Interviewing with Hartford.....any Feedback?

[Johnnyboy29073]

I am a 20+ year Real Estate Finance veteran with a good reputation, an ample book and a track record of success.

You all likely know there are (again, endlessly it seems) new regs which would boot 95% (if not more) of us on the streets by June at the earliest.

Its time to do something else, something similar which would make for an easy transition and provide the same (or near) autonomy I have now.

To wit, I sat in a recruiting session with Amerilife today, and have an interview in Charlotte Wednesday with The Hartford.

The lady at Amerilife today was pleasant, but I have the unshakeable feeling their recruiting pitch is a bit stretched, if not contrived altogether. For instance, their ad says "no-prospecting, 4-7 visits set each day"......I am getting the idea what that means is "here are 7 folks 65 and up, now go knock on their doors".........cold, unsolicited, not pre-planned as suggested or inferred....not interested in that.

Hartford is life/annuities only...works for me and I know its an old, established firm. The agency manager says "no prospecting, its all done from direct mail".......I am inclined to give him more currency than Amerilife, but, in all candor.............I don't know who to believe or who to trust.
Obviously I'll do neither for a long time, but can you all provide any feedback on either of the two?

Best regards.

 

[DHK]

If it's too good to be true... RUN!

 

[captain94]

everyone is full of ****. be prepared to work hard and long hours or dont bother getting started. you cant work 30 hours a week and make 100k if they feed you that run.

 

[Johnnyboy29073]

everyone is full of ****. be prepared to work hard and long hours or dont bother getting started. you cant work 30 hours a week and make 100k if they feed you that run.

what makes you think I don't work long hours now?

 

[captain94]

what makes you think I don't work long hours now?

Nothing. You may or may not. I dont know. But, When you are talking recruiters they always say what you want to hear. IE, work only 3 days a week and make 100k. If that is what they are selling they are not being truthful.

 

[VolAgent]

If you're talking to Hartford, why not talk to Northwestern Mutual, New York Life, Guardian, MassMutual and/or MetLife? They all tend to target the same type of policyholder. See whose philosophy most closely matches yours. Also, see where you are going to get the best training. Ultimately your training/sales manager is a bigger factor in your success or failure than the company.

Also, all these companies vary in their level of restrictiveness when it comes to non-proprietary products. Find the one that offers the products you will need to succeed.

 

[HarryRenard]

Volagent brings up a great point at the end of the day it really doesnt matter how great the company is or for that matter how great you might be if managment isnt strong and dedicated to your success.

 

[ergammill]

The Hartford Life and Annuity is the way to go, from what you said it sounds like the Middle America division. They only appoint a limited number of agents per area, based on leads. They mail out the info, collect the leads, and then a caller will sit your appointment. The commission payout may not be as high as some other companies, however when they are paying for the direct mail, the leads and sitting the appointments, you make more $$, then agents with other companies making higher commissions who have to pay out of pocket. Be prepared to work Mon-Thursday and Saturday. 3-5 appointments per day.


I see a lot of life quotes posted on this site from other companies and I always check them against Hartford, Hartford is lower 90% of the time. You are also not captive with Hartford, which means you can offer other products, annuity, health, Medicare supps, from other companies. (however if it's a Hartford Life lead, you need to use only Hartford for life, if the person can't make it through Hartford underwriting your manager will have another company to offer them)


Can't go wrong with Hartford.

 

[VolAgent]

The Hartford Life and Annuity is the way to go, from what you said it sounds like the Middle America division...

Can't go wrong with Hartford.

Hearing something like that, and I quote "... makes my ass twitch."

Hartford Life and Annuity
A.M Best A(3)
S&P A(6)
Moody's A3(7)
Fitch A-(7)
TheStreet.com(Safety Rating) C-(9)
Comdex(Percentile in Rated Companies) 77

That makes me feel real safe and secure, how about you?

However, I still with my original point. Even if the Hartford is always cheaper, if your manager couldn't teach his way out of a wet paper bag, what does it matter?

 

[Johnnyboy29073]

Well I got one answer already.


Amerilife didn't even show up for the interview.

I am glad they did, saves me grief down the road.