What Is Average Number Of Policies

[fdahl82]

I am wondering, what is the average number of policies you guys write per day/week?

I understand that being new that I am really going to have to apply myself to see the results that I want. And I understand that it may take a few weeks/months until I can build myself up to that point.

Is it realistic to expect to be able to write 1-2 policies a day?

 

[Josh]

Re: What Is...

Is it realistic to expect to be able to write 1-2 policies a day?

If you have the right lead system, sure! I'm assuming you're talking about life?

I'd like to ask you a question I'm sure most of us are wondering. Why did you decide to get in the insurance industry when over 90% of agents fail their first year?

 

[fdahl82]

Re: What Is...

Well, one.. I enjoy helping people. I guess that if I had an infinite amount of money I would open a homeless shelter and open a community help center... kind of like welfare... just with toned down requirements. Meaning, someone could make $3k a month, but if they have a large mortgage payment, car payment ect. but still may reach an area in their lives where they may just need a little help, to avoid losing everything. Now of course if they were to make that much a month and spend frivolously, then a few requirements, such as budgeting would come into play. While I may never be able to do just this, I love entertaining the idea, that I can perhaps, someday, help fund a organization that does help people.

Two, I HATE having a boss! I use to do home parties. I brought in a good income, but I had soon realized that home parties were not for me!

I originally was looking into doing real estate, but then learned about life insurance from an old landlord and I have been hooked since! I understand a lot of agents fail in their first years. And I have to ask, do they come into this blind, thinking that everything from training to leads, to the money is going to be handed to them? Do they come into this with knowledge? Do they come in thinking that they can do this 2 hours a day and make loads of money? Do they come in this TRULY wanting to help families? My opinion on this is that they probably fail because they didn't realize that they HAD to apply and devote themselves, and get off their butts to actually earn what they wanted to. Nothin in life is free, and nothing is just handed over, and if it IS, then it's probably not worth having! What fun would that be? lol

If you have the right lead system, sure! I'm assuming you're talking about life?

I'd like to ask you a question I'm sure most of us are wondering. Why did you decide to get in the insurance industry when over 90% of agents fail their first year?

 

[Josh]

Re: What Is...

I understand a lot of agents fail in their first years. And I have to ask, do they come into this blind, thinking that everything from training to leads, to the money is going to be handed to them? Do they come into this with knowledge? Do they come in thinking that they can do this 2 hours a day and make loads of money? Do they come in this TRULY wanting to help families? My opinion on this is that they probably fail because they didn't realize that they HAD to apply and devote themselves, and get off their butts to actually earn what they wanted to.

It may surprise you how many agents actually do work hard and fail for reasons other than the amount of effort they put into it. Wanting to help families is a noble goal in life, but not the reason most people that are successful find their success. In some ways this industry is just like any other, meaning that you need a good product and a good way to find people in need of that product. In my experience, admittedly only 7 years, the reason why most agents fail in this business is a combination of not being able to speak with enough people on a favorable basis to discuss insurance, lack of product knowledge/having the wrong products, and a lack of sales aptitude/training. Selling insurance, especially life insurance, is something that takes talent, finesse, and practice. My first full month in the business I wrote ~$14k in premium, the second month it wasn't even half of that, why the difference? I was actually getting better at making my presentations and understanding things quite a bit better, but my GA cut me down from 100 new leads/2weeks to 20 reworks/2weeks. The mistake I made was outwriting every agent in an ~80 agent office a few weeks in a row when I was some "punk kid" that just got done with college. One easy way to stop me from annoying other agents was to cut down my lead supply and that's exactly what they did.

Free advise, for what it's worth: Don't confuse yourself into thinking that a career in insurance sales is in any way an act of altruism. You need to wake up every morning and do this to make money doing something that happens to be helpful for people, but it is not to help families. If you want to help families then go work as a social worker, volunteer at church, or offer to watch someones kids every now and again. Yes life insurance can and does help families, but that's not why we do what we do nor should it be.

 

[davidp711]

Re: What Is...

I have to disagree with you on that. It does help families and I feel that it should be one of the factors you get into this business. Yes we all got into this for the money making potential, but the money is not the reason all of us got into this. I feel you have to believe that what you are doing is actually helping people, and you do your job for that.

But if you have the help and training and leads you can make it in this business. yes this career has a good size turn over rate. But I feel that is from people who do this for a get rich quick thing. And this is not like that at all. You need to work hard and apply yourself and it will work. I feel that if you can get past the first year mark and keep and steady pace you will be fine.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Re: What Is...

It may surprise you how many agents actually do work hard and fail for reasons other than the amount of effort they put into it.

If I've learned one thing in almost nineteen years in this business, it's this: never confuse effort with results.

"Farmer" personalities tend to put in lots of effort - and get smallish results initially that tend to be too small to sustain them for long enough. "Hunter" personalities put in less grinding - but get superior results. Not always, but usually.

 

[billyg]

Re: What Is...

I understand a lot of agents fail in their first years. And I have to ask, do they come into this blind, thinking that everything from training to leads, to the money is going to be handed to them? Do they come into this with knowledge? Do they come in thinking that they can do this 2 hours a day and make loads of money? Do they come in this TRULY wanting to help families? My opinion on this is that they probably fail because they didn't realize that they HAD to apply and devote themselves, and get off their butts to actually earn what they wanted to. Nothin in life is free, and nothing is just handed over, and if it IS, then it's probably not worth having! What fun would that be? lol

I think that the same reason a lot of agents fail in the first year is not any different than in other industries. I came from a high tech company. We would have to filter through 100 resumes to find 30 that we thought were acceptable. Of those 30, we interview and weed out another 15-20. If we hired ten, then likely after 2 years 5-7 would no longer be with the company because the either wouldn't produce the minimum expectations, or they would quit. So out of 100 people who submitted resumes, we might end up with 3-5 people still with the company after 2 years (and even some of those people are slackers).

With insurance, there are very few filters. There are agencies that will simply hire warm bodies knowing that most won't last, and thats OK with them. As a result, I think if you are a good worker in most any industry, then you will likely be a successful producer. Even more likely if you are good at sales in another industry.

Just my two cents...

 

[Josh]

Re: What Is...

"Farmer" personalities tend to put in lots of effort - and get smallish results initially that tend to be too small to sustain them for long enough. "Hunter" personalities put in less grinding - but get superior results. Not always, but usually.

I couldn't agree more!

 

[NMFNMDRT]

65-70% of my business is life insurance, but I shoot for 10/month. Sometimes it comes to 20..other times its 3. As long as I average 10/month I should be fine.