Income Expectation

[Todd King]

Younger people typically need insurance work and they don't have enough assets in order for me to get paid solely doing the investment side of things. Older people may have less of an insurance need but more of an retirement planning need on the investment side.

Are you sure about that? You might be surprised at the money to be made in the senior market. But you have to think outside of the "securities box" so to speak. For instance, some of those "older people" are already passed the retirement planning stage. Now what? Do you put them in something where there's a chance they may lose a good portion of it and not have time to gain it back? No, it's time to show them something else. You'll find that most of the time, they really don't want to risk what they have. Sometimes you'll find they need life insurance or a medicare supplement or maybe a fixed annuity of sorts. When it comes to the young, you'll find a lot that are just too busy living to think about anything going wrong, which is what insurance is after all, "to monetarily right a wrong in an attempt to cover loses". Just something to think about.

 

[Akkula]

Let's pretend I don't know anyone in my community just for the sake of argument.

What is the best/fastest way for me to get to know new people and write some business? I am willing to do what it takes to succeed.

 

[Todd King]

Let's pretend I don't know anyone in my community just for the sake of argument.

What is the best/fastest way for me to get to know new people and write some business? I am willing to do what it takes to succeed.

I think in your particular case you should probably talk with insuranceexec. He has several good ideas that just might fit with you.

 

[dfielder]

What state are you in? There are a lot of opportunities out there that will make you a lot more than $40k or $50k first year.

 

[SportsNut]

I am a former Merrill Lynch who was just laid off. I was only in production for a few months before they laid off a bunch of trainees.

Anyhow, I am considering working for MassMutual or some of other companies that allow me to "own" my book of business if I ever need to go elsewhere. I learned my less on with Merrill!

Anyhow, I wanted to focus a bit more on insurance as well as securities and planning since I can actually work with my natural market more.

I am really trying to figure out, though, how much income I can plan on if I do a 100% commission job and focus on doing a lot of life insurance work to start. Mass pays on the first year premium once you get the first payment.

I got a nifty illustration from them that says I would be expected to earn $86k for my first year. Needless to say, I am a bit skeptical and I want to plan on a worst case scenario.

I am the type of person who doesn't mind prospecting and putting in the 50-60 hours per week, has worked in financial services and is fully licensed in insurance and securities (7 & 66), has an untested natural market, etc. What is a conservative estimate for income that I can use for planning purposes?

$24,000 per year for first year?
$36,000 per year for first year?
$60,000 per year for first year?

Akkula:

The fact that you had enough going for you that ML hired you to begin with, says quite a lot about having the matrix of personality to succeed in the financial world. They no doubt put you through their battery of tests, and they have spent many mils on figuring out how to predict who will succeed and why.

You should do well with NWML, or any other career shop... assuming that you need the salary and financial support. You might also talk to some independent financial planners to see what they might have to offer offer. Some of them can hook you up with a career contract with several life companies... again, only if you need the steady income to start. If not, avoiding that connection might be even better.

The experience you had at ML, even though it was brief... will help you immensely going forward. I think that your biggest challenge is to select the right offer on the first go-round, as opposed to making that landing 3 or 4 times to find the right spot. Take your time and find the right home, and you should do well; beyond what you would have made at ML... they did you a favor, really. you will be sending Ken Lewis and/or Jack Thain a Xmas card of thanks this next year. Good luck, you will do well.

 

[Vitamin C]

What about EFES?

Seems like you can make a bunch of money pretty quickly if you have a small budget to start with.

 

[xrac]

If income at the start is critical Metlife will pay a salary of up to $800 for the first 19 weeks. See the following:

MetLife Training Salary - Page 2

 

[Akkula]

Yeah, I had a buddy at ML that used to work at Metlife. He wasn't able to get his 7 and 66 while at Met for some reason and so he came to ML.

Anyhow, he talked to me yesterday about getting started with Met because he was going back there. The upfront money sounds nice but it comes with a nice 18 month non-complete. I will probably still talk with them, but having to sign away my clients up front is one of the things that is concerning to me.

My friend told me he was going to go back to Met now that he has his 7 and 66. He told me that producing for Met was like shooting fish in a barrel compared to what we were doing at ML but I would still have access to the same stuff at Met on the securities side. I guess I am just being kind of careful right now because producing at ML was freaking hard unless you knew a lot of people with a lot of $. I am glad my friend was previously successful on the insurance side at Met because that makes me realize that selling insurance for a respected company may not be as difficult as gathering assets for a near bankrupt company.

Anyhow, I did some figuring and if I can net about $1500 per month starting in May, I could survive in a 100% commission environment.

After seeing the fiasco at ML, I would rather make $25k and be in control of my practice than make $70k and be contractually tied to a sinking ship. I want to do this for the long-run and if I feel that I can have almost 100% certainty that I can make $1500-$2000 per month starting in a few months, I would probably take a job where I won't have a non-compete. If I don't feel certain, I may have to look for a more stable situation.

Thanks for all of your advice!

 

[insuranceexec]

Yeah, I had a buddy at ML that used to work at Metlife. He wasn't able to get his 7 and 66 while at Met for some reason and so he came to ML.

Anyhow, he talked to me yesterday about getting started with Met because he was going back there. The upfront money sounds nice but it comes with a nice 18 month non-complete. I will probably still talk with them, but having to sign away my clients up front is one of the things that is concerning to me.

My friend told me he was going to go back to Met now that he has his 7 and 66. He told me that producing for Met was like shooting fish in a barrel compared to what we were doing at ML but I would still have access to the same stuff at Met on the securities side. I guess I am just being kind of careful right now because producing at ML was freaking hard unless you knew a lot of people with a lot of $. I am glad my friend was previously successful on the insurance side at Met because that makes me realize that selling insurance for a respected company may not be as difficult as gathering assets for a near bankrupt company.

Anyhow, I did some figuring and if I can net about $1500 per month starting in May, I could survive in a 100% commission environment.

After seeing the fiasco at ML, I would rather make $25k and be in control of my practice than make $70k and be contractually tied to a sinking ship. I want to do this for the long-run and if I feel that I can have almost 100% certainty that I can make $1500-$2000 per month starting in a few months, I would probably take a job where I won't have a non-compete. If I don't feel certain, I may have to look for a more stable situation.

Thanks for all of your advice!

Check your states Labor Laws regarding non-competes. I have yet to see one upheld in a court of law. The law restricts anybody or company from diminishing the capacity of another individual to earn a living. So they will not be able to stop you form selling insurance/financial products for the 18 month period you are referencing.

What they do not want you to do is to go and roll your book of business. Providing that you can show that it was in the clients best interest to make the move you will be alright; just keep very good notes.

With all the being said and knowing the headache on the front end; why again are you still considering this? I hope this helps.

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[Akkula]

With all the being said and knowing the headache on the front end; why again are you still considering this? I hope this helps.

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Are you asking why I am still even considering Met???

I had another meeting with MassMutual today and I am heavily leaning toward them. I went to a business seminar they put on and it seems like there are some guys there that really know what they are doing that could mentor me.