In my business, as an independent Medicare Broker, we have a relationship with what’s called a “Field Marketing Organization”, or an FMO. What the FMO does is act as a type of ‘Middle Man’ between individuals such as myself and the insurance companies we market. For example, I can’t be directly contracted with say Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN or Aetna, etc. We must have an FMO to contract with the majority of these companies I’m authorized to sell.
The role of the FMO is to help individual agents market themselves and assist if we need them to. The benefit for the FMO is they get an override for anyone I enroll in a particular plan, so it’s in their best interest to help us get more sales, so to speak. If you’re familiar with the concept of MLM’s or network marketing, it’s not unlike that. However, unlike most MLM’s or network marketing companies, there’s no ultimate loser in the transaction. In my case, it’s a win-win-win for the client (consumer), me and my FMO when we put folks in the right plan. The customer doesn’t pay any extra whether they use an agent like me than if they signed up directly with the company. However, if they do have an agent, we are able to be an advocate on a client’s behalf or help them navigate the tricky waters of Medicare and their Medicare plan.
Having established that, some FMO’s are more helpful to agents than others. My previous FMO was an outfit out of Clarksville, TN called MedicareHub (aka Elevate). From 2010 through 2022 I was an agent under them and, speaking fairly, they were a good fit for me for many years.
However, I made the decision to switch over to the i2 Agency here in Franklin, TN where I reside, when I met with owners, Matt Hendrix and Travis Hague, this last January. We hit it off immediately and they had the same commitment to serving the client that I’ve long had. I won’t bore you with the details of everything, but suffice it to say, with the help of my wife, we saw a better opportunity locally to get in front of more people who needed help understanding their Medicare options.
One of the main factors was the relationship between i2 has with the YMCA’s in TN. Throughout the year I’ve had the chance to get to know many of the folks at the various Middle Tennessee YMCA’s and for the first time will be able to meet folks at 3 different locations to do annual Medicare reviews throughout the upcoming Annual Election Period (October 15 through December 7th). As of October 15th, I’ll be in the following locations on the listed days from the hours of 8 a.m.-noon each day:
Monday & Thursday: Margaret Maddox YMCA. 2624 Gallatin Pike, Nashville, TN 37216
Wednesday: Northwest YMCA. 3700 Ashland City Hwy., Nashville, TN 37218
Tuesday & Friday: Christ Church YMCA. 15354 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37211
I will still be available to do in-home appointments, or over-the-phone, but wanted to let you know if you wanted to come check out the YMCA and meet with me at a neutral location, this would be a great option this upcoming fall. Also, if you want to meet in the afternoon at one of the above YMCA locations, we could also make arrangements to do so if need be. To schedule an appointment for this upcoming AEP give me a call at 615-578-5174 or schedule here: