If you had the chance to do it over again...

[WMSG]

If I talk or leave a note to myself in 1986 I would have signed the contract to be the artist for Captain America. You live and learn .

LOL.

 

[mdlovell]

By "a lot of work," I hope you don't mean you're stuffing the envelopes. You can automate and delegate almost the whole process. I use a printer that addresses and mails my postcards and another that mail merges, stuffs and mails my letters.

My VA does uploads my mailing list and graphics each month. Then she puts the orders in the printer's shopping cart. I gave her a credit card with a low limit, so she can do most of the orders for me from start to finish. For the bigger ones, I just glance at the shopping cart and enter my credit card #.

PM me if this is the part you find to be "a lot of work."

thanks, this is actually a lot closer to what I'm doing now except no VA

this is a better example of the "a lot of work"

I started off mailing to people 5-7 months out, calling the responses to set an appt. then drive out to run an intro appointment.

I live in Wisconsin where we can't write sups until 3 months out from turning 65. So I would have to keep in touch we people so that they didn't forget me when the time came to enroll 2-5 months later.

First year commission - lead cost was profitable but it was time consuming which limited how much I could grow.

 

[Rearden]

Nothing. I wouldn't change anything at all.

 

[Markthebroker]

If you had the chance to do it over again...

Now that I think of it, maybe I would have bought hairspray in bulk, and started with a bigger cape.

 

[Life Hawk]

Now that I think of it, maybe I would have bought hairspray in bulk, and started with a bigger cape.

And had some cosmetic surgery for that tiny left hand!!


That wasn't me...... the monkey hacked my account.

 

[Markthebroker]

And had some cosmetic surgery for that tiny left hand!!


That wasn't me...... the monkey hacked my account.

Man, I miss that guy...

 

[KatieV]

1. Sell a product with good renewal and persistency percentages.
2. Learn how to market AND sell as soon as possible. (It took me decades before I focused on the former. It made all the difference.)
3. Do a SWOT analysis, of yourself and your business, on a regular basis. (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats)
4. Diversify but don't over diversify. 80/20 to 85/15 is what I target. I can turn the 20% into 100% a lot faster than I can turn 0 to 100. Your money shouldn't come from one line, but don't become the "master of none" either.

#1 This is personal preference. I'd rather have six figures of health, Medicare or P&C renewals each year than make twice as much money, but have to start from scratch each January. This is why I wouldn't focus on life insurance, at least not until I had a good income base from renewals.

On the other hand, there are no Medicare home runs. I can appreciate the thrill of chasing a big sale.

It's not for me though.

#2 A good sales person can always get a job. A good marketer can always create a business.

#3 I know the biggest threat to my insurance income is my cognition. If I can't pass AHIP and all the other tests, I'm screwed. (So I exercise both brain and body regularly and eat well. I should probably stay out of the Dojo even though I wear headgear.) The second biggest threat is the government. They can legislate my main line to unprofitability. (Not sure what to do about that besides #4.)

Knowing your SWOT can help you prepare.

#4 Have a spare tire. Don't have 4 spare tires. Put most of your effort into the product you believe is most profitable and the best fit for your personality and your skill-set. Put enough effort into a secondary source of income to have systems in place you know work. This way you could scale it up quickly if your main income source crashed and burned.

This is really sound advice, appreciate the time you took to post this. I'm a brand new agent and trying to get my bearings about me....