Thinking Outside the Box: How Benefits Brokers Can Build Trust Through Education

Executive Summary

In this episode of The Benefits Broker Boost Podcast, Plansight CMO, Adam Smith, interviews Chris Pierron, advisor at The Baldwin Group and founder of The Conscious Bite, a new initiative designed to bring health education directly to employees.

Chris blends two decades of experience in fitness with his expertise in employee benefits to rethink how brokers connect with clients. Instead of chasing sales through traditional cold outreach, he focuses on creating value first, educating employees about nutrition and wellness to improve health outcomes and reduce long-term healthcare costs.

This conversation explores what it means to stand out in a saturated broker market, how wellness and prevention can reshape plan spend, and why the best client relationships start with giving, not asking.

The Problem: Everyone Sounds the Same

As Chris explains, most brokers fall into the same pattern: endless cold calls, repetitive pitches, and promises of “better rates.” HR leaders are exhausted by it.

“HR directors are getting hit up by 30 brokers a week, and we’re all saying the same thing,” Chris says. “Even if yours really is different, it doesn’t matter; they’re already fatigued.”

That’s the trap. Everyone claims differentiation, but markets the same way. Brokers are expected to form meaningful relationships in minutes, which isn’t how trust works. As Chris puts it, “You shouldn’t need to form a deep relationship in three minutes. That’s not how real relationships happen.”

The Turning Point: From Fitness to Benefits

Before entering the benefits world, Chris spent over 20 years in the fitness industry, owning gyms, leading education for 24 Hour Fitness, and training clients nationwide. When he moved into benefits, he recognized a familiar pattern: people want results, but they need the proper structure, guidance, and motivation to get there.

That’s when the idea for The Conscious Bite took shape, a company focused on employee health education through engaging seminars and nutritional awareness. Rather than talking about plans and premiums, Chris starts with the root of the problem: why employees get sick in the first place.

The Solution: Teaching First, Selling Later

Chris’s model is simple but effective: lead with education.

He offers employers a free seminar that teaches staff about food quality, ingredient awareness, and small, sustainable changes.

“It’s not about telling people what to eat,” he explains. “It’s about teaching them what’s in their food that’s making them sick.”

By connecting directly with employees, he builds goodwill and trust without ever mentioning that he’s a broker. The organic follow-up happens naturally.

Each session creates curiosity and conversation. Employees start asking questions about their own health. HR leaders see a broker who’s invested in their people, not just their plan spend.

This approach aligns with Plansight’s philosophy of empowering brokers to deliver more value through more intelligent workflows and authentic relationships. Learn more about why brokers choose Plansight and how our platform features help them scale that value at speed.

What This Means for Brokers Right Now

The broker world is shifting fast. Rising healthcare costs, AI-driven competition, and client expectations are forcing firms to rethink their outreach.

Brokers who continue relying solely on cold calls and spreadsheets will fall behind. Those who innovate by pairing authenticity with automation will thrive.

Here’s what forward-thinking brokers are doing:

• Leading with value. Offering free wellness or education sessions to open doors organically.
• Automating manual work. Using tools like PlansightAI to reduce data entry and comparison fatigue.
• Building trust through transparency. Showing clients exactly how they’re improving outcomes and plan performance.
• Scaling smarter. Using technology to give teams more time for strategy, not spreadsheets. Learn more about scaling smarter with AI.

Looking Ahead: A Healthier, More Human Approach

The future of brokerage is not just digital, it’s personal. As Chris and Adam discuss, the next generation of brokers will use technology to handle the administrative heavy lifting while focusing their human energy on education, relationships, and trust.

That balance of people and process is what Plansight was built for: connecting automation, accuracy, and empathy into one ecosystem that lets brokers grow with confidence.

“At the end of the day,” Chris says, “if you go in trying to get something, people feel it. But if you go in trying to give, the relationships build themselves.”

Final Thought: Small Seeds Grow Big Change

Every shift in our industry starts with someone willing to think differently.

Chris Pierron’s story is a reminder that authentic value, whether it’s a new technology or a simple act of service, always wins in the long term.

If you’re ready to rethink how you connect with clients, educate workforces, and scale your agency, it starts with a conversation.

👉 Schedule a 30-minute discovery call to see how Plansight helps brokers stand out, save time, and strengthen client relationships.

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