What Are Your Reasons?

[Mark]

I always love asking new agent and even old agents why they wanted to get into this business.


Most of the new agents are getting into this career for the wrong reasons.


Most of the new agents think this is a easy job and they can make $300k a year doing it. All they have to do is buy leads and double or triple their investment every month.


The older agents like helping clients and just want to make a living doing what they enjoy.


There is a reason why most new agents don't make it for than 18 months.

To save yourself some time, are you doing this for the right reasons? Also, are you willing to put everything you are and have into this career. Notice I didnt say job.

I got into this career because my father and grandfather were insurance agents and I wanted to make them proud and I love talking to people and getting paid to do what I love.

 

[STIBROKER]

It was better than what I was doing before......

 

[briko3]

It was better than what I was doing before......

YouTube - ‪The Turtleman‬‏

Where'd you get that video of mark?

 

[xrac]

Insurance and investments always interested me and I was a late career changer who was having a hard time getting anyone else give me a chance. I could get the interview and make the top 5 candidate list but because of my background I wasn't considered to be a safe hire. As everyone knows insurance will take just about anybody including me.

 

[NCAgent]

My goals are to make enough money to help me out while I go to graduate school and after while my finacee finishes up her graduate program. During that time I'll continue to build the book with my fiancee and mother and when I'm out of graduate school I'll give my mother the book to help her with retirement. I'll still take a little bit of the money to pay off loans though.

I'm looking into pharmacy school. It's amazing how much pharmacists and insurance agents have in common, it's like they're long-lost twins separated at birth. People view them both as a commodity who sells stuff only. They see us as product-based people rather than professionals who provide a service to people. The people don't know or care about how much research, independent time, and training it takes to be up to date with so many products and how it helps people. People go for price, wonder why things are taking so long, and why the hell they need a pre-authorization for drugs the doctor told them to have.

I do like the idea of helping people, too. But there are many ways to do that; trash men and meter maids help people as well. But I like the business part of this job and knowing I'm helping to set people up for their life and for anything bad that happens to them.

I saw someone at Allstate write a 10k contents policy with 1k medpay and ACV in New York. I reported him and called the person back personally and explained what happened and re-wrote the policy. I don't play that sh*t. People don't know the game nor should they, that's why we're the experts.

 

[ShanHikari]

My family is a long line of entrepreneurs, self employed and owners of corporations. Most my family wanted me to go into accounting, the business was there on both my mothers side and fathers side, both had a large practice, so naturally it was deemed when I was young that I would take over both practices.

Not what I wanted to to, I deviated from the plan and majored in English Literature something I liked, something I was passionate about. To this day I do not regret taking this course. No I'm not libral, some of you might get that thought after reading my major.

Originally I got into this business for the wrong reason, I didn't like insurance, but needed money or so I thought would be a quick buck. I couldn't screw people over though to just try and make that buck.

Honestly I'm still unsure what my final goal is but my reasons for why I am insurance now is different from what I started. My mother lost her insurance, being Bi-polar, Epileptic and on a combined total of 12 medications I became obessed on not letting what happened to her after my father left happen to anyone else. Does it mean it doesn't happen, no that's naive. But my goal now is to limit the damage that happens, to limit the loss that she had.

This business is often thought to be a "quick buck" way to make money and retire young. Its nothing like that. I learned that the hard way. To people that were like me in the past, I suggest you take a hard look of why your working in this business. Are you looking to help others, obviously we all want a paycheck as well, or are you being greedy, trying to make that "quick buck."

What do I work for today, people that need advice in insurance, people that need estate planning, tax advise, and at the end of the day I know I'm making that helping people into a paycheck, to support my wife, my future children and my goals.

Looks like a lot of people have different goals when they come into this business, but the ones that can't change and conform to the facts of what this business is don't last.

 

[Frank Stastny]

It was better than what I was doing before......

YouTube - ‪The Turtleman‬‏

I've been to two county fairs and a tractor pull and I thought I'd seen everything but I ain't never seen anything like that before. I think that chainsaw did a lot more than knock out his front teeth.

Drinking seems like a much better "hobby" to me. Who is it on here that has the tag line, "bring us a bottle of tequila and call the cops"? Now that is a "hobby" worth pursuing.

 

[Bertolinoins]

My friends father and my first boss owns a very successful independent agency. By very successful I mean they do about $125M in written premium. He nets 7 figures while working 40 hours a week and being home with his family every night and on weekends. He was able to be extremely successful without missing a single game, recital, or parent/teacher meeting. He also managed to play golf once a week during business hours with his producers, company reps, clients and potential new producers or agency acquisitions. He also mixed in 2/3 long business lunches with those same groups along with business trips in great places, trade shows, etc. He also took a lot of pride in the 60 or so employees he had that were well taken care of.

That lifestyle looked pretty appealing to me so I decided to give it a shot. After 6 years as a producer I decided that I would rather be an agency owner than just a producer at a large agency. I was doing well and making a nice living, but I also felt like most of my effort was helping to fund a great lifestyle for somebody else. I left and started my own agency 3 years ago. Two acquisitions and 5 seasoned producers later, I feel like I am on the right path.

I truly believe that insurance is the best business in the world. I love to sell and compete. I played college sports and am very competitive so I thrive on the competition for good commercial accounts. The feeling I get when I take away a big account is the same feeling I used to get when I would strike out a batter with runners on to end the game. Different level of excitement but the same feeling. I also enjoy being able to help people, employ people and contribute to my local community and economy. I got a lot of pride when I was able to give my account manager a nice bonus and she drove up in her brand new car smiling from ear to ear.

This is rambling a bit but I guess the biggest thing is that I like making friends and I like making people happy and helping them... This business rewards you for that.

 

[Guest]

I read somewhere I could make $300K a year

 

[STIBROKER]

I read somewhere I could make $300K a year

Turtle catching can be quite lucrative.......