The Importance of Building Relationships

    featuring Renee Caldwell, LTCi Specialist

We had the privilege of speaking with Renee Caldwell, an experienced and passionate long-term care insurance specialist in the BuddyIns community. In our conversation with her, we discussed how she has successfully cultivated meaningful relationships with clients and referral partners, educated them about LTCi and its benefits, as well as built a network of referral partners. We are confident that you will gain as much value from her advice as we did!

Q. What strategies do you use to cultivate and sustain meaningful connections with your clients/and or prospects? 

A. I LOVE to use Active Campaign to keep me focused on consistent follow up and tending to my clients’ needs. If someone finally takes the effort to reach out and ask for help with long-term care planning (because sometimes it can take years for someone to finally grab the bull by the horns!) I want to be sure I’m communicative and engaged now that I have their attention. I set prompts in my task section so that I know the next time to reach out. Attentive customer service is always my goal.

Q. How do you approach educating clients about LTCi and its benefits?

A. When we finally meet I always ask them their ‘why.’  Why LTC now?  Usually there has been an LTC event in their family or they know of another family struggling with caregiving. It becomes very clear to them that they will need funds to pay for their care and not become a burden to their family. Once I hear their story I take the time to educate them about the cost of care in their area and learn what their vision is for aging. We discuss their health and finances so that I start to get a sense of what type of LTC product is suitable for them. After this initial appointment, I prequalify their health and at the second appointment we build LTC policies together! I believe when I do it this way and screen share, it is a transparent process. They learn the building blocks of LTC products and we can adjust coverage along the way. They see that I am ‘shopping’ for them and working in their best interest.

Q. What is your approach to building a network of referral partners?

A. When it comes down to it, I believe communication is what is needed for any good relationship. Again, when I have a referral partner who is engaged then I am just as engaged back. I take time to learn how the referral partner works and how I can support them and their clients. If they are a financial advisor, then I always leave the financial aspect to them as they usually have software for financial plans and can then insert the LTC cost into the future and also how an LTC product can relieve the estate from a major spend down. If any referral partner just wants to send along a client and not be involved, then I just take it and run, but then always circle back around to let the referral partner know what we’ve decided upon. I think being respectful and grateful for these relationships is key, and also meeting people where they are.