Building a Better Business-and Life-After Open Enrollment

The health insurance industry offers something most careers don’t—unlimited income potential. Agents are paid either commissions based on the premiums of the policies they sell, or a fixed monthly fee, and most times as long as those policies stay on the books, the income continues to roll in.

It’s a rewarding system, but it’s also easy to let work take over your time and energy, especially during the busy open enrollment period.

Justin Welsh, a business coach who helps entrepreneurs maximize their time and enhance their productivity, explains this challenge in his recent article, “The Money-First Trap”:

“When you let money dictate how you spend your time, you start making decisions that prioritize revenue over relationships, busyness over balance, and growth over gratitude.”

Now that open enrollment is over, it’s important for agents to take advantage of the slower time of year to focus on time and freedom—not just growth.

It Takes Time to Grow Your Agency

The formula for growth seems simple:

• Sell more policies.
• Retain more clients.

But both sales and retention take time. Between prospecting, quoting, enrolling, and servicing clients, the hours add up quickly.

The result? More income, but often less freedom.

Welsh writes:

“You might be building financial security, but at the same time, you’re sacrificing the very freedom you thought you were working toward.”

Take Time for Yourself—Especially Now

For agents focused on individual and Medicare clients, the busiest time of year just wrapped up. Now the pace has eased up a little, and this is the perfect time to take a step back and remind yourself what you’re working for.

• Spend time with your family.
• Rest and recharge before the next busy season.
• Take a vacation or tackle that hobby you’ve been putting off.

Invest in Efficiency, Too

Of course, downtime doesn’t mean doing nothing. It’s also an opportunity to improve your business so you’re better prepared when things pick up again.

Here are a few things to consider:

• Upgrading Technology: Streamline your quoting and enrollment processes so selling new business takes less time.
• Automating Marketing: Subscribe to a single platform that stores your customer data and facilitates ongoing email and social media campaign management that does the work for you.
• Refining Systems: Automate reminders, client follow-ups, and renewal processes so that it also takes less time to keep business on the books.
• Delegating Tasks: Offload administrative work so you can focus more on selling and less on paperwork.

Small improvements now can free up time later, allowing you to grow your income without sacrificing freedom.

Final Thoughts

Justin Welsh asks an important question in his article:

“What would your life look like if you optimized for time and freedom instead of revenue and growth?”

For health insurance agents, this is the perfect time to reflect on that question.

Yes, the potential for unlimited income is one of the best things about this business—but it’s not the only thing that matters. Taking care of yourself, spending time with your family, and building systems that protect your time are just as important as building your book of business.

As you catch your breath after another busy season, make sure you’re building a business—and a life—that works for you.