I Need Some Experienced Folks to Point Me in the Right Direction!

[uberjer]

Hi!

I'm so glad to have found this resource!

I've been poking around the web looking for a place to hang my hat getting started with life & annuities. I'm already licensed in CA, completed my 8 hour annuities requirement, and have my E&O.

Someone introduced me to the business, but I'm not sure if they're going to work out as a great mentor.

I was planning on calling all these companies tomorrow to see what opportunities I could find there, but I'm hoping to get better guidance here.

• Crump
• Protective
• Financial Brokerage Inc
• Broker’s Alliance
• Broker’s International

What I'm really looking for is an awesome mentor in my area who holds the same values I do and has already achieved the level of success I'm aiming for.

Any ideas on how I can find someone local? I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In terms of getting started with a company, are any of the ones I listed worth checking out? I know Broker's Alliance is a sponsor and seems well recommended. What about the others?

Ultimately, I'd like to build my own team and run my own office.

Thanks a million for any help ya'll can provide!

-Jeremy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I've been poking around a bit more and it looks like a couple people on these forums didn't have the greatest experience with Broker's International.

Anyone have any thoughts on "The Revolution FMO" or "Asset Marketing Systems"?

 

[INS42]

Hi!

I'm so glad to have found this resource!

I've been poking around the web looking for a place to hang my hat getting started with life & annuities. I'm already licensed in CA, completed my 8 hour annuities requirement, and have my E&O.

Someone introduced me to the business, but I'm not sure if they're going to work out as a great mentor.

I was planning on calling all these companies tomorrow to see what opportunities I could find there, but I'm hoping to get better guidance here.


[*]Crump
[*]Protective
[*]Financial Brokerage Inc
[*]Broker’s Alliance
[*]Broker’s International


What I'm really looking for is an awesome mentor in my area who holds the same values I do and has already achieved the level of success I'm aiming for.

Any ideas on how I can find someone local? I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In terms of getting started with a company, are any of the ones I listed worth checking out? I know Broker's Alliance is a sponsor and seems well recommended. What about the others?

Ultimately, I'd like to build my own team and run my own office.

Thanks a million for any help ya'll can provide!

-Jeremy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I've been poking around a bit more and it looks like a couple people on these forums didn't have the greatest experience with Broker's International.

Anyone have any thoughts on "The Revolution FMO" or "Asset Marketing Systems"?

Hi Jeremy,

What kind of support are you looking for? Education, back-office, point of sale? There are many avenues for you to go down as you get started in the business. A great mentor may not necessarily be affiliated with the type of organizations you mentioned here. I suggest you reach out to an experienced independent producer with a solid book of business that may be looking to transition out of his or her practice. I may be able to point you in the right direction either way.

 

[WinoBlues]

Hi!

I'm so glad to have found this resource!

I've been poking around the web looking for a place to hang my hat getting started with life & annuities. I'm already licensed in CA, completed my 8 hour annuities requirement, and have my E&O.

Someone introduced me to the business, but I'm not sure if they're going to work out as a great mentor.

I was planning on calling all these companies tomorrow to see what opportunities I could find there, but I'm hoping to get better guidance here.

• Crump
• Protective
• Financial Brokerage Inc
• Broker’s Alliance
• Broker’s International

What I'm really looking for is an awesome mentor in my area who holds the same values I do and has already achieved the level of success I'm aiming for.

Any ideas on how I can find someone local? I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In terms of getting started with a company, are any of the ones I listed worth checking out? I know Broker's Alliance is a sponsor and seems well recommended. What about the others?

Ultimately, I'd like to build my own team and run my own office.

Thanks a million for any help ya'll can provide!

-Jeremy
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I've been poking around a bit more and it looks like a couple people on these forums didn't have the greatest experience with Broker's International.

Anyone have any thoughts on "The Revolution FMO" or "Asset Marketing Systems"?

What are you offering to the mentor?

 

[BNTRS]

Insurance Agent Training

That should help with at least a few things.

As for your list above. Most of the companies you've listed are Insurance Marketing Organizations (aka Brokerage General Agencies, Field Marketing Offices/Organization, Master General Agencies, and the list goes on).

They can get you appointed with carriers, and can assist with various training aspects.

Protective is the only company on your list that is a bona fide insurance company.

What do you mean by someone local? A local company? Or a local mentor?

 

[jhuang]

I use Broker's Alliance for about 1 year now, they have been great to work with.

I'm mostly P&C and they provide the back end support I need regarding follow ups on the Life side of things.

 

[uberjer]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's hard to even know the right questions to ask until you learn enough about how the industry works. I'm getting it figure out though!

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I'm looking for a person to mentor me. I'm happy to split commissions or whatever.

I have sales experience and ran a seminar company before (not insurance related). I have no problem selling, presenting, or doing large group stuff. I just don't know enough about life and annuities to make good recommendations to a potential client.

So what I'm looking for in a mentor initially is someone who I might be able to shadow as they go out to meet with clients. And, someone who might be able to meet with people in my network where we can split commissions if we complete a sale.

Long term, I'd like to have a mentor who's already grossing $200k+/year who might be able to give me some guidance from time to time as I build experience in the industry. My goal is to break $200k/year as fast as possible.

If there's a way to get connected up with someone who's looking to transition out of the industry, that sounds like it might be the ideal situation. How do I find people like this?

I did speak with Broker's International, Broker's Alliance, and Dressander over the last couple of days. They're looking for mentors to connect me up with in my area.

I also learned that there are career companies that represent a number of carriers. The only one I know of so far is Futurity (which wasn't well reviewed in these forums). Do you guys know of any others that are good? I'm also open to that path for maybe my first year or so.

 

[INS42]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's hard to even know the right questions to ask until you learn enough about how the industry works. I'm getting it figure out though!

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I'm looking for a person to mentor me. I'm happy to split commissions or whatever.

I have sales experience and ran a seminar company before (not insurance related). I have no problem selling, presenting, or doing large group stuff. I just don't know enough about life and annuities to make good recommendations to a potential client.

So what I'm looking for in a mentor initially is someone who I might be able to shadow as they go out to meet with clients. And, someone who might be able to meet with people in my network where we can split commissions if we complete a sale.

Long term, I'd like to have a mentor who's already grossing $200k+/year who might be able to give me some guidance from time to time as I build experience in the industry. My goal is to break $200k/year as fast as possible.

If there's a way to get connected up with someone who's looking to transition out of the industry, that sounds like it might be the ideal situation. How do I find people like this?

I did speak with Broker's International, Broker's Alliance, and Dressander over the last couple of days. They're looking for mentors to connect me up with in my area.

I also learned that there are career companies that represent a number of carriers. The only one I know of so far is Futurity (which wasn't well reviewed in these forums). Do you guys know of any others that are good? I'm also open to that path for maybe my first year or so.

Jeremy,

Please feel free to pm me if you would like some advice, I would be more than happy to help you.

 

[BNTRS]

Mentors are nice, but good ones are hard to come by.

Your wise to be thinking in terms of production regarding your mentor. Just be careful there. Plenty of us could point you to people producing over that amount who would make for terrible mentors.

I'm not local to you, so I'm not sure I can help you in the fashion you'd like. Just the same, if there is any with respect to guidance you think we can offer, please don't hesitate to give us a shout.

And honestly, we receive a lot of great feedback on the Insurance Pro Blog. Hopefully, you can find something of value there as well.

 

[uberjer]

I can't send any PMs because I haven't posted enough yet.

Can someone send INS42 a message to email me at "jegordon.pro" at gmail?

 

[nathan.lee]

I can't send any PMs because I haven't posted enough yet.

Can someone send INS42 a message to email me at "jegordon.pro" at gmail?

Jeremy,

I wouldn't worry TOO much about which FMO/IMO you contract with right now. At this point in your insurance career an FMO/IMO relationship isn't as critical to your success as finding a GOOD mentor. Just make sure that whichever FMO/IMO you decide on sets you up at the proper commission level and not as a license only agent to them.

I think you have a good plan of finding a local mentor to shadow for a time while you learn the ropes. Best of luck and let me know how I can help.