Mr. Duford-Final Expense Agent Mentor

[shonceman]

Having trained numerous agents myself, I can tell you that if you're being trained by a guy who's still personally producing, he's giving up a sizable amount of income to thoroughly train a green agent. So 1/3 of the commission does seem high, but not unreasonable if he's investing the amount of time and effort he indicates he's putting in. Then like someone else mentioned, a fair amount of that production is going to lapse, so the total is probably somewhat less than the 17k cited. You can get training from other IMO's, and there are some good ones posting on this forum. But the sad truth is, a lot of IMO's that claim to train agents do very little actual training. Sure, they hold webinars & have training material on their website, etc. But the level of training Mr. Duford's giving probably should cost something.

 

[jboussea]

Can we stop with the 17K?

Where are you getting that cash to pay him? I'm sure he much rather have you pay him directly. There's not guarantee he's getitng 17k .. and the way agents drop out of this business ..it's highly unlikely that he will get 17k ... furthermore

You can always decide to leave and go earn higher commissions elsewhere and you won't owe him a dime... so no you are not paying him 17k ...

The question you should be asking yourself is.. are the other higher paying places like FEX giving you comparable or better training.. and for one to know that ..they would have to have gone through both systems.

 

[shonceman]

...to know that ..they would have to have gone through both systems.

Or talk to people who have gone through either system, which I think was the motivation for the OP's original question.

 

[Salnew]

Is there anyone on this forum who's been a part of the FEAM program?

The new agent com levels are 85%-90%. After 50K production the higher level commissions of 120% are earned. This portion of his webinar was glossed through pretty quickly so I'm not sure if the commission level is across the board or not.

Retail products offered separate if not working directly with his agency.
$999 sales success course
$699 appt. setting course
$399 door knocking course
FEAM University program(unclear exactly what this is)
$25 month for a quote system
Inner Circle program -- 97$ a month(2X a month live training)

Having a mentor could be very valuable in any field -- heck even playing sports while growing up there was always room for advice, motivation, tips, tricks etc.

i have never spoken with Dave personally so i don't know if he's involved with any company on here(360, Fex, EFES etc.) - I get confused because agents promote themselves but it turns out they are in a MLM structured program.

Anyway.. 85% a fair starting point considering the training available? My main hesitation would be- he has 300+ agents working with him - how can there be enough time to devote to each rep. I realize that's where the training material comes in but.. is it worth giving up that 120-85 = 35% commission?

I work with Dave and he's been a good fit for me. I was between him and FEX contracting (Newby, Jdeasy etc) and in the end his ample youtube content pushed me towards FEAM. He's a busy guy yes but I can always seem to get ahold of him when I need to via call, text, email, facebook and youtube comments etc. I would suggest emailing him and setting up a call to talk over your concerns, If you're not feeling it with him there are several other outfits that you can research.

 

[Newby]

There is no question that if Dave or anyone else is giving personal face to face or one on one training, that is at great cost to their own production plus it greatly limits how many students they can take on since good initial training is over a period of months.

In my experience the guys who actually make it in this biz don't need that level of attention. They are self starters to begin with.
Teach them the companies underwriting
Teach them how to set appointments properly
Teachthem an effective in-home presentation
Teach them what the competition and other channels are offering (group/mail offers/banks and credit unions/funeral homes as well as other FE companies) and how to beat it.
Teach them how to work efficiently and not burn out working yourself to death.
Teach them how to handle the common objections
Teach them how to preserve business and maintain high persistency
Provide them with good lead platforms.
Provide them with tools they need such as quoters and business tracking software.
Provide a platform where they can become close friends with other successful and new agents who talk daily and meet up once or twice per year.
Provide competive products and high commissions.
And with that plus open weekly two way dialogue as a group to answer your questions you bring up as well as many you haven't even thought of yet is all that hundreds of agents have needed to get going successfully in this biz.

What agents need to decide is; how much personal time and hand holding do you need to launch and do great?

 

[bboman23]

Dave knows his stuff for sure and he seems to always be working which is great! The downsides that I see for the most part...

1. Most of his training is free on YouTube, so you can get that stuff no matter who you are with.

2. I see no point in charging an agent for training when you are cutting their comp 40% or so already. I thought the comp cut was FOR the training...

3. Selling other products (training packages, books, monthly subscriptions, etc.) is something I tell agents to be cautious of. AFLAC makes a TON of money on recruiting agents. It doesn't matter if the agent is successful or not.

One thing I like about other options (Myself, FEX, 360, etc.) is that we all make money if the agent makes a SALE. If I hire you, train you, etc. and then you bail, I make ZERO dollars. So I give you straight answers when talking to you and will tell agents in a heartbeat if I don't think they are cut out for our organization. If I was going to make a few thousand dollars even if the agent didn't sell a policy, that story might be different.

I think if an agent is local to someone and can get PHYSICAL training (coming into the office or by their house) on a regular basis, then giving up comp for that is reasonable. But with all the options out there, I don't see a point in giving up a ton of comp AND paying for the training.

My agents get step by step guidance on each topic. Personal 1on1 training by me over the phone (or in person in several instances). I have agents fly in and train with me or I have went to agents on several occasions. I also have new agents in the car with other veteran agents pretty regularly.

This is not a knock on Dave because what he does has worked for him. I went to Los Angeles a few weeks back to meet up with some of my agents and we decided to go out on a boat fishing. You paid for a ticket. Paid more if you wanted certain spots on the boat. Had to rent your bag to put the fish in. Had to buy food/drinks on the boat. Had to rent poles. Had to buy tackle from the boat. The list goes on and on. Some manager's systems are like that boat. They have several revenue streams from their agents.

It is up to the agent to decide if they are willing to invest all of that, and if they think it is worth it, then Dave is a good option.

 

[Justin Bilyj]

Do I think that the training is worth it? No. Training is becoming plentiful as vendors and IMO's struggle to differentiatee themselves. You can find everything you need to sell FE on this forum (and others), Youtube, and some other websites.

But I don't think Dave intended to sell his training as a primary focus. Here's the reasons I think he has his training priced the way it is:
1. He's sick of answering the same questions in and out all day, so he set this up to simply refer agents to. This simply saves him time that he can spend with his agents and family.
2. Some agents will simply buy the program no questions asked. He does rank for some good keywords and has some good traffic, so it's only a matter of time before X number of agents buy Y from him.
3. To add value to his mentorship/contracting so someone can rationalize the contrast between paying for his training and getting it free if you contract with him.

No training should be worth that though imo. In fact, a smart IMO could use his pricing to their advantage, by just giving away what he's offering for free. The future is inevitable, meaning all information tends towards the value of zero (free). All training is or will be offered online for free at some near point.

Some IMO's will cringe at hearing that, but frankly it doesn't matter what training an agent has, if they're not motivated then it doesn't matter. So training will only be a part of the overall success of the agent.

Also, by offering training for free, online, public - agencies/IMO can brand themselves, build authority, rank for keywords (you can monetise the traffic other ways), and show the agents how it's done (to save yourself time).

The only true differentiator an IMO will have in the future is:
1. Contract Levels
2. Lead Programs
3. Service Assistance
4. Bonuses and comp plans
Those things you cannot replicate on the web...

 

[Baseball7]

Totally disagree Justin, The best way to Vet and and then to train them is to put them in your car and give them a 12 hour show up what this is like.

 

[VolAgent]

No one will ever value your services more highly than you do yourself. If it does happen, your self-esteem and self-worth are seriously messed up.

And for those who want to bang on Dave, or really any trainer/mentor, who wants to be compensated for their time and knowledge: If a trainer or mentor's time and knowledge is of no value, then why is yours as an agent?

And I'm not talking Dave specifically here, but in general. If someone who how knows how and is able to train you has no value, then how as an agent do you have any value? You are performing much the same function for your clients.

 

[jboussea]

No one will ever value your services more highly than you do yourself. If it does happen, your self-esteem and self-worth are seriously messed up.

And for those who want to bang on Dave, or really any trainer/mentor, who wants to be compensated for their time and knowledge: If a trainer or mentor's time and knowledge is of no value, then why is yours as an agent?

And I'm not talking Dave specifically here, but in general. If someone who how knows how and is able to train you has no value, then how as an agent do you have any value? You are performing much the same function for your clients.

exactly . .the question for Dave is whether or not training these new guys is more fruitful than going out there and working on more leads. I'm sure this is more of a long term play for him .. if he has enough good agents .. later on in life he won't have to grind as much in the field. But in other to do that .. it's in his best interest to train them properly.

while the question for the OP is whether or not Dave's hands on training is worht it over the other higher commission training program that could be great but not as hands on .. you can't compare the 2 on the same playing field .. You have to assess yourself to see what kind of training is best suited for you.

I think Dave's market is mostly for newly hired agents (or other more experienced agents who value the hands on approach).