Colombianking49
Expert
- 34
New to the forum, I have not even taken a test yet I'm trying to move from New Jersey to Florida it seems that selling insurance is the only job available in the . I plan on putting my self through the exam and will probably be using one of the online educational services. But I digress, I plan on becoming sponge before I decide which direction I am going in... I want thank those before me who have provided their knowledge and years of experience.
I have been reading for the last five hours all the entries and have copied and pasted some of the best advice given on here which I will add in my next post. But I will not be adding names those of you who know which post are yours kudos!!! I will maintain the post and edit it from time to time.
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Insurance Advice
"… build a team and don't earn alone . . . Focus on writing one product for 6 months minimum. Work hard - 9am to noon and 3pm to 6pm - at least 4 days a week. Build a team and show them how to do the same… Focus on one for 6 months. Keep it simple . . ."
"First and foremost, find out if you or the agency will be the Agent of Record on all the business you write. If you are not, then all the commission and renewal checks will go to the agency and they will be paying you. (Usually not the best deal for the agent.)"
"Before you sign anything ask what your percent of commission will be and then do the research and find out what is considered "Street Level Commissions. On occasion agents have signed up with an agency only to find out later that they are only receiving a greatly reduced commission over what they may have been able to get elsewhere."
"Classes are offered to prepare you for the tests but they cost money. However, I found that the tests and the information provided to pass the test didn't really prepare me much for specialized products. It's really nice to be able to watch an agent sell some products and get paid for learning how it's done than doing the whole trial and error thing. Don't get me wrong, trial and error is pretty much how I prefer to learn everything else, but for selling insurance I wouldn't recommend it. … some agents will pay for your classes and the test if they think you might hang around for awhile and be an asset to their company. And don't be afraid to talk to these agents about commissions and an hourly wage. The downside to this is if you work for State Farm, Shelter, Farmers, Allstate, etc., (in other words, captive agents) you won't be able to pursue the independent side much. I also have a non-resident license in Arkansas and the Farmers agency I worked for didn't offer Farmers Health insurance. In that instance, I was able to sell health to our customers using other health insurance companies. Additionally, sometimes client's have health issues that make them ineligible for life insurance with your State Farms, Farmers Insurance Companies, and the like. In those situations, if you wanted to get appointed with life insurance companies who have minimal underwriting requirements or who accept clients with cancer, heart disease, etc., you might find a niche there. Professionally, I think it's a smart move to get appointed with these types of insurance companies because if you have a customer who needs life insurance and they get turned down by your captive agency, you might still be able to help them. Clients like people who have more than one trick up their sleeve to help them. Also when it comes time for that client to consider if they want to take their auto or home policy somewhere else, they will usually think twice because they will remember how resourceful you were when they needed an important product… the majority of customers are most likely going to qualify for a policy at some rate. Oftentimes, underwriters like to use what's called a table rate to increase the cost of a policy for certain conditions so they don't have to decline the policy but they can still charge a sufficient rate for the risk. So keep in mind that you'll probably actually only have a small percentage of people you could write with another company."
Referring to study guides:
"I used examfx and liked it a lot. Sometimes you can get discounts so maybe search online for these. This place was recommended to me and America's Professor - Online Insurance Prelicensing & Exam Prep and there's also pearsonvue Testing Provider for Certification and Licensure Exams: Pearson VUE. Do a search and check them out - read the reviews. I did very well with Examfx - studied for a few weeks - those practice exams and simulated and bonus exams helped a lot and I passed with ease. I always thought I wasn't learning it but everytime I took the quizzes and practice exams I would pass! but I think I'll use the America's professor because it's less expensive when I need to take practice exams for next tests."
Referring to recruiting manager's:
"I'd ask your manager to introduce you or give you a list of every agent in the office who is doing 100+ lives in a year and (ideally) has been doing so consistently. See if you can learn from someone like that. They may be doing worksite presentations and enrollments or other "hard work" sales that wasn't told to you during your interviews. You need to find those who are Kicking Ass and Taking Names."
"Partner with someone one that can contract you under them and will make money off you but will have the time to guide you. I have agents that I'll drop everything I'm doing for to help them get a sale. It's not only because I'm making money off of him, but because I like to teach and get pleasure when I see my student succeeding. You really need a partner like this....that has a vested interest in you succeeding and actually enjoys it."
"If I were new today I would take a lot more control at my 'interview' and turn the table and interview the general agent or IMO. I'd ask them to give me a few reasons why I should work there. I'd ask what their marketing plan was. Ask how much marketing guidance they will give you. How do they get their leads and prospects? Are they technologically advanced ? Are they doing anything that's clever (in terms of marketing) or that you never heard of? Are they innovative in their approach to gaining new customers? OR are they just going to hand you a phone and a box full of blank index cards and give you a sheet of paper with a circle in the middle?"
"As for working with Captive companies - I think that's nonsense in this day and age. I don't believe in it other than for some 'training 101' for the newbie - and to use their pencil sharpener if you don't have one yourself. See, Clients love choice. There's no reason you have to be a captive MetLife agent (for example) - the MetLife General agent will be happy to contract you and have you out there selling their product with no regulatory tie down. It's called a broker contract and it's often a lot higher than anything you'll get on the street."
"Because if you don't take the time to read the agent guides, you will end up not getting paid! The unsuccessful agents seem to refuse to read the agent guide or read anything that can help them."
If there any that should be added let me know I will add... Thanks again for the advice.
I have been reading for the last five hours all the entries and have copied and pasted some of the best advice given on here which I will add in my next post. But I will not be adding names those of you who know which post are yours kudos!!! I will maintain the post and edit it from time to time.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Insurance Advice
"… build a team and don't earn alone . . . Focus on writing one product for 6 months minimum. Work hard - 9am to noon and 3pm to 6pm - at least 4 days a week. Build a team and show them how to do the same… Focus on one for 6 months. Keep it simple . . ."
"First and foremost, find out if you or the agency will be the Agent of Record on all the business you write. If you are not, then all the commission and renewal checks will go to the agency and they will be paying you. (Usually not the best deal for the agent.)"
"Before you sign anything ask what your percent of commission will be and then do the research and find out what is considered "Street Level Commissions. On occasion agents have signed up with an agency only to find out later that they are only receiving a greatly reduced commission over what they may have been able to get elsewhere."
"Classes are offered to prepare you for the tests but they cost money. However, I found that the tests and the information provided to pass the test didn't really prepare me much for specialized products. It's really nice to be able to watch an agent sell some products and get paid for learning how it's done than doing the whole trial and error thing. Don't get me wrong, trial and error is pretty much how I prefer to learn everything else, but for selling insurance I wouldn't recommend it. … some agents will pay for your classes and the test if they think you might hang around for awhile and be an asset to their company. And don't be afraid to talk to these agents about commissions and an hourly wage. The downside to this is if you work for State Farm, Shelter, Farmers, Allstate, etc., (in other words, captive agents) you won't be able to pursue the independent side much. I also have a non-resident license in Arkansas and the Farmers agency I worked for didn't offer Farmers Health insurance. In that instance, I was able to sell health to our customers using other health insurance companies. Additionally, sometimes client's have health issues that make them ineligible for life insurance with your State Farms, Farmers Insurance Companies, and the like. In those situations, if you wanted to get appointed with life insurance companies who have minimal underwriting requirements or who accept clients with cancer, heart disease, etc., you might find a niche there. Professionally, I think it's a smart move to get appointed with these types of insurance companies because if you have a customer who needs life insurance and they get turned down by your captive agency, you might still be able to help them. Clients like people who have more than one trick up their sleeve to help them. Also when it comes time for that client to consider if they want to take their auto or home policy somewhere else, they will usually think twice because they will remember how resourceful you were when they needed an important product… the majority of customers are most likely going to qualify for a policy at some rate. Oftentimes, underwriters like to use what's called a table rate to increase the cost of a policy for certain conditions so they don't have to decline the policy but they can still charge a sufficient rate for the risk. So keep in mind that you'll probably actually only have a small percentage of people you could write with another company."
Referring to study guides:
"I used examfx and liked it a lot. Sometimes you can get discounts so maybe search online for these. This place was recommended to me and America's Professor - Online Insurance Prelicensing & Exam Prep and there's also pearsonvue Testing Provider for Certification and Licensure Exams: Pearson VUE. Do a search and check them out - read the reviews. I did very well with Examfx - studied for a few weeks - those practice exams and simulated and bonus exams helped a lot and I passed with ease. I always thought I wasn't learning it but everytime I took the quizzes and practice exams I would pass! but I think I'll use the America's professor because it's less expensive when I need to take practice exams for next tests."
Referring to recruiting manager's:
"I'd ask your manager to introduce you or give you a list of every agent in the office who is doing 100+ lives in a year and (ideally) has been doing so consistently. See if you can learn from someone like that. They may be doing worksite presentations and enrollments or other "hard work" sales that wasn't told to you during your interviews. You need to find those who are Kicking Ass and Taking Names."
"Partner with someone one that can contract you under them and will make money off you but will have the time to guide you. I have agents that I'll drop everything I'm doing for to help them get a sale. It's not only because I'm making money off of him, but because I like to teach and get pleasure when I see my student succeeding. You really need a partner like this....that has a vested interest in you succeeding and actually enjoys it."
"If I were new today I would take a lot more control at my 'interview' and turn the table and interview the general agent or IMO. I'd ask them to give me a few reasons why I should work there. I'd ask what their marketing plan was. Ask how much marketing guidance they will give you. How do they get their leads and prospects? Are they technologically advanced ? Are they doing anything that's clever (in terms of marketing) or that you never heard of? Are they innovative in their approach to gaining new customers? OR are they just going to hand you a phone and a box full of blank index cards and give you a sheet of paper with a circle in the middle?"
"As for working with Captive companies - I think that's nonsense in this day and age. I don't believe in it other than for some 'training 101' for the newbie - and to use their pencil sharpener if you don't have one yourself. See, Clients love choice. There's no reason you have to be a captive MetLife agent (for example) - the MetLife General agent will be happy to contract you and have you out there selling their product with no regulatory tie down. It's called a broker contract and it's often a lot higher than anything you'll get on the street."
"Because if you don't take the time to read the agent guides, you will end up not getting paid! The unsuccessful agents seem to refuse to read the agent guide or read anything that can help them."
If there any that should be added let me know I will add... Thanks again for the advice.
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