How long did it take you to "make it?"

[Survivor]

A lot of new agents/hopeful agents come in here as lost as can be. I am still one of them, but not as lost anymore thanks in large part to this forum.

I'm wondering what you all consider to be the learning curve, or rather, the "success curve" in this business. I started in August with a crap company, worked there for a hot second, left, and now I'm with a solid company and have been with them for about 7 weeks now. Only now do I feel like I'm actually going to make it. I had confidence before, but only now am I really seeing the fruits of my labors as more people keep their appointments, give referrals, and agree to buy.

So I guess that's about 3.5 months of a learning curve for me. I'm still fighting to that next step where I have to beat away customers with a stick. We've got some agents at our office with hundreds and hundreds of thousands on their book (no major med, only life and small supplements) that are constantly getting called and asked about insurance. I want to be there!

How long did it take you to feel like you had found a groove?
How long did it take you to build enough of a referral base to the point where you really didn't have to prospect anymore?

 

[somarco]

Depending on your product, work ethic & personality it can take anywhere from 6 months to 2+ years.

I work the major med market primarily and it took me almost 2 yrs before I started to get a "stream" of referrals. A lot of that has to do with the way I work, which is over the phone & internet. You need to have a knack for developing relationships over the phone. The trust angle usually takes a lot longer than face to face.

Had I worked F2F all along no doubt the referrals would have come much sooner.

You need at least 100 clients before referrals will come with any frequency and more like 300+ to get a (somewhat) reliable stream.

So it's not so much a matter of time as it is client base, product, and how well your clients relate to you.

Mine feel very comfortable and some even make referrals even if they don't buy.

So how long before you never have to prospect?

The day you retire or die.

Nothing lasts forever. Group major med clients have a tendancy to stay longer than most other L/H clients . . . except possibly for ancillary lines like dental or STD/LTD . . . but there is no money in that unless you have a LOT of clients.

I have a friend in the group dental business. That is all he does. It took him almost 10 years before he finally "made it".

That's my view. Others, particularly those who work different products or do more F2F will have a different take.

 

[djs]

I agree with Somarco, with one exception, especially since I'm more on the P&C side.

The big part of 'making it' in this business is having enough residual income coming in that writing new business isn't as important. This is far more true in P&C than life/health, since residuals are higher, though initial income is lower.

To get to this point requires 3-5 years, but it's a transition. After 2 years, you'll have a really good sense of the business, should have a comfortable income stream (albeit, maybe still struggling, but paying the bills). Most importantly in those first 2 years, you'll have dealt with enough situations that the business side is second nature, you'll have figured out your niche, and how to work.

You should be starting to get into a 'groove' now, but you'll get knocked out of the groove a few times, and then settle back in. The groove gets deeper as you go along, making it harder to get knocked out.

My normal groove is to market P&C, cross-sell health. Earlier this year, the groove became a rut, so I decided I'd do something totally different, market health, cross-sell P&C (after all, I am adventurous). Hmmm, bad mistake. I had no groove at all. I went back to my rut

 

[somarco]

groove became a rut, so I decided I'd do something totally different, market health, cross-sell P&C (after all, I am adventurous). Hmmm, bad mistake. I had no groove at all. I went back to my rut

Groove is good.

I tried doing a lot of things, in addition to health, and found I was moving backward.

I still write life when asked, and DI but if it isn't health I don't really mess with it.

Oh, and no Medicare crap either. I have a "boy" who gladly takes care of all I can give him.

 

[1manshow]

My normal groove is to market P&C, cross-sell health. Earlier this year, the groove became a rut, so I decided I'd do something totally different, market health, cross-sell P&C (after all, I am adventurous). Hmmm, bad mistake

Been there, done that, got a tshirt

Wrote a couple million in health premium back in the day when Blue Cross was paying % rather than a per-enrollee fee. Then I found out about servicing these accounts......... no thanks, I'll stick with P&C

 

[Survivor]

Been there, done that, got a tshirt

Wrote a couple million in health premium back in the day when Blue Cross was paying % rather than a per-enrollee fee. Then I found out about servicing these accounts......... no thanks, I'll stick with P&C

If I was writing millions in premium, I'm pretty sure I'd suck it up and service it, or hire some one like a new agent who will be happy to take a couple leads hear and there, a little cut, and go out and service your stuff.