Caught in the crossroads with no help

[hockeyrules101]

I am a newly licensed agent (8 months). I am currently working for AGLA as a captive agent. There products are great but my concern is I am running out of prospects, actually its getting the appointment. Recently I had an offer with New York Life but not sure if I am going to take it because I will be in the same situation. My question is should I go with NY life and expand my product base, but my concern with them is that they don't have a guaranteed training salary and when recruiter told me to borrow money from family as a get used to there products and lack of income(thats when I laughed at him and started to have my doubts). I have no problems with prospecting, my main problem is getting the appointment and in the door. Is there any tips and tricks for that anyone can share. Any information is appreciated.

 

[David C]

Ask yourself these questions. Look at the veterans with your company and look at the veterans with NYL. Who do you want to model yourself after? Consider the culture with the two very different companies, where would you feel most comfortable?

Who will make the biggest commitment to train you? I know of a sharp, recent college grad who will probably not survive the first year with NYL because he has no one nearby to provide the kind of support a new agent needs.

You MUST have training now and lots of it. I'd say, at this point, go with the company making the strongest commitment to train you.

 

[James]

I am a newly licensed agent (8 months). I am currently working for AGLA as a captive agent. There products are great but my concern is I am running out of prospects, actually its getting the appointment. Recently I had an offer with New York Life but not sure if I am going to take it because I will be in the same situation. My question is should I go with NY life and expand my product base, but my concern with them is that they don't have a guaranteed training salary and when recruiter told me to borrow money from family as a get used to there products and lack of income(thats when I laughed at him and started to have my doubts). I have no problems with prospecting, my main problem is getting the appointment and in the door. Is there any tips and tricks for that anyone can share. Any information is appreciated.

Who are you marketing to and what are you marketing? AGLA has a lot of products and some strong ones, can you be more specific?

 

[Frank Stastny]

I am a newly licensed agent (8 months). I am currently working for AGLA as a captive agent. There products are great but my concern is I am running out of prospects, actually its getting the appointment. Recently I had an offer with New York Life but not sure if I am going to take it because I will be in the same situation. My question is should I go with NY life and expand my product base, but my concern with them is that they don't have a guaranteed training salary and when recruiter told me to borrow money from family as a get used to there products and lack of income(thats when I laughed at him and started to have my doubts). I have no problems with prospecting, my main problem is getting the appointment and in the door. Is there any tips and tricks for that anyone can share. Any information is appreciated.

After eight months I would think that you would have had the "training" necessary to take what you have learned and begin adding your personal touches to it and be producing by now. That is a long time to be "in training" and on salary.

I would venture to say that you have had more training than 90% of the agents on this board. Many were lucky to get even a day or two and probably only a handful were paid a salary while "in training".

I find it hard to believe that you are "running out of prospects". You must live in a very small isolated town. It sounds more like you are running out of the guaranteed salary.

You say you have no problem with prospecting but can't get the appointment or "in the door". That is what prospecting is all about. What part of it are you not having problems with? Calling a bunch of phone numbers, asking if they want to buy insurance and then going on to the next one?

Please don't be offended but I have seen and heard this many, many times before. The main problem you are having is with one small part of the total program. Getting rid of it will solve your problem one way or the other. The problem is "salary".

The reason you are not getting appointments or "in the door" may very well be that you are not "hungry" yet. You know you are going to get paid just for putting in time "prospecting".

The best way to learn to sell is, if you make a sale you get to eat dinner that night, if you don't you go hungry. You will be amazed at how many doors you will get in if you have to sell to eat.

If you still can't "get in the doors" then this may not be the job for you.

 

[hockeyrules101]

I am actually on a commission only no base salary at all. The products we offer are annuities, life products with living benefits that are marketed to everyone. We also have products geared to the senior market. I guess I was not to clear. I get the prospects but I guess it seems that I have been porched a lot more than I have been in the past. The month of February has been the hardest with people calling back and canceling on me.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I am actually on a commission only no base salary at all. The products we offer are annuities, life products with living benefits that are marketed to everyone. We also have products geared to the senior market. I guess I was not to clear. I get the prospects but I guess it seems that I have been porched a lot more than I have been in the past. The month of February has been the hardest with people calling back and canceling on me.

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood.

Fortunately February is over. Even though it seemed like a slow month you may find that a lot of the ground work you did will start paying off this month. It works that way sometimes.

It seems like some of the worse weeks I have had was when I felt I had worked the hardest. By the same token, some of the best have been when all of a sudden it appeared that sales started "falling in my lap".

Mostly, those "good weeks" were always a result of the ground work done during the "worse weeks".

 

[Mr C]

Hockey...
If you have no problem prospecting, how are you running out of prospects? I have never been on salary since I've had a license. I found that if you work, and are on straight commission, you'll make a ton of money. But the problem lies in the fact that there is no one out there to make you work as an independant agent. Why have a salary of $500 a week, when you can make $5K for the same work? But again, a lot of people like that compfort zone, or that guarantee, but that's not how you make 6 figures in this business.

 

[James]

I am actually on a commission only no base salary at all. The products we offer are annuities, life products with living benefits that are marketed to everyone. We also have products geared to the senior market. I guess I was not to clear. I get the prospects but I guess it seems that I have been porched a lot more than I have been in the past. The month of February has been the hardest with people calling back and canceling on me.

I would imagine AGLA has a lot of products, yet I would think you should be targeting a specific market with a specific product to build a book of business. Or are you jumping around between groups and markets?

 

[HomeService]

AGLA taught me how to get in the door in 1991. It was amazing,we just knocked on the door, they asked who it is, we said "Insurance Man", and they let us in. We were debit agents, though, and there to collect the premium. We got plenty of referrals and got in plenty of doors. I think that getting away from that system was a mistake by AGLA, but I do not have experience with "how it is in 2008" at AGLA- to compare it with.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

When I ran a door to door outfit I was stunned with how man people let us in. We had a clipboard and company badge and told people they could save money by switching energy/gas suppliers.

We didn't need to come in - the pitch was short and they could sign the agreement right at the doorstep but I'd say about 30% or 40% said "come on in."

Of course, you need to be in a "happy" area for that to happen and trust me, each area has its own personality.

Some neighborhoods we were signing people up and being offered something to drink. 10 minutes away we had the cops called on us.