- 274
The agent he works for usually gets a 10-15k bonus for having an agent move up to agency. Tell him to bail and go independent. If he doesn't hit his sales marks he will lose his contract in 6 months and be left in a debt hole.
Becoming a State Farm Agent
- Thread starter shawn17ths
- Start date
The agent he works for usually gets a 10-15k bonus for having an agent move up to agency. Tell him to bail and go independent. If he doesn't hit his sales marks he will lose his contract in 6 months and be left in a debt hole.
- 100
"- His current employer (an agent) is really pushing for him to get placed as an agent somewhere else. Does he get a kickback or something? It makes no sense why he wants to remove a successful employee from his office."
Perhaps the Agent he works for isn't a selfish prick and is interested in seeing others succeed (just like the Agent that helped me a while back).
Perhaps the Agent he works for isn't a selfish prick and is interested in seeing others succeed (just like the Agent that helped me a while back).
ralotter
New Member
There are multiple of benefits being a captive agent. The first benefit is structure! Being a part of a great company that will provide continuity to your schedule. Being an independent agent - you have real high highs and real low lows... statistically, 90% of insurance agents don't make it without being a part of a company. When you are independent, every agent goes through a down turn, being captive will prevent that. And keep in mind, I'm talking about a captive agent that is contracted with an agency that has several companies they are partnered with.
coloradoguy
New Member
[F]Greetings All,
I have been gaining a lot of insight by reading several postings over the past year since joining the "Forum"(Yes, this is my inaugural post here
). I have developed a healthy respect for this community and the "personalities" that give it the Spirit and Character that's on display!
My motivation to reach out is (aside from introducing myself); to gain insight from what some of you may offer regarding my pursuit towards a career as an agent.
So that you can appreciate my need, here is some history: My background is that I have a strong entrepreneurial/customer service outlook from an 18 year long career as an optician that specialized in restructuring and organizing optometric offices and later was introduced to the insurance world by working with a prominent pre-need and at-need final expense mortuary and cemetery here in the Denver Metro Area (in late 2010, which required a Life license). As I left that position in October 2012, I have been kicking around the career direction I would focus on. I had evaluated that to continue with my Life license by offering final expense services, it wouldn't be that prosperous, since I realized that our culture here in Colorado has really shifted towards minimized cremation needs. To make a living off of that, I estimate I would need to maintain a minimum of 50 contracts a month to keep myself just above water!
By monitoring the posts on here from time to time, I decided "Who am I kidding, I just need to take the leap towards being fully licensed. I made this decision to acquire my P,C, and Health/Accident licenses in late August last month. This was after having some exploratory meetings with Prudential and Farm Bureau agencies. I have accomplished getting my P&C license and will have my Health next week after my prep class.
Prudential was very eager to get me committed towards their program, but I wasn't that comfortable with them. With Farm Bureau, I had an initial attraction to their opportunity and I gave them permission to do a background check on me. As I tried to research for all I could find about them, there really wasn't anything substantial about them here on the Forum. Is there anyone who has actual knowledge about Farm Bureau in Colorado (part of Southern Farm Bureau) and the independent agent opportunity they offer?
As it was presented to me, I would be mentored by one of the company's top producers. The song that this Mentoring Agent had been "singing" to me initially, took on a different tune after the fact when I met the Regional Sales manager. I had been originally told that I would make a base of $36,000 each year for my first 2 years and I would have a desk rent of approximately $100.00 / month plus commissions! I thought WOW! The story changed to $3,000 / month for my 1st 3 months and them a signing bonus of $1,500, with a stipend of $1,500 /per month for the balance of each month following through the end of my 2nd year based on writing enough policies each month as a qualifier for it. Additionally, the "desk/office" rent is actually $900! Now you see why I have been trying to find anything substantial about an Agent relationship with them. I haven't burnt my bridge with them.
Upon seeing the story change as described above, I started looking around at other companies. My mom has a close friend that is going through the State Farm internship and will be taking over an Agency north of here in January 2014 and encouraged me to talk to her. As I did, she said I should get my start as a Team Agent with State Farm and then move into an Agent position after I gained some experience.
I have started the interview process with some local SF Agencies and am yet to talk "money". This will be addressed during second interviews. It is appearing that this may be the right way to start my career, but I'm curious about what commission cuts and base salaries would look like for a Team Agent, especially in the Denver market. I'm open to what your thoughts on what is realistic to anticipate, especially with my seasoned business experience. Is there anything else I should be aware of that I shouldn't overlook with this interview process? Are there other major companies I should look at pursuing a Team Agent relationship with? What different commission structure/base salaries are typically offered? From what I have picked up from here, it doesn't appear that there would be an Independent Agency that would offer a Team Agent position, or am I wrong? Any insights on the Denver market is appreciated! Also, what insights can you give regarding pursuing the Long Term Care industry in Denver?
Well... Thanks in advance for any help or guidance this community can offer me, and thanks for hanging in there to read all of this! I'll try to keep my future posts shorter! Hopefully you don't feel like this
after reading it!
Be Blessed!,
Eric (AKA ColoradoGuy)[/FONT]
(P.S. Keep the front range communities of Colorado in your prayers as we continue to deal with the aftermath of the flooding we had earlier!)
I have been gaining a lot of insight by reading several postings over the past year since joining the "Forum"(Yes, this is my inaugural post here
). I have developed a healthy respect for this community and the "personalities" that give it the Spirit and Character that's on display!My motivation to reach out is (aside from introducing myself); to gain insight from what some of you may offer regarding my pursuit towards a career as an agent.
So that you can appreciate my need, here is some history: My background is that I have a strong entrepreneurial/customer service outlook from an 18 year long career as an optician that specialized in restructuring and organizing optometric offices and later was introduced to the insurance world by working with a prominent pre-need and at-need final expense mortuary and cemetery here in the Denver Metro Area (in late 2010, which required a Life license). As I left that position in October 2012, I have been kicking around the career direction I would focus on. I had evaluated that to continue with my Life license by offering final expense services, it wouldn't be that prosperous, since I realized that our culture here in Colorado has really shifted towards minimized cremation needs. To make a living off of that, I estimate I would need to maintain a minimum of 50 contracts a month to keep myself just above water!
By monitoring the posts on here from time to time, I decided "Who am I kidding, I just need to take the leap towards being fully licensed. I made this decision to acquire my P,C, and Health/Accident licenses in late August last month. This was after having some exploratory meetings with Prudential and Farm Bureau agencies. I have accomplished getting my P&C license and will have my Health next week after my prep class.
Prudential was very eager to get me committed towards their program, but I wasn't that comfortable with them. With Farm Bureau, I had an initial attraction to their opportunity and I gave them permission to do a background check on me. As I tried to research for all I could find about them, there really wasn't anything substantial about them here on the Forum. Is there anyone who has actual knowledge about Farm Bureau in Colorado (part of Southern Farm Bureau) and the independent agent opportunity they offer?
As it was presented to me, I would be mentored by one of the company's top producers. The song that this Mentoring Agent had been "singing" to me initially, took on a different tune after the fact when I met the Regional Sales manager. I had been originally told that I would make a base of $36,000 each year for my first 2 years and I would have a desk rent of approximately $100.00 / month plus commissions! I thought WOW! The story changed to $3,000 / month for my 1st 3 months and them a signing bonus of $1,500, with a stipend of $1,500 /per month for the balance of each month following through the end of my 2nd year based on writing enough policies each month as a qualifier for it. Additionally, the "desk/office" rent is actually $900! Now you see why I have been trying to find anything substantial about an Agent relationship with them. I haven't burnt my bridge with them.
Upon seeing the story change as described above, I started looking around at other companies. My mom has a close friend that is going through the State Farm internship and will be taking over an Agency north of here in January 2014 and encouraged me to talk to her. As I did, she said I should get my start as a Team Agent with State Farm and then move into an Agent position after I gained some experience.
I have started the interview process with some local SF Agencies and am yet to talk "money". This will be addressed during second interviews. It is appearing that this may be the right way to start my career, but I'm curious about what commission cuts and base salaries would look like for a Team Agent, especially in the Denver market. I'm open to what your thoughts on what is realistic to anticipate, especially with my seasoned business experience. Is there anything else I should be aware of that I shouldn't overlook with this interview process? Are there other major companies I should look at pursuing a Team Agent relationship with? What different commission structure/base salaries are typically offered? From what I have picked up from here, it doesn't appear that there would be an Independent Agency that would offer a Team Agent position, or am I wrong? Any insights on the Denver market is appreciated! Also, what insights can you give regarding pursuing the Long Term Care industry in Denver?
Well... Thanks in advance for any help or guidance this community can offer me, and thanks for hanging in there to read all of this! I'll try to keep my future posts shorter! Hopefully you don't feel like this
after reading it! Be Blessed!,
Eric (AKA ColoradoGuy)[/FONT]
(P.S. Keep the front range communities of Colorado in your prayers as we continue to deal with the aftermath of the flooding we had earlier!)
Agent Ave
Expert
- 41
shawn17ths,
State Farm is a great company. If you are just getting started out, they have fantastic training (most captive carriers do). You will be taught all lines of business. You would basically work for an agency and if you do well, they will set you up with your own office, salary and more.
Depending on what stage you are at with your career, some agents would prefer going independent because they have more tools in there bags (more carriers to shop rates with rather than just one). Plus the benefits of owning your book of business and selling it when you retire and more. The only negative side is less training compared to the captive side.
Good luck!
State Farm is a great company. If you are just getting started out, they have fantastic training (most captive carriers do). You will be taught all lines of business. You would basically work for an agency and if you do well, they will set you up with your own office, salary and more.
Depending on what stage you are at with your career, some agents would prefer going independent because they have more tools in there bags (more carriers to shop rates with rather than just one). Plus the benefits of owning your book of business and selling it when you retire and more. The only negative side is less training compared to the captive side.
Good luck!
richardroma
New Member
- 16
Last edited:
- 8,707
Independent agencies don't call them team members they are CSR and Producers. You may be able to find an independent willing to take you on as a producer but it will most likely be a commission split arrangement with little to no base.
SFAgent2013
New Member
- 2
Hello,
I'm looking into opening up my SF agency. I'm currently in the process of developing a business plan. I got very little help from my recruiter, so I stumbled upon this forum and thought you might be able to help. Is there any way I can get a sample /copy of someone's business plan proposal as a reference of what is required / needed? I'm just trying to get an idea of what they want. Please PM me with your email, if you can help. Thank you in advance for all your input and help on this forum, very informative.
I'm looking into opening up my SF agency. I'm currently in the process of developing a business plan. I got very little help from my recruiter, so I stumbled upon this forum and thought you might be able to help. Is there any way I can get a sample /copy of someone's business plan proposal as a reference of what is required / needed? I'm just trying to get an idea of what they want. Please PM me with your email, if you can help. Thank you in advance for all your input and help on this forum, very informative.
SteveFlintstone
Expert
- 37
The recruiter shouldn't be the one helping you with the business plan. The manger Will help you...I wouldn't jump ahead.State Farm loves business plans...Trust me, they will give you more than enough guidance.
My SF business plan under the current contract would be RUN!
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