Beginning From Atlanta, GA!

Hello,

I have been lurking on the forum for about a month (or 2, who's counting) and decided to post my introduction. I am currently an underwriter in the credit card processing industry and absolutely bored with it. I have decided to move into the Financial arena: insurance sales, bookkeeping, selling merchant processing, etc. as a one stop shop. I have a two year plan to gather a few designations behind my name (fingers crossed). I have the gift of gab, but I have not tried to close. I am part of a few networking organizations and looking to expand my network.

Thank you for letting me share and lurk on the forum! :cool:
 
Hello,

I have been lurking on the forum for about a month (or 2, who's counting) and decided to post my introduction. I am currently an underwriter in the credit card processing industry and absolutely bored with it. I have decided to move into the Financial arena: insurance sales, bookkeeping, selling merchant processing, etc. as a one stop shop. I have a two year plan to gather a few designations behind my name (fingers crossed). I have the gift of gab, but I have not tried to close. I am part of a few networking organizations and looking to expand my network.

Thank you for letting me share and lurk on the forum! :cool:

People that spread themselves that thin seldom succeed... You need to target a market or product and run with it.
 
Thanks for your responses/feedback. My action plan is to focus on one thing at a time, and insurance is the first. I also sit on the board for a professional networking organization for a niche market. I am firm believer in multiple streams of income. Being an underwriter, I have experience in a financial space and understanding of risk.

I want to give business owners a one-stop solution.
 
Hello,

I have been lurking on the forum for about a month (or 2, who's counting) and decided to post my introduction. I am currently an underwriter in the credit card processing industry and absolutely bored with it. I have decided to move into the Financial arena: insurance sales, bookkeeping, selling merchant processing, etc. as a one stop shop. I have a two year plan to gather a few designations behind my name (fingers crossed). I have the gift of gab, but I have not tried to close. I am part of a few networking organizations and looking to expand my network.

Thank you for letting me share and lurk on the forum! :cool:

First, there are very few QUALITY designations you can obtain without fulfilling an experience requirement. The two I would consider for you would be LUTCF or FSCP. They're essentially the same thing, so just pick one or the other. I think LUTCF would be cheaper overall.

Bookkeeping??? Really? But you said you were bored with being an underwriter. At least underwriters get to make decisions. Bookkeepers just maintain books, ledgers, budgets, etc. I would NOT add this to your list of services. High maintenance, high liability, low return on your time when compared to selling.

Merchant processing... well, okay. If you know how to read the statement (and I assume you do - they are cryptic for anyone else to figure out; I wish I knew how to read those statements.) and find new deals for them AND then offer a life insurance or other solution with the savings... I could see that working out well.

If it were me, I'd offer to do a statement audit RIGHT THERE in front of the merchant. But I wouldn't offer it until AFTER detecting another problem that has a life insurance solution. Why? You want them to want life insurance and you want to then help them to "find the money". That's a great place for you to show great additional value without having to dig into the company's finances. And theoretically, you can make TWO sales instead of one.

Notice I said 'theoretically'. I wouldn't ever recommend that a new agent START with focusing exclusively on business owners & business cases. They take a long time just to get in front of them. You need to be profitable today, not 6 months or longer from now. Plus, if you have competition in this area, they will generally be highly skilled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NTw369Eo1A

I would grow into the business market rather than try to start there.

Networking organizations and associations are great... but that's also "tomorrow prospecting", not "today prospecting".

Before jumping into the business market, I'd get your feet wet with the personal market. There's easily 50x the prospects compared to business owners in a geographic area... and you just need to get a few of them to agree to see you.

Once you have the skills in the personal market and you've been profitable, you can ease into the business owner market over time.
 
Once you have the skills in the personal market and you've been profitable, you can ease into the business owner market over time.

I just read your thread "Guidance for new Life Agents", and I must say, you are a godsend. I take constructive criticism (or advice to some) well, but you basically are giving newbies a handbook to succeed and to thrive. Not many people will tell you not to do something and why AND offer suggestions on what else can be done. Thank you. That's not an average response.

As for merchant statements, yep! I can read most of them. I've been in the industry for 8 years, and statements have advanced. The processors/sales reps absolutely wants the merchant to be confused. It's done to also detour sales rep from stealing merchant accounts. I've helped several sales managers and "executives" read statements :err:.
 
Merchant processing sales is probably one of the hardest B2B sales jobs you can have. The gift of gab is great for that job but do you have any idea how many small businesses are cold called (in person or phone) daily with the latest pitch?

Plus you compete with their bank, Costco, Sam's, Staples, Office Depot, internet and many other non-intrusive sales pitches.

Nothing wrong with Robert Allen's "multiple streams of income" approach but until you have mastered one stream you are just spinning your wheels.
 
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