Is it Possible to make living sooner than 2 years if..

[NHB_MMA]

All in all you're making a great career choice:

http://www.ifamonthly.com/MDproducerpay.html

Good article. I especially like the part about getting away from the old system of bringing in new recruits on an ongoing basis to see who will stick.

That brings up another thing to point out to Diana: the training in the industry as a whole is awful. That is why it is important to find good training, because even good training tends to be good only by industry standards, but still very much lacking.

 

[NHB_MMA]

Being captive sucks if you ask me.

It's definitely only for certain people. I think the whole point though is that it's where most people start. Diana needs someone to get her going in the industry and captive might well be the best place to start. There is no question a career shop is a better choice than an indy, unless the indy is really good and knows his stuff, and is willing to spend the time.

So basically even if you are Independent you can work with some great companies such as Mass Mutual, John Hancock, Berkley (Guardian) and if you need assistance they will help you if you just go in the office and ask for help.

True. There are some large brokerage houses that have managed to get appointments with some of the largest, strongest companies.

 

[arnguy]

Hi James,
Guardian's wholly owned subsidiary is Berkshire, not Berkley. :shock:

 

[James]

Hi James,
Guardian's wholly owned subsidiary is Berkshire, not Berkley. :shock:

LOL, yes you are correct.

 

[dsugar]

Very Nice Response...Thank you all so much.

I have two Independent agencies that are fairly large here and they start some people out on salary. It seems to be more like working captive but then they turn you loose. I have not interviewed yet to find out what they offer specifically but I do know myself and having managers set goals for me is not conducive to my productivity! I am self motivated and outside motivators don't do a thing for me. It was funny when I was selling for someone else at a job... the manager thought up a little incentive game for the weekend. They divided us into teams of 6 and the team that sold the most for the weekend won a $25.00 gas card. I am thinking to my self, they are just giving away free money to someone. A sales person is motivated to sell so they can make their living. The chance at winning a gas card that is also dependent on the other 5 people on your team is nuts. When I am selling I have my goals that I must achieve and I don't a cookie dangled in front of me to perform. If you have good sales people earning their money is motivation enough I dont need their cookies to achieve my goals.

I do need education. With the wonderful list of interview questions that John has posted here, and other things I have learned here I feel very prepared to call for an appointment with these agency owners and ask for an interview. I will ask for what is most beneficial and see what happens!

It is good to know that I can make it sooner as opposed to later if I work hard and smart from the beginning. I love to network and find myself helping others within my network so rewarding and it ends up helping me in great ways. It is so easy to network, I can't believe that more people do not take networking seriously. I would love to join BNI but their fee is so steep, I can network diligently and consistently without paying that fee.

WOW! Thanks again for all the input and your advice...

 

[RandyK72]

I've done both and you think the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes it takes just as much effort trying to make the grass at your feet a little greener first. I started with experienced family members selling MA for rebate companies and driving a few hours away. Made zilch. Needed training so immediately applied for a captive company. Applied myself, concentrated on product knowledge, and they had the tools and resources to train me. Loved the commeradery. The training agents were fantastic. Only made 1/3 of what I'd make being indy though. Also, promises of free leads petered out once I started riding with other agents and myself. That's understandable because that's when they want to get your friends and family. I was to the point of buying my own leads and if I do that I might as well get paid the other 2/3 of what I can get as an indy. Turned my key in a few hours ago, have 3 MA carriers thru the family company and am looking for individual health carriers or brokers. Probably going with NIB with Life, LTC, and Annuities. Any advice about this company and or any connections I can make for the individual health. I need the support but I can only rely on myself to figure it out. I just need the tools.

 

[Ahnuld]

Re: Very Nice Response...Thank you all so much.

I have two Independent agencies that are fairly large here and they start some people out on salary. It seems to be more like working captive but then they turn you loose. I have not interviewed yet to find out what they offer specifically but I do know myself and having managers set goals for me is not conducive to my productivity! I am self motivated and outside motivators don't do a thing for me. It was funny when I was selling for someone else at a job... the manager thought up a little incentive game for the weekend. They divided us into teams of 6 and the team that sold the most for the weekend won a $25.00 gas card. I am thinking to my self, they are just giving away free money to someone. A sales person is motivated to sell so they can make their living. The chance at winning a gas card that is also dependent on the other 5 people on your team is nuts. When I am selling I have my goals that I must achieve and I don't a cookie dangled in front of me to perform. If you have good sales people earning their money is motivation enough I dont need their cookies to achieve my goals.

I do need education. With the wonderful list of interview questions that John has posted here, and other things I have learned here I feel very prepared to call for an appointment with these agency owners and ask for an interview. I will ask for what is most beneficial and see what happens!

It is good to know that I can make it sooner as opposed to later if I work hard and smart from the beginning. I love to network and find myself helping others within my network so rewarding and it ends up helping me in great ways. It is so easy to network, I can't believe that more people do not take networking seriously. I would love to join BNI but their fee is so steep, I can network diligently and consistently without paying that fee.

WOW! Thanks again for all the input and your advice...

What you are describing here has been done before using the same team strategy to glean greater performance than possible by the sole efforts of an individual. I think it is called, "The Apprentice." This Trump guy swears by it. He seems to be doing okay, too.

 

[RandyK72]

Darn, I thought Imagrossa was going to get the hook last night.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

She's most of the ratings - Donald can't get rid of her yet - then who would watch?

 

[RandyK72]

You are correct. But how about her wanting to be PM and then backing off when "The Donald" said the PM would be held the most responsible. She threw that bus in reverse and threw Tito underneath it. Smart move on her part but she just disgusts me. Almost as much as Blahdwin. He sure doesn't act very Christian.