Just Another Newbie Seeking Advice

MaxBenefits

New Member
Just seeking some friendly advice.
I am a newly licensed independent 2-15 in Florida and have been REALLY struggling with open enrollment. Due to my own ignorance I jumped into an empty pool head first by spending too much capital on leads and calling out for ACA enrollment. I became independent at the behest of a family friend who has been in the business a good while and seems to be successful. This "mentor" was going to guide me through the obstacles and help me at every turn and I was naive enough to believe him and now I cant even get a returned call. Now that UnitedHealth has stopped their advances (which I was desperately counting on) I find myself broke, frustrated, overwhelmed, confused, and stuck with a batch of leads I can't close.
I have decided to post my resume and have gotten feedback from some Agencies here in SWFL. New York Life seems to be aggressively recruiting and I am considering going with them. I have already gone through the first interview, the information session and am awaiting the second interview. The recruiter is promising things I know cant be true (you will make 80k your first year no problem!). I understand at the end of the day this is a cut throat industry and you either sell or sink. Right now I am sinking at a rapid pace, depleting my funds, and am desperate to find my niche so I can be properly trained and perform at a level I know I am capable of.
This isnt a pity party by any means. I know what I did wrong I just dont know how to fix it.
I can sell, im confident in that. I want to move out of health and all that comes with ACA and focus more on Life. Does anyone recommend New York Life as a good place to start or are there any others I should be looking to get contracted with here in FL? Should I hold on to hope and keep on independently? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
You will get more responses if you use paragraphs. I stopped reading two lines in...;)
 
I want to move out of health and all that comes with ACA and focus more on Life. Does anyone recommend New York Life as a good place to start or are there any others I should be looking to get contracted with here in FL? Should I hold on to hope and keep on independently? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

DHK is the forum expert on NYL and other career shops.

Final Expense is also an option.
 
Just seeking some friendly advice. I am a newly licensed independent 2-15 in Florida and have been REALLY struggling with open enrollment. Due to my own ignorance I jumped into an empty pool head first by spending too much capital on leads and calling out for ACA enrollment. I became independent at the behest of a family friend who has been in the business a good while and seems to be successful. This "mentor" was going to guide me through the obstacles and help me at every turn and I was naive enough to believe him and now I cant even get a returned call. Now that UnitedHealth has stopped their advances (which I was desperately counting on) I find myself broke, frustrated, overwhelmed, confused, and stuck with a batch of leads I can't close. I have decided to post my resume and have gotten feedback from some Agencies here in SWFL. New York Life seems to be aggressively recruiting and I am considering going with them. I have already gone through the first interview, the information session and am awaiting the second interview. The recruiter is promising things I know cant be true (you will make 80k your first year no problem!). I understand at the end of the day this is a cut throat industry and you either sell or sink. Right now I am sinking at a rapid pace, depleting my funds, and am desperate to find my niche so I can be properly trained and perform at a level I know I am capable of. This isnt a pity party by any means. I know what I did wrong I just dont know how to fix it. I can sell, im confident in that. I want to move out of health and all that comes with ACA and focus more on Life. Does anyone recommend New York Life as a good place to start or are there any others I should be looking to get contracted with here in FL? Should I hold on to hope and keep on independently? Any advice is greatly appreciated.



I got my start in the life insurance biz a decade ago at NYL. I Started w/ 16 or 17 other newbies in my rookie class. I was the last man standing at around 14 months. I won all kinds of trophies, awards and a trip to Disney World my first year with NYL. At the end of all that fluff I didn't make 80K my first year there.


So my FIRST HAND experience tells me that recruiter is FOS.
 
Just seeking some friendly advice.
I am a newly licensed independent 2-15 in Florida and have been REALLY struggling with open enrollment. Due to my own ignorance I jumped into an empty pool head first by spending too much capital on leads and calling out for ACA enrollment. I became independent at the behest of a family friend who has been in the business a good while and seems to be successful. This "mentor" was going to guide me through the obstacles and help me at every turn and I was naive enough to believe him and now I cant even get a returned call. Now that UnitedHealth has stopped their advances (which I was desperately counting on) I find myself broke, frustrated, overwhelmed, confused, and stuck with a batch of leads I can't close.
I have decided to post my resume and have gotten feedback from some Agencies here in SWFL. New York Life seems to be aggressively recruiting and I am considering going with them. I have already gone through the first interview, the information session and am awaiting the second interview. The recruiter is promising things I know cant be true (you will make 80k your first year no problem!). I understand at the end of the day this is a cut throat industry and you either sell or sink. Right now I am sinking at a rapid pace, depleting my funds, and am desperate to find my niche so I can be properly trained and perform at a level I know I am capable of.
This isnt a pity party by any means. I know what I did wrong I just dont know how to fix it.
I can sell, im confident in that. I want to move out of health and all that comes with ACA and focus more on Life. Does anyone recommend New York Life as a good place to start or are there any others I should be looking to get contracted with here in FL? Should I hold on to hope and keep on independently? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

My first bit of advice for you is this: NEVER make a long-term business decision based out of short-term desperation. Just because a firm is "hiring" (they're always hiring) doesn't mean it's the best move for you.

What I would be looking for, based on your current situation, is where you can use your transferable skills to market a new product line to a massive market.

NYL and most of the other career agencies (Mass, NWM, Guardian, etc.) will teach you more of a planning approach to insurance sales, rather than a present, qualify, and price model. Nothing wrong with that... except it has a LONGER learning curve... and will end up requiring 'joint work' and splitting your case with another agent.

If I were in your spot right now, I'd go into the Final Expense forum and ask a lot of questions (and use the search function). I'd start there and earn a much higher rate on your sales in a massive market with a shorter learning curve.

If you want to get into the family financial planning &/or mortgage insurance market... I'd look at the training provided through the Insurance Pro Shop. Their members only site is currently $25/month (going up to $35/month in January). http://www.insuranceproshop.com/insurancemarketing/insurancemarketing.html

If you wanted to look into a career shop... the one I'd recommend would be either MassMutual or Guardian... because they'll let you sell other company's products alongside theirs. This means you can continue to sell final expense insurance and then move into the family financial planning &/or mortgage insurance markets with little interruption in your income.

Just my thoughts.
 
Hi,

I'm new as well. I was wondering if I have to terminate my license if I am traveling abroad for a few months, or can I still make sells while abroad and keep my license. I know I don't have a problem state to state, but im not informed on being abroad and still trying to work with clients in the States.
 
Hi,

I'm new as well. I was wondering if I have to terminate my license if I am traveling abroad for a few months, or can I still make sells while abroad and keep my license. I know I don't have a problem state to state, but im not informed on being abroad and still trying to work with clients in the States.

Is your residence changing during this time?
 
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