Need Advice - Considering Career As Insurance Sales Agent

[ASINS]

Okay, here is my current situation. I was recently laid off from a supply chain services company. I enjoyed the job and I'm sorry I had to go. I have found employment at Amazon as a "Fulfillment Associate." However, I have to wait a few months before starting this position as the fulfillment center hasn't actually been completed yet. In the meantime I am still looking into other opportunities. I have received offers from two insurance companies [Colonial Life and Farmers] and I am considering taking one of these opportunities.

A little more information on me:

1.I have little to no experience in Sales. My education background is in Engineering with my work experience being in Quality Control/Assurance.
2.I have an introverted personality but I feel confident that given the right training I could gain the skills I need to succeed. In fact, one of the reasons, I am considering this path, is that it would improve my communication and interpersonal skills.
3.My financial resources are very limited right now. So it will be very difficult to get together any initial seed money before commissions start coming.
4.Most of my work experience has been in the manufacturing industry. I am thinking about this move because manufacturing seems volatile whereas insurance is more "recession-proof."

For those of you who have experience in sales or the insurance industry, what advice would you give to a newbie? Is is worth the risk? What are my chances of success?

 

[1963]

ASINS, in the insurance industry, success takes full commitment. How committed are you; you mentioned doing insurance while waiting for the fulfillment center to be completed. If that means you only plan to do insurance on a part-time basis, it probably will not suffice. The two offers you have may be viable as career moves. If your heart isn't in it, you are wasting your time.

My advice to newbies:
Go with a company that provides training for the first couple of years. This allows you to educate yourself on the different products and gain experience in the process. Many agents have said they found their success in a particular product. It is worth the risk if it is what you want and are willing to work for it.

 

[Josh]

IF your background is in engineering and you're really an engineer, selling insurance is a terrible idea.

 

[scagnt83]

IF your background is in engineering and you're really an engineer, selling insurance is a terrible idea.

I would disagree. One of the most successful life insurance agents in my region is an engineer. His original career was an electrical engineer. Now he is pulling in around $300,000 per year selling life insurance and long-term care insurance.

 

[Thad.Sipple]

I would disagree. One of the most successful life insurance agents in my region is an engineer. His original career was an electrical engineer. Now he is pulling in around $300,000 per year selling life insurance and long-term care insurance.

I would think Josh was generalizing.

 

[scagnt83]

I would think Josh was generalizing.

I realize that. But I still disagree even with the generalization.

In my experience, Engineers do extremely well in this field if they pick a niche and stick to it. They usually tend to do well with the more technical aspects of insurance as opposed to the more transactional type lines.

 

[Josh]

I realize that. But I still disagree even with the generalization.

In my experience, Engineers do extremely well in this field if they pick a niche and stick to it. They usually tend to do well with the more technical aspects of insurance as opposed to the more transactional type lines.

I would contend that the reason they would be doing well is because they weren't really the engineer type. If you're talking about retirement planning and getting into mechanics of things, sure, but as far as general sales people go, they don't usually have the wiring for it.

 

[kgmom219]

Engineers are not Sales People.

Sales people are not Engineers.

Very few cross this line and when they do, their engineering careers skyrocket.

BUT, I know 2 engineers (1EE, 1 mechanical) who worked as engineers for 20 years and just got tired if it and moved into financial planning. Both did extremely well, right away.

They can't sell to save their life. What they CAN do is contact all their engineer friends (who all make 100K+) and do their financial plans, while speaking "Engineer".

They have admins to deal with the other aspects.

So Josh, I agree with the personality comment, but they can do financial planning

 

[DHK]

I think it may greatly depend on the type of insurance the engineering type is doing.

If they are selling supplemental health, or FE, I think they'll grow bored of it quite quickly.

If they are doing more financial, retirement, and business planning, I think they'll do rather well... AS LONG AS they can take complex concepts and convey them into simple terms.

Engineers are notorious for taking something simple and making it more complex. Finances can already be complex, and people what advisors & planners to make them simple. It's okay to be analytical, just don't be that analytical and use jargon in front of the client. Keep it simple.

If clients can't understand what you're saying, if you try to "impress" them with how much you think you know, then a confused mind will never buy.


This also means that the engineer will need a solid communication training program. It's not enough to learn about the product in and out, but how to convey it in simple terms. As I do on most other posts, I'd recommend the Insurance Pro Shop to learn how to communicate these things.

I would start with the $35/month membership site and watch the online training videos. You can buy their systems later.
http://www.insuranceproshop.com/insurancemarketing/insurancemarketing.html

 

[scagnt83]

I would contend that the reason they would be doing well is because they weren't really the engineer type. If you're talking about retirement planning and getting into mechanics of things, sure, but as far as general sales people go, they don't usually have the wiring for it.

That's why I said they should stay away from transactional type sales. Engineers are consultants by trade. They do best in the financial industry when they take on more of a consulting or advisor role and not a sales person type roll. That means products such as annuities or long-term care insurance or advanced life insurance planning. An engineer getting into Final Expense or Med supp's would likely be a disaster. I have seen plenty of them fail trying to sell stuff like that. But when they choose an area of focus that lends itself to more of a consultative approach, they often end up doing well in my experience.

I agree that Engineers are usually not the best sales people generally speaking. But they can find niche areas within the insurance industry that fit their skill-set and mindset well.