A former broker, Nelson Griswold today works as an agency growthconsultant to benefits firms across the country and is recognizedas a leading expert on selling and cross-selling. Griswold isauthor of the industry bestseller, DO or DIE: Reinventing YourBenefits Agency for Post-Reform Success, and was recently awardedthe 2013 Industry Leadership Award by the Voluntary BenefitsAssociation. Griswold spends well over half the year on the roadworking with agencies and brokers. We caught up with him in hishotel room in Chicago.

This is a sales business. Too many owners andprincipals have forgotten that benefits firms are salesorganizations. Growth and profits are a function of effectivelyselling your ideal prospects on your unique value proposition.

Bring solutions. Being a broker is atransactional role while clients today expect a benefits advisorwho helps identify pain points and brings solutions, not justproducts — i.e. a consultant.

Think consultative selling. Today's mostsuccessful benefits consultants are engaging clients withquestion-based consultative selling techniques in order to remainrelevant and profitable.

Solve, don't sell.  The best-keptsecret of selling is that it's fun and rather easy when done right.Most sales trainers make it hard. Selling is just helping yourclients solve problems with the product, service or processsolutions you have. Pushing product is hard; getting paid to solveproblems is kind of fun.

Bring insight. With clients expectingmore from their benefits consultant, you prove your value bybringing business insights — valuable information about hisbusiness the client doesn't already know.

Cross-sell to solve problems. Clients havemultiple problems they struggle with beyond the medical renewal.Cross-selling is just finding these problems and offering asolution. Think of it as repeat consultative selling.

Think outside the box. Think beyondthe traditional spreadsheet-and-product solutions. Worksitevoluntary benefits is an excellent place to start since this oneproduct category provides you with a large toolbox of product andservice solutions for the client.

Incentivize growth. Most benefitsfirms reward renewals the same as new business, then wonder whytheir salespeople don't bring more new business. If you want togrow your book, revise your compensation plan to pay less forrenewals and more for new accounts. It works.

Manage your sales process. Most benefits firmsdo a poor job of managing their salespeople. The old saying is, “Ifyou don't manage it, it's not important.” Benefit firms are salesorganizations; selling better be important. Growth and profits comeas a result of managing the sales team and process effectively.