OK, I'm NEW...but I'm NOT NEW.. Need Direction/advice--Re Life-health-ann-leads

[gittarpikk]

Maybe the line below should have been my title..

There have been 120,157 posts and 8,564 threads since your last visit at 02:11 AM, 11-01-2011.

OK asking advice from you PROS on direction.

A long story / history condensed about me

1978 Met Life-agent
1979 National Life-debit
1980 Reserve National-health ins ind sales w/leads
1980-81 mixed
1982 left buiz

about 3 years ago I began preparing to reenter the business and went through all the moves ending in acquiring a life and health license in TN.

Contracted with several life and health companies and was just about to start my own agency and AT&T 'came knocking' having went through all those motions earlier.
Pay was rather weak and not what I was used to in the many years of satellite , cable installation and GPS navigation installation 'careers?' I had already been through...but it was stable in hard economic times with a gloomy future.
I had also enjoyed my work at Reserve and made good money utilizing the free lead system and a 'co-op niche' signing people up in a 'co-op group?'..but left that co due to management.

After spending 2 years at AT&T and having hurt my back and 8 mos in disability, and then attempting to return and still do the production, I was not physically able to fully 'keep up'...so am now reexamining the L&H buiz .

So much can/has happened in the buiz in nearly 3 years and not having kept track of changes takes its toll. I did , however renew my license but am aware of needing to get E&O.

My direction seems to be in the final expense and med sup areas due to having experience in it prior with probable health sales. Never sold annuities but can give it a go.

Really would rather hook up with brokers/companies that can give me more personal attention as to direction rather than setting up a higher commission agency and me having to dive in with little current experience. Not keen on 'captive' companies...but they are available if I want to go that direction.

Leads, I realize , are paramount in todays marketing methods but I love to work referrals once I get going well...coming from an 'older school' way of working the insurance buiz.

Am looking at possibly purchasing an ipad or 10 droid/google pad to do possible phone work/remote desktop sales work (ie Mikogo)... but if it can be done with my netbook and/or xp vpn server and a cell phone (Blackberry available if I activate it) I will just utilize that.

I'm in East TN area near Knoxville. Times are tough around here, but its still holding together.

All that said... maybe you pros can add advice/direction or even PM me if needed. I can make these decisions myself, after maybe gleening what I can over the next few weeks on these forums, but maybe someone has the 'majic bullet' for me. and can save me some time/money and grief.

 

[medsuptage]

Get a Mentor( General Agent) in the line you want. Aka, someone that actually has a financial incentive to help you be successful. For that, be willing to give up some comp, it will be worth it.

Either go full med supps, or FE. You can cross sell of course, but make one your focus.

Get yourself some cold leads or aged leads and get on the phone. It's a waste to buy leads until you consider yourself really good, and well versed. If your not, the agent that is, will call that lead and steal your business.

That mentor is going to really help you in developing your sales ability in determining, when and how to say things, what to do when. This is something you're not going to find on the forms.

 

[gittarpikk]

Hi Med

Thanks for the info/suggestion. I hope to get more. For me , it would be a hard decision which to focus on one as I have had experience in both and like both sales atmopheres...however The FE buiz is somewhat simpler than Med Sup.

So many things have changed with Med Sup ; even at the time I was studying for the exam (3 years ago), the changes were coming fast and things were getting more complicated.

In order to sell the med sups now, I would want to be really versed and up-to-date in the program so that I offer good, accurate/current info to my clients.

Scares me to think about it, but it may be better for me to go the captive agent route for at least a while til I build up my knowledge and confidence ....this way I would automatically get the needed mentor.
First thing though, most captive companies want is your 'friends and family' list on paper so they can keep them in their file should you leave.
That is not my idea of the way things are done although I realize that is the way they train new agents to work a lead. Since I would start only with 'bought' leads, that method would not be applicable to what I will be doing.

Anyone have any suggestions on the mentor...or finding one/two/three?