To Get More Medicare Referrals – Think Process Over Products

Helping your clients navigate the decisions related to Medicare is an important mission. You are doing important work!

By Bill Cates

CSP, CPAE President, Referral Coach International

When it comes to guidance with Medicare decisions, folks have a myriad of options. It is your remarkable process that will make you worthy of remark.

Commodities Versus Experiences

In their book The Experience Economy, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore examine what it takes to create word of mouth; what it takes to get your clients telling others about you. And to make their point, they use the metaphor of coffee beans. It goes something like this… If I were to travel to Brazil and buy fresh picked coffee beans on the wholesale market I would expect to pay about $1.00 per pound. Coffee beans at the source are a commodity. If I went into a grocery store here in the states, coffee beans would cost me about $14.00 per pound depending upon the brand and part of the country (could be a little less or a lot higher). Coffee beans purchased retail are goods. If I purchased a cup of coffee in a diner, I would be paying about $180 per pound of beans. Brewed coffee in a diner is a service. Then there’s Starbucks and all the other high-end coffee shops that have proliferated in our great country. These stores are meant to create an experience.

The premise behind Starbucks was to recreate the Italian Coffee experience. While one could argue that, over time, this experience has been lost, it was the reason for Starbucks initial success story. Commodities are interchangeable. Goods are tangible. Services are intangible. Most financial professionals play on the level of goods and services. You talk about the products you represent and about the service you provide. Nothing wrong with that. Those are important! However, you’re missing opportunities to create word of mouth and become highly referable if you don’t deal on the level of experiences. Experiences are memorable. Memorable experiences are worthy of remark.

And Your Process Is?

Do you have a clearly defined process through which you put most of your new clients? Do you help think big picture? Do you educate them? Do you question their assumptions and

correct their mistaken beliefs? Do you lead them to make the right decisions and stop procrastinating? Do you use the same high-level process virtually every time or do you wing it?

Take a minute to think about the process you put your prospects and clients through from the minute you first contact them, all the way through to when they become a client and beyond. Are you creating “memorable experiences?”

Leveraging Your Process

Here are five steps that will ensure you get the most out of your process – to become so referable that you generate unsolicited referrals and if you ask, you are having willing participants.

Have a clearly defined process that is repeatable and naturally gets your prospects and clients wanting to introduce you to others.

Name your process. When you name your process, it becomes yours. No one else has your process. Clients can only get this process from you. This is a way to distinguish yourself in this crowded marketplace.

Illustrate your process with graphic design – on paper and/ or PDF. This brings your process to life. It helps you explain your process to your clients and centers of influence.

Communicate to prospects, clients, and centers of influence why/ how your process is beneficial. Get in the habit of talking about your process on a regular basis.

Bring it to life with stories, anecdotes, and case studies. Stay compliant with your stories and talk about peace of mind and other benefits of your work.

So, your mantra from now on – if you want to become referable quickly in your relationships and remain referable throughout – is process not products.

Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE, is the author of Get More Referrals Now, Beyond Referrals, and Radical Relevance. Bill’s newest book, The Language of Referrals, has just been released and is available as a at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and Audible. Bill is a highly sought-after coach, consultant, international speaker, and virtual presenter.

CalBroker Readers can get free (and valuable) tools here: www.ReferralCoach.com/resources. BillCates@ReferralCoach.com.