3 summer sales habits that build next year’s pipeline

Unlike many other types of insurance, employee benefits follow a predictable annual rhythm. While summer can make it more difficult to get on calendars and coordinate around vacations, the conversations that influence next year’s plan designs and benefits strategies are happening now, before early fall.

For employee health and benefits sales leaders, this is not your quiet period. It’s one of the most important times of the year for prospecting because most employers renew their benefits programs on Jan 1. Human resources leaders begin evaluating their current broker, reviewing plan options and making renewal decisions during the summer months. The work you do today — from scheduling a benefits benchmarking review to presenting a sample plan design comparison — positions you for success next year.

Here are several best practices to help you stay intentional and maintain discipline as business naturally begins to slow.

1. Focus on filling the pipeline, not just closing business

One of the biggest mistakes employee health and benefits producers can make during the second half of summer is measuring success solely by immediate sales. The goal during this period is to generate new business appointments, build relationships with prospective clients and fill the pipeline with quality opportunities that may convert over the coming months.

There’s a direct correlation between activity and results. Every meeting you schedule and every meaningful conversation you have today creates potential for future opportunities. Although not every prospect will be ready to make a change before the start of the year, maintaining a full pipeline positions you to capitalize on opportunities as they arise.

Just as importantly, don’t assume the opportunity ends once open enrollment is complete. Organizations can change brokers at any time. Following up after open enrollment to ask how the process went, whether expectations were met, and whether new challenges emerged can create opportunities that weren’t available just a few months earlier. A missed compliance notice, a clunky enrollment platform or a carrier that didn’t deliver are the moments you should listen for.

2. Lead every conversation with the client’s needs

Activity alone isn’t enough. The quality of your outreach is what ultimately determines whether a prospect agrees to a meeting.

Before picking up the phone or sending an email, invest time in understanding the prospect’s business and the challenges they may face. Whether healthcare costs are increasing, compliance requirements such as Affordable Care Act reporting are becoming more complex or leadership is reconsidering plan design, understanding what matters most to the prospect allows you to capture attention with solutions to issues they’re already grappling with.

Lead with the client’s issues, connect them to a solution you can provide and then ask for the meeting. For example, if you’re reaching out to a transportation company experiencing rising fleet costs, start the conversation there. Explain how you’ve helped similar organizations through a driver safety program designed to help reduce losses and claims costs.

3. Focus on activities you can control

Consistency is one of the biggest differentiators between average and top-performing producers. It’s easy to stay motivated when appointments fill your calendar and new opportunities are coming in. The greater challenge is maintaining that same level of discipline during the summer months, when it’s tempting to sit back, assume prospects are unavailable or postpone outreach until after vacation season.

Measure success by the activities that build future business, not closed business alone. Whether it’s a weekly check-in with a manager, sharing progress with peers or tracking your own prospecting goals, regularly reviewing your activity helps ensure you maintain momentum and identify where you may need to adjust your approach. For example, if cold calls are going unanswered but HR contacts are opening the benchmarking data you’ve sent, that’s a signal to lean into email and content-driven follow-up until calendars open back up in the fall.

Successful producers are nurtured by a supportive sales culture

Individual discipline will always matter, but the strongest sales organizations recognize and support consistent prospecting through coaching and collaboration.

This summer, at Marsh McLennan Agency, our Employee Health & Benefits sales team put that philosophy into practice by launching a Formula One-inspired prospecting challenge, inspired by Marsh’s recent partnership with the organization. Producers earn points for the activities that build future business: qualifying prospects, scheduling new business appointments and advancing opportunities. Every appointment is validated through Salesforce, allowing the focus to remain on meaningful prospecting activities rather than self-reported results. The reward was tickets to an F1 race.

The competition emphasizes teamwork over individual performance. Producers are grouped into two teams — one of newer producers and one of more experienced producers — supported by sales leaders and peer coaches, all coming to the table to share ideas, offer encouragement, and help teammates overcome obstacles. While this was a competition, the primary focus was collaboration and generating energy during a traditionally slower period.

Whether you’re early in your career or an experienced producer, look for an organization that develops its producers. Ask about coaching and mentorship. The best sales cultures don’t leave success to individual motivation alone. They intentionally create an environment where producers have the support, accountability, and encouragement to build future business and strengthen client relationships.

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Trindl Reeves is chief revenue officer at Marsh McLennan Agency. Contact her at [email protected].