Advice On New Career Change (The First Steps)

[wolfe42]

Hi Everyone,

I am 42 years old and looking at some different options in my life. I was wondering if someone can tell what they think the first "baby steps" I should take for possibly deciding if a career in selling insurance is the way to go.

I have come from a background of Sales and Finance with the automotive industry, but do not have the desire for that business any longer.

I would really like to hear some of you professionals out there tell me how you approached this business and took it on to be successful today.

All replies are very appreciated!

Sincerely,
Dave Wolfe

 

[John Galt]

With a name like Dave Wolfe you are destined to succeed in insurance

 

[WinoBlues]

With a name like Dave Wolfe you are destined to succeed in insurance

Maybe he will be D Wolfe of FE Street.

 

[wolfe42]

Thanks Guys,

Glad that their is some humor in this Forum

Sincerely

Dave Wolfe

 

[Charpress]

But seriously, you could do some marketing things with that name.

As for baby steps, get licensed since you can't even talk about selling insurance without that piece of paper -and in most states it is oh so easy to get. Then practice your pitch on a family member. They will be oh so happy to know you are a newly licensed insurance agent.

 

[shawnmwalker]

Well you have a decision tree here. I'll lead you down one path, but it is biased. And it is the P&C Path. Stop reading if you are thinking about something other than P&C.

"Begin with the end in mind"- 7 habits of Highly effective people.

Decision #1:

What end of the Ins Spectrum do you want? if you answered P&C keep reading. If ''Other" wait for the others to respond

Decision #2: Captive or Independent.

Captive:
Pro: They will teach you a lot but inevitably you will go Indy at some point in your career. Another Pro, they will subsidize your life for a time.
Con: The District Manager will push too hard or force life on you or cut your commissions or change your contract, or, ext, ext. Your Captive will take rate increases and kill your production and you will have one price point while others dissect your book one policy at a time.

Independent:
Pro: Control expenses. Get higher commission. Higher conversion. Higher retention. All of those factors equal more money.
Con: Starting out. Getting knowledge. Your personality type could sink yourself.

Decision #3:

Once you decide Indy is for you, in the next week or 22 yrs from now. The question will be how to do it. Your options include:

Buy an agency.
Join a group.
Become a producer for an agency.
Get direct appointments.
Get an agency that provides the back end service so you can hunt full time.

You decide which one is best for you.


Decision #4: What group should I join?

There are a lot. Consider the following. NOT ALL GROUPS ARE CREATED EQUAL! They range from good, better and best.

Any group claiming to be best of class should provide the following:
1. Transparency
2. Training and support
3. Carrier Alignment
4. and a great Contract
Give me a call, shoot me am IM. Good luck and have fun with your choices.

I have been in Insurance for 10+ years and the great thing in this industry is you can choose to never stop learning. Your learning curve is never ending. Meaning you will never get board.

 

[MauriceKing031]

You need to have a license for selling insurance.Before that you would also need to complete minimum hours of classroom instruction in areas you want to sell insurance in.