Local providers are some of the most rich referral sources an independent Medicare agent can have. A primary care physician usually works with 3,000-6,000 patients, and many focus specifically on the senior market with patients constantly aging into Medicare or needing plan changes. Providers legally can't talk about specific Medicare plan options (and oftentimes they lack the expertise to do so), meaning they would benefit tremendously from an expert local agent who they can trust to help their patients. What does success look like in the provider marketing channel?
- 2-3 providers who view you as their go-to agent: We recommend building a few deep relationships rather than spreading yourself too thin (especially knowing that many providers have thousands of patients you can help). You want every provider you work with to send all their patients needing Medicare help your way.
- 3-5 patient referrals per provider per month: This should be viewed as your baseline, and you can imagine how just a few key provider partnerships can really jumpstart your business.
Agent Tactics
This is a simple marketing channel to understand, but it takes persistence and at least a few months of relationship-building before you begin seeing rewards. Stick with it! There's almost no better referral partner than a few providers who are on your side. You should work with your Sales Director or Account Manager to always have 2-3 provider relationships in development.
See below for our provider marketing playbook (click the arrow at the left side of each bullet for more information):