Hi from Oklahoma

[SlickRick87]

Hello all! I am a new producer working for an independent agency in Muskogee, OK. I got my license and an appointment with Blue Cross Blue Shield in mid-August and have quickly found a niche in assisting consumers in getting health coverage through the federal marketplace. Being in Oklahoma, I work with a large Native American population, so I am able to sign quite a few folks up under the "special enrollment period" guidelines. This has made business steady to begin my career, but boy was I under-prepared for the level of business that my first open enrollment period has brought so far! I should mention that I do this part-time (20-30 hours per week) as of right now, as I maintain a full time job elsewhere.

I have learned so much in these first few months, but I can already tell that this is an industry that you never stop learning in. I have yet to sell a life policy, and am apprehensive about it as the level of paperwork involved is quite a bit more than what I've been experiencing in healthcare. Any tips would surely help! Looking forward to reading more from this extremely knowledgeable group of professionals here.

 

[Dreamiekid]

Welcome

 

[Markthebroker]

Hello all! I am a new producer working for an independent agency in Muskogee, OK. I got my license and an appointment with Blue Cross Blue Shield in mid-August and have quickly found a niche in assisting consumers in getting health coverage through the federal marketplace. Being in Oklahoma, I work with a large Native American population, so I am able to sign quite a few folks up under the "special enrollment period" guidelines. This has made business steady to begin my career, but boy was I under-prepared for the level of business that my first open enrollment period has brought so far! I should mention that I do this part-time (20-30 hours per week) as of right now, as I maintain a full time job elsewhere.

I have learned so much in these first few months, but I can already tell that this is an industry that you never stop learning in. I have yet to sell a life policy, and am apprehensive about it as the level of paperwork involved is quite a bit more than what I've been experiencing in healthcare. Any tips would surely help! Looking forward to reading more from this extremely knowledgeable group of professionals here.

I sell commercial P&C so I am in a bit of a different boat. But I can tell you, in the beginning I sold commercial, and life, and personal to put food on the table, but eventually focused on just selling commercial. At first it was painful to turn business away, but staying focused on just commercial insurance allowed me to get laser focused and very good at what I was doing. Yes I took a small hit by focusing on one thing, but it ended up making me much more money, with less work and less hours in the long run. Plus, it's better this way for my clients, too.

Generally, if you can focus on one thing and get really good at it, that's the way to go. That's the general consensus on here, though some people have done well juggling multiple products.

 

[SlickRick87]

I sell commercial P&C so I am in a bit of a different boat. But I can tell you, in the beginning I sold commercial, and life, and personal to put food on the table, but eventually focused on just selling commercial. At first it was painful to turn business away, but staying focused on just commercial insurance allowed me to get laser focused and very good at what I was doing. Yes I took a small hit by focusing on one thing, but it ended up making me much more money, with less work and less hours in the long run. Plus, it's better this way for my clients, too.

Generally, if you can focus on one thing and get really good at it, that's the way to go. That's the general consensus on here, though some people have done well juggling multiple products.

Thanks for the response, Mark! It seems to me that health is really easy to sell, so it was natural for me to start selling it immediately so I could start making some money. I do eventually want to focus on life sales, as the commissions are much better. My wife works in the same agency as me and she sells P&C. The focus is to eventually start our own agency.