Success in insurance

[Micah1127]

My question is somewhat of a vague one, but I am completely new to this business. My question being: why would anyone walk away from the opportunity to make a good income like you can in this business?

I'm a very information based person and since getting started down the path of being an agent I've met people that do very well financially, and I've also met people that started and left the business very quickly.

As an independent agent it seems like there is plenty of room to make 100k plus per year. If that is the case I wonder why more people don't try to make it work.

What keeps people from being successful in this business? Is it motivation, discipline, consistency? Or any other reason. I'd love to hear thoughts on what this looks like to other people that know the business better.

Thanks!

 

[somarco]

why would anyone walk away from the opportunity to make a good income like you can in this business?

Because they are unwilling or unable to be successful. Define success any way you want.

And FWIW, there are more ways than $$$ to define success.

Most agents fail for one of two reasons.

Number 1 reason, undercapitalized.

Number 2, unwilling to work hard until they can work smart.

 

[DayTimer]

Most agents fail for one ... reasons ... [they are] unwilling to work hard until they can work smart.

That's how I'd have put it. A life insurance license is a license to print money while helping people for anyone willing to go out and talk to people. Lots and lots of people.

 

[Newby]

My question is somewhat of a vague one, but I am completely new to this business. My question being: why would anyone walk away from the opportunity to make a good income like you can in this business?

I'm a very information based person and since getting started down the path of being an agent I've met people that do very well financially, and I've also met people that started and left the business very quickly.

As an independent agent it seems like there is plenty of room to make 100k plus per year. If that is the case I wonder why more people don't try to make it work.

What keeps people from being successful in this business? Is it motivation, discipline, consistency? Or any other reason. I'd love to hear thoughts on what this looks like to other people that know the business better.

Thanks!

Many get caught up in the pitch to recruit which when you are new is really just a crazy scam to co-sign HUGE loans for unstable people you don’t know. That takes a huge number of promising new agents out of the business in their first year. They are not only out but they are deep in debt.

 

[pfg1]

Another few reasons...

Many are scared of prospecting (or have no way to generate leads), and once they run out of warm market their business dries up. You can only go so long with an empty pipe.

Many come in get no training (or get bad training and sent down a path that won't help them really). Learning and understanding the business as a whole is a big key to success and longevity. The quicker this happens the better success you will have.

Many chase the highest commission %... vs giving up some for training/mentoring. To me, for a new person coming in - a solid mentor (non-MLM) that can teach you and train you would be worth alot of $ long term.

 

[Micah1127]

Because they are unwilling or unable to be successful. Define success any way you want.

And FWIW, there are more ways than $$$ to define success.

Most agents fail for one of two reasons.

Number 1 reason, undercapitalized.

Number 2, unwilling to work hard until they can work smart.

I agree there are many more ways in life other than money to define success. The reasons I put so much emphasis on that right now is because of my desire to jumpstart my career in this field.

To me the opportunity is a blessing and I want to only "work smart" even if it takes me longer to be an amazing agent. The money is definitely something that all people need, but that's not my only focus.

However, I would consider myself willing to do anything it takes even if I learned all of it on my own. Thankfully I have a mentor to work with and I study every resource I have available. Including YouTube, Google, forums, books, others' opinions...

 

[Micah1127]

Also what is the best way to understand the business as a whole?

 

[DHK]

I'm biased to believe that this is a decent overview of the industry.

 

[Life Hawk]

why would anyone walk away from the opportunity to make a good income like you can in this business?

To put it very bluntly... far too many people who think they can sale, are also the very same people who are far too often very easily sold.

 

[somarco]

I agree there are many more ways in life other than money to define success. The reasons I put so much emphasis on that right now is because of my desire to jumpstart my career in this field.

Do you have enough $$ in the bank, not credit card available credit, to cover living expenses for at least 12 months?

Also what is the best way to understand the business as a whole?

Get out in the field and work.

You can read books, attend seminars, watch YT (business related), etc but until you APPLY what you have learned you will not know if you have what it takes to be successful.

An athlete can watch game films all day long, but until they get on the field or court they are just another fan.