How much did you make in first month/year?

[scagnt83]

My first year was about $35k. Half the year was supplemented with bartending at night. It was a $10k cut in pay vs. bartending full time. (this was in 2006)

In my experience, 95% of 1st year agents do not net over $60k. If a recruiter/manager/whoever says otherwise, they are lying, stay away.

$60k is very doable in your 2nd and 3rd years. Ive seen agents hit $100k in y3 and y4. First year is hard in this business. This is a business of your own, even if you are a captive agent under a specific carrier or agency. Treat it like a business and you will have great long term success.

 

[scagnt83]

This is retirement for Gen X.

I lost both of my parents when they were in their early 70s. A little over 10 years after retirement.

Screw that. I'm living life now. I take several months "off" each year (I still block and tackle but that's a few hours per day).

I'm not trying to be Jeff Bezos. I make great money but I also want to live a great life while I'm young(ish).

Lifestyle. Quality of life. Day to day happiness.

Isn't that what your income is supposed to provide anyways?

I know people who make $600k salaries and get hundreds of thousands more in annual bonuses. Most work exhausting hours with lots of stress. High BP is very common when underwriting very high income earners.... its the stress & long hours....

What is the benefit in having a huge personal empire if you cant enjoy it? Or have to wait 30 or 40 years to enjoy it?

 

[somarco]

High BP is very common when underwriting very high income earners.

Ditto for alcoholism & divorce

 

[Travis Price]

Lifestyle. Quality of life. Day to day happiness.

Isn't that what your income is supposed to provide anyways?

I know people who make $600k salaries and get hundreds of thousands more in annual bonuses. Most work exhausting hours with lots of stress. High BP is very common when underwriting very high income earners.... its the stress & long hours....

What is the benefit in having a huge personal empire if you cant enjoy it? Or have to wait 30 or 40 years to enjoy it?

There's two schools I have about people that grind and grind and grind:

1) Some people love the process. It's that's (general) you, then who am I to judge?
2) Some people are never satisfied with what they have.

I'm right at the cusp between a Gen X and a Millennial and my opinion is always

1) Are my bills paid?
2) Is my debt mostly clear?
3) If that's so, what's most important to me?

I'm almost 40 now. I couldn't imagine working heavily past my 50's.

That includes having a business, but also really looking at multiple streams of income. I currently have my business in a loop.

I don't take a dollar from my insurance money. Half goes into paying taxes and reinvesting in the business itself. The other half goes straight into investing in things that will make me passive income.

I just need enough to be satisfied. Not a dollar more.

 

[somarco]

I don't take a dollar from my insurance money. Half goes into paying taxes and reinvesting in the business itself. The other half goes straight into investing in things that will make me passive income.

Not enough folks (at any age) understand that about this business.

When I started in direct sales (straight commission, as earned) I didn't take a dime out for 15 months. Since I had left a salaried job there was no residual income. I lived off savings and credit cards (about $50,000). Took more years than I anticipated to pay that off.

I have two regrets.

I should have left the corporate world sooner.

And, I should have started in the Medicare side vs continuing with what I knew (self funded group health).

 

[rousemark]

You killed it! I made $8000 my first year

That was running a debit... and we thought we were underpaid compared to what we thought the "ordinary" guys were making. That was true of some but most of them were making less than we made. I was the district leader but others were very close behind me and made as much as I because I had a very small debit compared to them.

 

[Markthebroker]

I'm p&c, and now commercial only. I made about $8,500 my first year, and worked my ass off.

In the early years, it was silly how much I worked and how little I made.

Now that I'm established, its silly how little I work and how much I make.

 

[shonceman]

That was running a debit... and we thought we were underpaid compared to what we thought the "ordinary" guys were making. That was true of some but most of them were making less than we made. I was the district leader but others were very close behind me and made as much as I because I had a very small debit compared to them.

I made $19k my first year on the debit in 1992 (Inflation adjusted equivalent of about $36k now). I made $26k the second year on about the same amount of production, but my persistency was higher.

After I was promoted to staff manager, I was talking to a friend that worked in a similar position at one of the big mutuals. He asked what the average income was for a first year agent at my company. At that time it was about $23k, which is what I told him. He started laughing, and said “Ours is about $11k!” I think we were both surprised!

 

[walthamny]

I cant exactly remember how much I made but it was peanuts. However, I remember the first month I made 20K very well. I became super lazy, I thought I would make 20k minimum by just having a business card that said life insurance on it and boy it was hard to go make $35 on a sale after making 20K 4 months before. Now I love making 35 dollars an hour on zoom because I am sitting on a comfortable chair. I will get more sales down the road, and I will get referrals on most of these $35 dollar sales. I have to say how much money you make in the 1st year does not matter much. Because if you make 30 sales each 20 dollars a month in term insurance, you have a chance to make it in this business. However, the guy who sold one sale in the 1st year for a 600 per month term probably wont survive. There is not enough skill development, no rejection handling skills. We should be really measuring rejection numbers. Because the higher rejection numbers in 1st year will mean activity and hopefully they are getting mentored to build skills. The 2nd year rejection numbers should go down as you become more selective in who you see.

 

[Markthebroker]

I don't take a dollar from my insurance money. Half goes into paying taxes and reinvesting in the business itself. The other half goes straight into investing in

How do you eat?