Look out your window. You'll see literally thousands of businesses across the urban sprawl. Each might have 5, 50, maybe 5,000 employees. You may be thinking: the greater number of employees, the more you can make. So trying to close Walt Disney Studios sounds like a good move. Right?
Wrong.
What about the little shop down the street? Where you buy vinyl records or X-Men paraphernalia. Or that Soul Food restaurant or the place you get your nails done? You've been a customer there for years! They've got 3-or-more employees!
No.
So what makes a good client? The answer is: A business with 10-49 employees (over 18-years-old) where you can gain 1-on-1 access and control. Therefore any time you're prospecting, ask yourself: Does this business have 10-49 employees? Can I gain 1-on-1 access and control?
What's wrong with the vinyl record store?
Small retail shops often have part-time employees. Or it's run by an individual proprietor. You might not have more than 10 employees. And to get 1-on-1 access with every employee, you'll have to be there all day... there is no control to enrollment conditions.
What about restaurants? Or the nail salon?
Restaurants are okay, but there are numerous shifts, many part-timers, and you'll never see anyone during meal rush. Most shifts revolve around meals, so where is the downtime? No 1-on-1 access, no control.
Salons (hairdressers) are all 1099 independent contractors. Where is the 1-on-1 access? They're there to work, not to take administrative leave to talk about benefits.
Don't prospect nail salons. In many Asian countries, there is no such thing as insurance.
What's wrong with chasing big clients like Disney?
If you prospect any business over 50 full-time employees, you're in health broker territory. This isn't ideal for you. Big companies rely on health brokers to recommend a benefit plan design. Why are they going to talk to you if they already have a benefits broker?
What about Franchises?
You can prospect franchises (McDonald's, Popeye's, Subway, etc.) as long as they are not owned by the corporate office. For example, many McDonald's are run by McDonald's Inc. You'll usually have trouble reaching the owner, because franchise owners are rarely in their stores. They rely on site managers to run their businesses. Site managers have no decision-making power.
But ask yourself: Can you make money out of this? Most employees are part-time, making minimum wage. Exactly how much "supplemental" insurance do you think they'll buy? Moreover, since they can't self-enroll, how many times will you have to go back to catch everyone who works there?
There's also high turnover. When people quit and people cancel their policy, you get a charge-back of the revenue you earned. You owe that money back to the carrier.
Is your time and gas expense worth the small amount of revenue?
In short, when prospecting, ask yourself:
1. Can this company make a business decision without a committee?
2. Is it possible to obtain a group meeting in a single location during a controlled time frame?
3. Will there be enough participants if I get 60% participation?
4. Can I get 1-on-1 access and control?
5. Can I make enough money on this client for my labor to be viable?
THESE HAVE PROVEN TO BE MORE DIFFICULT CLIENTS
Retail stores
Beauty salons
Barber shops
Dental offices
Certain restaurants with numerous part-time shifts
Non-English speaking employees (unless you speak that language)
Primarily 1099 (non-payroll) employees
Commission-only employees
