Attention New Agents: Marketing Budget

[Josh]

Let me start by sharing a quick story. When I was getting my dialer hardware configured I needed a little part that no one had in stock near me so I had to have it overnighted from California to Virginia. I think the part was $10, but the shipping was $40. Yes, it did bother me to spend that much on shipping when if I waited a week for it to get here I could have had it shipped for $2 or something super low, but it was just something that needed to be done to get what I needed done in the timeline I wanted it done.

If you're splitting pennies over what you can and cannot spend on leads or any other aspect of your marketing, you're probably not going to be in a good position to be selling insurance yet. When you sell as an independent agent you're starting your own business and like any other business, you need startup money. You can't be agonizing over spending a few extra dollars here and there on different products, it just doesn't make sense. If you're going to be starting a business, you need to focus on the business, not stepping over dollars to pick up nickels.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Let me start by sharing a quick story. When I was getting my dialer hardware configured I needed a little part that no one had in stock near me so I had to have it overnighted from California to Virginia. I think the part was $10, but the shipping was $40. Yes, it did bother me to spend that much on shipping when if I waited a week for it to get here I could have had it shipped for $2 or something super low, but it was just something that needed to be done to get what I needed done in the timeline I wanted it done.

If you're splitting pennies over what you can and cannot spend on leads or any other aspect of your marketing, you're probably not going to be in a good position to be selling insurance yet. When you sell as an independent agent you're starting your own business and like any other business, you need startup money. You can't be agonizing over spending a few extra dollars here and there on different products, it just doesn't make sense. If you're going to be starting a business, you need to focus on the business, not stepping over dollars to pick up nickels.

I think if I was just starting out I would have went with the $2 shipping and did manual dialing for an extra few days. You have to spend your money wisely when it's tight. Just because something costs more does not automatically make it worth it....

 

[pbbaseball]

agree with both of the above! set aside commissions to spend on marketing... if you don't, then you'll be constantly door knocking, cold calling, etc... the more you spend the more you make if you have a good lead source!

 

[Josh]

I think if I was just starting out I would have went with the $2 shipping and did manual dialing for an extra few days. You have to spend your money wisely when it's tight. Just because something costs more does not automatically make it worth it....

I agree with the bold, but I apparently didn't explain myself clearly. The part was to get my dialer cluster up and running, not just to have a single seat.

There's also a difference between spending money wisely and and just not having it. If you can't comfortably afford to invest in marketing, you probably aren't ready to start. With so few new agents making it to the second year, starting off without enough of a marketing budget is starting at half time with the other team 14 points ahead.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

You definitely need to keep investing in your business to keep it growing, I agree with that. I would guess most agents have learned this the hard way... I was just saying to spend your budget wisely.

Josh, I thought you were speaking of selling insurance not starting a call center. You obviously couldn't make any money until you got more seats, I assume...

 

[Josh]

You definitely need to keep investing in your business to keep it growing, I agree with that. I would guess most agents have learned this the hard way... I was just saying to spend your budget wisely.

Josh, I thought you were speaking of selling insurance not starting a call center. You obviously couldn't make any money until you got more seats, I assume...

I'm talking about both. What specifically prompted this thread was a poster who was asking about the differences between a few hosts in an effort to save a few bucks. There absolutely is something to be said for not wasting your funds, but it's a lot easier to market and grow your business if you have the funds to do it. Too often agents come into this without experience or funds and perhaps that's the root of most of their failure. If you can't afford to test different marketing methods, you'll be out of this business in a hurry. In fact, one of my downline agents aptly pointed out that if he had worked the same leads he got when he started a few months later when he actually knew what he was doing he would have been able to make better use of them. Heck, it takes time just to realize the difference between a good lead and a bad lead, experience you'll not get if you're too choked up about spending a few bucks.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

I'm talking about both. What specifically prompted this thread was a poster who was asking about the differences between a few hosts in an effort to save a few bucks. There absolutely is something to be said for not wasting your funds, but it's a lot easier to market and grow your business if you have the funds to do it. Too often agents come into this without experience or funds and perhaps that's the root of most of their failure. If you can't afford to test different marketing methods, you'll be out of this business in a hurry. In fact, one of my downline agents aptly pointed out that if he had worked the same leads he got when he started a few months later when he actually knew what he was doing he would have been able to make better use of them. Heck, it takes time just to realize the difference between a good lead and a bad lead, experience you'll not get if you're too choked up about spending a few bucks.

I didn't see the post. Are you saying that someone shouldn't care about spending a few more bucks with a hosting company and shouldn't compare them?

 

[Josh]

I didn't see the post. Are you saying that someone shouldn't care about spending a few more bucks with a hosting company and shouldn't compare them?

What I'm saying is it shouldn't get in the way of progress. If you know one hosting company charges a reasonable fee and has great service and testimonials, it might not be worth it to spend three weeks trying to find another product that will be just a few dollars less. That time and effort could easily be better spent elsewhere.

 

[JRoot]

I agree. Save up as much as you can before entering this business, you need a healthy chunk of marketing dollars to give yourself a real shot.

I wrote this article yesterday regarding the same topic: Reality Check: The Initial Cost of Selling Life Insurance Over The Phone

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

What I'm saying is it shouldn't get in the way of progress. If you know one hosting company charges a reasonable fee and has great service and testimonials, it might not be worth it to spend three weeks trying to find another product that will be just a few dollars less. That time and effort could easily be better spent elsewhere.

I agree with that. If it takes you 3 weeks to research a hosting company though you may need rethink starting your own business...