Can you SHOW your clients how much money you’ve helped them save? A few years ago, one of our brokers shared on LinkedIn that he’d helped clients save more than $1M in just a couple of years with freshbenies (one of the many strategies they use with their clients). WOW – that’s real money!

And they’re not the only broker who can tell this story (check out our Million Dollar Club members shared in a recent newsletter here). In the last several years, hundreds of brokers have helped their employers and employees save over $90 million – with about 200,000 uses of freshbenies services. How many non-insurance, cost-containment vendors can document that kind of success? 

More to the point, how many brokers are selling the value of high usage instead of a product? I’m sharing 3 tips to help you stand apart as a strategic consultant.

1. Understand that REAL savings come from REAL usage

Non-insurance services deliver no value if they aren’t utilized. Every use of a service that keeps costs from hitting the health plan drives savings for the employer. And, if there’s no cost to employees to use the services, there’s increased out of pocket savings – that reinforces even more usage and savings. 

But, usage doesn’t just happen. The philosophy of too many companies in this space is to get members on the books with a small monthly fee, without concern given to whether people use the service or not (it’s no wonder why many don’t offer client reporting).

Our strategy is to be a member-focused brand that drives use and helps people truly control their healthcare. Through the freshbenies Member Engagement System, we encourage members to use services like advocacy, telehealth, behavioral telehealth, and savings networks for Rx, Dental and Vision. Each use drives an average savings of $442. If employees use the services, employers will be happy to pay for it, and brokers will install it as a valuable strategy. Plus, you can report the savings, which leads me to the next point.

2. Use data to tell the story

When you demonstrate how new solutions work to drive savings paired with the ability to report and measure those savings, it’s a big win. Data reflects a group’s satisfaction, measures their ROI, and thereby shows the value of the benefits. Leveraging data is impactful in the selling phase and becomes even more powerful as you review results with your clients. This helps measure success as well as indicate areas for more employee education. Data will help you retain business year after year.

The broker I mentioned above included this header picture from his freshbenies utilization report as the proof of the $1M+ savings.

A handful of years ago, we launched proprietary technology which includes a detailed Utilization Dashboard for employers and brokers to view client insights at any time. Brokers can pull reports for any single employer or for their whole book of clients. 

3. Compete against those who’ve not learned this lesson

Many brokers you compete with today are “product focused” rather than “results focused.” When you recommend a highly-engaged service like ours, they will counter, “Why pay extra for this? Telehealth and pricing tools are included ‘for free’ inside the medical plan.” They ignore the fact that almost nobody is using those services inside the medical plans (1 or 2 uses per 100 employees per year). 

Then, the broker will try to just compete on price even when the other option gets less than half our level of usage – or that employees won’t have access to other valuable consumerism tools that get used and drive savings. (BTW, our mix of package options includes a solution that fits ANY group size and budget - be sure to check out this article for some of the latest details.)

When you compete against these brokers, talk about your “results-focused strategies.” 

• Explain that you don’t want to waste client resources, so you focus on maximizing usage. 
• Show a personalized proposal that projects how much utilization they can expect with these tools, as well as the expected net savings.
• Talk about how much you’ve saved your employers already (using your Utilization Dashboard Report). 

In today’s environment, benefits that don’t get used are of no benefit. Cost containment strategies that don’t get used are useless. Those that get used a lot are tremendously valuable. Sell the value of high usage. These tips put you in the role of the strategic and wise consultant (hey, you get to be Yoda)!

Now it’s your turn! How do you distinguish yourself from the competition? What kind of savings can you report to your clients? Comment below or email me at reid@freshbenies.com.