As the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls travel across the country to make their case for the White House and ObamaCare moves forward, have you looked into the future of YOUR business? Have you considered the potentially devastating impact to your business? How about the possibilities and tremendous opportunities to continue making a difference in the lives of your clients and prospects?
Where there is complexity, there is opportunity. Every obstacle is emotional or psychological. The intellectual capital we create to help our clients and prospects navigate those obstacles is our real value, not the products we sell.
In June, we will find out if PPACA is upheld by the Supreme Court, then in November we will see if the country will make a change or stay the course. Both events will impact the future of our business AND they are also beyond our control. How can we plan for the future? Not easy, nothing great ever is.
There are two paths – 2014 when the individual mandate, essential benefits, exchanges and subsidies kick-in or repeal. Both paths are ripe with opportunity; it’s all in how you look at it. To survive and thrive in our business you will need to play chess rather than checkers. What does that mean?
Do you look at the world as a place full of abundance? Are you resourceful? If you believe in abundance, your knowledge, experience and skills will help you develop new capabilities for your clients and prospects. If you are resourceful, you thrive on combining individual capabilities to create unique solutions for your clients and prospects, simplifying their lives and saving them time and money.
What are some things you should be considering? Segment your business by account revenue and tier your service capabilities. In our business, one size fits one, not all. With the advent of state-based exchanges who will compete for your business and have certain legislative advantages (subsidies) over you – and commission compression because of the Medical Loss Ratio (MLR) provision, operating your business in the small group market (less than 50) will be increasingly difficult and require you to think strategically.
What types of services do you offer your small group clients? Will you provide the same services to all of your clients regardless of size? Should you consider increasing the focus of your time and attention on larger prospects (more than 100) where the threat of the law is somewhat mitigated?
These questions and others require you to think strategically not tactically – play chess, not checkers.
How are you preparing? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Gaunya, GBA, is principal at Methuen, Mass.-based Borislow Insurance. He can be reached at 978-689-8200 or mark@borislow.com
