How Much is This Worth to Me?

[shortcut]

It sounds as though he has already invested some time in you, and I can assure you that I would never invite a prospective agent to my home if I wasn't impressed with their potential. We can all give you our opinions, but the only way to see if it will work for you is to try. I think it's important to realize that nobody can make you succeed. With 1800+ leads, you need to ask yourself what kept you from succeeding before!

 

[thall]

You talk about the group meeting, did you stop to think that maybe the other three choice not to participate in the opportunity?

 

[arnguy]

Now Wino, why would that matter?

I'll answer that. Because it does matter in the treatment of the person.

 

[WinoBlues]

I pretty much second Shortcut.

I cannot imagine a recruiter spending that kind of time on just another recruit.

Having a mentor and a winning team mentality is priceless. Do a serious personal assessment of yourself, your support (wife) and your current income and income needed. If it looks like this is a career for you, at this time? I would jump at it.

Thanks for the advice guys. I did leave out some things that might have been helpful.

1. Insphere did not make me any promises. They did promise free leads for the first few months and they came through on that promise. Other than that, I was pretty much on my own to ask for help as I wanted it.

2. I had talked to this guy back in August about joining his team. At that point he did check me out. I did have two interviews but I never met the MGA. At the time I didn't have the support of my wife so I took a job that didn't pay so well but it was a steady income. Now she's sick of paycheck to paycheck and surprisingly supports my new venture! It just so happened that the day I contacted him again (in October) his MGA was conducting what he calls group interviews where he gets to know people. I went and met the MGA, the other guys getting interviewed, and other team members who they brought to let us ask anything we wanted of them. I thought that was a nice touch.

3. Something that was really big to me was that they didn't lie about the group interview. The MGA straight out told us he doesn't take everyone and he wouldn't take all of us. There were five of us there that day and he took two of us. If he had actually gone ahead and taken all five I would have believed he was just like any other insurance guy - throwing anything against the wall to see what sticks.

4. We did discuss a plan for after the warm leads because I don't want to use my warm market. I burned it out with my Insphere business. I have about 1,800 leads of different kinds from my Insphere days that I never even touched. These were people that were "uninsurable" and I paid for them myself and the Insphere policy was they never get a lead you pay for - even if you quit. So I have a hell of a list to start out with not to mention the company leads I can buy.

5. Someone successful to teach me is VERY important to me. Don't tell me you'll show me how to make 100k if you're making 25k. The MGA gave me a copy of the monthly newsletter and, true to his word, the guy that recruited me was in the top 25 in the whole company last month and the MGA's team was 4 of 84. I like being part of a winning team and believe someone who has been there and done it can teach me a hell of a lot better than some guy who is "just starting out."

Finally, the guy that recruited me had me over to his home with my wife to meet his whole family this weekend. We spent several hours together just hanging out and he explained how things work to my wife and made her a personal promise that he would not let me fail. I'm not kidding you. He actually said that.

All of this together has made quite an impression on me. Why go to all the trouble if they're just trying to get my warm list (which I already told them isn't coming)? Do you experienced guys think this sounds any better now? Thanks again for your replies.

 

[DHK]

I'm still suspicious.

You need to ask yourself this:
- What makes YOU so special that he's willing to make all these promises?
- What is it that YOU are bringing to the table?
- Or, how do you know this sales manager? He just may be REALLY good at recruiting and schmoozing...

Also, think about this:
- How many people has this agency brought on board in the last 12 months? Out of how many possible candidates? Is it 1 out of 5, or what?
- How many are producing at the MDRT pace levels?
- How many are doing it without a pre-existing contact list and started off "cold"?

Your 1800 leads may be worthless if they requested information over 90 days ago and they register on the National Do-Not-Call list. Double check on this. Also, if these 1800 leads were "uninsurable", what makes you think that they'll be insurable with Lincoln? (Hint: Do a thorough fact-find with each lead that will let you in. The fact-find will help you determine the best way to help them right now.)

I don't care what anybody makes - unless they are willing to share it with me. I'm a private person and I don't like disclosing how much I make - even and especially to colleagues. Making income as part of the recruiting process says "red flag" all over it with me. It's OBVIOUS that anyone can make money in this industry.

The real question is: Will they help YOU make good money from "ground zero" to hero without SPENDING yourself into a bigger hole?


Now, for spending the time with you at his home... that says something. It really does. It shows that they're treating this like a true business relationship, that they're serious in you, and you are serious in them.

It also means that you'll have a hard time thinking about leaving them, should you get started with them. That's not a bad thing! Great teams build great companies and organizations.

In fact, that does remind me: Make sure you ask about the "divorce clause" of your contract and what happens to your clients afterwards, should you decide to leave in the future.

 

[///MJay]

Sounds like a great place to be. If all that really comes through others will want to talk to them. Any update on how things have gone?

 

[PittAgent]

An update after one month...

I have been selling final expense for about a month now and I'm doing "alright" I guess. I contracted with Lincoln Heritage at 70% and I'm starting to think that wasn't such a good deal because I read about people getting 100 and 110% contracts. They do provide me with leads and finance them for me and never take more than 1/2 my advance to pay off debt. I like that a lot. I specifically joined this group because the guy who brought me in was willing to work with me personally and had a proven track record. Well, four weeks in, I've had three batches of leads - two were from counties over two hours away and were close to two months old. I got my third batch three days ago and they were very fresh and local. I feel like I'm really just starting now since the leads from the far away counties are worked through and I don't want to concentrate on working my business that far away. I really want to concentrate on my local area because I live in big county close to my home - Allegheny in Pittsburgh.

I can close the sale. I have sat with 12 customers and closed 6 of them. Two others had no way to pay. I think that is pretty good. But most of my advances so far have gone to pay off lead debt and pay for gas. As of right now, I'm either right at even or a slight loss.

The guy that brought me in works with me and goes in the field with me. But I'm still not tearing it up. I'm working hard - putting in at least 40 hours per week between all I do - calls, driving, appointments, door knocks, flier handouts, etc..

My biggest issue is actually setting the appointments. Of my first 40 leads, I only sat with 8 of them. I know that is WAY below average. Do you think the fact that they were two months old has anything to do with it? Does anyone have any tips on better ways to set appointments? My usual script is telling them I have the card they sent in, ask them some qualifying questions, and try to set the appointment. I don't get into all the fluff. I just try to set it so I can give the fluff later.

Would you veteran FE sellers say this is a normal "first month", should I be doing better, or maybe I'm even a tad above average? Any feedback is appreciated.

EDIT: I ran my first appointment on October 30 so it hasn't even been a month.

 

[arnguy]

I think I saw that post by PittAgent somewhere else before.

 

[Ron Van D]

Lincoln Heritage is totally different then "Lincoln Financial", which is what you asked about in your first post.

That being said, I just spoke with a friend who runs a brokerage in Pittsburgh about the senior FE market. He has an agent that brings him about a dozen annuities per year. When he asked him why he doesn't get any of his life business the guy said he does FE. He does about $150k in FYC and spends $ 400/week on leads. This is the most important part of my ramble: He makes no phone calls. He door knocks every one of them.

 

[germanwine1]

Lincoln Heritage is totally different then "Lincoln Financial", which is what you asked about in your first post.

That being said, I just spoke with a friend who runs a brokerage in Pittsburgh about the senior FE market. He has an agent that brings him about a dozen annuities per year. When he asked him why he doesn't get any of his life business the guy said he does FE. He does about $150k in FYC and spends $ 400/week on leads. This is the most important part of my ramble: He makes no phone calls. He door knocks every one of them.

I guess the old door to door is not dead!!