Starting own agency- any advice is appreciated!

[Maxxh66]

I would definitely look into the consequences of taking your team with you. My best friend is an attorney and he just represented a guy who left New York Life and brought his team with him. New York Life was suing the guy and my friend represented him. Both parties agreed to a settlement without going to court. I don't have any idea what the settlement was.

Thank you for this information! I'm assuming most of the captive insurers would have similar contracts to this. But I wonder how this could be a lawsuit if my agents left on their own will and came to my company?

 

[DHK]

I'm just trying to tell myself that the grass isn't always greener on the other side and that it's greenest where I water it. But I have to first know what's on the other side to realize this.

First, you're welcome! Our industry sugar-coats things and doesn't do a good enough job of teaching and training, so if I see something, I'll say something.

What is the 'firepower' of your current firm?

Let's define 'firepower' being:
- company's competitive advantage,
- your expertise for clients,
- and a wide enough market to make it profitable

Once you have that, and you can TRAIN to that... you're on your way.

One clue is where you get paid the most in your compensation plan. Now, if your current company is like MassMutual, the comp plan was 100+ pages (and you can bet it wasn't done that way to protect the agent).

Ohio National has a 10-pay life policy. The compensation for the base premium is somewhere about 80% (career agents have lower + bonuses to make that up). It's 80% for ages 51-75 and that can be a nice high premium.

The question is... do I have a message that would resonate with that target demographic AND those who DON'T fit that demographic would REFER me to that demographic???

Learn it, wash, rinse, repeat.

If you're "just an insurance agent" and you're not solving problems using your products, you won't have the growth you need.

Our top producers (like any company) do $1 million+ a year. And you can bet they aren't just selling ART term and using increasing premiums to 'blackmail' them into buying cash value whole life. They are using the unique aspects of their product and learning how to communicate those benefits into solving significant problems for their chosen demographic.

It's exactly what Ben Feldman did. (I'm often surprised how many NYL agents haven't even heard of Ben Feldman, let alone studied him.)

 

[DHK]

Btw, ChFC won't fix this. I've had mine for 12 years. Neither will CLU.

ChFC and CLU are good to back up your professionalism behind what you do - so you see yourself as a professional using language and tools to help you communicate. Without them, you can absolutely be successful, but it may feel more like a sales track than a professional service - even if they're the exact same process.


It's a mannerism of focusing on the problems that people have and how your products work to fix these problems - either temporarily or permanently. Using the tax code - to either invoke pain or show the advantages.

I'm at the point where I refuse to believe that people would rather pay taxes than buy life insurance in retirement. But if anyone tells me that they're not interested... that's what they're telling me. And by using life insurance for tax-exempt retirement cash flow... you can create LARGE premium cases that people ask "Can I put in more?"

Some great books:
Amazon product ASIN 0741471914
Amazon product ASIN 0741499762
Amazon product ASIN 1495830713

 

[DHK]

Btw, I do sympathize. I can understand the desire to build an agency. I just don't want to see anyone build a mediocre one.

My old MassMutual agency... will BARELY do $2.2 million this year... with 50 agents.

In Southern California. Averaging it out... $44,000 a year.

Absolutely pathetic.

The top producer did hit $150k for the year, so maybe he'll finish out around $200k? But there's only like 5 people who will even do HALF of that amount for the year.

I can't blame the GA either. My old GA was let go in 2012 and the GA that's there now just kept things going.

I have a friend of mine who is there (and we've co-miserated about that agency)... and he's got a contract with my Ohio National agency. He's done over $200,000 in business himself (after case splits)! Last year, he barely cleared $15k in total premium at Mass. I'm waiting for the day when he'll walk into the GA's office and put the ranking sheet on his desk and say he's out of there.

So, if you can harness the firepower of your firm, create quality language around it, and promote it to the ideal client profile... even if you stay put, you'll do very well.

 

[Maxxh66]

First, you're welcome! Our industry sugar-coats things and doesn't do a good enough job of teaching and training, so if I see something, I'll say something.

One clue is where you get paid the most in your compensation plan. Now, if your current company is like MassMutual, the comp plan was 100+ pages (and you can bet it wasn't done that way to protect the agent).

You're awesome! We need more people like you in this industry. I can tell you genuinely care about others and want to help people succeed.

Unfortunately my company has a comp plan that is similar to MassMutual and has multiple moving parts.I wish it was more simple so I can keep the main thing the main thing.

I feel the ChFC is like getting my college degree. I'm doing it "just because" and it's probably just be an confidence booster for myself. There is definitely good information that I have learned along the way but I feel my success has nothing to do with it.

Also, I wasn't able to see the attachment for the books you posted. If you don't mind, please post them again.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback and support!

 

[DHK]

They're links on Amazon. Just refresh your browser and they should show up. They're "Confessions of a CPA" by Bryan Bloom, CPA.

 

[DHK]

I feel the ChFC is like getting my college degree. I'm doing it "just because" and it's probably just be an confidence booster for myself. There is definitely good information that I have learned along the way but I feel my success has nothing to do with it.

That's why I got it too - as the broad introduction for everything in our industry and then learning more through other study too. I don't have any other degree - in fact, I only got a high school equivalent diploma.

 

[Markthebroker]

You're awesome! We need more people like you in this industry. I can tell you genuinely care about others and want to help people succeed.

Unfortunately my company has a comp plan that is similar to MassMutual and has multiple moving parts.I wish it was more simple so I can keep the main thing the main thing.

I feel the ChFC is like getting my college degree. I'm doing it "just because" and it's probably just be an confidence booster for myself. There is definitely good information that I have learned along the way but I feel my success has nothing to do with it.

Also, I wasn't able to see the attachment for the books you posted. If you don't mind, please post them again.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback and support!

Yeah, pretty good advice for a 6yr old girl!

 

[DHK]

I don't think she's 6... more like 4.

 

[Markthebroker]

6, 4, whatever. I've never heard such great advice from a little girl.