1st Three Weeks W/ AGLA

[Lowcountry 42]

First thing I will say is I'm grateful for the variety of advice on this forum. About two months ago I made a rather uninformed decision to become licensed and accept a captive position with AGLA. I'm 42 unmarried [live w/ g.f], no children and no college education, for the last 8 years I owned and ran a residential paint contracting firm and for the 1st six years was pretty successful, finally the stress of finding hardworking employees and the current real estate market took it's toll and here I am.

I had no real clue what this business involved at first but what I think I have learned is this
1- I have the people skills,work ethic and integrity to make this work.
2- My managers only care about me selling, their goal was never to make me a knowledgable producer. I have spent hours every day researching insurance products and feel I have enough knowledge to help individuals protect their families without overselling or making commision only based decisions that are not in the customers best interest.
3- Prospecting is going to be tough. I do have a fairly large natural market, I grew up in this area [Charleston, S.C.] so I know a lot of people. I have spent one afternoon going door to door with a little success[50 knocks 10 answered 1 appointment] and I feel that I could have some success prospecting this way. I have an existing book of business with about 200 customers and have written a policy by doing customer reviews and I have several appointment from the review angle this week. I will spend my morning hours cold calling small businesses face to face starting in a week.
4- Continuing education is going to an immediate focus so I will be able to serve a broader market in the future.
5- I am fortunate because I have downsized my lifestyle and do not currently require a large income, however a large income is a future goal.
6- I think being captive with AGLA is great way to learn the business and I intend on remaining with them, from what I can tell they are a good company with competativly priced products.

Am I missing anything? I would appreciate any advice and wisdom. Thank you, David

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

First, we'll have to get in touch - we're thinking of moving to the Charleston area in 18 months (Summerville area possibly?) I'd love some insight - you can email me at [email protected]

You're also discovering what I discovered after 5 months captive. When it's all my own effort anyway, why not just be independent.

If you have the ability to go door to door and can stick with it you should do quite well. Obviously it's going to depend on what you're selling but my advice is simply - go independent.

I've given this advice before and will continue to do so:

Captive is great if you're on salary/draw with a great learning environment. Captive is a "scam" without any base pay, benefits or guarantee as to the quality of training. Also in this environment it's a huge uphill battle to sell products through a single carrier.

 

[cds251]

I do almost all of my business through door knocking, and I sell on the spot too.

Now I am independent, but back when I started in 2001 I was captive.....and remained captive for 2 years.

I would never dream of going back to being captive, however it got my feet wet, taught me a few things and allowed me to grow in the business.

In any profession you don't end up where you start.......you enter at the bottom and work your way up....despite the naysayers on this forum if you have absolutley no experience it might be beneficial to go captive get some training, learn the business, learn the industry, find your niche and then strike out alone.

It takes time to be successful in this industry, it just doesnt happen overnight......

 

[HomeService]

I learned door to door at AGLA, well, learned it before that but really got good at it with AGLA. You need to go to businesses as well, once you get your skills down to a science.

 

[xrac]

Independent is the way to go but not until you have gained more experience.

 

[rousemark]

One of the things the ones preaching Indy don't ever take into consideration is benefits.. Have friends who retired after a 35 year career with AGLA, a good portion in management, that draw a very good pension from them. The pension benefit is locked in whereas, I can tell you from experience, vested renewals eventually dwindle to almost nothing. In addition to the pension, the W2 captive employee agent has 1/2 their SS paid by the company, health benefits, etc.

Of course none of this applies to a captive 1099 agent. I would never consider being captive on a 1099 basis.

 

[magagent]

I know some W2 captive managers that have none of the above... No pension, benefits, nothing... A W2 captive sales person/manager most likely doesn't have all the "perks" in 2012 like it previously did.

 

[Lowcountry 42]

I appreciate the replies and I'm hoping to generate a little more insight into the door knocking method of prospecting. Are there certain hours that work best, obviously late afternoon will have more families at home. My real intention when D.K. is to set an appointment and come back later however I do keep my materials in the truck if needed. I like the thought of leaving door hangers on unanswered doors. My intro is short and to the point without being invasive or too pushy. Any good solid techniques or even the name of a good book would be appreciated. It doesn't seem like a very utilized tool around here although everyone I've spoken to about it seems to remember this was how life was sold in the past.

 

[xrac]

I appreciate the replies and I'm hoping to generate a little more insight into the door knocking method of prospecting. Are there certain hours that work best, obviously late afternoon will have more families at home. My real intention when D.K. is to set an appointment and come back later however I do keep my materials in the truck if needed. I like the thought of leaving door hangers on unanswered doors. My intro is short and to the point without being invasive or too pushy. Any good solid techniques or even the name of a good book would be appreciated. It doesn't seem like a very utilized tool around here although everyone I've spoken to about it seems to remember this was how life was sold in the past.

Jmatos has been very successful with door knocking. I suggest that you read this thread: Survey For DOOR TO DOOR!.

 

[HomeService]

I just walk up to people and ask who they have their life insurance with. That simple. Either they have none, or it's a term group plan at work, or they actually have an individual policy.