Equita Final Expense Services: Beware the FINE PRINT!

[jdeasy]

EXACTLY!

I understand when the public has a negative image of the word salesman. But when professional salespeople can't even recognize that a professional salesman is a GOOD thing, what is this world coming to?

They all want to read SALES books. And they all want to learn magic sales presentations. And they all want sales commissions. But they don't want to be no SALESMAN!

I would like to become a salesman. I am a terrible salesman. I do OK with educating, but when it comes down to just salemanship I just cannot compete with a master. I'm sure I've left homes without an app that an expert could have gotten.

I always working on getting better. I hope when I get there I won't be dissatisfied with the finished product.

 

[Rearden]

"Sell" is a four-letter word, you know.

 

[WinoBlues]

"Sell" is a four-letter word, you know.

So is Cash.
...................

 

[Newby]

I would like to become a salesman. I am a terrible salesman. I do OK with educating, but when it comes down to just salemanship I just cannot compete with a master. I'm sure I've left homes without an app that an expert could have gotten.

I always working on getting better. I hope when I get there I won't be dissatisfied with the finished product.

You have nailed it. All the word salesman means to me is a good communicator who knows his product, knows his competition and wants to help people see where he can be of benefit to them.

If you walk into room with people who don't know information that would help them understand and make a decision about your product or service and then an hour later you walk out and they DO understand and some of them buy and some of them don't but they all feel good that you helped them know their choices...then you are a professional salesman.

If you go around pressuring and beating up people and trying close something at all costs regardless of situations...you are also in sales...but you are a disgrace to the word salesman.

 

[Revisionist1976]

For those of you thinking of the Final Expense business as your Insurance focus, beware of the Fine Print of some of these marketing groups.
Been looking at Lead Marketing Companies and found several seemingly decent groups to work through. Once I got into some of the contractual paperwork I found out quickly that getting in is very easy but getting out might be very costly. Some of the language in the paperwork like that of the Equita group from Dallas states that you have a moving target on lead cost based on your production, some formula based on premium generated per lead and leads could run up to $34 a lead. Also, I believe it is this same group that states that if you ever want to leave or end your lead program with them that you must give at least 2 weeks notice in writing but that you will pay $32 or $34 a lead on any mail that comes in that was sent out for you. The potential fine print trap there is how the heck do you know how much mail was actually sent out for you and how many future lead returns will you be actually on the hook for. So, if you want out and they say you owe them for another 60 or 80 leads then you will get a nice bill for $2500.00 +! Is it just me or does this seem like a very large gray area and potentially a very costly one?
I also heard through some other sources that they will never let you out of a Carrier Contract if you decide to leave and that your only recourse is to find new carriers to work with or sit out the carrier's defined sit out period.
Any of you have any experiences about trying to leave this group and are there any other marketing groups with more reasonable separation terms?

Looks like the Final Expense business is a good one but just want to ensure I know all the facts before wading in.

Still Looking.

I was contracted under EFES in 2012. My experience with them started out ok, and quickly turned into an absolute nightmare:

The leads showed up in my initial zip code as requested - by the way, they aren't qualified for tobacco, cancer, etc., whatsoever - and they advertise qualified leads right on their website. Total nonsense - I would call places whereby the residents had moved months in advance, or in some cases, had died. And they weren't clear about their return policy either - individuals have to send lead cards back saying the person they were intended for has died in order to get credit? Who's family member is sending back lead cards saying their loved ones have passed? Total nonsense that wasn't explained to me when the EFES manager pitched me the EFES "service" over the phone.

About a week into the service, I immediately changed my mailing zip code to a city closer to me, since I was driving almost an hour and a half to my initial mailing zone. The EFES staff was very slow to reply to emails, and in a few cases my direct "marketing manager" failed to respond to emails completely regarding leads that I thought I deserved credit for. I was bewildered by it. In addition to this, there were some EFES sales materials and whitepapers that I needed additional copies of, and upon contacting my EFES manager for them, seemed to have NO IDEA what I was talking about. I exchanged 7-10 emails describing the papers they had ALREADY SENT ME and needed additional copies of, and I never got them. Couldn't download them off the website either. I was very frustrated to put it lightly.

A short while later, on a conference call with myseld and other agents, one agent did not have enough money pay for his leads, and his credit card was declined. The EFES manager on the phone demanded that we removed overdraft protection on our credit cards in the event we did not have enough cash to pay for leads - as a function of improving our "sales work ethic" - and then demanded an EMAIL CONFIRMATION from each of us saying that we had done so. I did not comply with this.

Then this happened - a fellow agent and friend of mine cancelled the service - one who operated close by to me, and at the same time, I stopped getting leads in my inbox. I received no leads for almost a month, and received a conference call from several EFES managers claiming that they were having "administrative difficulty" trying to get lead cards from the new zip code that I had requested in my first week of the service. They then told me that they had leads from my friend who was also working for EFES and wanted to give them to me. I denied these leads, requested the ones I wanted originally, and later on received a TEXT MESSAGE from my direct upline saying "We're going to move forward with giving you [agent's] leads, when I was a young agent, I too had to drive quite an hour plus" - this is all totally 100% true. I received the other agents leads anyway, and that is when I put a stop payment on my credit card, without notice to the company. I am now in a lega dispute with EFES on what I owe, and do not owe.

All of the above is 100% true. No embellishments. On top of commission chargebacks, I would be very wary of signing with EFES.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I was contracted under EFES in 2012. My experience with them started out ok, and quickly turned into an absolute nightmare:

The leads showed up in my initial zip code as requested - by the way, they aren't qualified for tobacco, cancer, etc., whatsoever - and they advertise qualified leads right on their website. Total nonsense - I would call places whereby the residents had moved months in advance, or in some cases, had died. And they weren't clear about their return policy either - individuals have to send lead cards back saying the person they were intended for has died in order to get credit? Who's family member is sending back lead cards saying their loved ones have passed? Total nonsense that wasn't explained to me when the EFES manager pitched me the EFES "service" over the phone.

About a week into the service, I immediately changed my mailing zip code to a city closer to me, since I was driving almost an hour and a half to my initial mailing zone. The EFES staff was very slow to reply to emails, and in a few cases my direct "marketing manager" failed to respond to emails completely regarding leads that I thought I deserved credit for. I was bewildered by it. In addition to this, there were some EFES sales materials and whitepapers that I needed additional copies of, and upon contacting my EFES manager for them, seemed to have NO IDEA what I was talking about. I exchanged 7-10 emails describing the papers they had ALREADY SENT ME and needed additional copies of, and I never got them. Couldn't download them off the website either. I was very frustrated to put it lightly.

A short while later, on a conference call with myseld and other agents, one agent did not have enough money pay for his leads, and his credit card was declined. The EFES manager on the phone demanded that we removed overdraft protection on our credit cards in the event we did not have enough cash to pay for leads - as a function of improving our "sales work ethic" - and then demanded an EMAIL CONFIRMATION from each of us saying that we had done so. I did not comply with this.

Then this happened - a fellow agent and friend of mine cancelled the service - one who operated close by to me, and at the same time, I stopped getting leads in my inbox. I received no leads for almost a month, and received a conference call from several EFES managers claiming that they were having "administrative difficulty" trying to get lead cards from the new zip code that I had requested in my first week of the service. They then told me that they had leads from my friend who was also working for EFES and wanted to give them to me. I denied these leads, requested the ones I wanted originally, and later on received a TEXT MESSAGE from my direct upline saying "We're going to move forward with giving you [agent's] leads, when I was a young agent, I too had to drive quite an hour plus" - this is all totally 100% true. I received the other agents leads anyway, and that is when I put a stop payment on my credit card, without notice to the company. I am now in a lega dispute with EFES on what I owe, and do not owe.

All of the above is 100% true. No embellishments. On top of commission chargebacks, I would be very wary of signing with EFES.

 

[gordon112]

EFES was going through some growing pains just like any growing organization. If you have an assigned manager its his job to make sure he gets your leads out to you and all the other agents along through the lead house. It is your job to make sure it gets handled by calling on a timely manner. However, this appears your upline dropped the ball.

Sometimes the managers take on way too many agents and are just there to collect overrides and see what sticks. However, there is a managers with EFES that are really good. It is possible you got hired with one that isn't.

I personally only hire 5 agents max at any given time and train locally. The system works much better for agents that need support and consistency. It is too bad some of these bigger outfits are gone to quantity over quality.

 

[jdeasy]

EFES was going through some growing pains just like any growing organization. If you have an assigned manager its his job to make sure he gets your leads out to you and all the other agents along through the lead house. It is your job to make sure it gets handled by calling on a timely manner. However, this appears your upline dropped the ball.

Sometimes the managers take on way too many agents and are just there to collect overrides and see what sticks. However, there is a managers with EFES that are really good. It is possible you got hired with one that isn't.

I personally only hire 5 agents max at any given time and train locally. The system works much better for agents that need support and consistency. It is too bad some of these bigger outfits are gone to quantity over quality.

As with every story there are two sides. I have heard the other side of this one now. As always the truth is probably somewhere in the middle but this guy set himself up for failure by expecting the leads to be health and smoker qualified. No one represents that.

 

[gordon112]

As with every story there are two sides. I have heard the other side of this one now. As always the truth is probably somewhere in the middle but this guy set himself up for failure by expecting the leads to be health and smoker qualified. No one represents that.

If this guy thought these leads where supposed to be health and smoker qualified he is way way wet behind the ears. That would knock out any workable lead program through the mail.

 

[WinoBlues]

Alright already! They are assholes that do not return calls and do/did not handle your leads as promised. We get it. We can all read. Stop with the multiple post. The Mods will come along and delete them and if you continue they will ban you. Enough.

You want to be a pain in their ass? Succeed in spite of them and rub their noses in your success. These multi post comes off as a whiner.

I was contracted under EFES in 2012. My experience with them started out ok, and quickly turned into an absolute nightmare:


The leads showed up in my initial zip code as requested - by the way, they aren't qualified for tobacco, cancer, etc., whatsoever - and they advertise qualified leads right on their website. Total nonsense - I would call places whereby the residents had moved months in advance, or in some cases, had died. And they weren't clear about their return policy either - individuals have to send lead cards back saying the person they were intended for has died in order to get credit? Who's family member is sending back lead cards saying their loved ones have passed? Total nonsense that wasn't explained to me when the EFES manager pitched me the EFES "service" over the phone.

About a week into the service, I immediately changed my mailing zip code to a city closer to me, since I was driving almost an hour and a half to my initial mailing zone. The EFES staff was very slow to reply to emails, and in a few cases my direct "marketing manager" failed to respond to emails completely regarding leads that I thought I deserved credit for. I was bewildered by it. In addition to this, there were some EFES sales materials and whitepapers that I needed additional copies of, and upon contacting my EFES manager for them, seemed to have NO IDEA what I was talking about. I exchanged 7-10 emails describing the papers they had ALREADY SENT ME and needed additional copies of, and I never got them. Couldn't download them off the website either. I was very frustrated to put it lightly.

A short while later, on a conference call with myseld and other agents, one agent did not have enough money pay for his leads, and his credit card was declined. The EFES manager on the phone demanded that we removed overdraft protection on our credit cards in the event we did not have enough cash to pay for leads - as a function of improving our "sales work ethic" - and then demanded an EMAIL CONFIRMATION from each of us saying that we had done so. I did not comply with this.

Then this happened - a fellow agent and friend of mine cancelled the service - one who operated close by to me, and at the same time, I stopped getting leads in my inbox. I received no leads for almost a month, and received a conference call from several EFES managers claiming that they were having "administrative difficulty" trying to get lead cards from the new zip code that I had requested in my first week of the service. They then told me that they had leads from my friend who was also working for EFES and wanted to give them to me. I denied these leads, requested the ones I wanted originally, and later on received a TEXT MESSAGE from my direct upline saying "We're going to move forward with giving you [agent's] leads, when I was a young agent, I too had to drive quite an hour plus" - this is all totally 100% true. I received the other agents leads anyway, and that is when I put a stop payment on my credit card, without notice to the company. I am now in a lega dispute with EFES on what I owe, and do not owe.

All of the above is 100% true. No embellishments. On top of commission chargebacks, I would be very wary of signing with EFES.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I was contracted under EFES in 2012. My experience with them started out ok, and quickly turned into an absolute nightmare:

The leads showed up in my initial zip code as requested - by the way, they aren't qualified for tobacco, cancer, etc., whatsoever - and they advertise qualified leads right on their website. Total nonsense - I would call places whereby the residents had moved months in advance, or in some cases, had died. And they weren't clear about their return policy either - individuals have to send lead cards back saying the person they were intended for has died in order to get credit? Who's family member is sending back lead cards saying their loved ones have passed? Total nonsense that wasn't explained to me when the EFES manager pitched me the EFES "service" over the phone.

About a week into the service, I immediately changed my mailing zip code to a city closer to me, since I was driving almost an hour and a half to my initial mailing zone. The EFES staff was very slow to reply to emails, and in a few cases my direct "marketing manager" failed to respond to emails completely regarding leads that I thought I deserved credit for. I was bewildered by it. In addition to this, there were some EFES sales materials and whitepapers that I needed additional copies of, and upon contacting my EFES manager for them, seemed to have NO IDEA what I was talking about. I exchanged 7-10 emails describing the papers they had ALREADY SENT ME and needed additional copies of, and I never got them. Couldn't download them off the website either. I was very frustrated to put it lightly.

A short while later, on a conference call with myseld and other agents, one agent did not have enough money pay for his leads, and his credit card was declined. The EFES manager on the phone demanded that we removed overdraft protection on our credit cards in the event we did not have enough cash to pay for leads - as a function of improving our "sales work ethic" - and then demanded an EMAIL CONFIRMATION from each of us saying that we had done so. I did not comply with this.

Then this happened - a fellow agent and friend of mine cancelled the service - one who operated close by to me, and at the same time, I stopped getting leads in my inbox. I received no leads for almost a month, and received a conference call from several EFES managers claiming that they were having "administrative difficulty" trying to get lead cards from the new zip code that I had requested in my first week of the service. They then told me that they had leads from my friend who was also working for EFES and wanted to give them to me. I denied these leads, requested the ones I wanted originally, and later on received a TEXT MESSAGE from my direct upline saying "We're going to move forward with giving you [agent's] leads, when I was a young agent, I too had to drive quite an hour plus" - this is all totally 100% true. I received the other agents leads anyway, and that is when I put a stop payment on my credit card, without notice to the company. I am now in a lega dispute with EFES on what I owe, and do not owe.

All of the above is 100% true. No embellishments. On top of commission chargebacks, I would be very wary of signing with EFES.

 

[TDFnCali]

Alright already! They are assholes that do not return calls and do/did not handle your leads as promised. We get it. We can all read. Stop with the multiple post. The Mods will come along and delete them and if you continue they will ban you. Enough.

You want to be a pain in their ass? Succeed in spite of them and rub their noses in your success. These multi post comes off as a whiner.

I could be wrong, cause Wino wasnt real clear....but I think hes saying stop posting this same story over & over....AGAIN, I could be wrong!