Interviewed with New York Life

[kingkrazy]

Greeting all,

Fairly new to the industry, spent less than a year with Farmers and now looking to jump back in. I interviewed with NYL yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how excited I was when I left the office. I am just looking for any opinions of current and/or former agents of them. Here is what I think:

- I was happy that they didn't come across with the "your going to make six figures the first year." He was very up front and truthful about this not being easy, it would require a lot of work and determination (which I know) and that this could be a lucrative and rewarding career for the right person.

- I believe that having the NYL name on your business card could only help in the sales process. As Herb Brooks once said, "The name on the front of the jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back." Oh, come on, we gotta have some hockey fans here.

- The training program seemed to be set up to get you out selling as quickly as possible, not going to make any money sitting in a classroom. and the incentive based training pay is a nice feature, as long as you're prodicing.

- I geuss the only negative that I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more is if selling strictly life insurance at the current time can get me off my feet.

Well, that's the short list. I'm looking at this opportunity with eyes wide open and looking for any feedback, good or bad.

Thanks
Craig

 

[LGilmore]

"not going to make any money sitting in a classroom." Today. Tomorrow?

Don't knock the educational opportunities NYL provides. I spent a decade with them and the classroom helped me make money by simply making me a smarter agent. It sounds like you interviewed at a good office. The only real bit of advice is LOOK around, are people happy to be there? What's the atmosphere like? A good sales manager and trainer can help make a great agent. NYL can be a great place to have a great career, but the same could be said at alot of places, just depends on the people you surround yourself with.

 

[Guest]

Your flag says you are in CA but you don't say what part.

Your success will depend in part on the manager and/or trainer. NYL has good managers and training... but they also have tons of terrible managers as well. Of course YOU have to be coach-able, but they have to be good coaches.

Another thing to consider is your market. NYL is hardly ever a rate-leader or innovator. What NYL mostly has to sell is their image and their financial stability. Those are important, but again you need to look at the market you are in, the price and offerings of NYL and see if there is a match. In my experience, NYL has appeal to upscale people and if you don't have education, cultural awareness, and general intelligence to sell to highly educated, cultured people, it may not work for you.

If you are looking to go the captive route... which has its pros and cons, you should also look at MassMu, Northwestern, and perhaps MoO.

There is no wrong decision. If you go with NYL and you don't like it (be prepared to bleed blue!) you will at least learn something from the experience (and training) and maybe make a few friends as well.

If you are excited about it and you are 100% convinced that the manager and you are on the same page about EVERYTHING, than I'd say that you should go for it. Good luck.

Al3
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency

 

[xrac]

.....If you are looking to go the captive route... which has its pros and cons, you should also look at MassMu, Northwestern, and perhaps MoO......Al3
InsuranceSolutions123 Agency

I would do what Al says and talk to all the big career companies including Guardian.

 

[Guest]

Greeting all,

Fairly new to the industry, spent less than a year with Farmers and now looking to jump back in. I interviewed with NYL yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at how excited I was when I left the office. I am just looking for any opinions of current and/or former agents of them. Here is what I think:

- I was happy that they didn't come across with the "your going to make six figures the first year." He was very up front and truthful about this not being easy, it would require a lot of work and determination (which I know) and that this could be a lucrative and rewarding career for the right person.

- I believe that having the NYL name on your business card could only help in the sales process. As Herb Brooks once said, "The name on the front of the jersey is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back." Oh, come on, we gotta have some hockey fans here.

- The training program seemed to be set up to get you out selling as quickly as possible, not going to make any money sitting in a classroom. and the incentive based training pay is a nice feature, as long as you're prodicing.

- I geuss the only negative that I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll come up with more is if selling strictly life insurance at the current time can get me off my feet.

Well, that's the short list. I'm looking at this opportunity with eyes wide open and looking for any feedback, good or bad.

Thanks
Craig

Craig,

I am basically in the same situation as you. I interviewed with NYL and I'm trying to decide if this is the right place and time for me. What part of california are you in? I interviewed at the Oxnard office. Anyway, I have a lot of the same thoughts as you do. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that you have to just go for it.....or not. If you are confident about the manager/office and about yourself there is only one way to find out if this is for you. I guess my point is that nobody can really tell you, and you can read a book to find out if it is right for you. You have to go do it.

I'm dragging my feet a little bit though as I am trying to build up some cash reserves for the first year. The training subsidy is nice but I still need some cash to get me through the slow production months.

Let me know what you decide or if you have questions I can answer.

 

[DHK]

DNK-

Make sure interview with MassMutual in Westlake Village as well.

 

[WinoBlues]

Great advice.

"not going to make any money sitting in a classroom." Today. Tomorrow?

Don't knock the educational opportunities NYL provides. I spent a decade with them and the classroom helped me make money by simply making me a smarter agent. It sounds like you interviewed at a good office. The only real bit of advice is LOOK around, are people happy to be there? What's the atmosphere like? A good sales manager and trainer can help make a great agent. NYL can be a great place to have a great career, but the same could be said at alot of places, just depends on the people you surround yourself with.

 

[kingkrazy]

"not going to make any money sitting in a classroom." Today. Tomorrow?

Don't knock the educational opportunities NYL provides. I spent a decade with them and the classroom helped me make money by simply making me a smarter agent. It sounds like you interviewed at a good office. The only real bit of advice is LOOK around, are people happy to be there? What's the atmosphere like? A good sales manager and trainer can help make a great agent. NYL can be a great place to have a great career, but the same could be said at alot of places, just depends on the people you surround yourself with.

I agree, I didn't mean it to sound as if the classroom would be a burden. I completely agree that education is key here, especially in an always changing industry. What I meant was that they have an initial 6 day program that gets you up to the point of being able to sell their products. After that there is a mandatory Monday sales/training meeting every week and opitional training meetings scheduled on a regular basis, I think it would be foolish to not take advantage of any training classes offered.

BTW, I interviewed out of the Pamona office.

 

[Full Throttle]

What I meant was that they have an initial 6 day program that gets you up to the point of being able to sell their products. After that there is a mandatory Monday sales/training meeting every week and opitional training meetings scheduled on a regular basis, I think it would be foolish to not take advantage of any training classes offered.

Also do joint work with experienced reps in the office, make the introduction and shut up when in front of a client, then talk the reps ear off in the car on the way to and from the meeting. You'll get even more out of those sessions than in a classroom.

 

[LGilmore]

How does the office "feel", have you looked around are there successful agents going back several years? The one thing I lacked at my NYL office was good sales management. The education was excellent, but what was troubling and foretold was there was a gap of about 7 years between established agents and new agents. In other words, no body had made it past a couple years in that office. Should have been a warning light for me. LOOK AROUND, what do you see? how does it feel? I can't tell how important that is.