Question (newer agent here)

[shonceman]

Think of funeral homes just like hotels. In every town you have your red roof inn you also have year Hampton inn and then you have your Hiltons. They all know each other's prices it's no surprise that the red roof inn is the cheapest the Hampton is in the middle and the Hilton is more expensive.

So if someone actually had CFSC call around and shop the funeral homes they're going to figure out which one is cheaper which most families if they live in that town already know. But if you think they're going to call the Hilton and tell them they get the price for red roof Inn on the want them to match it you're going to get laughed at.

As far as getting caskets cheaper? Back a couple of decades ago the laws were passed that funeral homes have to accept caskets from anywhere. Prior to that most of the profit was built into the casket because it was a tangible item and that's just the way they did it. But funeral homes adapted 20 years or more ago to service-based pricing rather than merchandise-based pricing. Which basically means they mark their service charges up much higher and lowered their merchandise prices down to much lower margins than what they used to be in the past. They still prefer to sell their own caskets but it's not a big deal if a family brings in their own because the majority of the profit is in the cost of the services not the merchandise.

You as a good agent can do much more for your families than FCSC ever could. In the first thing that you could do is to get them more coverage for what they're paying. It makes no sense to tell them you're going to save them on their funeral costs but then charge them 25 to 30% more for their insurance.

And I read earlier your post about you were attracted that Lincoln would finance your charge back debts for you. That would be the worst move you ever made to go into debt to that company or really any company. Do not let anyone finance your debts in the insurance business. Take care of them immediately stay out of debt.

This is all very good info. Excellent post!

As far as leads go, if you don't have money to buy leads, then you should wait until you have enough saved for at least a couple of orders. Or you can sign up with an agency that provides free leads for lower commission. LH will allow you to finance leads But they will charge you top dollar for leads while paying you bottom dollar. You'll never get out of debt!

 

[jerryrut]

That's robbery, You do use an Allen wrench, besides, what can you possibly use it for when the casket is in the ground, never heard of such nonsense. I will guarantee that it was a corporate FH[/QUOTE

I heard a story where the FH gave the key to the survivor. When she went back and saw how much it cost ($1500) she called the FH back and questioned why it was so much. It's literally nothing but an allen wrench socket you can get the tool at Home Depot lol. But they get it made to look like a key, and when she asked about it they told her it must have been a mistake someone made putting the price on it that high and charged her ($300) instead.

The more I think about it the more this story sounds fishy; the contract by federal law must detail the price for every charge and it must be reviewed item by item with the family before they sign it; I cannot imagine a family not being aware of a $3,000 charge for a "casket key" and not questioning it; I think this is a bogus story.

 

[jerryrut]

Lots of bicycles use Allen wrenches.

Actually, it may not be an Allen wrench but a special casket wrench nonetheless; I never closed a casket so I don't know for sure.

 

[goillini52]

JoePa is da man

Yep...he da man.

 

[Valetic]

This is all very good info. Excellent post!

As far as leads go, if you don't have money to buy leads, then you should wait until you have enough saved for at least a couple of orders. Or you can sign up with an agency that provides free leads for lower commission. LH will allow you to finance leads But they will charge you top dollar for leads while paying you bottom dollar. You'll never get out of debt!

When I cash in my 401k I should be stable enough to take that risk. Was nervous about doing that with my own money at first but the more I think about it the more confident I am about taking that leap. If I don't end up making back those lead costs, and blowing it all, idk what I'll do lol but I don't think that would happen if I'll have a few months to invest into it and get trained up.

Just waiting to hear back from Dave. And I don't know how I'd break it to my LH mentor yet. He's been trying to work on me for a couple of months now with my current work schedule. Feel bad leaving someone behind that tried to invest all that into me..

 

[jerryrut]

When I cash in my 401k I should be stable enough to take that risk. Was nervous about doing that with my own money at first but the more I think about it the more confident I am about taking that leap. If I don't end up making back those lead costs, and blowing it all, idk what I'll do lol but I don't think that would happen if I'll have a few months to invest into it and get trained up.

Just waiting to hear back from Dave. And I don't know how I'd break it to my LH mentor yet. He's been trying to work on me for a couple of months now with my current work schedule. Feel bad leaving someone behind that tried to invest all that into me..

Well, he was trying to cob you, so send flowers

 

[Valetic]

I guess as this point I must admit I've drank a lot of the koolaid over the years between my first company, other agencies, amway, and now Lincoln. I was wondering why all the hype was suddenly burning me out when I was going to those things. I'm kind of glad I've been on the sidelines over the years observing different things. And now after reading several posts in this forum and receiving expert opinions from some people with no skin in the game (in my case) I'm a bit humbled and grateful things turned out the way they did. I'm ready to make the leap now though mentally and financially, it's a risk for my household but I believe it will work nonetheless. Thank you all for setting things straight. I found that initial excitement I had when I first wanted to jump into this business. Gonna keep this faith and go, go, go!

 

[HoosierLife]

I guess as this point I must admit I've drank a lot of the koolaid over the years between my first company, other agencies, amway, and now Lincoln. I was wondering why all the hype was suddenly burning me out when I was going to those things. I'm kind of glad I've been on the sidelines over the years observing different things. And now after reading several posts in this forum and receiving expert opinions from some people with no skin in the game (in my case) I'm a bit humbled and grateful things turned out the way they did. I'm ready to make the leap now though mentally and financially, it's a risk for my household but I believe it will work nonetheless. Thank you all for setting things straight. I found that initial excitement I had when I first wanted to jump into this business. Gonna keep this faith and go, go, go!

So you put the koolaid down? Maybe not, you just admitted you were a serial koolaid drinker.

All the best. Hope this helps the other unsuspecting agents that read this thread when they find it from google.

 

[Valetic]

So you put the koolaid down? Maybe not, you just admitted you were a serial koolaid drinker.

Ha. I kept trying to perform the jump but never stuck the landing. The Koolaid was good the first time. the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time left a bad aftertaste.I think I put it down for good this time. I think if I work with Dave I will have a chance to be honest with people and not "fake it 'til I make it" like I tried with others..

 

[HoosierLife]

Ha. I kept trying to perform the jump but never stuck the landing. The Koolaid was good the first time. the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time left a bad aftertaste.I think I put it down for good this time. I think if I work with Dave I will have a chance to be honest with people and not "fake it 'til I make it" like I tried with others..

Dave will be a great option.