Getting Started In Final Expense

Bcrane0305 said:
Some producers should explain when they started bearing fruits after the initial onslaught.. I'm sure everyone would say it was after their first batch of leads and after about 300 mistakes/ capital infusion into their business numerous times from non earned commission money.
Click to expand...

My experience was different. I got my license as a bet with a friend. Literally didn't know the difference between whole life and term. I was a young buck. When I passed the test my friend told me to sign up with AIC. (Same guy that used to sell leads). He was part of Parker but left and made an IMO. I was the 6th agent of his IMO (and it never got any bigger). I met up with a guy named Jeremy (today he is one of my best friends) and rode with him to Nashville, TN. I worked with him for 4 days out of town and learned how to do this somewhat.

The following week I showed up at AIC office on Monday and wrote a check for 50 leads in (Huntsville Alabama or Birmingham Alabama...I can't remember which one). I went up there and got a room and worked. I wrote $5600.00 in AP that week. I was on a 60% contract at the time. I will never forget that week because I was so broke by the end of the week that in order to come home I had to overdraft my account. I called the bank that morning and I had $1.37 cents in my bank. I filled up my tank and headed home.

I continued to do this for give/take 9 months with them and was the leading producer weekly (out of 6 agents!!!! I WAS THE MAN!) :)

Every Monday we would show up at the office and we had to switch apps with another agent and scrub them. Then we faxed apps, restocked supplies and wrote a check for 50 more robo leads (legal back then).

One Monday I showed up to fax $4800 in AP and was called into Ricky's office and told he lost the contracts. (didn't hit the IMO production goal). So I was out of work. Then my buddy Jeremy told me about Parker and I went there. Was same setup, go in on Monday and get leads, fax apps and take off. You had to come to the office with your suitcase ready to go. Never knew wehre your leads would be.

I did that for a while and was in the top 10 most weeks at Parker (still have the printouts of that). I was on a 75% at Parker. Then I showed up one Monday again with apps just to find out I could not fax them. They "faked" bankruptcy and changed name to One Life so they told me to just sit out 6 months and then I could get re contracted with One Life. I couldn't handle that.

I then went to Union National (Debit Company). I led the district my first year and they promoted me to manager and moved me to Hattiesburg, ms. (That is why the conversation came up a long time ago about me living in an apartment). While I was a manager I was researching for ways to do insurance like I was doing before. I just wanted to find a way to not walk in the office and they be out of business. That is when I found Brad at 360. Then my middle son passed away and that was my final straw. That is when I pulled the plug and left Union National and went independent at 360 and also put a couple contracts with NASB (HUGE MISTAKE....) I was just too scared to put all my eggs in one basket again.

It was a hard struggle and I was broke when I started out at this, but I promise you I worked my butt off and knew this was what I wanted to do. I haven't looked back since and don't plan on it. That is one reason I share so much freely on here is because I don't like to see other agents go through the same mistakes that I went through.

Not sure if this is what you were asking us to post, but I figured this would give a new agent start to finish what I went through. My situation is sorta

----------

I am the youngest of 8 kids (4 boys 4 girls) and all my brothers fished in a fishing club called Magnolia Bass Club. When I was 15 I joined it. The mornings before we launched off, everyone would stand around at the boat ramp and talk. I will never for the rest of my life forget my first tournament. The "old man" of the club they called Pappaw. He came up to me and said..."You see how everyone is talking about this and that and where they caught them and what they caught them on ect..." I said YEP! He said, "It is best to not speak at the ramp. Just listen to what they say. It don't take long to figure out the ones that actually know what they are talking about, and you can learn about what the fish are biting, how deep they are, and much more." Sometimes it is way better to listen when you are learning than it is to just ramble on about things you have no idea about!
 
bboman23 said:
My experience was different. I got my license as a bet with a friend. Literally didn't know the difference between whole life and term. I was a young buck. When I passed the test my friend told me to sign up with AIC. (Same guy that used to sell leads). He was part of Parker but left and made an IMO. I was the 6th agent of his IMO (and it never got any bigger). I met up with a guy named Jeremy (today he is one of my best friends) and rode with him to Nashville, TN. I worked with him for 4 days out of town and learned how to do this somewhat.

The following week I showed up at AIC office on Monday and wrote a check for 50 leads in (Huntsville Alabama or Birmingham Alabama...I can't remember which one). I went up there and got a room and worked. I wrote $5600.00 in AP that week. I was on a 60% contract at the time. I will never forget that week because I was so broke by the end of the week that in order to come home I had to overdraft my account. I called the bank that morning and I had $1.37 cents in my bank. I filled up my tank and headed home.

I continued to do this for give/take 9 months with them and was the leading producer weekly (out of 6 agents!!!! I WAS THE MAN!) :)

Every Monday we would show up at the office and we had to switch apps with another agent and scrub them. Then we faxed apps, restocked supplies and wrote a check for 50 more robo leads (legal back then).

One Monday I showed up to fax $4800 in AP and was called into Ricky's office and told he lost the contracts. (didn't hit the IMO production goal). So I was out of work. Then my buddy Jeremy told me about Parker and I went there. Was same setup, go in on Monday and get leads, fax apps and take off. You had to come to the office with your suitcase ready to go. Never knew wehre your leads would be.

I did that for a while and was in the top 10 most weeks at Parker (still have the printouts of that). I was on a 75% at Parker. Then I showed up one Monday again with apps just to find out I could not fax them. They "faked" bankruptcy and changed name to One Life so they told me to just sit out 6 months and then I could get re contracted with One Life. I couldn't handle that.

I then went to Union National (Debit Company). I led the district my first year and they promoted me to manager and moved me to Hattiesburg, ms. (That is why the conversation came up a long time ago about me living in an apartment). While I was a manager I was researching for ways to do insurance like I was doing before. I just wanted to find a way to not walk in the office and they be out of business. That is when I found Brad at 360. Then my middle son passed away and that was my final straw. That is when I pulled the plug and left Union National and went independent at 360 and also put a couple contracts with NASB (HUGE MISTAKE....) I was just too scared to put all my eggs in one basket again.

It was a hard struggle and I was broke when I started out at this, but I promise you I worked my butt off and knew this was what I wanted to do. I haven't looked back since and don't plan on it. That is one reason I share so much freely on here is because I don't like to see other agents go through the same mistakes that I went through.

Not sure if this is what you were asking us to post, but I figured this would give a new agent start to finish what I went through. My situation is sorta

----------

I am the youngest of 8 kids (4 boys 4 girls) and all my brothers fished in a fishing club called Magnolia Bass Club. When I was 15 I joined it. The mornings before we launched off, everyone would stand around at the boat ramp and talk. I will never for the rest of my life forget my first tournament. The "old man" of the club they called Pappaw. He came up to me and said..."You see how everyone is talking about this and that and where they caught them and what they caught them on ect..." I said YEP! He said, "It is best to not speak at the ramp. Just listen to what they say. It don't take long to figure out the ones that actually know what they are talking about, and you can learn about what the fish are biting, how deep they are, and much more." Sometimes it is way better to listen when you are learning than it is to just ramble on about things you have no idea about!
Click to expand...


A couple of good posts and an interesting story of how you got started. Really sorry about your son Ben.
 
bboman23 said:
My experience was different. I got my license as a bet with a friend. Literally didn't know the difference between whole life and term. I was a young buck. When I passed the test my friend told me to sign up with AIC. (Same guy that used to sell leads). He was part of Parker but left and made an IMO. I was the 6th agent of his IMO (and it never got any bigger). I met up with a guy named Jeremy (today he is one of my best friends) and rode with him to Nashville, TN. I worked with him for 4 days out of town and learned how to do this somewhat.

The following week I showed up at AIC office on Monday and wrote a check for 50 leads in (Huntsville Alabama or Birmingham Alabama...I can't remember which one). I went up there and got a room and worked. I wrote $5600.00 in AP that week. I was on a 60% contract at the time. I will never forget that week because I was so broke by the end of the week that in order to come home I had to overdraft my account. I called the bank that morning and I had $1.37 cents in my bank. I filled up my tank and headed home.

I continued to do this for give/take 9 months with them and was the leading producer weekly (out of 6 agents!!!! I WAS THE MAN!) :)

Every Monday we would show up at the office and we had to switch apps with another agent and scrub them. Then we faxed apps, restocked supplies and wrote a check for 50 more robo leads (legal back then).

One Monday I showed up to fax $4800 in AP and was called into Ricky's office and told he lost the contracts. (didn't hit the IMO production goal). So I was out of work. Then my buddy Jeremy told me about Parker and I went there. Was same setup, go in on Monday and get leads, fax apps and take off. You had to come to the office with your suitcase ready to go. Never knew wehre your leads would be.

I did that for a while and was in the top 10 most weeks at Parker (still have the printouts of that). I was on a 75% at Parker. Then I showed up one Monday again with apps just to find out I could not fax them. They "faked" bankruptcy and changed name to One Life so they told me to just sit out 6 months and then I could get re contracted with One Life. I couldn't handle that.

I then went to Union National (Debit Company). I led the district my first year and they promoted me to manager and moved me to Hattiesburg, ms. (That is why the conversation came up a long time ago about me living in an apartment). While I was a manager I was researching for ways to do insurance like I was doing before. I just wanted to find a way to not walk in the office and they be out of business. That is when I found Brad at 360. Then my middle son passed away and that was my final straw. That is when I pulled the plug and left Union National and went independent at 360 and also put a couple contracts with NASB (HUGE MISTAKE....) I was just too scared to put all my eggs in one basket again.

It was a hard struggle and I was broke when I started out at this, but I promise you I worked my butt off and knew this was what I wanted to do. I haven't looked back since and don't plan on it. That is one reason I share so much freely on here is because I don't like to see other agents go through the same mistakes that I went through.

Not sure if this is what you were asking us to post, but I figured this would give a new agent start to finish what I went through. My situation is sorta

----------

I am the youngest of 8 kids (4 boys 4 girls) and all my brothers fished in a fishing club called Magnolia Bass Club. When I was 15 I joined it. The mornings before we launched off, everyone would stand around at the boat ramp and talk. I will never for the rest of my life forget my first tournament. The "old man" of the club they called Pappaw. He came up to me and said..."You see how everyone is talking about this and that and where they caught them and what they caught them on ect..." I said YEP! He said, "It is best to not speak at the ramp. Just listen to what they say. It don't take long to figure out the ones that actually know what they are talking about, and you can learn about what the fish are biting, how deep they are, and much more." Sometimes it is way better to listen when you are learning than it is to just ramble on about things you have no idea about!
Click to expand...

For that first 5500 how many man hours and miles did you put on your car and how much placed and is still on the books or made it to death? Did you knock on every door? New agents should know how hard you worked..New agents need to know about tenacity early on and that story was a great example.
 
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bboman23 said:
Exactly my point! I am not saying it is easy but I bet if you can remember the first times you were on the phone....you were probably 1/4 or less than what you are now. You have to listen/learn and get better at it. Someone can't just pick up the phone and be GREAT at apt setting IMO.
Click to expand...

Certainly you get better but I have seen that this is something you can do or something you can't.

There is something not teachable to this. Sure it can be refined but it's there in the beginning. I can't describe it but you know when you see it. Scott and Travis will both tell you that I size up people very quickly and tell them when someone is a poser or someone that will make it. Rarely am I wrong.

I'm sure Gooner and JohnGalt will say the same thing. When I say how someone is going to work out I'm rarely wrong on it.

I got started as a captive with AIG and absolutely hated it. No leads, unless you consider Project 100 leads. I left there almost as soon as I got licensed. never to work in insurance again.

I met a guy who had been a tirebuilder like me for a major tire company. Also like me he had been heavily involved with the union. He told me he had started an insurance company and wanted me to come to work for him. He would train me and they had leads. He told me that if I sold out to him for 6 months and did it his way and worked as hard as I did for 6 months as I did building tires and still thought that this wasn't for me then he would get me a job. He was a millionaire by this time so that's why I went with him. I was going to take him up on his offer to get me a job in 6 months as promised.

That guy was Phillip Hudgens, the founder of NAA. He put me with one of his best training managers. I started at 65% contracts and thought it was great. $12 leads and I committed to buying 5 leads a week That and E&O were my only upfront costs.

I did $4000 ap my first week out of the box. Those were my first sales ever. My first full month I wrote $12,000 ap. This was on 5 leads per week.

They moved my contract to 75% after that and my lead cost up to $14 each. And I moved up to 10 leads per week.

My first full calendar year I wrote $257,000 ap. On 10 leads per week.

And really had no clue as to what I was doing. I made my appointments myself from day 1. But my business didn't really take off until I talked to a $450,000/yr producer about appointment setting. He told me I had to have to have the discipline to say no to people. Set the appointments only 1 day out and tell the people "NO" that wanted to meet in 2 days or 3 days or next week.

That was the hardest lesson I ever learned and I had to make myself do it. It's our nature to go see people when they can see us. He said to make them come to our schedule, not change our schedule to meet them.

And his point was also that interested people would make time to see us. Uninterested people wouldn't and we didn't need to be bothered by them anyway.

Then I met Travis and Tim W and Dan Runge and learned what an art it is to run this business. Especially Travis and his talking about the "agent killers" and to be thankful for them instead of cursing them. They thin the herd. They will run your competitors out of the business. That alone changed my whole outlook on the people that used to drive me crazy.

Of course this job is much easier for me now than it was just 3 or 4 years ago. I stop more now when I've hit my weekly goal. Something else I learned from Travis.

So, I started with almost no money and was successful almost right away. But I also came up in local union politics. Never lost an election. There is nothing someone could say to me in a home talking about life insurance that could bother me in comparison to what I've heard and seen prior.

I also have an innate connection to the people that make up our market. They truly are my people. I wear it with a badge of pride that upper crust, high brow, pompous ass insurance agents look down on me for being an FE agent. They don't get it that I have no desire to ever become one of them. In fact, if I am to become one of them just shoot me now.:1wink:
 
Bcrane0305 said:
For that first 5500 how many man hours and miles did you put on your car and how much placed and is still on the books or made it to death? Did you knock on every door? New agents should know how hard you worked..New agents need to know about tenacity early on and that story was a great example.
Click to expand...

Honestly how I was trained was to call through the leads myself and set appts. Then towards the end of the week if you don't have your AP goal, you start knocking non answers. I will never ever forget my first week. I made most of my AP for the week from apts I set. Then towards the end I typed probably 4-6 into my GPS and I drove to them to door knock. I backed out of all of the driveways except one! I wrote husband and wife Assurity for 1710 in AP from a door knock. That was the only house I knocked that week. I was so new and honestly too scared to door knock. The only reason I door knocked that one was because it was KIND OF a subdivision and they were at the end and both were in the yard. So it was turn around in their yard and leave or atleast say hey. I didn't even have business cards at the time.

But I will tell you this....I stayed on the phone a minimum of 2 hours each night setting apts for each day. I had an alarm set on my phone for 9 pm so I would know when it was time to quit calling (illegal to call after 9).

My family was raised up roofing houses. (My dad had a very profitable roofing company). I just knew it was make this work or carry shingles and nail on each day for $100 per day. I had never heard of making $2k to $3k in a day and not be wore slap out before the day was over!

----------

And it was 5600!!!!!! Please don't short my FIRST WEEK! :)
 
bboman23 said:
Honestly how I was trained was to call through the leads myself and set appts. Then towards the end of the week if you don't have your AP goal, you start knocking non answers. I will never ever forget my first week. I made most of my AP for the week from apts I set. Then towards the end I typed probably 4-6 into my GPS and I drove to them to door knock. I backed out of all of the driveways except one! I wrote husband and wife Assurity for 1710 in AP from a door knock. That was the only house I knocked that week. I was so new and honestly too scared to door knock. The only reason I door knocked that one was because it was KIND OF a subdivision and they were at the end and both were in the yard. So it was turn around in their yard and leave or atleast say hey. I didn't even have business cards at the time.

But I will tell you this....I stayed on the phone a minimum of 2 hours each night setting apts for each day. I had an alarm set on my phone for 9 pm so I would know when it was time to quit calling (illegal to call after 9).

My family was raised up roofing houses. (My dad had a very profitable roofing company). I just knew it was make this work or carry shingles and nail on each day for $100 per day. I had never heard of making $2k to $3k in a day and not be wore slap out before the day was over!

----------

And it was 5600!!!!!! Please don't short my FIRST WEEK! :)
Click to expand...

And all of it stayed on the books and placed. Amazing. Natural. Agents need to know about FYC and written premium. Written premium does not mean jack! People like Lincoln love written premium. They are lucky to keep 60 percent of their business every year and 50 for 2 years. The lapse rate in this industry is remarkable. $112 billion in life insurance policy lapses by seniors
 
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