Indicators of Success

[tribetime32]

Almost 7 years into my career and I'm still puzzled on one thing....

How in the heck do you know if someone is going to be a good agent or not?!

I have guys who come in that are sharp and articulate and they crumble at the kitchen table. On the flipside, I have guys with no experience at all coming from the oil field, construction etc. who are rough and tumble, unfiltered and don't care what anyone thinks that write $20,000+ every month like clockwork.

The only indicator I have found to be tried and true for someone that can be very successful in our business is responsiveness/coachability and work ethic. Other than that, I've found that closers come in all shapes and sizes.

What indicators do y'all see across the board in successful agents?

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Almost 7 years into my career and I'm still puzzled on one thing....

How in the heck do you know if someone is going to be a good agent or not?!

I have guys who come in that are sharp and articulate and they crumble at the kitchen table. On the flipside, I have guys with no experience at all coming from the oil field, construction etc. who are rough and tumble, unfiltered and don't care what anyone thinks that write $20,000+ every month like clockwork.

The only indicator I have found to be tried and true for someone that can be very successful in our business is responsiveness/coachability and work ethic. Other than that, I've found that closers come in all shapes and sizes.

What indicators do y'all see across the board in successful agents?

Discipline.

The most successful agents that I know have a process (how they run their business, their leads, their appointments, and their follow up) and diligently stick to that process.

I'm just assuming that this applies to final expense but it's what I've observed in other insurance lines.

 

[tribetime32]

Discipline.

The most successful agents that I know have a process (how they run their business, their leads, their appointments, and their follow up) and diligently stick to that process.

I'm just assuming that this applies to final expense but it's what I've observed in other insurance lines.

If they haven't really done insurance before, how would you tabulate this? What questions would you ask?

 

[Life Hawk]

1st, the philosophy of work...

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
― Calvin Coolidge

Second is a "toughness of mind" to push forward, and overcome ones own self negativity. One must battle and win the day over the man in the mirror.

Third, the humility it takes to be willing to listen and learn, to be able to accept and adapt by listening to the criticism of peers designed to assist you in growing in your career.

Notice the above has nothing to do with your education, your background, your economic states, or your race.

IMHO

 

[Tahoe Ray]

If they haven't really done insurance before, how would you tabulate this? What questions would you ask?

Are you recruiting a downline or hiring employees?

I have no idea how to evaluate the former, the latter can be done through testing, trial periods, and developing your own evaluation process.

 

[tribetime32]

I'm bringing on unlicensed folks and taking them through the whole process. The end goal is to give them free leads and set appointments. Just wanted to hear from you savvy ol vets as to what you may find as valuable questions to ask to someone like this. I know I have a few things I've found to work really well, but I'm just one person.

 

[titeye]

So, you want to give them free leads and set their appointments up for them? All they have to do is show up for work!!!? All they have to do is show up for work?

 

[tribetime32]

So, you want to give them free leads and set their appointments up for them? All they have to do is show up for work!!!? All they have to do is show up for work?

Precisely

 

[HoosierLife]

Well, we launched a call center at the beginning of this year. When I say we, I mean mostly Brandon lol. But he's killing it. Looks like 4 agents that had not heard of Final Expense a few weeks back will write $100,000 this month.

The key is a system to replicate AND work ethic. In the call center, the work ethic part is mandatory. They work 9-5pm.

With an independent agent, that work ethic is on them. And offering free appointments and leads, sounds good. And may bring you some agent prospects, which is the point of your post, but lol you can have them.

Agents chasing free anything are bad prospects 99% of the time. Unless they are local to you and you can actively manage them, it turns out poorly most of the time.

 

[tribetime32]

Well, we launched a call center at the beginning of this year. When I say we, I mean mostly Brandon lol. But he's killing it. Looks like 4 agents that had not heard of Final Expense a few weeks back will write $100,000 this month.

The key is a system to replicate AND work ethic. In the call center, the work ethic part is mandatory. They work 9-5pm.

With an independent agent, that work ethic is on them. And offering free appointments and leads, sounds good. And may bring you some agent prospects, which is the point of your post, but lol you can have them.

Agents chasing free anything are bad prospects 99% of the time. Unless they are local to you and you can actively manage them, it turns out poorly most of the time.

These are unlicensed agents that have no background in selling insurance. I'm glad it was a nice billboard for you though . Looks like y'all are killing it! Glad to see that.

The point of my post is to hear from guys that have experience doing this as to what to look for and where I may be missing something. I've spent pretty much my entire career bringing on licensed people, so this is an entirely different setup. I'm not sure that many unlicensed agents are trolling these posts anyhow.

Hope you are well Josh!