Attention New Agents: Get Trained!

Josh

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This is an excellent forum that is very active with a lot of great information on it, but it can't be your trainer. There is no substitute for ridding along with a trainer and spending quality face time with an experienced agent. Most recruiters, no matter how talented they are, completely lack the qualifications to provide this training. A lot of companies get flamed on here for offering low contracts, leads, and a training program, but that can be a GREAT way to get started. I started with AIL (NILICO in NY) and was dumb enough to listen to what they said and follow their system. The result was I made $7k my first *month* as a punk kid out of college and zero experience. The reason why I did so well had more to do with my ability to just do what I was told and follow a system that was probably as old as I was at the time.

Selling insurance is an art. It's not nearly enough to just know products and premiums, although those are important too. One of the main differences between the type of agent that earns a living in this business and one that earns a great living is knowing how to present. Selling insurance is something that's personal. One of the ways it's personal is that as an agent you have the opportunity to present folks with products that can help them and their family, but you'll need to be able to handle their objections, in particular, the ones they won't tell you. If you're presenting a good product at a reasonable price, most of the objections a prospect is going to have won't be ones they'll tell you. They may not even realize what their objecting to specifically, but as an agent who is experienced with your products and presenting to people you can help them better understand what to expect. For example:

I spent several years working in the Medicare market selling Medicare Advantage products. Nearly all of the plans I sold were $0/month and I already knew before I met with the prospects that it would be confusing to them how they could get a plan that offers so much coverage for $0/month. What I made sure to do is to address that before I even got into the plan benefits. I'd address it directly and tell them why there was no additional monthly premium for them above and beyond their part B premium that they were already paying.

A great deal of agents that get started are very analytical and get frustrated and say things like "I could save them $300/year for the same coverage and they still wouldn't switch!" While that's understandable, that's exactly why a good mentor/local trainer can help make the difference between success and failure.

Yes, a good trainer is going to take a chunk of the action and rightfully so, but it's an investment in your future. Paying your dues for a few years "making other people rich" working at "low contract levels" isn't always going to hurt you.

Happy Selling!




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Re: Attention New Agents: Ge Trained!

This is good advice, but it will fall on deaf ears for the ones that really need it the most.

The best trainer in the world cannot train someone that is not willing to listen and be trained.
 
Re: Attention New Agents: Ge Trained!

One of the main differences between the type of agent that earns a living in this business and one that earns a great living is knowing how to present.

Over the last 20 years, I've known many agents that earned a great living...and were brutal "presenters".

OTOH, they had mastered the most important skill you can have in this business -- the ability to find a regular stream of qualified prospects.

The best presentation in the world is useless -- if you have not enough people to "present" to...
 
Re: Attention New Agents: Ge Trained!

Over the last 20 years, I've known many agents that earned a great living...and were brutal "presenters".

OTOH, they had mastered the most important skill you can have in this business -- the ability to find a regular stream of qualified prospects.

The best presentation in the world is useless -- if you have not enough people to "present" to...

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut everyone once in a while."
 
I was fortunate enough to have worked with mentors at various stages of my career. Made it so much easier to move to the next level.
 
I can't agree with this enough.

Case in point from my own personal experience. Back in the mid 90's when I found myself unemployed I tried my hand at auto sales. I am comfortable talking to people, 20 years later even more so, but the problem I had was they taught us the vehicles, they taught us the paperwork, then threw us onto the lot with no sales training. The attrition rate for the guys I was hired with was 100%, I think I was the last one out the door.

Training on the sales part is priceless, I'd have happily given part of my commissions for the help but it just wasn't there. Plenty of "get your numbers up!" but very little "Here, this is how to increase your conversion rates on your ups."

Pay attention to what this poster said. Training and / or mentoring is the best investment you'll ever make.
 
That was a lousy dealership. I started selling cars when I was 21 and listened to the old timers and became tops in the business. I learned that the better the presention, the more business occured. Once the value of the product exceeds the price by one penny, it's sold. Overcoming objections is easy. Just ask the if they need to know the answer right now. The answer will be NO, it's just sales resistance. If you get stuck ask,"other than the money, would you take it?" That will bring out the real objection. It's important to qualify your prospect as to being ready, willing and able to buy. Find out right away what their budget is and why they want the insurance. They have to tell me why they want it and when.
 
This is an excellent forum that is very active with a lot of great information on it, but it can't be your trainer. There is no substitute for ridding along with a trainer and spending quality face time with an experienced agent. Most recruiters, no matter how talented they are, completely lack the qualifications to provide this training. A lot of companies get flamed on here for offering low contracts, leads, and a training program, but that can be a GREAT way to get started. I started with AIL (NILICO in NY) and was dumb enough to listen to what they said and follow their system. The result was I made $7k my first *month* as a punk kid out of college and zero experience. The reason why I did so well had more to do with my ability to just do what I was told and follow a system that was probably as old as I was at the time.

Selling insurance is an art. It's not nearly enough to just know products and premiums, although those are important too. One of the main differences between the type of agent that earns a living in this business and one that earns a great living is knowing how to present. Selling insurance is something that's personal. One of the ways it's personal is that as an agent you have the opportunity to present folks with products that can help them and their family, but you'll need to be able to handle their objections, in particular, the ones they won't tell you. If you're presenting a good product at a reasonable price, most of the objections a prospect is going to have won't be ones they'll tell you. They may not even realize what their objecting to specifically, but as an agent who is experienced with your products and presenting to people you can help them better understand what to expect. For example:

I spent several years working in the Medicare market selling Medicare Advantage products. Nearly all of the plans I sold were $0/month and I already knew before I met with the prospects that it would be confusing to them how they could get a plan that offers so much coverage for $0/month. What I made sure to do is to address that before I even got into the plan benefits. I'd address it directly and tell them why there was no additional monthly premium for them above and beyond their part B premium that they were already paying.

A great deal of agents that get started are very analytical and get frustrated and say things like "I could save them $300/year for the same coverage and they still wouldn't switch!" While that's understandable, that's exactly why a good mentor/local trainer can help make the difference between success and failure.

Yes, a good trainer is going to take a chunk of the action and rightfully so, but it's an investment in your future. Paying your dues for a few years "making other people rich" working at "low contract levels" isn't always going to hurt you.

Happy Selling!




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Good info, Josh. Thanks!



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New agents, Josh's advice is valuable and critical. Please consider it.

I would add another wrinkle to this: A professional and moral responsibility we have to our clients and prospects.

We're dealing with people's lives here. Their money, their health, their families, their legacy, and in some cases their retirement funds. If an agent has not received proper training and education on the products they're offering, how can they possibly be considered a professional? I won't go into it here, but there are myriad examples of people being given bad advice by under-trained and under-educated agents. I've run into many of these people, some I could help, others who were simply screwed. These people were badly hurt, as was our profession.

Proper training and education are critical to make a good living, to handle administrative tasks correctly and efficiently, to provide good and professional advice & service, and to just treat people right. Starting off on your own and without this knowledge doesn't hurt just you, it hurts others.

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Could not agree more. New to insurance, but not to sales. I can pretty much close anyone on anything, but when i made the switch to insurance i was dumb enough to get several mentors from different aspects and let them all pimp me out for dirt cheap.

10%something > 100%nothing

now in less than a year i make more than most agents ive come across who've been in the business for years.

and the moral of the story is, if you want to be successful, find someone you consider as being successful and carry their bags, be their driver, be their flunky, whatever... get as close as you can so you can learn everything they do. then follow the plan til you know it like the back of your hand.

post #12. 8 more to go till i can see links in signature boxes. im starting to get excited.
 
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