Becoming a State Farm Agent

Recruiter1, what is the oldest candidate that you have seen SF take on?


We have an over 50 yr old who just got his contract. He moved his book of business 10 miles away to a smaller town. We told him to stay put, the AFO said it was a good idea. Most of his clients moved back to another agent in the town they started in.

He will be out of business in a year or two.
 
Although, the Execs get paid well by everyday standards, they are overwhelmingly underpaid when compared to other Fortune 50 companies. State Farm is ranked 31, yet the Execs are paid at about a 200 rank level. Alot has to do with the company being the largest mutual company rather than a pubicly traded company.

They "salary" they make is nothing compared the other companies and arrangements they have. Who owns the buildings that houses SF Bank in IL? SF Bank pays a large lease to what officers?

There are many sub companies set up owned by exec's.
 
i was an agent for 1 year and returned to my previous career. State Farm over promised and under delivered on every aspect of agency. This is not the opportunity that it was 8-10 years ago. When i started they showed you an income hypothetical based on the average agent in my area. This hypothetical was a fairytail. I don't think they show you the hypothetical anymore because they realized thay had a major problem with the contract.

You should be prepared to not take a pay check for several years and put put $60-80K of your own $$ into the agency. My agency was loosing $4000/mo and I wasn't taking a pay check! and i was averaging 45 new policies a month.

The AA05 contract is terrible. State Farm has decided thay are going to be all things to all people and in the process the don't do any of it very well. 10 years ago SF sold P&C / Life and Health. Now they want agent to sell P&C, L&H, mutual funds, car lons, CD's, bank products...etc

i would talk to an agent who is on the AA05 contract and ask if they are making any money. odds are they aren't.
 
i was an agent for 1 year and returned to my previous career. State Farm over promised and under delivered on every aspect of agency. This is not the opportunity that it was 8-10 years ago. When i started they showed you an income hypothetical based on the average agent in my area. This hypothetical was a fairytail. I don't think they show you the hypothetical anymore because they realized thay had a major problem with the contract.

You should be prepared to not take a pay check for several years and put put $60-80K of your own $$ into the agency. My agency was loosing $4000/mo and I wasn't taking a pay check! and i was averaging 45 new policies a month.

The AA05 contract is terrible. State Farm has decided thay are going to be all things to all people and in the process the don't do any of it very well. 10 years ago SF sold P&C / Life and Health. Now they want agent to sell P&C, L&H, mutual funds, car lons, CD's, bank products...etc

i would talk to an agent who is on the AA05 contract and ask if they are making any money. odds are they aren't.


The biggest problem is that they have lost the trust and support of what used to be their biggest ally. Their agency force.

The company is now driven more and more by those who have either never sold a thing or were not very good at it.
 
Series7,

What were the factors that caused your agency to run a 4k negative? Employee salaries and rent? How large was the assignment? I'm seriously contemplating State Farm and really want to make the best decision I can.

Chicken Farmer
 
Very true! Perception is everything.

Nepotism is gone. SF is so desperate for agents they are taking people that they never would have looked at in the past.

There largest source of new agents has dried up. The current agency force has stopped referring family and friends to the company. You will not get assigned a book of business large enough to make ends meet. All they care about is slapping up more storefronts.

Keep in mind you do not own a thing. SF owns the policys, and controls the data. I would not "invest" 100k in an SF agency. Put the money into an agency you actually own.

One guy just north of me is the largest auto producer in the zone. He started scratch 4 years ago and still is not making enough money to get his contract. SF is still paying his bills.

Two, new contract agents in my town are top AFO producers. They are in their 3rd year. Both are having severe financial problems.

With the new contract, you are an employee that ends up chasing your tail playing catch up for the rest of your career. Every one of them feels that they were mislead to put it lightly.

Why do I even take the time post this? I am shocked, that SF continually misleads these young kids, with no regard for them.

Direct you questions to me. I will give the no BS answer.


My question is: How much of what you just stated is actually factual? These forums are great, but when opinions are stated without facts it really taints the forums. I do hope than an aspiring agent who reads these forums, hopefully has the presence of mind to research State Farm, Met Life, AllState, Farmers, etc and compare the actual companies.

Who gives full paid training, pays for licenses, signing bonuses, provides leads, etc? Regardless of company, the no BS answer is actually to do your homework and visit with agents from various companies.


Yes, SF is looking for Agents in SELECT markets, but they are not desperate. A Fortune 31 company doesnt' spend the money it does preparing someone for agency without being sure there is room for growth. You wouldn't remain in the Fortune 50 that way.

Yes, SF has many old books of business with agents whom may have grown complacent with their incomes and are no longer growing their books. To remain #1 in P&C and Automobiles, SF has created growth initiatives across the board, including placing new agents.

All in all, success nor failures can be blamed on a company itself, regardless of company. In sales, a very large portion of the blame certainly goes to the sales person....we all know that to be true in the back our our minds.

I'm not here to defend SF, don't regard my post as being so. I'm merely here to help people and share actual facts and not my opinions.

And could you (Salier) please send me a private message about that agent who is #1 in Autos in his zone and not able to pay his own bills. I can certainly check to see if your statement is true. Wow, SF pays for his bills, that's pretty sweet. That's like a free ride.
 
My question is: How much of what you just stated is actually factual? These forums are great, but when opinions are stated without facts it really taints the forums. I do hope than an aspiring agent who reads these forums, hopefully has the presence of mind to research State Farm, Met Life, Allstate, Farmers, etc and compare the actual companies.

Who gives full paid training, pays for licenses, signing bonuses, provides leads, etc? Regardless of company, the no BS answer is actually to do your homework and visit with agents from various companies.


Yes, SF is looking for Agents in SELECT markets, but they are not desperate. A Fortune 31 company doesnt' spend the money it does preparing someone for agency without being sure there is room for growth. You wouldn't remain in the Fortune 50 that way.

Yes, SF has many old books of business with agents whom may have grown complacent with their incomes and are no longer growing their books. To remain #1 in P&C and Automobiles, SF has created growth initiatives across the board, including placing new agents.

All in all, success nor failures can be blamed on a company itself, regardless of company. In sales, a very large portion of the blame certainly goes to the sales person....we all know that to be true in the back our our minds.

I'm not here to defend SF, don't regard my post as being so. I'm merely here to help people and share actual facts and not my opinions.

And could you (Salier) please send me a private message about that agent who is #1 in Autos in his zone and not able to pay his own bills. I can certainly check to see if your statement is true. Wow, SF pays for his bills, that's pretty sweet. That's like a free ride.

I don't care if you believe me or not. I dont have to prove anything to you. People who read this forum can decide who to believe themselves. A current SF agent who grew up with a family of SF agents or a current company recruiter.

How do you respond to Series7?

Don't assume I have become complacent and have stopped growing.

Are you denying that SF has lost the trust and support of its agency force?

True the agent is ultimately responsible for production, however the company has a huge effect. With CRI rating they can choose to increase or decrease production with out filing rate changes.

All the agents in my state must suck, because only 6 agents in my state made in any of the top 100 for April in all 7 categories. 6 out of a possible 700.

Looks like the agents in Florida and Texas are just better.

Anyone who does their homework with agree with me.
 
All,

I am glad I read this post. I met with the SF recruiter in my area NW Ohio. very nice person and very up front about all the different SF requirements. mulitple interviews, multiple personality tests etc. I made it through that and was contacted by the regional person for additional meetings. they were very clear on all of this, and he required me to visit with some recent SF appointees. In addition, a business plan, financing and other related plans were to be developed by me prior to moving forward.

I thought and thought about the opportunity. the thing that got me is that he stated that there were no local office openings. once you are in their pool of prospective agents, you get the chance to apply for a position at an agency, hopefully that is nearby, most likely wouldnt be for me in a while due to the geographic restrictions. some agents have been in this pool for quite sometime. a real downer if you are waiting to get going in an industry.

SF when I looked at the company didnt really focus on the financial side like a MM, or NWMN and that is where my interest really is/was.

I also didnt like that I basically couldnt market into michigan where alot of my friends and relatives live. On top of the fact that it seemed like a lot of personnel investment as compared to some of the other firms I was speaking with, I decided no go. So for me, I turned down the opportunity to move forward with SF.

I can see that they are very conservative and cautious on who they select, but in my opinion it came off as very one sided as to the risk.

Good luck regardless in your decision

Sam
 
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