Help Getting Started - Have A Lot At My Disposal

[PlanForTheFuture]

I am looking for the best way to start off with getting clients and building up a network for life insurance (Term & Whole). Just to give some background:

I actually have a pretty good setup going for me. I currently work, and have worked for the past 8 years at a financial planning office, I'm the manager there. The owner has a great business in annuities & securities. He recently said that I can do the term & life insurance portion. However, if any of the clients had money, he'd receive those and give me a percentage for a referral as a bonus.

This means, that I currently have a job in the field with income coming in while I build my own book of business. He also said that I can use the office for appointments as long as it doesn't interfere with his appointments or work that I need to get done.

I recently got my license in Accident & Health, Life and Fixed Annuities. I'm currently getting setup with a company that he uses that takes care of all the licensing, appointments and so on. They have you through the whole process of getting the best product for the client, reviewing the application, forwarding it to the career & then everything in between until the policy is issued.

This is where I need the help. I am starting from zero and have no idea the first steps I should be taking to find potential clients and to build up a network. Does anyone have advice on what my first steps should be in getting started down this path? I'm sure there are many on here with years of dedication and experience. Any tips would be highly appreciated.

 

[DHK]

I actually have a pretty good setup going for me. I currently work, and have worked for the past 8 years at a financial planning office, I'm the manager there. The owner has a great business in annuities & securities. He recently said that I can do the term & life insurance portion. However, if any of the clients had money, he'd receive those and give me a percentage for a referral as a bonus.

I think you're shooting yourself in the foot here. Why aren't you learning from the owner how he build his business and continues to build his business? You might think you're being smart and intelligent by diversifying away from his core business... but you're also dismissing all the years of experience and perspective he could teach you and that you could learn from. Sure, some of it might be really outdated... but it's far better to learn from the resources you're already around... than to try to reinvent a wheel for a successful business.

He also said that I can use the office for appointments as long as it doesn't interfere with his appointments or work that I need to get done.

Who is your customer? I'm not talking about who you want to sell insurance to. I'm talking about who you work for. You work for your boss. Your boss pays your bills as you fulfill your job duties to HIS enterprise. "No man can serve two masters."

This is where I need the help. I am starting from zero and have no idea the first steps I should be taking to find potential clients and to build up a network. Does anyone have advice on what my first steps should be in getting started down this path? I'm sure there are many on here with years of dedication and experience. Any tips would be highly appreciated.

You need to know what you're really selling. Before you can market what you sell, you need to understand the needs of the marketplace that should want what you sell. Once you understand the marketplace you're trying to sell to, the problems that they have... then you learn about how your product is THE solution for them.