Reminders on how to match your clients' needs with product offerings

In the competitive health benefits market, the successful salesperson is often not the one with the lowest prices or the snazziest literature, but the one who best understands the client's needs and selects the most appropriate product offerings.

Here are some tips to refresh your sales skills:

• Know your client's business. If you've taken the time to research what the company does, you can show how your product offering will make your client's life -- and the lives of employees -- better.
  
  
• Be attentive to the customer's needs. If your client says, "Freedom to choose my own dentist is very important," then don't push a prepaid dental dental plan. Listen carefully and try to find a program that best suits the client's needs.
  
  
• Consider working with a smaller group of products. Don't show every client every program you have to offer. Ask questions, narrow down the client's preferences, and offer what you think meets those needs.
  
  
• Sell more than one product to the same client. The cost of sale will be lower because you've already located the buyer. Perhaps your client wants a prepaid dental plan for one group of employees, but he or she may have another segment that could use a PPO or fee-for-service program.
  
  
• Offer products with high persistency rates that indicate client satisfaction. That keeps clients coming back for other products. (Delta's enrollee renewal rate is 97 percent.)
  
  
• Remember, you're the expert. Your client will select a product based on your recommendation. The goal: satisfied clients with programs suited to their needs, resulting in repeat business and increased sales.