Did You Ever Feel Like Quitting Insurance?

[Baseballfan158]

I'm not in the insurance business but wanted to ask insurance agents out there was there ever a time you felt like just throwing the towel and why was that? Also what made you not quit?

I'm 22 thinking about going into insurance just wondering.

 

[rousemark]

I'm not in the insurance business but wanted to ask insurance agents out there was there ever a time you felt like just throwing the towel and why was that? Also what made you not quit?

I'm 22 thinking about going into insurance just wondering.

Probably not more than 8000 times over the last 40+ years... Various reasons all related to my desire to be a beach bum. Didn't quit because my family didn't share my desire and preferred to eat on a regular basis. !

 

[SPUR CITY]

I'm not in the insurance business but wanted to ask insurance agents out there was there ever a time you felt like just throwing the towel and why was that? Also what made you not quit? I'm 22 thinking about going into insurance just wondering.

I feel like quitting AT LEAST 2 times a year. Over my 10 year career that's OVER 20 times. BUT I've never been stupid enough to pull the trigger on actually doing it. The grass won't be as green on the other side for me. I'm the only income my family has so I have no choice but to plow ahead.

I started at 26 years young

 

[DHK]

The Ant Philosophy by Jim Rohn

It's taken me a while to figure out this business. (I have a sticky thread in the Getting Started forum that outlines a bunch of advice based on my own experiences.)

Not everyone stays long enough to figure it out... so step one in making it in this business is the decision to stick it out until you figure it out. John Savage (old-time producer who died in 1993) said "The best way to make it in this business is to last." He failed for 9 years before he "suited up".

Did I ever quit this business? Sure did a few years ago. Here's what I discovered: the business was in my blood... and it wasn't ever going to leave me.

So, I can either GET GOOD and become prosperous in this business... or leave the industry and get training somewhere else. I'm staying.


That's why I really like helping new people to see the reality of this business and give them some ways to avoid the major pitfalls that I experienced.

 

[indienoise]

I've never had a profession that hasn't had its ups and downs.

Everybody is different, but for me i need to have a reason from within. No one can really change my mind. If you're like me, either you want it or you don't. Look within. If you can't convince yourself, neither eill anyone else.

 

[rousemark]

I feel like quitting AT LEAST 2 times a year. Over my 10 year career that's OVER 20 times. BUT I've never been stupid enough to pull the trigger on actually doing it. The grass won't be as green on the other side for me. I'm the only income my family has so I have no choice but to plow ahead.

I started at 26 years young

I also started at 26.. The only problem is my 26 was long before your 26..

 

[MaryDallas]

I'm not in the insurance business but wanted to ask insurance agents out there was there ever a time you felt like just throwing the towel and why was that? Also what made you not quit?

I'm 22 thinking about going into insurance just wondering.

In a word: yes. I got my license in 1986. I have taken a few breaks when I just can't take it anymore.

Why did I throw in the towel a few times? First mistake I made: assigning commissions. Please do not do that. Ultimately, you will not be paid. The agency you assign those commissions to own your business. Second mistake I made: please only sign contracts with vesting from day one. I lost hundreds of thousands in business making those two mistakes.

It is disheartening. You think you are building something for someone else to steal. I call it theft. I gave the thieves permission by signing the wrong contracts.

This business takes so long to learn it may be a second generation that takes over in order to be the success you want to be. It is not an easy business. There's not much help to learn what not to do.

I almost did not keep my license a few years, and then I would think: "Keep it. You never know when you might need it."

There are some good things: flexibility is the main thing I like. I am free to work 12 hour days if I choose to; and I have many times week after week. I've also not worked for a time period. Personally, I like that.

The main reason I hang in here now: you get to the point you know enough that you know you are really helping people. That's when it gets rewarding. I don't do this for the insurance carriers; I do this for the people. And I get tons of referrals because I really do care.

 

[Bittersweet614]

Everyone feels like quitting sometimes. I wanted to quit 5 or 6 times a week for my first year.
The Sales Manager I had when I started (at Bankers) just kept telling me that quitters never win. My only other option was to go back to the factory. He wasn't being mean, he was right. I never went to college and worked in factories for 14 years before I started in Insurance. I also had a family to support.

It does get better over time. I am going to have 4 years under my belt in August and I have not had a "*uck this, I'm done" moment in probably 2 years. I have had rough days like everyone else, but I does get better.

I still believe what my old Sales Manager told me, the ones that succeed in Insurance aren't the most educated or talented people that become agents, its the ones that are tough enough to never quit.

 

[sman]

I'm not in the insurance business but wanted to ask insurance agents out there was there ever a time you felt like just throwing the towel and why was that? Also what made you not quit?

I'm 22 thinking about going into insurance just wondering.

I don't know if there's an agent out there who hasn't thought of quitting at some point. The reasons are various. I started in this business when I was 19. I'm now 45. Up until maybe 10-15 years ago I thought about quitting on more than one occasion. It usually had to do with the lack of consistency in my income. When I was captive I didn't think about it too much. Maybe a few times thinking I could do something different. After I went independent in 1998 up until maybe 2003 or so I bet I thought about quitting at least a couple of times per year.

As for why I didn't quit, in part, pride and stubbornness. In my mind (as warped as it may be), quitting would have meant I failed. And I don't like failing. And while I wasn't making a ton back then, I was still earning more than I would make working some 9-5 job.

Once I started getting some consistency (which meant more income), I can't imagine doing anything else. I love what I do. I have developed some great relationships with clients and I truly enjoy helping people. I don't know if there's a better job out there as far as making your own hours and earning a good living.

 

[GreenSky]

If I quit selling insurance what would I do with the extra 3 hours a week?

Rick