- 25,990
Ninety-Two Percent of All Agents Fail - Why?
- Thread starter JacquesWerth
- Start date
- 4,743
Ditto
On individual health ins, I sell 100% over the telephone, and, in my office. I only travel for group.
Don't knock the agents that are just selling, with no product or company knowledge, if it weren't for them, it wouldn't be so easy for us to make a living.
I speak to prospective clients, almost weekly, that have been lied to so severely by agents that the agents are lucky that they haven't been reported. In some cases I'm not certain that they were lying, possibly just ignorant.
- 7,066
A point well taken.
Agents tell me that their area is full of agents marketing to seniors and are worried about there being so much competition. My answer to them is that all of those agents have contributed greatly to my success. God Bless them.
I think mostly it is a total lack of knowledge and training as well as the lack of motivation to search it out. Is it ignorance, ego, just being lazy or a combination of all three?
What ever it is, you are right, it makes our job a lot easier.
- 131
Put a plan together. Work hard. Tweak plan. Work hard. 
- 25,990
Good point. Let's also give a big thumbs up to the sell um and leave um guys.
I should clarify, flip flop is my footwear, not due to my choice of underwear
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" as "underwear" agents" I loved that. I guess that makes me a Flip Flop agent.
I should clarify, flip flop is my footwear, not due to my choice of underwear
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- Thread starter
- #119
JacquesWerth
Expert
Could it be that the industry stacks the deck?
Have you ever considered the fact that insurance companies and their agencies don't know how to train agents to sell? So, their commission schedules are designed to reward agency managers on the turnover of failed agents. Those agents stay just long enough to cherry-pick their "natural markets."
Some agency managers make a lot of money by assigning the orphans and the residuals, to their friends, when agents leave. Those friends are the agents who never prospect, but make a lot of money.
If you are surviving in that system, you probably taught yourself to sell, and you have to be good at what you do!
Have you ever considered the fact that insurance companies and their agencies don't know how to train agents to sell? So, their commission schedules are designed to reward agency managers on the turnover of failed agents. Those agents stay just long enough to cherry-pick their "natural markets."
Some agency managers make a lot of money by assigning the orphans and the residuals, to their friends, when agents leave. Those friends are the agents who never prospect, but make a lot of money.
If you are surviving in that system, you probably taught yourself to sell, and you have to be good at what you do!
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Ten-Step Plan to Guarantee Failure in the Insurance Profession:
1. Don't have at least one year of income set aside when you begin. This will motivate you to try to cram every prospect into products that make you the most money fast, regardless of whether it is in their best interest. Imagine how many lives you can damage!
2. Have no marketing plan aside from buying leads & cold calling. Expect people to immediately call you instead of a more qualified & experienced professional just because you're so wonderful. Don't waste time becoming well-known in your community as an insurance expert and resource, people don't care about that.
3. Start independent, so that you don't have to worry about the hassle of product training, marketing, broad product/industry knowledge, laws & regulations, or where your products fit in your client's overall picture.
4. If you do start with a specific insurer, be sure to ignore the ideas and guidance provided by your manager. It's not like they know anything. Take it easy, be sure to watch afternoon talk shows instead instead of doing the dirty work.
5. Do nothing to increase your expertise in the industry. Let your competition get credentials like CLU, ChFC, RHU. They're just letters, you don't actually learn anything in those classes. It's not like your competition will use that knowledge to take away business from you.
6. Commit to always finding a reason not to put out effort. Be able to tell yourself and/or your manager why something can't be done. Great way to pile up the business.
7. If you get more than one or two objections in a sales presentation, give up. It's hopeless. Similarly, if you get more than one or two "no's" during a day, quit for the day and see what's on HBO.
8. Assume that your sales presentation skills are world-class, and don't worry about trying to improve them. If a prospect doesn't buy, you certainly shouldn't blame yourself. It's their fault, you never had a chance.
9. Be sure to avoid dealing with your client's questions and service problems. Take at least three days to return calls, take at least seven days to call with bad news. It's not like good customer service is good marketing, it's a big pain. It's not as if you can build a successful book of business from referrals sent to you by satisfied and happy clients.
10. Very important -- When your insurance career starts tanking in a few weeks or months, don't blame yourself. It will definitely be someone else's fault. And don't look back in regret that you spent so many hours watching TV in the middle of the day or cruising the net. Those successful agents just got lucky, they didn't work hard to earn their success.
There. I'll guess I just described about 60% to 70% of people who think they'll jump into this industry and clean up.
...
1. Don't have at least one year of income set aside when you begin. This will motivate you to try to cram every prospect into products that make you the most money fast, regardless of whether it is in their best interest. Imagine how many lives you can damage!
2. Have no marketing plan aside from buying leads & cold calling. Expect people to immediately call you instead of a more qualified & experienced professional just because you're so wonderful. Don't waste time becoming well-known in your community as an insurance expert and resource, people don't care about that.
3. Start independent, so that you don't have to worry about the hassle of product training, marketing, broad product/industry knowledge, laws & regulations, or where your products fit in your client's overall picture.
4. If you do start with a specific insurer, be sure to ignore the ideas and guidance provided by your manager. It's not like they know anything. Take it easy, be sure to watch afternoon talk shows instead instead of doing the dirty work.
5. Do nothing to increase your expertise in the industry. Let your competition get credentials like CLU, ChFC, RHU. They're just letters, you don't actually learn anything in those classes. It's not like your competition will use that knowledge to take away business from you.
6. Commit to always finding a reason not to put out effort. Be able to tell yourself and/or your manager why something can't be done. Great way to pile up the business.
7. If you get more than one or two objections in a sales presentation, give up. It's hopeless. Similarly, if you get more than one or two "no's" during a day, quit for the day and see what's on HBO.
8. Assume that your sales presentation skills are world-class, and don't worry about trying to improve them. If a prospect doesn't buy, you certainly shouldn't blame yourself. It's their fault, you never had a chance.
9. Be sure to avoid dealing with your client's questions and service problems. Take at least three days to return calls, take at least seven days to call with bad news. It's not like good customer service is good marketing, it's a big pain. It's not as if you can build a successful book of business from referrals sent to you by satisfied and happy clients.
10. Very important -- When your insurance career starts tanking in a few weeks or months, don't blame yourself. It will definitely be someone else's fault. And don't look back in regret that you spent so many hours watching TV in the middle of the day or cruising the net. Those successful agents just got lucky, they didn't work hard to earn their success.
There. I'll guess I just described about 60% to 70% of people who think they'll jump into this industry and clean up.
...
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