Ever Get Sick of Your Natural Market?

[randomguy]

Hey all. Im a captive, in it for about 3 months. Do you guys ever get sick of your natural market? They were prime prospects the first month or two. They've become clients and are providing referrals. However, I feel some of the natural market that is just maybe not so close... Well they are a pain and a downer to prospect. Could it be because I'm so new? Do you guys ever rest your natural market for a few months and rely solely on everything else or am I shooting myself in the foot?

 

[Newby]

Hey all. Im a captive, in it for about 3 months. Do you guys ever get sick of your natural market? They were prime prospects the first month or two. They've become clients and are providing referrals. However, I feel some of the natural market that is just maybe not so close... Well they are a pain and a downer to prospect. Could it be because I'm so new? Do you guys ever rest your natural market for a few months and rely solely on everything else or am I shooting myself in the foot?

Most of us never marketed to our friends and family. We started out buying leads.

It's more common to work a friends and family list when you are captive. That's because they want to put you at lower commissions and you would notice you have no money for leads. If you are independent, you have twice the commission and a large portion of that is carved out each week for fresh leads.

Just a different business plan. Most agents on this forum are independent. But not all.

 

[randomguy]

Most of us never marketed to our friends and family. We started out buying leads.

It's more common to work a friends and family list when you are captive. That's because they want to put you at lower commissions and you would notice you have no money for leads. If you are independent, you have twice the commission and a large portion of that is carved out each week for fresh leads.

Just a different business plan. Most agents on this forum are independent. But not all.

I've recently started buying leads as well. Do you Indy guys really have higher commissions? I'm currently at 13% on the P&C side. If we do 4 new accounts they pay us commission on a "ghost" book of about $40,000 in renewals. So if I do 4 accounts for $8,000 in premium I would get $6,240 that month. On the life side term is 30%-60% depending on a few factors, I'm at about 50%. Permanent policies can go 50-165% and I'm just shy of 100% most of the time.

I've wondered how you make it when you're a new indy without those "ghost" book premiums. It seems you'd have to sell a heck of a lot or bankroll yourself through it?

 

[OldStandard]

Actually, if you have the stamina, it is better not to waste your best prospects on your first few presentations. The FBI approach works best here, which is to start far away from the target, and by the time you get in to the center of your target natural market, your skills and information are great enough to score big.