Strategic Revenue Management Step 3: Push

In this series, e123 President Brendan McLoughlin will explain what Strategic Revenue Management (SRM) is with a detailed 6-step guide on how you can implement this framework within your organization.

How Smart Carriers Supercharge Distribution Channels for Maximum Growth

Most carriers don’t have a distribution problem; they have an agent motivation problem.

They invest heavily in consumer marketing while their distribution channels underperform. The result? Missed growth targets. Frustrated agents. Lost share in priority markets. Without a clear plan to capture agent mindshare, carriers fall behind while competitors that invest in channel marketing get ahead.

Strategic Revenue Management (SRM) flips that dynamic through agent marketing and education and aligning incentives to increase your footprint.

In Strategic Revenue Management Step 2: Plan, we shared how to strategically align the right products with the right markets, members, and distribution. Step 3: Push is where momentum builds. It’s how smart carriers supercharge the right distribution channels with focused recruitment, agent enablement, and incentive strategies.

Build the Right Footprint to Dominate Priority Markets

Push starts with precision. Smart carriers don’t chase every market. They focus on geographies where they can gain market share and the FMOs and agencies that perform the best.

In Step 1: Assess you learned how to select your top markets. Now, overlay those against your current agent footprint to assess the opportunity. Where do you have gaps? Where are members underserved?

The foundation of your push strategy is formed by addressing these questions and subsequently focusing on:

• Recruiting FMOs with existing broker relationships in target counties.
• Deploying agents to fill remaining gaps and expand reach quickly.
• Doubling down on density and supporting your top markets with concentrated resources.

The goal is simple. Identify the areas with the highest growth potential and build out your agent footprint.

Motivating Agents Goes Beyond Commissions

We often hear from agents that commissions matter—and not just the amount. In a recent survey, agents said they prioritize receiving commissions on time, preferably digitally, and getting accurate, detailed statements. For many agents, however, the motivation runs deeper. Focused on building relationships, reputations, and long-term books of business, more agents care about:

• Ease of doing business: Easy to use technology, simple processes, fast approvals, and real-time support.
• Tools to succeed: Being armed with the resources to match members with the products that are the best fit for their needs.
• Member satisfaction: Plans and processes that solve problems and reduce calls and complaints.

Carriers that align with these motivations will win agent mindshare and get agents to prioritize selling their products.

So how exactly do you incentivize your agents? Create bonuses tied to specific products in specific markets. Deliver product education and resources so agents feel confident, knowledgeable, and ready to sell. Pay commissions quickly, timely, and accurately, and be easier to work with than other carriers.

Motivation and loyalty are built through competing on agent experience and compensation.

Treat Agent Performance Like a Growth Strategy

One of the biggest mistakes carriers make is treating all agents the same. Top producers, moderate producers, and occasional producers need different strategies.

• Top producers value recognition, exclusivity, and premium support. However, top producers are usually only a fraction of your total agent mix.
• Moderate producers have already shown promise and just need opportunity and encouragement to reach the next level.
• Occasional producers, especially in key markets, are untapped resources with strong growth potential because this bucket tends to be the largest. If they increase their output even slightly, the incremental revenue benefit can be significant. And with the right tools, that is possible.
• Negative ROI producers cost time, money and focus. Using data, smart carriers purge their rolls of unprofitable agents, freeing up resources to focus on the agents that will generate growth.

Track performance by FMO, broker, and individual agent. Look at enrollments, product mix, and persistency, not just volume. Don’t ignore low-volume agents, especially in areas where you have high Local Relative Market Share (LRMS). With the right motivation, they can drive results. But don’t allow negative-ROI agents or FMOs to dilute your focus.

This is where real-time data matters. You no longer have to guess who’s worthy of your attention, and instead can make decisions based on actual data.

Make Channel Marketing Work Like It Should

Top carriers allocate two-thirds of their marketing budgets to channel marketing and one-third to consumer marketing. Channel marketing delivers more ROI because it leverages existing agent relationships and expertise.

The must-do aspects of channel marketing include:

• Agent Education: Train agents to position the right products for the right members.
• Sales Enablement: Give them sharp, ready-to-use tools that help close business.
• Recognition + Incentives: Keep top performers engaged with contests, events, and spotlights.

This isn’t about pushing flyers. It’s about making agents more effective, more credible, and more loyal.

Ready to See What Push Looks Like?

Distribution should be your strongest growth engine, not your bottleneck. e123 gives carriers the technology and intelligence to execute Step 3: Push with precision. From performance analytics to commission , and downline visibility, we help you turn data into action and results.

To learn more about our SRM 6-step plan, download our Strategic Revenue Management whitepaper, revisit our previous SRM blog posts, watch my presentation on SRM, and stay tuned for step 4: Pull, the next post in this SRM series. 

Ready to start? Schedule a consultation with e123 and let’s see how SRM can supercharge your distribution channel.