Positioning

Ep #26: Direct Pay Primary Care Model Gains Importance In The Post-ACA Environment- With Erika Bliss

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On this episode of ShiftShapers, we welcome Dr. Erika Bliss, President and CEO of Qliance, a Seattle-based pioneer in the Direct Pay Primary Care (DPPC) practice model. Established in 2006, Qliance is delivering impressive results by focusing on an on-demand primary care model. With the increased personal responsibility consumers face with today’s plan designs, DPPC is becoming increasingly significant in helping to keep patients healthy while helping them to manage out of pocket expenses.

I invited Erika to the program to share her journey within the healthcare system and the shifts that DPPC has shaped in the process. Unsatisfied with the traditional healthcare model after working a number of years as a primary care physician, Erika transitioned into a new, more efficient model.

Listen in as Erika explains how the Direct Primary Care model eliminates the co-pays and deductibles that are often a barrier to routine and preventive care while also increasing patient health and satisfaction.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Erika’s background in healthcare.
  • What Direct Primary Care is.
  • How Qliance’s model works.
  • Whether the payers value managed care if they see the cost savings DPC practice models can deliver.
  • Whether it make sense to charge a co-pay for primary care.
  • Why the DPC model is more relevant in a post-ACA world.

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Ep #25: Back to the Sales Basics – With Nelson Griswold

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This week, it is a privilege to be speaking to a principal of Bottom Line Solutions, Nelson Griswold. Nelson is a prolific public speaker and columnist whose audiences know him as a thought leader and authority in the area of consultative selling. He is also the author of the industry best-seller book, Do or Die.

I invited Nelson to the program to talk about the shift that PPACA has brought and why going back to the basics of selling is the way to go. Don’t miss this episode’s advice from one of the leading sales authorities in the industry!

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • Whether sales are made by presenting facts in a logical manner.
  • The psychology of buying.
  • How people usually listen.
  • Why more questions is not really the best approach to sales.
  • Do you really need 13 (or more) steps to sales success?
  • Nelson’s 4 steps to a successful sale where the client will even close themselves.

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Ep #24: Using Big Data as a Differentiator – With Mark Smith

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Today, we welcome the founder and CEO of miEdge.biz, Mark Smith, to ShapeShifters. The miEdge application is an affordable and easy to use service that combines an intuitive interface to a database and search engine of Department of Labor Health/Welfare Employee Benefits information.

I invited Mark to the show to discuss how data can be an effective prospecting and service tool while also serving as a differentiator for benefits advisors. Tune in to learn how the miEdge system helps level the playing field by making even the “average” benefits advisor a subject mater expert, able to tailor client solutions based on their unique datasets.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • What “Big Data” is and why it matters.
  • How data can be a differentiator for advisors.
  • How data can be used in prospecting.
  • Whether  this is accessible to the “average” advisor.
  • Why DOL datasets are not practical for the average person to use.
  • How advisors can use data to help clients.

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Ep #23: Keeping Medical Care Between a Patient and Doctor – With Gustav & Eric Hoyer

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This week we are speaking with Gustav and Eric Hoyer, brothers who have created a start up named after the ancient Roman physician Galen of Pergamon. Galen is a start-up organization whose goal is to empower individual consumers to find quality medical care within certain pricing restraints.

I invited Gustav and Eric to talk about how the shift in the delivery of healthcare (progressively less personal and compassionate), and how their model facilitates providers in granting substantial discounts to patients. Listen in to learn about this innovative way of healthcare delivery in the new environment of larger overall out-of-pocket costs.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How a confusing and convoluted payment system with multiple players lent itself to a more simple, straightforward model for consumers.
  • How it helps patients to price shop.
  • What the range of price variation is in the marketplace today.
  • The company’s plans to create a nationwide footprint.
  • How benefit advisors have the price conversation with prospects and clients.
  • How brokerages might benefit from Galen’s service.

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Ep #22: It’s All About Millennials – With Gerry Herbison

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On this episode of the ShiftShapers Podcast, we are very pleased to be speaking with Dr. Gerry Herbison. Gerry is the Director of the Chartered Leadership Fellow designation and Assistant Professor of Management at The American College.

I invited Gerry to talk about his expertise in the management of, by and for Millennials. Tune in to learn about the generations shift that is happening in the insurance and benefits world and how we can shape environments that attract and retain this group of people.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • What is a Millennial?.
  • What makes Millennials so different that we need to think about them as a separate, distinct cohort.
  • What agencies need to do to attract this group.
  • How the recruitment discussion need to change.
  • How to create an environment where Millennials can flourish.
  • How this cohort prefers to communicate (more or less) and if they like working alone or in groups.

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Ep #21: Helping Clients Eliminate Billing Headaches – With Eric Raymond

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This week, we are talking to Eric Raymond, co-founder of BenefitVault. Reconciling and paying bills for benefit arrays with a multitude of carrier bills creates a huge hassle for employers and HR departments.  The post-ACA emphasis on voluntary and non-insurance benefits has exacerbated an already nettlesome problem.

BenefitVault shaped that shift into a simple and elegant solution that advisors can provide to alleviate this problem – and the objections that come from proposing a multi-carrier benefit array.

We invited Eric to talk about the trends that are changing the world of benefits and how BenefitVault was able to help advisors and their clients adjust to these changes.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How PPACA has exacerbated a problem employers have struggled with for years.
  • How brokers position this service as a value-added program.
  • Why HR departments find this new service helpful.
  • How a simple, one-time change in payroll shapes a simpler and more elegant solution for carrier reconciliation and payment.

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Ep #20: Building Presentations That Inspire Action – With Meghan Dotter

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ShiftShapersCoverArtWe decided to change things up a bit this week and asked Meghan Dotter, founder of PorticoPR to share her expertise on how to “present better”, which is the tagline for her company, Portico PR.  A veteran of several high-profile communications and PR positions, she decided  to build her practice on the one thing most people find so difficult – the presentation.

With the increase in complexity in our industry, coupled with advisor’s need to provide more value in their client interactions, honing presentations skills is a must.  Tune in to learn how you can create presentations that resonate, build trust, inspire action and help you close sales.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • The challenges of creating presentation that cut through an ever-more
    complex environment.
  • The value of storyboarding as preparation for creating a presentation.
  • How clients learn, decide and remember.
  • Why newer presentation tools may be more impactful than the venerable PowerPoint.
  • Should you have a second deck when you present?
  • The importance of a little stagecraft during presentation.

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Ep #19: Help Your Clients Build An Impenetrable “Wall of Protection” – With Bill Whitley

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ShiftShapersCoverArt This week, we are speaking with Bill Whitley. Bill is a nationally-recognized speaker, author and sales trainer. He is also a successful serial entrepreneur and researcher who specializes in helping insurance professional attract more clients, close more sales and deepen client relationships.

Tune is as Bill tells his story of how he ended up in the insurance sales and marketing field after building a number of successful businesses. Bill also dives into some of his popular techniques that will help you to shape the shift with your clients and prospects. Don’t miss this episode full of game-changing tactics and advice for building trust and becoming a broad-based advisor to your clients.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How to move the 80/20 ratio to something more favorable.
  • How to take your clients through the “Your World” process.
  • Let your client build their “Wall of Protection.”
  • What client attraction stories are and how to use them.
  • The 8 secrets of top producing agents.
  • How to take advantage of the most common question: “What do you do?”
  • The importance of telling stories in your sales process.

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Ep #18: A Physician’s Personal Story Shapes a Transparency Initiative – With Jeff Rice

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ShiftShapersCoverArt This week on the Shiftshapers Podcast, we are talking to Dr. Jeff Rice, the CEO of Healthcare Bluebook. Dr. Rice is a physician and attorney who was Director of Managed Care for Duke University and CEO and president of a large health plan created by New York Life and Duke University before starting Healthcare Bluebook.

Listen in as Dr. Rice shares the story of how a very personal interaction with the system was the shift that him shape a company that provides a practical, simple-to-use tool designed to help patients know how much things should cost and help them find affordable healthcare as well as connect connect them with providers. Learn how Healthcare Bluebook helps patients navigate the system at the population level and aids them in obtaining quality cost-effective care.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How how Dr. Rice’s personal experience with the medical system helped him to envision the shift that was necessary, and how to shape it.
  • The new technologies Healthcare Bluebook uses to make the service accessible to a larger audience.
  • How Healthcare Bluebook’s website serves the public with a subset of information and tools available to their clients.
  • Why the company’s focus is always on the end user, the patient.
  • What steps Jeff sees necessary to change consumer purchasing behaviors.
  • Why he believes the future holds even more transparency around price and quality.

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Ep #17: Serving Employers from a Different Point in the HR Continuum – With Von Burba

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In this episode we are pleased to welcome Von Burba of IAG to the program. Von is a seasoned insurance professional who saw companies in the large group market shifting to payroll services and discovered the opportunity to shape that shift into a new conduit point for delivering employee benefits.

Tune in as Von shares his story of how he shaped his business to adjust to the shift in the benefits market and his optimistic outlook on what ACA brings to the table. Learn how he is able to create lasting relationships with clients in the post-ACA world that he views as a great opportunity for brokers today.

What You’ll Learn From This Episode:

  • How a shift to seeking larger groups facilitated the shaping of Von’s marketing.
  • The critical role of technology in facilitating this shift.
  • How brokers can build their book in this non-traditional market.
  • How ACA complexity created an opportunity to open doors in this vertical.
  • Why multi-year employer strategies are a key part of developing relationships in a post-ACA world.
  • How ACA will begin the critical shift from employer to employee responsibility and allow employers to redefine their roles.

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