Trying to Start of on the Right Path-Please Help!

[Ron Van D]

My wife likes "The Tudors" by the way. And "The Sopranos." There might be something wrong with her.

Seeing that she's married to you, I'd say its a given!!

 

[jdeasy]

I am trying to set myself up to begin a career in the Insurance Industry. I have pretty much decided on Med Supp/Final Expense. And after that, I'm confused! Having read ALOT on this site, I beleive I am suffering from information overload. I need your expert advice and help.
I am not sure whether it is better to sign up with a company like Equita under someone like HoosierDaddy or Newby, or directly with companies like RNA, Presidential, Americo, etc. I should say I have some money for leads, but not 2k a week. I definitely need some training, but at some time down the road, I'd like to strike out on my own. So, I don't want to be tied down forever.
A little background: I am a real estate refugee. I know how to market (that industry), and I'm not afraid to door-knock. I am willing to work 60 hours a week or more. I just want to work smart with my time and money.
What do I do? Contract with several companies and buy leads from some of the lead companies recommended here and never be obligated? Or seek the cover and tutelage of The Masters of the Industry, but not be my own provebial 'Man'?

As others have said, decide where to focus and then follow a plan. While FE and med sups are good cross sells to each other, they are completely different markets for prospecting purposes.

Leads are the lifeline for either. You simply must have people to talk to. Everyone agrees on that point. How those leads are attained is where the difficulty and disagreements comes into play.

If you decide to go med sups, there is no better turnkey system with training than what Frank Statsny offers. If I were not successful with FE I would go full bore into med sups. I would follow Frank's training and prospecting to the letter. I'm sure I would still sell FE as a cross sell to med sup clients and I know from experience that is the easiest FE sale you will ever make. You are also dealing with a bit better market with med ups as far as income and staying out of the projects. They will also have bank accounts and most like own their home.

If you decide to go FE, it's all about the leads and, in your case, the training. I say that because you say you are new. You can buy your leads from a company like EFES, Securus or any other FE marketing company or you can generate your own by doing your own mailers, door knocking, cold calling, etc. Whatever works for you.

You mentioned Hoosierdaddy and Newby. Two excellent choices if I say so myself. If you could work with Newby you would be well advised to do so. He is an unabashed expert in FE and funeral pre-planning/preneed type of business. I don't believe he is recruiting and I know he doesn't have leads. He can show you what he does to generate leads. I am with EFES and under Hoosierdaddy there. I don't believe he is recruiting now either, but, it would be worth a shot to ask him. I can put you in touch with the primary marketer with EFES if you wanted to check them out. I think Hoosierdaddy's group is the best group at EFES. There are some managers at EFES that I have learned are micromanagers. I would never have made it with one of them. That is not my cup of tea.

I think that EFES is the best turnkey operation available for selling FE. Especially for a new agent. The training at EFES is top of the line. They have the EFES university with every presentation and every style of working available. Personally, I set my appointments by phone and am in the field 2 days a week meeting with people face to face. I hate doorknocking with a passion, but, I will doorknock when I cannot find a number for someone. I have had decent success when I doorknock. I sold two policies last week by doorknocking. There is a guy in our group that is strictly a doorknocker and he did just under $200,000 ap last year on 20 leads per week. There are many ways to skin this cat. You just have to find the one that suits you best. EFES has what they call a Plug N learn call every Tues and Thurs. Top agents around the country are on these calls to share their techniques and answer questions. These calls are about an hour and they are recorded and put into the university if you can't cach it live. I am doing the one this Thursady, the 12th.

None of that is of any value if you don't take advantage of it. I have listened to every plug and learn call. I have listened to every presentation and training audio available at the university. Some of the stuff that hear about I wouldn't do in a million years, but, that also teaches me what not to do.

The main thing, though, for a company like EFES is the leads. That's why I'm with them and why I stay with them. I get 15 leads every week and I get them every Sat. morning like clockwork. They are all in the same county, {I order by county instead of by zip codes because I'm in a rural area}. I really don't need the training that EFES provides anymore per se, I still take advantage of it because you can never stop learning. It's really about the leads. You can move to $11 leads and that's where I'm at and have been for over 2 years. You can move to 100%+ contracts and I have done that as well.

You will give up commissions to start. That's different depending on which manager you start with. I think the lowest is 80%, but, I could be mistaken on that. I have heard that it's difficult to get released from EFES contracts if you want to leave. I have no experience with that. It's not an issue anyway. There are too many FE companies out there to write if you did want to leave.

Securus has the same type system as EFES. I don't know much about them or how big a player they are. I don't feel them here. I do know that the top FE agent in the country, a guy that wrote over $1 mil in ap in less than 2 and a half years has recently gone to Securus. He is an excellent trainer and I'm sure he will make Securus a player in this field. I'm not sure what his duties are there, but, I'm of the understanding that he will be some sort of manager, trainer and will still do personal production.

Anyway you go be prepared to work. The marketers that claim that this is all so easy are full of it. This is hard work and nothing will happen if you don't work hard. Now, I do have a different mindset about what hard work is than the average agent. I was a tire builder for a major tire company for 18 years, no this is not back breaking work like that. I played, and still play, basketball all my life and played one year in college. I was always known as the "hard working, scrapper" type. No, this is not physically exhausting work like that. It is time consuming, busy work. Much work is "saw sharpening". That doesn't appear to be work to your neighbors and friends and sometime even to family, but it is. And it's neccesary work. It's also enjoyable work.

Marketers will promise you pie in the sky type stuff. Most of it is lies. It's going to come down to training and leads. If you can get both from the same source, great! If not, get them separate. There is nothing wrong with giving up commissions for training. I did. I started with NAA at 65%. People ask me if I regret that getting hosed. My answer is no. I don't think I got hosed. I got wonderful training from my management team and I wasn't worth the 65% because I didn't know what I was doing. I pretty quickly moved to 80% with them and maybe that was getting hosed after I had been there for a while, but, I stayed for the leads. Their leads were great. To this day they are best I've worked. I parted ways with NAA over not being able to get leads because I didn't recruit. They became all about recruiting and I don't play in that sandbox. If I could have stayed there and gotten leads every week without having to recruit or attend the rah rah seminars, I would probably still be with them.

It's been my experience that marketers that offer high contracts to newbies and don't provide training are just wanting them to wash out so they can keep their renewals on whatever business they did write.

In short, if you can get good training and leads without sacrificing contracts, go for it. If you can't, be willing to pay for the training. It's a education. They still charge for college around these parts.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I know that was long, but, let me add a bit to it. You said you are a female and Frank made mention of the places a final expense agent may have to visit. He's right. I would not want my wife to go to some of the homes I visit. Or some of the neighborhoods.

I'm a big guy, 6'3" and about 210#. I get nervous myself in some of these neighborhoods. That's not to say it isn't done by women all the time and successfully so. Just in our group with Hoosierdaddy we have two of the top producing women with EFES. One is a lady in Philly that is consistanly at $15,000 ap per month and has been for as long as I can remember. I don't know if she is a doorknocker or an appointment setter or how she does business. I have never met her or spoken to her. I do know that she qualified for the RNA Hawaii trip in 2 weeks as did I. I plan to ask her a lot of questions in Maui. I'm not big on company trips for the sake of the trips, {this one I kinda am because I've never been to Hawaii and have always wanted to}. I do love the networking with other agents on trips and meetings.

As far as the selling is concerned, it seems that women can gain trust far more quickly than can men. That is the key to making a sale, gaining trust.

 

[Todd King]

"Marketers will promise you pie in the sky type stuff. Most of it is lies."

JD, do you realize that Frank is now a "marketer"? How could you recommend anyone if they all lie? If you're going to make a blanket statement like that, you should say that there are exceptions.


"It's been my experience that marketers that offer high contracts to newbies and don't provide training are just wanting them to wash out so they can keep their renewals on whatever business they did write."

Then your experience must have been one where you assigned your commissions away to some upline. "Marketers" don't take away renewals just because an agent stops writing. "Marketers" don't make any more or less on the renewals whether an agent is still appointed or not.

I'm not trying to be an a$$, but please, don't lump everyone into the same mold. We all know that there are agents out there that lie their a$$ off to make a sale and some that only do it for the commission. Would it be fair to say they are all like that? You're not that way I know, but how would it make you feel if found some post that said that?

 

[jdeasy]

Then your experience must have been one where you assigned your commissions away to some upline. "Marketers" don't take away renewals just because an agent stops writing. "Marketers" don't make any more or less on the renewals whether an agent is still appointed or not.

I'm not trying to be an a$$, but please, don't lump everyone into the same mold. We all know that there are agents out there that lie their a$$ off to make a sale and some that only do it for the commission. Would it be fair to say they are all like that? You're not that way I know, but how would it make you feel if found some post that said that?

It's not a blanket statement to "most of it is lies". A blanket statement would be to say that "all of it is lies".

I didn't assign my commissions to my GA with LH, but when your renewals get to less than $250/mo., they keep them. You may not consider that stealing, I do.

I did assign my commissions to Parker and Asses and they did steal them.

There are some good, honest marketers out there. Frank is one of them. You may very well be also?

Finding a good, honest marketer is like finding a needle in a haystack.

I got a call yesterday from a marketer in North Carolina trying to push Standard Life. She said she was calling because they had the lowest FE rates in my state and paid the highest commissions. I asked her what the rate was for a 65 year old female non smoker $10,000 face. She said she didn't know. I asked what the commisssion was and she said she didn't know. I asked her what the rate was for that same person with RNA, Foresters, Oxford or Settlers and what my commission was with all of them. She said she didn't know.

I then asked her how she could claim that that they had the lowest rates and the highest commissions if she didn't know the rates and didn't know my current commissions. She, "well, that's what they tell me to say". I asked her what she was supposed to tell people when they asked questions as I did, she said, "they didn't tell me there was going to be questions". Then she said, "oh yeah, we have leads too!!".

That is a normal conversation with these marketers. I get a call just like that at least once per week. I get many emails with the same garbage.

I was talking to another agent today that is in a flux situation right now. He is getting out of the MA market and hasn't decided what direction he wants to focus in now. He has been talking to marketers with their pie in the sky promises. He asked me straight up, "do any of them tell the truth?". I told that some do and he said he sure would like to find one that did.

So, again I will say, "most of it is lies". If you are one of the honest ones you should be more pissed off about that I am. All those liars make people skeptical of the good ones too.

 

[Todd King]

It's not a blanket statement to "most of it is lies". A blanket statement would be to say that "all of it is lies".

I didn't assign my commissions to my GA with LH, but when your renewals get to less than $250/mo., they keep them. You may not consider that stealing, I do.

The same thing happened to me. Yes, I consider it stealing and is why I steer everybody I can away from LH. I have cost them WAY more than that $249.36 they kept from me! I'll never forget the CSR laughing at me when he told me what my renewal WOULD HAVE been!

I did assign my commissions to Parker and Asses and they did steal them.

Now there's a marketing firm that is full of nothing but lies!

There are some good, honest marketers out there. Frank is one of them. You may very well be also?

I try very hard to do exactly what I say I'll do. It's the only way I know.

Finding a good, honest marketer is like finding a needle in a haystack.

I got a call yesterday from a marketer in North Carolina trying to push Standard Life. She said she was calling because they had the lowest FE rates in my state and paid the highest commissions. I asked her what the rate was for a 65 year old female non smoker $10,000 face. She said she didn't know. I asked what the commisssion was and she said she didn't know. I asked her what the rate was for that same person with RNA, Foresters, Oxford or Settlers and what my commission was with all of them. She said she didn't know.

I then asked her how she could claim that that they had the lowest rates and the highest commissions if she didn't know the rates and didn't know my current commissions. She, "well, that's what they tell me to say". I asked her what she was supposed to tell people when they asked questions as I did, she said, "they didn't tell me there was going to be questions". Then she said, "oh yeah, we have leads too!!".

That is a normal conversation with these marketers. I get a call just like that at least once per week. I get many emails with the same garbage.

I have to say that no one should market something without knowing the product and at least a bit about the competition. Standard is very easy to do business with, but the rates are high and you can certainly find better commissions. I can positively say this because I am on their top contract and rarely recruit to them.

I was talking to another agent today that is in a flux situation right now. He is getting out of the MA market and hasn't decided what direction he wants to focus in now. He has been talking to marketers with their pie in the sky promises. He asked me straight up, "do any of them tell the truth?". I told that some do and he said he sure would like to find one that did.

Tell him to call Frank and/or myself. I'll bet he'll find that there are some of us out there.

So, again I will say, "most of it is lies". If you are one of the honest ones you should be more pissed off about that I am. All those liars make people skeptical of the good ones too.

It is a battle that I have to go through all the time. It's just like when I was in the field; Everyday you have to fight th stigma put on us that all insurance agents are just out for their commissions and will lie to get it.

I am one of the few marketers out there that is on the side of the agent. It's the agent who is doing most of the work and I feel they should be compensated as such. I know what it feels like to be an agent that has been taken advantage of by my uplines. I'll never forget it!

Some people have referred to what I do as being a "contract whore". I don't see it like that as I keep very little overwrite and assume a big risk. I don't offer planned training, but I know where to send them. I have, many times, spent hours on the phone helping "tweak" agent's presentations, from setting the appointment to closing the sale. This is my job, as I see it.

My tagline below is not just something I throw out there. It's exactly how I feel.

My apologies to you as I do see more clearly where you coming from now.

 

[ksigmtsu]

Saying there are no honest marketers is on it's face a statement that is highly incorrect.

I don't know Todd, but I hear good things about him. I think Frank is very good, I know James that I have a lot of my contracts with is trustworthy, Craig Ritter is a nice guy, I have never once had a problem with them, same with several others I have contracts with. I hear good things about Mark Rosenthaul also, Brad Aden is a really nice guy and trustworthy and this is just off the top of my head.

Painting with a very broad brush here, and it's a very invalid statement.

To top it off, don't you work leads for equita? I mean we talked about that in other threads, but they were one of the kings of dishonest marketing, and they're the reason I keep all my contracts with multiple FMOs now.

 

[jdeasy]

Saying there are no honest marketers is on it's face a statement that is highly incorrect.

I don't know Todd, but I hear good things about him. I think Frank is very good, I know James that I have a lot of my contracts with is trustworthy, Craig Ritter is a nice guy, I have never once had a problem with them, same with several others I have contracts with. I hear good things about Mark Rosenthaul also, Brad Aden is a really nice guy and trustworthy and this is just off the top of my head.

Painting with a very broad brush here, and it's a very invalid statement.

To top it off, don't you work leads for equita? I mean we talked about that in other threads, but they were one of the kings of dishonest marketing, and they're the reason I keep all my contracts with multiple FMOs now.

I did not say that all are dishonest. So, no invalid statement made by me.

I do work leads from EFES not EMG. You painting both of them with the same brush is what's invalid.

Reading comprehension is your friend.

 

[KiminCincy]

Ok, so, I passed my exam today!! Life and Heath. Now I'm really lost. I guess at this point I have to decide what product to sell and get appointed? Any neophytes happy with their choice of product or upline? How did you narrow it down? Why are you happy about the choice you made? Thank you all for for helping me out with this important decision.

 

[Josh]

Some people have referred to what I do as being a "contract whore".

I love calling folks contract whores, but just in case there was any confusion, I wouldn't put you in that group.

 

[Newby]

I love calling folks contract whores, but just in case there was any confusion, I wouldn't put you in that group.

Certainly not the contract kind.