- 1,271
That makes sense. If I knew then what I know now of course I would have started as an independent but ... starting as a captive seems like a necessary evil ...
What's a New Guy to Do?
- Thread starter csstanley1973
- Start date
That makes sense. If I knew then what I know now of course I would have started as an independent but ... starting as a captive seems like a necessary evil ...
- 7,066
I think starting either captive or independent has a lot to do with the kind of insurance you want to sell.
If an agent wants to enter the senior market I don't think the agent has much of a choice. A captive agent will definitely be at a disadvantage.
If an agent wants to enter the senior market I don't think the agent has much of a choice. A captive agent will definitely be at a disadvantage.
- 2,103
I don't ever see anything wrong with going captive for a while to get your feet wet.
Frank you are absolutely right about the Seniors market. As you well know selling supplements, the price leader changes from time to time and one needs to be able to follow. If you are selling identical supplements how do you justify a higher premium. It is hard. It doesn't work very well.
- Thread starter
- #15
csstanley1973
Expert
Thank you all for the great advice.
I want to give an update from yesterday since I started this thread.
I am starting to get frustrated and, yes, a little impatient. I have been sending my resume and filling out applications for 2 or 3 weeks now. I've not only hit up those on the job sites but also going to all the insurance sites that I can think of and see from you guys on here.
I did have an interview with NAA yesterday and did my research about them before I went in to talk with them. A lot of what I was reading was bad, not only from you guys but from other sites on the web.
Some of you may know that the corporate office is here in Burlington, NC. The recruiting agent did hear what i had to say about all I heard and read on here. I guess I didn't seem too thrilled about going to work from them but apparently he liked my resume and to be quite honest, I am a salesman.
It just so happened that Andy Albright came walking by and the recruiter asked him to come over and meet me. When he walked over, Brinn, the recruiter introduced us and immediately told him what I had said about what I read.
Andy just gave me a look and started asking me personal questions about my family. I'll admit I was nervous but I wanted answers and here was my chance to get them from the horses mouth. I answered his questions and I asked him a few about himself. To be honest, I'm not real impressed with "millionaires" but there is an aire about him that seemed to be open.
He asked me about what all I had read about his company and I told him. He didn't deny anything at all. As a matter of fact he didn't even try and defend what was said about NAA. He even said when I was telling him that most of it was probably true. When I finished there was a moment of silence and he began telling me his side. And to be quite honest, I've heard a lot of excuses in my life but he made a lot of sense.
He even wanted me to come back on here and tell you what I was told, not only here but every site I had went to and read about them. His rebuttal makes a lot of sense when you think about it. He took his thumb and poked Brinn in the chest and said right here is where it starts. He admitted that they had hired a lot of incompetent recruiters in the past who were, in his words, morons. Morons attract morons. He told me he wants to clean up from within but it's gonna take time to find out who they are and move them out.
Not drinking the kool-aid here but he made a lot of sense. When you grow to the size that this corporation has, you're gonna have disgruntled workers and then you're gonna have those that come in thinking they're gonna make millions of dollars selling insurance and live like he does. Andy got where he is by hard work. Plain and simple.
My stance to them was that I'm looking for a place to train me and teach me the industry. I'm holding to a 1 to 2 year plan. I feel being captive for this time will give me the tools to learn the business, not only insurance, but also running a business as well.
I mentioned to the recruiter that I don't have a lot of money to dump into this and if it turns into this MLM money dump, I'm gone. From there he tells me about the lead program and how he wants to take care of those for me. I do understand the lead concept. I'm gonna have to pay for leads, why is that a hard thing to understand? I'm not gonna go into what was offered to me but it was hard to pass up.
For a green-horn like me, I think, at least for 6 months to a year, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn from him. I told him I'm gonna be on him to learn all I can. Not that I'm gonna have to have him hold my hand through every step but I'm gonna be asking questions. And to be quite honest here, I may even be a thorn in their side. They already know that I'm not going into this blind, thanks to a lot of you. I'm not gonna let this get to a point where I'm so frustrated and distort my view of the insurance business.
All-in-all, I was impressed with my meeting with Andy Albright. Think what you want about him but he's a straight-forward guy that tells you what he thinks. Being a former Pastor, I read people. He looked me in the eye when he talked to me and genuinely believes what he's saying.
Sorry for being lengthy here but wanted to update you guys. With all this being said, I'm not closing my eyes to other possibilities out there but I'm gonna give this a go. I wanna learn the business and this seems like a good opportunity for me right now.
I want to give an update from yesterday since I started this thread.
I am starting to get frustrated and, yes, a little impatient. I have been sending my resume and filling out applications for 2 or 3 weeks now. I've not only hit up those on the job sites but also going to all the insurance sites that I can think of and see from you guys on here.
I did have an interview with NAA yesterday and did my research about them before I went in to talk with them. A lot of what I was reading was bad, not only from you guys but from other sites on the web.
Some of you may know that the corporate office is here in Burlington, NC. The recruiting agent did hear what i had to say about all I heard and read on here. I guess I didn't seem too thrilled about going to work from them but apparently he liked my resume and to be quite honest, I am a salesman.
It just so happened that Andy Albright came walking by and the recruiter asked him to come over and meet me. When he walked over, Brinn, the recruiter introduced us and immediately told him what I had said about what I read.
Andy just gave me a look and started asking me personal questions about my family. I'll admit I was nervous but I wanted answers and here was my chance to get them from the horses mouth. I answered his questions and I asked him a few about himself. To be honest, I'm not real impressed with "millionaires" but there is an aire about him that seemed to be open.
He asked me about what all I had read about his company and I told him. He didn't deny anything at all. As a matter of fact he didn't even try and defend what was said about NAA. He even said when I was telling him that most of it was probably true. When I finished there was a moment of silence and he began telling me his side. And to be quite honest, I've heard a lot of excuses in my life but he made a lot of sense.
He even wanted me to come back on here and tell you what I was told, not only here but every site I had went to and read about them. His rebuttal makes a lot of sense when you think about it. He took his thumb and poked Brinn in the chest and said right here is where it starts. He admitted that they had hired a lot of incompetent recruiters in the past who were, in his words, morons. Morons attract morons. He told me he wants to clean up from within but it's gonna take time to find out who they are and move them out.
Not drinking the kool-aid here but he made a lot of sense. When you grow to the size that this corporation has, you're gonna have disgruntled workers and then you're gonna have those that come in thinking they're gonna make millions of dollars selling insurance and live like he does. Andy got where he is by hard work. Plain and simple.
My stance to them was that I'm looking for a place to train me and teach me the industry. I'm holding to a 1 to 2 year plan. I feel being captive for this time will give me the tools to learn the business, not only insurance, but also running a business as well.
I mentioned to the recruiter that I don't have a lot of money to dump into this and if it turns into this MLM money dump, I'm gone. From there he tells me about the lead program and how he wants to take care of those for me. I do understand the lead concept. I'm gonna have to pay for leads, why is that a hard thing to understand? I'm not gonna go into what was offered to me but it was hard to pass up.
For a green-horn like me, I think, at least for 6 months to a year, it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn from him. I told him I'm gonna be on him to learn all I can. Not that I'm gonna have to have him hold my hand through every step but I'm gonna be asking questions. And to be quite honest here, I may even be a thorn in their side. They already know that I'm not going into this blind, thanks to a lot of you. I'm not gonna let this get to a point where I'm so frustrated and distort my view of the insurance business.
All-in-all, I was impressed with my meeting with Andy Albright. Think what you want about him but he's a straight-forward guy that tells you what he thinks. Being a former Pastor, I read people. He looked me in the eye when he talked to me and genuinely believes what he's saying.
Sorry for being lengthy here but wanted to update you guys. With all this being said, I'm not closing my eyes to other possibilities out there but I'm gonna give this a go. I wanna learn the business and this seems like a good opportunity for me right now.
- 717
On the indy life side, it's an 18 month cycle from the time you start selling until the time when you are self sufficient, making a decent living, supporting yourself, etc..
Bringing on a new agent is not cheap....It costs $2-3k per month in lead costs plus another $3k per month in advances to the agent....the agency owner is going to be $12 - $15k in the negative by the time your first case places.
Bringing on a new agent is not cheap....It costs $2-3k per month in lead costs plus another $3k per month in advances to the agent....the agency owner is going to be $12 - $15k in the negative by the time your first case places.
TexasSteve
New Member
- 9
I agree that starting out captive can give you some very valuable experience. This just might be good advice!
- 7,066
Yes it might be. However, do you realize that when you leave a captive situation that you leave all of the business you have written including any renewals behind you?
The agent walks away penniless. He then has the unique opportunity of starting all over again from scratch.
I've heard that some agents enjoy a challenge like that.
- 264
Exactly why I'm independent! Figured if I was going to start in this business, I only wanted to start once! I know a lot of people say going indie right off the back is more difficult, but if I'm going to have to go through this process I don't want to have to do it again in a few years.
- 14,808
More than that, we're out of the days when people don't compare. I really don't know how captive companies do it. Who doesn't shop rates anymore?
When I was captive, we had a ton of training on how to handle the dreaded "thank you, but we'd like to shop around" objection.
All of the training boiled down to this; hardcore, high pressure time share sale'ish tactics that I was never comfortable with.
Worse yet is actually getting the sale only to have your clients wake up a few months later and realize there's a better deal.
The issue with companies like NAA isn't with how much you can sell per week, but how much is left standing at the end of 12 months. And that's what managers of companies like this leave out of the equation when they parade the agent who made "$3,500" last week around the room.
There were agents I knew when I was with UGA, who after over 10 years in the field, were in debt. Just paint that visual picture of spending 10 years selling insurance and you're in the hole.
When I was captive, we had a ton of training on how to handle the dreaded "thank you, but we'd like to shop around" objection.
All of the training boiled down to this; hardcore, high pressure time share sale'ish tactics that I was never comfortable with.
Worse yet is actually getting the sale only to have your clients wake up a few months later and realize there's a better deal.
The issue with companies like NAA isn't with how much you can sell per week, but how much is left standing at the end of 12 months. And that's what managers of companies like this leave out of the equation when they parade the agent who made "$3,500" last week around the room.
There were agents I knew when I was with UGA, who after over 10 years in the field, were in debt. Just paint that visual picture of spending 10 years selling insurance and you're in the hole.
