marketing – 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

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.

–Scott Nichols

Are you feeding the beast that will one day consume your business?

Amber Lutes — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 17:35:00 +0000

I saw the post today of yet another huge FMO in the Medicare space selling to the massive conglomerate that has been devouring the industry for the past few years. It made me think. What are the exposures to regular agents and agencies in these acquisitions? What is the end game in all this? Is the purchasing of these large FMO types a good investment for the venture capitalist involved?

Background:

Many agents I speak to have no idea how the distribution channels are set up in the “independent” agent Medicare world.

The system is set up as a traditional MLM (multi-level marketing) system. Not all systems are the same with every carrier, but the description below is very close to many of them.

FMO / IMO (top level)

SGA (second to the top level)

MGA (third to the top level)

GA (fourth to the top level)

Agent / Solicitor (street level)

There are commission levels paid independently to each level involved in the recruiting of the level below it. If a level is missing it is paid up to the level above it. The agent level gets the lion share of the commissions paid. An override is paid out at each level above it. (Example: MAPD pays $450 to an agent, $50 to the GA, $25 to the MGA, $25 to the SGA, $15 to the FMO)

To make a lot of money with this the manager levels must recruit and get producers to sell. Renewal commissions are half of the amounts above.

Latest trends:

Over the past several years, I have witnessed FMO’s giving “free” Medicare quoting and enrollment systems. When I attended a conference on this by one of the large national vendors of such systems I learned that FMO’s were using these systems to keep the agent in their hierarchy. Agents could only quote and enroll what they were contracted with the FMO to use as well. In 2019, when Medicare.gov placed a firewall into their quoting system it made the use of this tool for agents obsolete. FMO systems had to start allowing agents to see plans outside of what the agent were contracted with them for. There has also been the rise of the “call center” in Medicare sales. TV ads, radio, social media, cold calls from overseas, et al never stop and makes for a real challenge to the agents in the field. One thing agents do not fully realize yet is the large FMO’s own and operate “call centers” that directly compete against their own sub-agents. They may hide them from you. They may tell you it does not compete against you…. but it does.

Did you ever stop to think….

The same FMO that gives you a “free” Medicare quoting and enrollment system has you electronically sign a USER AGREEMENT” giving them (and the data vendor) ownership of your data and the use of it.

I have heard many agents say “I wonder how they got my clients name and number to call?” “They are on the DO NOT CALL LIST” (LOL)

Are YOU feeding the BEAST?

So you’re are using the “free” system (& CRM) given to you by the FMO who owns (or is connected through acquisition to) a call center. You keep putting client data in the system. Ever ask to get the data out of the system? See what they tell you. They may say no. They may say “we’ll get back to you on how to do that.” They may say ok, but remember, your data is still in their system and always will be. How? You signed a USER AGREEMENT allowing it.

Could the BEAST one day turn on you?

What does all this have to do with the acquisitions of FMO’s by a conglomerate?

A 1.6 billion investment was given to this conglomerate to go out and buy up the Medicare FMO’s.

To date they have acquired almost every significant Medicare FMO plus, a National Medicare data vendor and the largest call center in the USA.

Eventually, those investors are going to want a significant return on that investment. How will that be done? If you look at the hierarchy above and add the numbers up for all levels there is a lot of commission for the FMO if they can exclude all of the hierarchies in the selling process. Is that possible? Yes! If you use a call center to contact clients and place them in a plan and exclude all the in between entities.

Think about it. You could pay someone $20 or $30 and hour and require them to be certified to sell Medicare plans. Once it is sold, that is pennies to acquire a piece of business as opposed to agents and upline.

Better yet, if the conglomerate (owning all the FMO’s) has the agents using the “free” system entering in future clients for the call center to role. The conglomerate gets paid either way, but you (the agent) helped all along.

It may also be possible that the conglomerate’s call center will also market to your clients directly in an attempt to establish a relationship so to be familiar when they contact them to move them into another plan without your involvement.

Why not? You told them in the USER AGREEMENT they could do that. Not to mention, there is a huge market for the data vendors to resell your clients information to all buyers too!

There has to be a reason…

There has to be a big reason why any entity would give 1.6 billion dollars of money to any company to buy up so much of a market. Investment capital people need a return on their investment. Both quickly and substantial from what they invested.

What can you do to protect your business

In 1998, I was a single father of three kids (7, 5, 18 months). I was working with an FMO and the long and short of it was he took my book of business in a dispute. That is all the money we had to live on. I was devastated and it changed me forever. I built Search & Save to help protect Medicare agents and agency’s from what I just described to you. We do not own a call center to compete against you. You own your data and the use of it with Search & Save.

My suggestion is that you stop using any “free” Medicare quoting system from your upline especially if they have been acquired by this huge conglomerate. Use Search & Save. It is less than $1 per day per user and well worth it when considering your protecting what you worked so hard to build.

-Scott Nichols

CMS Marketing Changes 2024 Announced

brad0525 — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 09:44:00 +0000

This post first appeared on Linkedin on April 27 2023 and is written by Scott Nichols

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced major changes to the Medicare marketing guidelines set to take effect in 2024.

As we count down the final months before these new CMS regulations go into effect in 2024, it is vital for those involved in healthcare marketing to remain up-to-date on all relevant policy changes so that they can ensure compliance with these important rules. Doing so will not only protect your business from potential legal entanglements but also help you maximize your reach with potential customers while providing them with accurate information about their health care needs.

Telemarketing rules for Medicare plans in 2024:

1. Telemarketers must disclose to consumers that they are calling from a telemarketing firm, and the name of the organization they are calling on behalf of.

2. Telemarketers must provide all important plan information at the start of the call, including but not limited to premiums, benefits, co-pays and deductibles.

3. Telemarketers must offer an opt-out option for consumers who do not wish to receive further calls.

4. Calls cannot be made before 8 a.m or after 9 p.m local time, unless the consumer has given permission to contact them outside these hours.

5. Calls cannot exceed three minutes in length unless extended by the consumer’s request.

6. All telemarketing calls must comply with applicable federal and state laws regarding Do Not Call lists and other regulations pertaining to telemarketing activity.

In 2024, direct mail marketing campaigns must adhere to the following rules as outlined by the CMS:

1. All mailing lists must be obtained from a legitimate source with permission granted for each recipient, and all sent emails must include an opt-out option.

2. Mailings must include accurate contact information of the sender.

3. All mailings should include a statement indicating the content is an advertisement or promotional material.

4. Mailings should not contain false or misleading statements or illustrations.

5. The mailing must not contain any obscene, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate material.

6. Any offers included must clearly explain eligibility requirements and product details in plain language that is easy to understand for recipients of all ages and backgrounds.

7. Advertisements for products and services that are illegal in any jurisdiction may not be used in direct mail marketing campaigns without explicit authorization from local authorities first being obtained.

For 2024 advertising, all content must comply with the following CMS (Content Management System) marketing rules:

1. All advertisements must contain accurate and up-to-date information regarding the product or service being advertised.

2. All claims made in the advertisement must be substantiated with reliable evidence or data.

3. Advertisers may not knowingly misinform, mislead, or deceive consumers through their advertisements.

4. Ads must clearly distinguish between editorial content and advertising messages. The source of any sponsored content should be identified as such to consumers.

5. Advertising should not contain language that discriminates against individuals on the basis of race, gender, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability status, marital status, military status or other characteristics protected by law.

6. Ads should adhere to industry standards on health and safety for products or services being promoted.

7. Ads should always respect cultural sensitivities when targeting different audiences including respecting religious customs by avoiding holidays or holy days associated with particular religions or cultures when launching campaigns or promotions related to those cultures and religions.

If you are looking for something that will help become more accurate with your Medicare quoting, provide privacy for your entered client data, and security that it will NEVER be mined, sold, or shared EVER, please look at our Search & Save system & CRM.

4000+ agents trust us. See why you should too. 30-day free trail with no credit card needed.