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Other than the carriers that charge interest on advances, I've really never understood the notion that going as earned is a better business model.

It reminds me of people that get excited during tax season for their refund.

Having other people hold your money, regardless if its the IRS or a carrier, is not advice I'd give to anyone, regardless of how much money you got in the bank.


I’m with you on this. I don’t want the carrier earning interest on my money...I want to earn interest on my money and/or decide what happens with my money.
 
The majority of agents can't go as earned.

But - take a 50% Advance and get to Month 13 in the biz. Pay Thurs and Renewals will create the Residual Income.

I hate selling Insurance. But - my monthly Direct Deposits make it worthwhile.

One of the few reasons that I haven't failed in the biz nor washed out. Pay Thurs.

*ick would be proud ;)
 
I too went one by one. I started off with advances. I could not have made it without them. However, About year 4-5 I started doing a few companies as earned. One company BCBS made me do as earned. After I built a few hundred dollars in income I could not notice at all as earned vs advanced.

I took this same concept to all my life carriers. One by one I stopped advancing. I might have 2-3 still advancing. Mostly because I was set up on them and I really could give a care. As earned is the way to go. Granted, most people will need to do it over time like I did
 
I’m with you on this. I don’t want the carrier earning interest on my money...I want to earn interest on my money and/or decide what happens with my money.

This is kind of generalizing but I think it’s sort of a mid-western thing. People in the mid-west tend to be more conservative financially than those on the coasts (and yes I know there are many exceptions. )

So the mindset of the financially conservative person (I am an extreme case of this but there are varying degrees) is that debt is not good. Debt is exposure and weakness in your independence. It’s deeply engrained in our minds.

How many times have you taken that call from a new agent/recruit and their story was they had been a high income earner in the past. They made like $300,000 a year for a decade. Then life happened. They got injured. Or the industry they were in came crashing down. Or something. They lost their home. Went bankrupt. We’ve all heard those stories over and over. They are sad stories. But a big part of the reason they went through that is because they took on debt. People who stay debt free, rarely have those types of financial swings.

Take an agent on max advances. Which most agents need to be in the beginning. They are exposed to a few bad months will put them out of the biz. Let’s say they get their sales going pretty well for a couple years. They are hitting $150,000 issue/paid and stay on full advance. It FEELS like he is making more money than the agent that creeps it down to as earned. It feels good. So he buys that little bigger car. That little bigger house. That Rolex watch. It feels like you are making more. So you spend more.

But then life happens. You are in a crippling car wreck. Or you have a stoke. Or one of your children goes through a horrible illness and you have to take long periods off work. Just life hits you.

The as earned guy is more bullet proof. He has to take months at a time off? His cash flow barely changes. He still has money pouring in. He still has life’s bad stuff thrown at him. But he doesn’t have financial issues hit him at the same time.

It all comes down to tortoise and the Haire/rabbit stuff. Some want the faster path to riches. Others want the more secure path to riches. It’s the same money either way.

Great thing about this biz is you can have it either way that you want it.
 
Other than the carriers that charge interest on advances, I've really never understood the notion that going as earned is a better business model.
Having other people hold your money...

I’m with you on this. I don’t want the carrier earning interest on my money...I want to earn interest on my money and/or decide what happens with my money.


This is where both of you have it wrong. It is not YOUR money until you earn it. Any advance you get is a loan and not what you have earned.
 
Im not sure if some of the contributors of this thread are using this topic as a ploy to protect from debt to roll up to them, or if they are pushing this "as earned" philosophy since their main carrier doesnt give advances, but it is poor business practice to not infuse as much cash into your business as possible, all the time, regardless of what your bank account looks like.

We are splitting hairs arguing whos money it is, and just because someone cannot budget money correctly shouldnt force them to go as earned, it should force them to take some business classes, or get mentored by someone who is successful.

Without a doubt, if you make a sale, an agent should receive 100% of their full commission on a nine month advance.

If anyone tells you otherwise, they either think you can't budget, their carrier doesnt offer it, or they are afraid of debt to roll up to them.

Take YOUR money. Dont allow a carrier to hold it. Business 101 if you ask me.

Who willful pays more to the IRS, only to get a return at the of the year? Poor people.

Why take on that same poor thinking mindset in your own business?

The mindset of an agent should be how do I run a profitable business, not how do I become a successful salesperson.
 
So far I've written 115 ACA Plans - goal is 150 active / paying in 2019. That will be $2250 in my bank every month for about 400 hours of work.

If I could only take a 3 month advance on life - I'd do it
 
This is where both of you have it wrong. It is not YOUR money until you earn it. Any advance you get is a loan and not what you have earned.


No sir, I don’t have it wrong.

Secrets of the rich: Use other people’s money (OPM)

Warren Buffett

"That guy in Omaha. "He's building equity with other people's money!"

"float" refers to money held for policyholders to cover their claims.

The purpose of an insurance company, from a customer's perspective, is to offer protection from financial loss. For this coverage, drivers pay premiums. But if it ended there, most insurance companies wouldn't make a profit -- policyholder claims generally exceed premiums paid.

So to really understand insurance companies, you have to look at them from the board of directors' perspective. It's then that you see the purpose of an insurance company isn't to provide coverage, it's to borrow money and invest it -- a lot of money.

After all, if you have 10 million policy holders paying $100 a month for car insurance, then that's $1 billion piling up every 30 days. That money is the "float." Most, if not all, will eventually be paid out. The key word there is "eventually." In the meantime, the insurance company is free to continue to collect premiums and invest the float for its own benefit.

The question, of course, is precisely where is all that money invested? When investing such a large sum, professionals spread it around and seek to profit from all sorts of investments.

So knowing what stocks the big insurance houses are buying doesn't go far enough for me. A lot of what insurance companies are buying are large, stable companies that provide a relatively predictable rate of return.

What I'm looking for is the portion of each stock portfolio allocated to smaller companies with greater potential for exceptional returns. Insurance companies hire top managers to tend to their trillions.
 
A lot goes into institutional accounts not available to the small investor, and large blocks of municipal bonds. This is also why they make a lot money when agents sell deferred annuities and they get a big ole check. Even after guaranteeing a nice rate to the client and a hefty commission, gifts and trips to the agent. Also why the surrender penalties are usually so steep. Present Value X > Future Value X.
 
Yep I’ll take all my money. I’d take a 12 month advance where I can. I can make way more on my money today than leaving it with the carrier.

With that said, most agents can’t manage their money.

Whether it’s our job to train them or not, I’m gonna train them. Teaching agents how to have a personal and business budget is fun. I guess learning about calculus, physics and studying to pass standardized tests could have been time better spent learning something actual useful.

You can be assured all the successful agents/agency owners on this board are wise with their money.
 
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