internet – Search and Save

Putting the puzzle pieces together on TPMO Medicare Call Centers

Amber Lutes — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 18:28:32 +0000

This article first appeared on Linkedin December 12, 2022 and is written by Scott Nichols.

The link to the YouTube interview was sent to me by an agent friend. Once AEP was over, I finally got the chance to watch this very interesting interview with an actual consumer who was getting contacted by the many Medicare call centers out there. What made this interview (51 min) so interesting was this gentleman is 34 years old! He is not on disability nor on Medicare. He is not dual eligible either. He is just an ordinary person who (as you will see) unfortunately answered a call to his phone. He has told the call center representatives that he was on the national DNC list. That is 34 years old and not eligible for Medicare. It makes not difference. The calls keep coming…..because he answered his phone.

The average number of calls were 25 a day with a spike of calls to 90 a day during AEP. He decided to ask to be passed through to a supervisor. Instead, he was “live” transferred to an agent. Once the agents discovered he was 34 years old and not a lead for Medicare he was cussed at, hung up on, etc. This man decided to start digging into his rights as a consumer and who was behind all of these calls. What he learned was tangled and incredible.

He said the calls were from different generic names and random “local” numbers, but all led to the same place in the end.

“Senior Benefits” “Medicare Help Center” “US Benefits” “Medicare Enroll” “Healthcare Department” “Medicare Advisory” even “Medicare” itself were names used by the call center employees. “You qualify for “X” benefits and we are here to help you access it” were the common pitch lines. Once he was able to speak to a call center supervisor who told him that since he answered the calls he was considered a “premium lead” and that he would likely get even more calls because he answered the phone. The call centers goal was to get his call transferred. This was ultimately how the call center got paid. He discovered this particular call center was named All Star BPO in Rawalpindi Pakistan and has a contract with Integrity Marketing Group LLC for services. There were also many other US call centers who contacted his as well.

He could not block the numbers because the call centers are using SPOF numbers with generic names. SPOF numbers are the kind that look local but are really from call centers. It is a strategy to get you to answer the phone. He even got a call from his Dad’s phone number! It was not his Dad….it was a call center. In an attempt to dig deeper he finally got “transferred” to an agent who would speak to him. She was an agent under the Berwick Insurance Group (a partner of Integrity Marketing Group LLC). She informed him that his transfer to her came through a company called Connection Pointe (a partner of Integrity Marketing Group LLC) and that the “live” transfer lead cost her $11.

After this call, he contacts Berwick Insurance (a partner of Integrity Marketing Group LLC) and speaks to one of their executives who flatly denies they have anything to do with these call centers or the selling of these leads to their agents.

As the daily calls continue to roll in, the man does not stop his efforts to get to the bottom of all these calls and the selling of his information. He ends up speaking to the legal team at Integrity Marketing Group LLC. He was told that since he agreed to be transferred the call was not a violation of the DNC rules. Too bad so sad, you will continued to be called. No one has been willing to remove his name and number from the list being sold over and over again. Even though it is a bad lead for Medicare it keeps getting sold.

To this very day he averages 25 calls a day. Why doesn’t he just change numbers? you ask. He doesn’t want to nor feels he must because the phone number is his private property and he has exercised his rights to protection under the national DNC registry.

Industry whistleblowers are coming forward to say the average “lead” in Medicare is sold off 11 to 15 times. In looking at this story it makes sense. If you are receiving an average of 25 calls a day from Medicare call centers, I’m sure your contact data has been sold of many times. Unfortunately, this man is getting calls from not just Medicare call centers now but from all types of industry’s as his information is being resold again and again.

Why would the conglomerate worry about the quality of the lead anyway? They’re not the ones paying for them. The field agent is. One last thing to consider. If a 34 year old man’s data is worth $11 on a “live” transfer for a Medicare lead, how much more is your BOB clients data worth?

WE MUST PROTECT OUR CLIENT DATA! Search & Save does just that.

Our Search & Save Medicare system for agents use is dedicated to keeping all of our subscribers entered data, recordings, screen shares, et al private and will NEVER be SOLD for MINING, SELLING, or SHARING to ANYONE EVER.

You can check out the interview here on YouTube:

Feeding a “lead mill” or building your BOB. Your keystrokes this AEP will decide.

Amber Lutes — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:50:01 +0000

This article originally appeared on Linkedin in October 10.2022 and is written by Scott Nichols.

Will you be helping your competition this AEP by making sales?

That sounds crazy doesn’t it? Even so, whistle blowers are coming forward to tell their stories. YouTube & Podcast are being broadcast by those affected by some of the harmful fallout from all of the acquisitions going on in our industry. Alarm bells are being rung, but still many agents ignore them and it is getting very late. So what can you do as a regular field agent selling Medicare plans to protect your BOB’s data?

I was fascinated as I listened to the “whistleblower” tell their tale of how these conglomerate acquisitions are structured. The huge conglomerates offer the brokerage owners single to double digit millions of dollars to be paid between 1-3 years. For this vast amount of money, the brokerage owner stays on and manages his existing downline producers with one catch. The brokerage owner is to heavily promote to the downline agents the “real time” leads from the new conglomerate entity they have “partnered” with.

The question is where these “real time” leads come from ? According to the whistleblowers account, they are from books of business from other acquired brokerages by the same conglomerate!

What the whistleblower described was a scenario where the conglomerate buys agency A & agency B. They sell agency A’s book of business as “real time” leads to agency B and vice versa. The brokerage “partners” are to promote the purchasing of these “real time” leads to their downlines for a period of 1-3 years to hold up their part of the buy out agreement. A podcast added that this data is also sold in the open market too. That the data is sold 11 to 15 times over!

So where do they get the actual data from? I don’t know but it seems easy to guess.

I would imagine if you are using the brokerages FREE Medicare enrollment system and you clicked to agree to the User Agreement (which you didn’t read because it is a mammoth legal document) you gave ownership of the entered data to the data vendor plus, the use of it. That kind of supply chain of “LEADS” would keep a former brokerage owner busy selling I think. I know this is hard to accept. We have no way of confirming these whistleblower reports but there are more whistleblowers coming forward all the time. There are stories of new agents emptying their bank accounts to buy these “leads”. The people who broadcast these stories and interview the whistleblowers are even being sued.

This doesn’t seem like a big secret really as we have seen the affects of this activity growing annually. Every year our clients get more and more calls, text, emails etc. DNC list, unlisted numbers, et al make no difference, but it is happening.

So what can you do, right now, to help protect your company, career, and book of business?

We were faced with this same issue in my brokerage. My FMO sold out to one of the conglomerates. We were worried and should have been.

One big thing we did was invest in the creation of an agent built and serviced Medicare system and STOPPED using their FREE system. This was expensive, but it helped us to feel that at least our client data was secure moving forward.

We decided to start making this system available to independent agents and agency’s across the USA. No recruiting. No required hierarchy change. A low cost subscription service to help independent Medicare brokers. Less than $1 per day.

For a low subscription fee, agents could stop feeding LEAD MILLS & CALL CENTERS and OWN THEIR DATA.

Is this article an ad? Is it not self serving? My answer to this is yes, but someone in our industry had to step up and make an attempt to protect the independent field agent selling Medicare plans without an ulterior motive.

We have to face the threat that our upline FMO’s have used us as a commodity. That whistleblowers are coming forward and stating that they are selling our data to huge conglomerates who are then selling it to each other as “real time leads”!

We must start banding together to protect our businesses, careers, and futures. I have invested heavily in the creation of an independently owned Medicare system to protect us from these threats. By your keystrokes starting on Oct 15th you will decide the future of your book of business, agency, and future career.

-Scott Nichols

A Deep Dive into that Privacy Policy You’ve Never Read!

Amber Lutes — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 21:52:02 +0000

A deep dive into the privacy policy you never read that’s harvesting & sharing your client data

This post originally appeared on LinkedIn on April 5th 2023 and is written by Scott Nichols

Good day, My topic today may sound boring, but it is not. It affects about every agent here today in a big way. By our own hectic lives and ignorance, many of us field agents have been taken advantage of in my opinion.

Today, I’m going to explain how many of you are feeding the beast that is consuming your client data. A beast that is then competing directly against you and undermining your business via the “Privacy Policy” you agreed to but never read.

Where is this you ask?

It is in the “free” quoting software and CRM being offered to you by the vast conglomerates taking over our industry. A recent history of our industry shows that in 2019 the major insurance carriers signed National Distribution Partnership agreements with a couple of vast conglomerates interested in buying up our industry.

These vast conglomerates received billions of dollars from venture capital companies and started to buy up FMO’s and more across the USA. It is speculated that most of these buyouts are 1- 3 yr deals, so the fallout to the field agent’s future is uncertain at best in these arrangements.

These conglomerates also have invested in mass media (TV, Radio, Online), Call centers (with the purchase of the largest call center in the USA in Miami, Fl.)

They have launched multiple websites and opened captive agency’s in our neighborhoods.

All of this being direct to consumer marketing in complete competition with the independent field agents they acquired through the FMO buyouts that have taken place.

The markets that have been affected by these actions are under 65 medical, group, Medicare, Life, Annuity, investments, LTC, and other financial products.

Here is a snapshot of what the two largest conglomerates have consumed as per their websites.

· 193 Insurance brokerages and FMO’s

· 24 Wealth and Retirement advisor outlets

· National data vendors

· Six direct to consumer call centers

· Advertising companies

· Lead companies

· Consumer Data Companies

In 2019 , (4 years ago) the largest of these conglomerates boasted 500,000 agents & advisors under its hierarchy. The second largest, had 350,000 reported in 2020.

So 3-4 years ago there were 850,000 agents and advisors under one of these two vast conglomerates

Can you imagine what the number is today? Here is a reality check.

These conglomerates offer you “free” quoting and CRM systems. Either directly through them or via their owned FMO sub-entities. When you use them and enter client data for a quote or enrollment your data is subject to their Privacy Policy use and you agree to it.

This privacy policy is rarely ever read. Today, I will show you what you may have agreed to.

For our example today, let’s look at the privacy policy from the largest of the conglomerates out there. This privacy policy currently affects more than 500,000 agents and advisors.

Personal information we collect:

They collect name, email, postal address, SS#, age, race, marital status, sex / gender (except CA), products / services purchased, interactions with conglomerate owned websites, applications, advertisements

Sources of the information:

Direct , AFFILIATES and SUBSIDIARIES (your FMO) AGENTS (you!) Lead Vendors, and more

Use of personal information:

Provide products and services + marketing, and promotion of products & services offered to the consumer

Sharing of personal information:

“The company may share the personal information of consumers with agents, carriers, service providers”

FMO’s (consumed and not yet consumed) have “private” or “white labeled” quoting and enrollment systems that they offer to you at no cost.

Here is the privacy policy from the largest of these private label developers that you agree to when using their platform.

What they collect, how you need to check the privacy policy periodically as it will be updated without notice and who they can share your client data with.

It’s not just the big conglomerate systems privacy policy. The FMO private labels need to read carefully too

Who they can sell or transfer the data to:

They say they don’t sell data, but then say they can?

Some agents say, “I don’t use those systems. I use Medicare.gov”

Our Search & Save Medicare system & CRM has gone through many reviews by CMS.

We have learned much from these interactions with the CMS IT, Marketing, Compliance, and Surveillance departments.

Here are some important takeaway facts you need to remember.

· Medicare only shows what the carrier’s FILE

· The Medicare.gov plan finder IS NOT connected to the carrier servers

· Medicare can only update information on their site once a carrier FILES updated information with them

· It is NOT instant. Accuracy anyone?

What can you do?

· We are NOT independent

· Most of us are OWNED by one of these vast conglomerates via our FMO connections who sold out to them

· Our CLIENT DATA is more valuable then our commissions to these entities

· We MUST protect our CLIENT DATA from them and their use of it

What did we do to combat this?

· Created an agent built and serviced Medicare system & CRM (Search & Save)to protect data!

· Connected to the carrier servers for accuracy

· Connected to the carrier servers for Provider & facility search

· HIPAA, Soc2, PCI compliant

· Printouts approved by CMS

· 2700+ agent users and GROWING

· Mission statement: “provide accuracy, BOB privacy, and security to insurance agents using it.”

· Our Privacy Policy first line reads: “We will never mine, sell, or share your client data with ANYONE EVER!”

Action steps to start protecting your client data

· Read the privacy policy on the Medicare system and CRM you are using

· Disengage from the vast conglomerates and FMO’s

· Stop using your “FREE” system from the vast conglomerate or FMO

· Do what you can to get your client data exported out of there

· Only enroll on the carrier sites

· Consider Search & Save for accuracy, BOB privacy & security

–Scott Nichols

The TRUTH about marketing Medicare on the internet

Amber Lutes — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 20:31:34 +0000

This Post originally appeared on LinkedIn on My 24, 2023 and is written by Scott Nichols.

Today we focus on Medicare marketing on the internet. This is something I know a lot about and have the scares to prove it!

Pay attention to this article because if you are thinking that this is the route for you to build a huge book of business and get rich in the Medicare insurance market, I’m about to save you a lot of headaches and money! From 2016 through 2018 I invested big time in the idea of marketing Medicare online. The idea was through the use of Medicare educational videos and a directory of our independent agents throughout the USA we could get more business.

I believed it was kismet! How could it fail?

There was no cost to the consumer to use the site and no cost to the agent to be on the site. It was a win / win! I hired a full time videographer and we went to work making over 65 basic Medicare educational videos for the public. We even made a set in Spanish.

We stand completely compliant and generic. We created a Youtube channel. We advertised it all over Google, Facebook, Instagram, TV and even Radio. We got results too! In the first year there were over 1 mil views of those videos. I was so excited that in 2017 I doubled down and we built an APP for smart phone and tablets. That year even more videos were watched by seniors!

One problem……no one contacted the agents. No one filled out the forms on the site to be contacted.

It was the largest sponge ever created.

This enormous senior sponge soaked up every ounce of information we offered and produced no increase in business.

By 2018 I was done with this futile attempt at marketing genius and with my tail between my legs took down the site and the APP. Here is the funny part. No one even noticed that I took them down!

I learned a lot from that very expensive exercise and wish to give you some pointers if you are being enticed into the online marketing world.

You can build your own landing page or website. You do not need some fancy website or landing page. People will not use any of the fancy stuff. Save the money!
Lose any idea of people enrolling themselves on your site. No one will use it and it will cost you a fortune, not to mention the annual compliance nightmare.
Use your landing page or website to tell the people where you sell about your services and reputation only.
Tell them what you sell and fill your landing page or website with customer testimonials in either print or video.
Do your videos yourself. Use your phone or tablet camera. It is more authentic and people will believe it more.
Also, use your landing page or website to promote events in your community. Yes, you have to interact with people to make sales! The digital age for Medicare is not here and will not be here for quite a while so accept this and save money!
Promote your landing page and website on social media. Nextdoor, Facebook, Instagram are great for this but you have to join other groups to promote your business. No one is looking for an insurance agent page or site. Also, LinkedIn is NOT a social media site to get Medicare business. It is for B2B interaction. I see so many agents singing to the choir on this site about Medicare services.
Finally, don’t post inspirational nonsense on social media. It is not going to get you any business or promote your marketing efforts. Post testimonials and events and promote the site or page on social media.

If you are looking for a Medicare system & CRM that will provide you accuracy, privacy, and security for your book of business use Search & Save. The first line of our privacy policy reads “We will never mine, sell, or share, your client data with anyone ever!” Join over 2700+ agents using Search & Save. We offer you a 30-day free trial with no credit card needed.