150k a Year ?

[JohnP]

150k a year? Wow, that's a figure I'm dreaming about. I doubt that this can be achieved in a short term period counting from the beginning.

 

[Alston]

A $150,000 income after expenses can be achieved. However, it is not easy to do it. Most agents never get close to those numbers.

I think that prospecting is the biggest factor that limits success in this business. Most agents have a system that will never generate the number of clients necessary to put make them an exceptional income.

This is greatly influenced by the fact that most agents think that they have a job and not a business. Because of this they fail to invest in themselves. They don't read about their business -- "Empty the coins of your purse into your mind and your mind will fill your purse with coins anew." ~ Benjamin Franklin -- and they don't invest dollars in their business.

You're probably not going to be able to build a big book of business quickly on word-of-mouth advertising. You will need to buy leads, hire a telemarketer, do direct mail, advertise in the newspaper or do something else.

When you start investing in your prospecting system, be sure to start with a method that you can test for small dollars. You want to be able to test with money that you can afford to lose.

Then make adjustments and compare your results. Rinse and repeat.

A good book can reduce the number of adjustments that you will need to make before your achieve success or prove that success cannot be achieved using a particular method.

Some forms of advertising simply won't work no matter how much you tweak them. So you should at least initially invest in areas where other agents have had success.

Eventually you will have a system that works. At this point you'll naturally start putting more and more money into your advertising. As your income increases, it will be easier to invest more. When you are working enough hours and making enough money you'll naturally stop increasing your advertising budget.

You should continue making minor adjustments to your advertising and testing new ideas on a small scale. Many of the advertising methods of yesterday do not work today. The methods of today may not work tomorrow. Stay ahead of the curve by testing other methods while you are making money instead of waiting until you are forced to make difficult decisions with a small income stream.

You will need one more thing to be successful:

Sustained Drive

It took me twenty years to realize that I had what it took to reach my goals. I proved it every time I had to work hard to keep from drowning.

Most of us who have roofs over our heads have drive. We are able to kick it into high gear when something goes wrong. We'll get a second job or work overtime or do something else when presented with a crisis.
​

I just had to sustain that drive for a longer period of time if I wanted to do more than tread water.

I'll bet this is true for most people who live in a country like ours that is full of opportunity.

Good luck to you.

 

[Justin Bilyj]

Very Wise Alston

 

[rbrewer]

Rbrewer,

Someone will probably prove me wrong in two minutes, but I have not encountered mustard based bbq in Georgia. I thought that's what you SC people ate. i.e. Shealy's BBQ in the Batesburg/Leesville area.

I don't know what they eat in Georgia I have never lived there. I do live in SC for 5 yrs, I guess I thought that the whole south ate mustard BBQ, I think it is sick. I am from SOCAL and was saying I miss the great food and dry summers.

 

[bill3173]

I don't know what they eat in Georgia I have never lived there. I do live in SC for 5 yrs, I guess I thought that the whole south ate mustard BBQ, I think it is sick. I am from SOCAL and was saying I miss the great food and dry summers.

Mustard based sauce is a mid to upstate thing in SC. The coastal bbq sauce in North and SC is the same and quite different taste - tangy vinegar based. The sweet mustard sauce is for girls.

 

[patch36]

They dry rub them and give you a choice of sauces on the side most places here in KC. I did have some Arthur Bryant's the other night that had a sweet spicy tomato based sauce on them, but I prefer them dry with the sauce on the side so I can choose. BBQ is about the smoke.

 

[souldeux]

Welcome to Sweet Baby Ray's Award-Winning Barbecue Sauces

All you ever need to eat.

 

[Marker77]

Three things are required:

1. A system... You can't wake up every morning and figure it out... you must KNOW what you are going to do, and why.

2. Thorough knowledge of your craft. You must know the product, underwriting and little nuances backward and forward. Also having decent sales skills is helpful, but many agents with enough activity can be successful in spite of themselves, with enough activity. Super sales skills are not really required to make a good living in this business, as long as you compensate with other factors. (willing to talk to more ppl).

3. Someone to talk to... regularly implemnting # 1 and 2 above. This means leads, and lots of them. What you need to be doing is talking to a lot fo people, implementing your system and using that product knowledge, to help the client get what they want; (valued insurance coverage).

If you talk to 20, 30, 40 or 50 ppl per day, you cannot help but make 6 figures over again. The sad fact of the matter is, more folks in this biz (and others) aren't willing to pay the price of what it really takes; WORK.

Amen! Well Said!

"The harder you work, the luckier you get" A small motto I have remembered from the first week I started. When I have a bad week, the only reason is me. When I put in the daily dials (which are only 25-30-exclusive life leads), I always come across someone who is ready and able to purchase insurance and it translates in writing 5K-10K weekly. The other thing I noticed is the big cases will come on a regular basis when you do the work.

As you mentioned, even someone who lacks certain skills can do well if that person will do the work. Then a funny thing happens, that person gets better on the phone, more skilled with their products, and begins to sound like a professional.
One of the greatest complements a prospect can give me is when they say, "it sounds like you know what you are talking about and I would like to take the next step".

Las but not least- Lead flow is crucial! You must have an abundance of leads so you don't sound desperate on the phone. Don't cheat yourself with not enough leads. If you have good credit, you can sign up for many credit cards for 0% on purchases for a year! For a small business owner, this may be a good way to get your business off the ground.

 

[ABC]

$150k a year package you need to gross about $250,000-$300,000 depending on what your nut is.

That size block you should be able to manage it with one employee.

 

[rbrewer]

Sports Nut can you tell me who you use for exclusive life leads?