Hello everyone, I recently just joined this site in hopes of finding a group or small community of people to help me, mentor me, and critic me as I journey through life selling insurance and other financial products.
The background:
I currently have:
-Life/health/accident insurance license
-series 6
-series 63
-3rd year at CSUS, gpa 2.7ish (mostly because of failed GE classes non-related to business, I begin my first upper division class this fall. College gpa is not my forte, but I make up for it with the effort I do outside of college studies).
-A full list of a warm market that I'm sitting on
My past, my present, my future:
I signed on with Primerica in 2010. Now, now.. don't be so ready to jump the gun and shoot me down, I do realize they sell overpriced term life, and that the ethics in most offices aren't what I would consider honest. I simply paid into this company, shut my mouth, opened my ears, and educated myself as far and as fast as I could go. In one year I earned 3 state licenses for $600ish, I kept my warm market list instead of being suckered into giving it up, and I now have a very good foundation of knowledge to take my first steps at running the show.
presently, I'm just waiting.. I could continue on to the next license, but that would require me to sell products or recruit. I feel bad for pulling the rug from my mentor who's taught me so much, but I simply cannot work for a company where I know better competition exists, and that a policy I wrote could be replaced easily by a better competitor company. I'm not brainwashed to sell term term term, either, I understand that there are many options and many different customers to size up with a product. Term is nice, its my bread and butter, but a cookie cutter idea can't fit every single customer every single time. I'm on a mission to learn every single corner, angle, and dark shadow of the insurance industry before I become a salesman. Help me learn more. I want to learn more.
My future involves me leaving my company and sacrificing my licenses (but it should be easier getting them back with compounded knowledge). After I do that, I am currently focused on Transamerica, because from the basic research I've done... they sell competitively cheap term, they have a 100 year track record, and they sell a wide variety of products that I can use good ethics and knowledge to give my customers the best service I can give. Other companies I've heard a lot of dirt on them, and it worries me that I'm in a dark room trying to search for a company that can say they are honest, ethical, and humanitarian. Do they exist? I believe they can, but I need more time to search and research.
My question to ask fellow members reading this novel of a post, is:
1. Does this story sound good so far? Am I on a good track or could I do better doing something different? How can this story improve?
2. I really need some good info on 401ks, pension plans, annuities, whole/universal/varible life (situations where it actually works and isn't replaced by term, or types/stereotypes of customers these policies are designed for, how do these policies win?). These are my weaknesses in knowledge.
3. In a world of darkness, manipulation, deceit, and bad intentions, where can any student such as myself find a beacon of light for a company that won't brainwash them into salesmen, and instead empower them with full industry knowledge?
I realize every company is designed/structured to make me into a salesman and a recruiting machine. Here's my small rant on being a salesman, because I know I can sell/recruit but I choose not to. I won't sell a product until I have achieved an entry level of mastery of knowledge on all products. In other words, until all the right answers become 2nd nature to me, I don't feel equipped to sell to a multi-millionaire a product because subconsciously I will feel inadequate. If I can't write an autobiography of the steps I took to achieve my accomplishments in life, then Im no good as a mentor or as a recruiter. Why pull someone in, if I can't lead them to the best of my ability? I will move a mountain if I need to so that I can achieve this mentality. I feel it is so much easier to talk the talk, when your walk the walk is actually running. What are your thoughts on this belief of mine? Am I right for being so stubborn on salesmanship and pursuing knowledge first? Money is not a concern to me in this age, I live beneath my means, and Im very happy with what I have.
Thanks for reading and any comments are greatly, greatly appreciated. I look forward to having a fun discussion with whomever decides to stumble across my message :]
The background:
I currently have:
-Life/health/accident insurance license
-series 6
-series 63
-3rd year at CSUS, gpa 2.7ish (mostly because of failed GE classes non-related to business, I begin my first upper division class this fall. College gpa is not my forte, but I make up for it with the effort I do outside of college studies).
-A full list of a warm market that I'm sitting on
My past, my present, my future:
I signed on with Primerica in 2010. Now, now.. don't be so ready to jump the gun and shoot me down, I do realize they sell overpriced term life, and that the ethics in most offices aren't what I would consider honest. I simply paid into this company, shut my mouth, opened my ears, and educated myself as far and as fast as I could go. In one year I earned 3 state licenses for $600ish, I kept my warm market list instead of being suckered into giving it up, and I now have a very good foundation of knowledge to take my first steps at running the show.
presently, I'm just waiting.. I could continue on to the next license, but that would require me to sell products or recruit. I feel bad for pulling the rug from my mentor who's taught me so much, but I simply cannot work for a company where I know better competition exists, and that a policy I wrote could be replaced easily by a better competitor company. I'm not brainwashed to sell term term term, either, I understand that there are many options and many different customers to size up with a product. Term is nice, its my bread and butter, but a cookie cutter idea can't fit every single customer every single time. I'm on a mission to learn every single corner, angle, and dark shadow of the insurance industry before I become a salesman. Help me learn more. I want to learn more.
My future involves me leaving my company and sacrificing my licenses (but it should be easier getting them back with compounded knowledge). After I do that, I am currently focused on Transamerica, because from the basic research I've done... they sell competitively cheap term, they have a 100 year track record, and they sell a wide variety of products that I can use good ethics and knowledge to give my customers the best service I can give. Other companies I've heard a lot of dirt on them, and it worries me that I'm in a dark room trying to search for a company that can say they are honest, ethical, and humanitarian. Do they exist? I believe they can, but I need more time to search and research.
My question to ask fellow members reading this novel of a post, is:
1. Does this story sound good so far? Am I on a good track or could I do better doing something different? How can this story improve?
2. I really need some good info on 401ks, pension plans, annuities, whole/universal/varible life (situations where it actually works and isn't replaced by term, or types/stereotypes of customers these policies are designed for, how do these policies win?). These are my weaknesses in knowledge.
3. In a world of darkness, manipulation, deceit, and bad intentions, where can any student such as myself find a beacon of light for a company that won't brainwash them into salesmen, and instead empower them with full industry knowledge?
I realize every company is designed/structured to make me into a salesman and a recruiting machine. Here's my small rant on being a salesman, because I know I can sell/recruit but I choose not to. I won't sell a product until I have achieved an entry level of mastery of knowledge on all products. In other words, until all the right answers become 2nd nature to me, I don't feel equipped to sell to a multi-millionaire a product because subconsciously I will feel inadequate. If I can't write an autobiography of the steps I took to achieve my accomplishments in life, then Im no good as a mentor or as a recruiter. Why pull someone in, if I can't lead them to the best of my ability? I will move a mountain if I need to so that I can achieve this mentality. I feel it is so much easier to talk the talk, when your walk the walk is actually running. What are your thoughts on this belief of mine? Am I right for being so stubborn on salesmanship and pursuing knowledge first? Money is not a concern to me in this age, I live beneath my means, and Im very happy with what I have.
Thanks for reading and any comments are greatly, greatly appreciated. I look forward to having a fun discussion with whomever decides to stumble across my message :]
