Question for Experienced Insurance Agents

[Josh]

When your back is against the wall do not outsource the single most important thing in your world...lead generation. If you're unwilling to do this on your own, quit now.

Exactly!

If you were used to a stead income and job, then this might be a rough transition. Any chance you'd want to go back to what you've been doing before?

 

[Newby]

I would always look at an straight commission job as going into business for yourself.
Anyone would be very misguided to go into any business without money to live on and Capitol for their business expenses for the first 6 months.

 

[lifesales2009]

Wow, a lot of feedback and it is much appreciated. It seems that I am not a total "loser" afterall. I'll be honest I was hesitant to jump into this business, realizing that it's just like starting a business anywhere else (where capital is needed), but the promise of 12k capital pushed me to make the jump quicker. Fortuneatley, I have a great friend who has his own State Farm Agency that has offered me a salaried position of 60k as long as I can sell "x" amount of insurance. He has a large book of current clients and with such a salary, I would be able to pay my monthly bills and save about $1,200 a month toward capital for my next attempt at running a business. So from everyone's advice here, it seems like going this route would be a no brainer. Going back to my original position is always an option, but I want to stay "seasoned" so to speak, and continue actively selling so that my next attempt at running my own business will be a smoother transition. What would some of you do if you were in my shoes?
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Fast starts are mostly a mess of crap. Why General Agents, IMOs, and management style agencies still tout this lie is beyond me.

They tell you all about being an entreprenuer and being a business owner so all the elements of that come with it, hard work, loads of self responsibility, freedom, high earnings potential, etc. But for some reason the insurance industry is magically different and the slow build up to a successful business that every other business owner experiences is supposed to be non existant in the insurance world...yeah right.

You have experience as an underwriter, so you can claim a background in the industry, and I can pretty much guarantee that only a handful of people care. You are one of many, and the fact is you have to fight, kick, and scream to get clients.

I've seen people get their fast start, and then fail miserably and leave. I've seen people never take off, get discouraged and leave. I've had my ups and downs, but it's all about hanging on. It's a game of endurance in my opinion, like all new businesses.

But back to your original question, I had a sum of money saved when I got in, not nearly enough to be what I considered comfortable. You'll likely get your butt kicked a time or two, your credit score might take a few hits, and you'll likely learn some humility along the way.

You can blame the economy when you screw up, I do.

But I will leave you with a last bit of advice I got from someone much older than I and who has been in the industry longer than I. This is not a get rich quick scheme, it's a get rich really really slowly scheme. If you have money woes prior to getting in, this may be a really bad idea.


The failure rate is high, because those who recruit lie, a lot. The industry has an extremely high turnoever rate, and yet it still manages to make money; there's a reason for that.

Great point! Running this business is the same as running any business - capital is always vital. I posted a reply, what do you think about the opportunity before me?

 

[LGilmore]

"has offered me a salaried position of 60k as long as I can sell "x" amount of insurance."

You should realize that X amount is a very large amount don't you? It may be a very tough nut to crack especially if you have to use state farm products.

I know of many P&C agencies that burn through life agents. It's like oil and water.

If you go to work for the guy realize it may just be a month or two. If he's offering five grand a month upfront, he's expecting you to produce 7500-10,000 in commissions a month.

Good luck.

 

[lifesales2009]

"has offered me a salaried position of 60k as long as I can sell "x" amount of insurance."

You should realize that X amount is a very large amount don't you? It may be a very tough nut to crack especially if you have to use state farm products.

I know of many P&C agencies that burn through life agents. It's like oil and water.

If you go to work for the guy realize it may just be a month or two. If he's offering five grand a month upfront, he's expecting you to produce 7500-10,000 in commissions a month.

Good luck.

Actually only 4500 in commissions and about 1000 in commissions with commercial insurance