Advice for a Newbie Starting in the Industry

MrExcitement

New Member
19
I just found this forum and I am absolutely enamored with it...Tons of helpful information and it seems like a lot of people willing to give advice, some of which I am seeking right now.

I am a recent college graduate of Florida State University living in Tampa, Fl. I decided that it was in my best interest to try and start out with a company as a captive agent, the company I settled on was the Farm Bureau. However, after hearing that I would be trying to sell more life insurance than I care to think about at the age of 23, I decided that the opportunity was not for me. However, I did acquire both property casualty and life, health and variable annuity licenses with the intent of one day going indy. After figuring out that I do not want to work with the Farm Bureau I decided to take a telemarketing job selling AIG supplemental health plans...which is about as cool as showering with your father...All kidding asside they were paying only a dollar per hour rate only and it is a terrible job. However even with all of the bad press I am still was able to sell about 2 or 3 policies a day, with all of the leads given to me. Recently I have aquired another position with AAA to sell auto policies over the phone which is a better position, however it is not the exact position that I would like.( I would much rather work for a broker to learn first hand)

But while working for AAA I would like to use my life, health and variable annuity licencese and sell health care policies over the phone since i have been successful with phone sales in the past. The crux of my question is this, can a newbie like myself become appointed with a carrier and learn enough in the carriers classes to effectivly sell the policies in my area. I would try to make sales after my shift is over at AAA everyday and I can work out of my house for the time being. At the same time I want to go about my buisness in the most ethical way possible, so I do not accidently misslead or decieve any of my potiental cilents because of my inexperience. Do you think that I need to have a lot of experience under my belt before I start to sell these policies? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
 
At the same time I want to go about my buisness in the most ethical way possible, so I do not accidently misslead or decieve any of my potiental cilents because of my inexperience. Do you think that I need to have a lot of experience under my belt before I start to sell these policies?

I am glad you place your clients' interest before yours.

While it is important to learn as much as you can before you talk to anybody. The best way to learn is actually talking to your prospects or clients. That's where you learn about their concerns and what sort of questions they commonly ask.

It is okay if you are caught in the situations where you are not ready with the answers they are looking for. There are a variety of ways to handle such situations. Of course, the best is to be able to addrerss their concerns and answer their queries on the spot.

We always learn more being caught than being taught.
 
You seem very intelligent and dilligent for your age. Telemarketing position is a great way to get trained for this industry.

If I were you I would definitely get started with a career agency and MAKE SURE you get new agent financing.

I joined a career agency in my 2nd year and didn't get a dime because I made "too much" commission in my 1st year. So I now encourage every aspiring agent I meet to get that free money.

Find a career agency that allows brokerage work for other company insurances. Get that free money to pay the rent and start building your clientele without worries. JMO
 
I appreciate all the advice so far. I was wondering now which companies should I contract with? I was thinking about Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Etna, and possibly taking on a company such as Aflac for supplemental policies...Also I would like to add in addition to that John Hancock for life insurance and annuities... Let me know if there are some other companies out there that might be benificial to a person like me starting out. Once again thanks for all of the advice.
 
The p&c companies are really pushing life insurance lately because it is more profitable than p&c. {I would presume that is why}

Anyhoo, that's all I want to sell is life, so should I look into farm bureau? Probably not- because I'm not into p&c....
 
The issue that I foresee being a problem in the future is being able to service my clients only between the hours of 5 and 8 pm...Would this be a major issue in selling insurance for myself after my shift is over? AAA will be able to give me one day a week off per week so I figure I might be able to set all of my appointments for that day during the week. Could I transact my business out of my home with a fax machine and computer? Please let me know what you all think...
 
The p&c companies are really pushing life insurance lately because it is more profitable than p&c. {I would presume that is why}

Not really. P&C companies are cash machines. Think of all that premium coming in! And all on a regular basis...

The reason they like life insurance is because it is a much more predictable product claims wise.
 
AAA is captive absolutely, but they do not sell Health and Life products, so therefore I would not be in competition with them if I chose to sell Health and Life products on the side. I figure that they might make me sign a no compete clause in my contract as far as P&C but I would assume that they would care less about Health and Life. I am working in telesales for them at a call center so they may or may not have me sign a no compete clause. We shall see what they do because Friday is my first day on the job. Stay tuned...
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My main question right now is can I still sell health insurance while I am working a full time position. I will be able to call from 5pm to 8pm here in Florida everyday after work and I will be given one day a week off to where I can service the clients...Do you think this enough time to be able to service the clients? I hear a lot of people talking about how they will do everything electronically these days with emails and faxes and will service out of state clients. I know how to sell over the phone from my job at a call center selling AIG supplemental insurance policies selling two to three per day. Please let me know if you think that I might be able to both service the clients and prospect new ones three hours everyday after work and all day one of the days of the week. I know its not the best of choices but I really see that I have no other options at this moment. I would like to start building a book of business so that in a year or two I could possibly move out on my own. I am in the midst of designing a business plan which i will detail on this website for other to critique...Please let me know what you all think.
 
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Selling between those hours are statistically better for health insurance.

The issue that I foresee being a problem in the future is being able to service my clients only between the hours of 5 and 8 pm...Would this be a major issue in selling insurance for myself after my shift is over? AAA will be able to give me one day a week off per week so I figure I might be able to set all of my appointments for that day during the week. Could I transact my business out of my home with a fax machine and computer? Please let me know what you all think...
 
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