able to develop meaningful relationships with clients and referral partners while educating clients on the benefit of LTCi. She was also able to tell us about the vast network of referral partners that she has cultivated. We believe that you will find great value in the advice Rhonda has to offer!
What strategies do you use to cultivate and sustain meaningful connections with your clients and prospects?
To cultivate and sustain meaningful relationships it starts at the beginning when you meet someone. I tend to be a genuinely warm and caring person, and that needs to show through. People need to know that I am genuinely concerned about their plight and want to help them solve a challenge for their family. This starts by asking, listening, reiterating, and putting their family into the conversation.
I continue to let them know I will be with them through the underwriting process and they are not done with me yet. I let them know what to expect and keep that level of expectation real and then continue to follow through.
Once the policy is approved, I prepare a copy of their policy schedule page with my card on it and a sticky note that says “Your extra copy.” I take the time to review their benefits once they have the policy. I let them know I will not be bothering them, but to expect some emails throughout the year so they don’t forget who I am when they or their family needs to call me. I also tell them to call me for a policy review every 4-5 years and particularly as life events happen. They are welcome to share my contact information with their kids since it’s important that the kids know they have this policy.
Today, I touch the clients about 4 times a year, whether a virtual greeting card, updates to enjoy the holidays, or tax season for tax deductibility. I receive emails and phone calls letting me know how much they appreciate it. I also hear from clients who can’t remember where my card is, but they remember the email they saved to reach out to me.
How do you approach educating clients about LTCi and its benefits?
I started my career selling over the phone (before we had Zoom). Can you imagine explaining all the complexities of LTC over the phone to 60, 70, and 80-year-olds. I knew then, I had to keep it as simple as possible, as visual in their mind that they could relate to, speak slowly and audibly so they can track with me. Today, I do the same on Zoom. I help take a complex insurance product and put it into a day-to-day scenario they can understand. I take them on a virtual tour of how this policy is valuable to their situation.
What is your approach to building a network of referral partners?
When I left Marsh McLennan, I realized my phone was not ringing asking me about LTC. I drew a circle in the middle of a page and put Rhonda in it. Then I drew circles around the center circle of professionals that had clients that were a good market (life insurance agents, health agents, employer brokers, P & C agents, financial planners, local banks, estate planning attorneys, etc). Then I started looking up who these people are and shared who I was, what my history was, what I do, ask if they were in the LTC business, why they were not, and if they needed me.
Today, that strategy has extended beyond my state lines to national lines thanks to BuddyIns, as that is really the same thing Marc and the BuddyIns team is doing.
