In need of a Mentor

[Guest]

Contact [email protected], 618-931-6023, also in ILLINOIS

 

[elitensupreme]

Thank you very much everyone.

Why would I need to let people come to my home office if I sell P&C insurance? Couldent I just let car dealerships generate my leads?...Give the sales guys ten bucks for everyone they sign up or something?

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

My suggestion:

Get a part time job, working 20 hours a week, and schedule yourself for evenings,during the week, and days during the weekend. This will give you a constant in your life, both financially and emotionally.

Then, sell whatever type of insurance you want to around that. True, you won't be making full time money at first, but it will begin a stream you can see sooner than not.

This is how I began my career in sales 11 years ago, and while I did not get rich quick, I was able to make ends meet, while learning my craft. You can PM me, and I will tell you my story. I'm not going to bore everyone here with it, most have heard it before.

You will need business cards, and going to www.vistaprint.com will allow you to order 250 for free, and they have a good number of layouts to choose from. All you pay is shipping. I still use vistaprint, not only for my cards, but for flyers and stationary as well.

You will need to network: look in your local business chronicle, and find association and networking meetings to attend. This is where you hand out your business cards.

You will need to telemarket: during your days off, or before you go into your part time work, get on the phone and call small businesses. This market is ignored by 99% of insurance agents, because they are all trying to catch the big fish. Let them. You can work with the little fish, who will remain on the books longer, and give you more referrals.

You will need to keep believing in yourself: never, ever give up on yourself, no matter how many calls you make without getting someone to respond positively to you. Don't compare yourself to other sales reps. Even if you have to leave the insurance business, find a full time job to get money coming in, and get back to it, keep your positive attitude and self-awareness in you.

You will need to make spreadsheets: the best way to compare which product/plan is best for each individual/company you call on is for you to make an Excel spreadsheet, comparing similar plans, from company to company. DON'T use the services that do this for you (Norvax, QuoteIt). You won't learn anything by letting them do it for you. Do it for yourself.

You will need a sounding board: this is someone, locally, not here on the internet, who you can sit with, run ideas through, and have them show you what they know. This has to be someone who is not threatened by you, and who loves talking this stuff as much as you. You will have to shop around for this person, they won't come to you.

You will need to check in to this Forum regularly: it is here you will learn about new products coming to the market, sales ideas, software assistance tools, etc. I'll give you one right now: Email Marketing Software Solution - EliteEmail

I hope this is of some assistance. Good luck.

 

[NewHealthStrategies]

I would join the IHIAA.... not a plug.... (of course, it's a plug!)

But, John does good job of providing a sound platform for you and has numerous calls, webinars, discounts and other useful items for neophytes..... well worth the $200.

I've been in this biz for almost 30 years.... and joined, and already got my $199 worth..........

There.... that's my $0.02 cents.... can I have change?

 

[elitensupreme]

Thanks for the info guys. Still no one has explained why I would have to let people come to my home office for auto insurance. If I let used car dealerships push the insurance and I go to my customers for the claims then why will they have to come to my home?



Also, How can I find out who are some good compettitive companies here in Illinois?

BOB, As far as a sounding board goes... I am trying to make as many connections as I can but im not sure how to approach someone so they can teach me how to compete with them in the same market area. Any suggestions?

 

[elitensupreme]

Well I just wrote a LONG PM and the site wont let me send it because I dont have 20 posts....

This was the jist of it.

Bob I would like to hear your story maybe it will help me along my journey.

I go by Ty right now. Which is fine for car sales. Do you think Tyler would be better for the Insurance industry? (Maybe im over thinking it)

I was thinking I could sell auto Insurance from work after someone buys a car and give other sales men 10 or 20 bucks a pop if they could sign someone up. I can meet people who are interested in health and life on my lunch break, after work and on my days off. (I can take lunch anytime I like) I want all my commission to be payed monthly or on an as earned status. After 3 or 4 months I think I will have enough income to stop working for other people and devot all of my time to the business. Is this a realistic goal?

 

[David C]

Call Illinois Mutual for life insurance.

 

[bobson]

Thanks for the info guys. Still no one has explained why I would have to let people come to my home office for auto insurance. If I let used car dealerships push the insurance and I go to my customers for the claims then why will they have to come to my home?

Also, How can I find out who are some good compettitive companies here in Illinois?

BOB, As far as a sounding board goes... I am trying to make as many connections as I can but im not sure how to approach someone so they can teach me how to compete with them in the same market area. Any suggestions?

Either you are being obtuse or you are completely green. If green let me explain a few things about auto insurance. Auto insurance isn't just some option a customer can purchase at a car dealership. You don't buy the undercarriage spray, the DVD player, the luggage rack and the standard auto insurance package.

An auto insurance policy is a complex legal contract between an insured and an insurance company. In fact at claim time an auto insurance policy can be worth a million dollars or more. Choosing an auto insurance policy is much more complicated than choosing a health insurance plan. In fact as part of an auto insurance policy you have a medical insurance policy built in. Plus you also have 6 other types of insurance in the policy.

You have to sit down with insureds and help them decide which is the right auto insurance policy package for their situation.

In the simplest terms, anyone recommending any type of auto insurance policy has to be a licensed agent. So even if you could get a car dealership to sell auto insurance for you, they would have to be licensed with your state. And if they are going to sell auto insurance in their dealership surely they don't need you. Instead of geting $10 or $20 they could get the full commission for the work they do.

As far as claims go, most companies prefer the insured's go directly to them during a claim. Each company we write with has an 800 claim number prominantly placed on every peice of paper they send to an insured. Agents don't adjust car insurance claims, that's the job of an adjustor.

Finally, you can't just get a P&C appointment once you pass a test. While you may be able to with L&H, it is not going to happen for P&C.

Good luck!

 

[elitensupreme]

Either you are being obtuse or you are completely green. If green let me explain a few things about auto insurance. Auto insurance isn't just some option a customer can purchase at a car dealership. You don't buy the undercarriage spray, the DVD player, the luggage rack and the standard auto insurance package.

An auto insurance policy is a complex legal contract between an insured and an insurance company. In fact at claim time an auto insurance policy can be worth a million dollars or more. Choosing an auto insurance policy is much more complicated than choosing a health insurance plan. In fact as part of an auto insurance policy you have a medical insurance policy built in. Plus you also have 6 other types of insurance in the policy.

You have to sit down with insureds and help them decide which is the right auto insurance policy package for their situation.

In the simplest terms, anyone recommending any type of auto insurance policy has to be a licensed agent. So even if you could get a car dealership to sell auto insurance for you, they would have to be licensed with your state. And if they are going to sell auto insurance in their dealership surely they don't need you. Instead of geting $10 or $20 they could get the full commission for the work they do.

As far as claims go, most companies prefer the insured's go directly to them during a claim. Each company we write with has an 800 claim number prominantly placed on every peice of paper they send to an insured. Agents don't adjust car insurance claims, that's the job of an adjustor.

Finally, you can't just get a P&C appointment once you pass a test. While you may be able to with L&H, it is not going to happen for P&C.

Good luck!

Ok, allow me to clarify. No one in the dealership I work for is licensed to sell any type of insurance. We have a couple different independant agents who come in and drop off cards regularly. They do not pay us squat but my boss tells us to go ahead and tell our customers about them just for the convience. It is the law that you must have the states minimum required full coverage on any car you finance. After someone buys a car from me I always say "Hey these guys are pretty good" and hand them a card. I dont try to sell the insurance at all because it really does not matter to me if they buy it or not. If I got paid for it I would give them a way better plug.

So if I offer other auto sales men and women a refferal fee of 10 or 20 bucks a pop they would really "Push" it for me rather then just throwing it out there the way I do. It is the same concept as a Bird Dog. If I cannot get someone closed on a specific car or my lot cant get them financed I will send them to another lot with my card. If they buy from that lot I get a 100 dollar bill.

Does this still seem ridiculous to you? If so please tell me why I appreaciate the input. As far as assesing thier insurance needs almost every time I watch a customer get quotes they choose the lowest rate. Once again I do not expect the auto dealer to do anything other then give them a card and say hey they are great. I will explain to them why my insurance company is better then anyone elses before price is even discussed.

Why is it so difficult to get contracts with P&C companies? I dont understand this at all....They want to sell the Sh!t dont they? Please can anyone explain the obstacles I will encounter trying to get appointed?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[rawannam]

To go with P&C I would think you would have to get appointed with one of the big captives, too much risk involved to give those contracts to a newbie. I may be wrong but to go independent with P&C you will need a healthy track record in the business before they will even talk to you.