My personal experience with Aflac

[hodaka1974]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Besides English being a second language for you, you are stupid. What a pea brain to take umbrage about my observation regarding the huge cancer insurance market that AFLAC has in Japan. There was absolutely nothing negative about that. Wouldn't a company selling flood insurance insurance sell their product in areas where flooding is a possibility? AFLAC's marketing in Japan is clever marketing----seeing an opportunity and seizing upon it. There is nothing wrong with that. You don't think that in a country that has experienced radiation first-hand that the inhabitants would be amenable to purchasing cancer insurance? If you don't, your dumber that I thought you are. If you want to vent your spleen in defense of the duck, you should proceed to "Ripoffreport.com" where you can defend AFLAC against the multitude of negative post contained therein.

Your screen name suits you well.. As for the ripoff site, just type any company name in and see. You still have not told me what compaines you write for, yet feel compelled to blast AFLAC.

And what is wrong with english being a second language? again by your implusible wording you make insults and do not even recognize it. And you call me "stupid".

 

[InsSalesIsNotForEveryone]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Guys, this thread has derailed into a "nanny nanny boo boo, I hate yoo ooo" grammar school pissing match. There's no need to personally insult anyone here. If honda likes Aflac, awesome. Most of us, myself included, don't.

If you're experiences with Aflac were similar to mine, there's really no need to get in arguments or insult anyone, because your experiences should speak for themselves. The Aflac managers who hired me were purposely deceitful in what they told me while trying to convince me to work for them. The scripts I was given to use were purposely deceitful by telling prospective business owners outright lies. You're taught to be evasive and misleading in the entire process of approaching businesses.

When I asked about the lying and if they thought that was ethical, they laughed about it. And said what amounted to "so what?"

How am I to trust a company that promises me the sky, while they themselves are wading knee deep in dirt?

 

[arnguy]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Your screen name suits you well.. As for the ripoff site, just type any company name in and see. You still have not told me what compaines you write for, yet feel compelled to blast AFLAC.

And what is wrong with english being a second language? again by your implusible wording you make insults and do not even recognize it. And you call me "stupid".

I have not blasted AFLAC. To reiterate, I made an observation that is more complimentary than anything else regarding AFLAC's presence in Japan. Furthermore, some of my best friends write for AFLAC. I have typed in a number of companies on "Ripoff Report" and most have come up "clean." There is nothing wrong with English (notice the capitalization) being a second language if you are not a natural born U.S. citizen. May I ask the country of your birth? BTW, WTF is the word "implusible?" Anyway, I was not the one who asked you what companies you write for and I couldn't care less. Thus, the companies I write for are none of your damn business.

I suggest you go play in the sandbox with your pal PrePaid Legal.

 

[hodaka1974]

Re: Working for Aflac?

I have not blasted AFLAC. To reiterate, I made an observation that is more complimentary than anything else regarding AFLAC's presence in Japan. Furthermore, some of my best friends write for AFLAC. I have typed in a number of companies on "Ripoff Report" and most have come up "clean." There is nothing wrong with English (notice the capitalization) being a second language if you are not a natural born U.S. citizen. May I ask the country of your birth? BTW, WTF is the word "implusible?" Anyway, I was not the one who asked you what companies you write for and I couldn't care less. Thus, the companies I write for are none of your damn business.

I suggest you go play in the sandbox with your pal PrePaid Legal.

stay in yo' shoes arnguy!!!

"implausible" I know adding the letter "a" to that word was a real task for a venerable wordsmith like your self...
guess I need a new key board hehe the letter a is sticky at times...

waht else you got tuff guy??

 

[hodaka1974]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Guys, this thread has derailed into a "nanny nanny boo boo, I hate yoo ooo" grammar school pissing match. There's no need to personally insult anyone here. If honda likes Aflac, awesome. Most of us, myself included, don't.

If you're experiences with Aflac were similar to mine, there's really no need to get in arguments or insult anyone, because your experiences should speak for themselves. The Aflac managers who hired me were purposely deceitful in what they told me while trying to convince me to work for them. The scripts I was given to use were purposely deceitful by telling prospective business owners outright lies. You're taught to be evasive and misleading in the entire process of approaching businesses.

When I asked about the lying and if they thought that was ethical, they laughed about it. And said what amounted to "so what?"

How am I to trust a company that promises me the sky, while they themselves are wading knee deep in dirt?

Honda?? thems figthing words LOL

 

[Pre-Paid Legal]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Honda?? thems figthing words LOL

I like my Honda,whats the prob.Got a fin on it that makes it go faster.

 

[InsSalesIsNotForEveryone]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Honda?? thems figthing words LOL

Lol, I just noticed that. Sorry.

 

[DaddyRabbit]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Wow! Cant believe I just waded through 265 posts on this thread. But what started out as a quest for info on AFLAC turned into a surprisingly amusing display of childish rants. But ultimately I feel I got some valuable info here.

After 60 days in the insurance biz with AFLAC I've come to agree with several of the opinions posted here, both pros and cons. So I've compiled a list of "What I Think I Know", "Things I Know I Dont Know", and "Questions About My True Character".

1) Was I a sheep when I accepted a position with AFLAC? Definitely! Big name company, promise of big bucks, great industry. I remember after the "interview" that the RSC did not even look at my resume. I left thinking "that was easy, something doesnt feel right". Their critieria to join is a heartbeat and a car. And now I get the feeling that AFLAC agents are generally considered the fodder of the industry.

2) Is AFLAC's sales strategy antiquated, inefficient, and demoralizing? Absolutely. First let me say I HATE cold calling. But when you're the umpteenth AFLAC agent to call on a biz you do get that loser feeling and it does make me feel desperate and it is waste of time (and GAS).

This is my big "character" question. Is this what it takes to sell insurance and do I have it? I got onto Rumbauskas' site and can so relate to his message (No Cold Calling). But I'm always skeptical, is he just exploiting a common fear just to sell some product? Is there no way around cold calling? Or is this the new information age method of prospecting?

3) I dont like the deception in the call qualifying(I'm starting a new business...blah, blah, blah). The light went off from earlier post when someone pointed out that they urge you to never say who you're with because you will immediately be hung up on. There's this overriding feeling of "Sleazy Insurance Salesman". Deceptive, disingenuous(sp?). If I cant confidently say who I represent then what does that say? The scripts are so wacked. They may have worked on a uneducated consumer before but I dont believe they work now. Therefore, I insure that they do not work for me. Catch22.

4) Is the training weak? Yea! Role playing, scripts. Nothing about target prospects, how to position your product and strategy based on what the customer does or does not have in place, just the same scripts. Nothing about prospecting, cold calling, qualifying. Its just all about the "numbers". Knock on 10 doors, get 1 appointment, do 3 appointments, get 1 sale. Avg. AP=$7500 or about $3000 upfront commission. If it really worked that way I'd be sitting pretty. And maybe it does work that way for veteran agents. Or maybe I dont have it. I dont know. It seems that it takes a lot more than 10 doors to get an appointment and avg. AP's are well below $7500, especially when targeting small biz with 3,5,10 employees and also if they are low income wage earners. Anything more worthwhile to target are much harder to get to.

So it makes me think that the reason they want to target EVERY BIZ ON THE PLANET and the reason for SO MANY AGENTS is to catch every possible crumb thats out there, regardless of how insignificant they are or how much effort vs. reward is involved to close and enroll, is because when the 95% of agents eventually fall out the DSC's get that account even it was only 1 or 2. There's no downside to putting 1000 agents per square mile on the ground.

I think people like Hodaka defend AFLAC because it does seem to fit well into a portfolio of products. But when its your only arrow in the quiver you are limited. AGain, I dont disagree there are people out there making it work. I just think its hard for a brand new agent to start off with this type of sales strategy. In fact, I might be inclined to say those people may be exceptional and could probably be successful at any sales job. I know I'm pretty good at certain things like people skills, understanding biz needs, integrity, work ethic, service. But there's a certain grit needed to do the AFLAC model. Not sure I have that.

UNLESS, I can do it with Rumbauskas' method of prospecting. But one thing I do know is that I dont know enough about this industry to know if I'm kidding myself or maybe he's onto to something.

The concensus seems to be that there are better places to be to sell insurance. I hate to give up anything after only 60 days. But I gotta make a paycheck. Since I've got my license I've received some offers for interviews with Colonial, Hartford, AIG, NAA, Primerica, and a handful of others. So I will give them a look. Wish I had found this site back in Feb.

DR
in TX

 

[theinuranceguy]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Wow! Cant believe I just waded through 265 posts on this thread. But what started out as a quest for info on AFLAC turned into a surprisingly amusing display of childish rants. But ultimately I feel I got some valuable info here.

After 60 days in the insurance biz with AFLAC I've come to agree with several of the opinions posted here, both pros and cons. So I've compiled a list of "What I Think I Know", "Things I Know I Dont Know", and "Questions About My True Character".

1) Was I a sheep when I accepted a position with AFLAC? Definitely! Big name company, promise of big bucks, great industry. I remember after the "interview" that the RSC did not even look at my resume. I left thinking "that was easy, something doesnt feel right". Their critieria to join is a heartbeat and a car. And now I get the feeling that AFLAC agents are generally considered the fodder of the industry.

2) Is AFLAC's sales strategy antiquated, inefficient, and demoralizing? Absolutely. First let me say I HATE cold calling. But when you're the umpteenth AFLAC agent to call on a biz you do get that loser feeling and it does make me feel desperate and it is waste of time (and GAS).

This is my big "character" question. Is this what it takes to sell insurance and do I have it? I got onto Rumbauskas' site and can so relate to his message (No Cold Calling). But I'm always skeptical, is he just exploiting a common fear just to sell some product? Is there no way around cold calling? Or is this the new information age method of prospecting?

3) I dont like the deception in the call qualifying(I'm starting a new business...blah, blah, blah). The light went off from earlier post when someone pointed out that they urge you to never say who you're with because you will immediately be hung up on. There's this overriding feeling of "Sleazy Insurance Salesman". Deceptive, disingenuous(sp?). If I cant confidently say who I represent then what does that say? The scripts are so wacked. They may have worked on a uneducated consumer before but I dont believe they work now. Therefore, I insure that they do not work for me. Catch22.

4) Is the training weak? Yea! Role playing, scripts. Nothing about target prospects, how to position your product and strategy based on what the customer does or does not have in place, just the same scripts. Nothing about prospecting, cold calling, qualifying. Its just all about the "numbers". Knock on 10 doors, get 1 appointment, do 3 appointments, get 1 sale. Avg. AP=$7500 or about $3000 upfront commission. If it really worked that way I'd be sitting pretty. And maybe it does work that way for veteran agents. Or maybe I dont have it. I dont know. It seems that it takes a lot more than 10 doors to get an appointment and avg. AP's are well below $7500, especially when targeting small biz with 3,5,10 employees and also if they are low income wage earners. Anything more worthwhile to target are much harder to get to.

So it makes me think that the reason they want to target EVERY BIZ ON THE PLANET and the reason for SO MANY AGENTS is to catch every possible crumb thats out there, regardless of how insignificant they are or how much effort vs. reward is involved to close and enroll, is because when the 95% of agents eventually fall out the DSC's get that account even it was only 1 or 2. There's no downside to putting 1000 agents per square mile on the ground.

I think people like Hodaka defend AFLAC because it does seem to fit well into a portfolio of products. But when its your only arrow in the quiver you are limited. AGain, I dont disagree there are people out there making it work. I just think its hard for a brand new agent to start off with this type of sales strategy. In fact, I might be inclined to say those people may be exceptional and could probably be successful at any sales job. I know I'm pretty good at certain things like people skills, understanding biz needs, integrity, work ethic, service. But there's a certain grit needed to do the AFLAC model. Not sure I have that.

UNLESS, I can do it with Rumbauskas' method of prospecting. But one thing I do know is that I dont know enough about this industry to know if I'm kidding myself or maybe he's onto to something.

The concensus seems to be that there are better places to be to sell insurance. I hate to give up anything after only 60 days. But I gotta make a paycheck. Since I've got my license I've received some offers for interviews with Colonial, Hartford, AIG, NAA, Primerica, and a handful of others. So I will give them a look. Wish I had found this site back in Feb.

DR
in TX

Great post, Im glad we can keep you entertained, lol...

One word of advice... Stay away from NAA and Primerica...

 

[2fast]

Re: Working for Aflac?

Great write up. I get the impression that AFLAC structures their approach to get free leads from their high agent turnover.