Loa Medicare agent to Independent with FMO/IMO

[medimandy1221]

Hey everyone

So I've been doing a lot of research, for a long time, and I'm wanting to make the jump to independent.
I currently have a health and life license.

I started in Medicare supplements, cold calling out of convoso— commission only. It taught me real sales, grit, and persuading people who are quite frankly tired of you. Year after that I did ACA for a large company called enhance health. They got sued massively and let a lot of agents go. Year after that, now doing Medicare advantage for an agency where I'm LOA. Never signed any contracts but they own my BOB. It's a call center. "Inbound" convoso leads all day. Really it's majority of confused seniors thinking there's food cards and money, it's the money mind numbing clients and conversations ever. I can also tell my current company recycles leads… they don't pay us on rewrites, we get petty retention bonuses (I always hit 60% retention), and it's tolerable at best. But I'm too experienced of an agent to keep being captive with an agency like this.

I want to make more. I can handle a dialer, in fact I'd work myself like a work horse for my own independent sales. Most I ever wrote was 50 deals in a week during AEP our company made us work 9am-9:30pm and even Sunday. I made 4,000 that week after taxes, imagine if I was independent. And my clients stuck. I'm thorough and I love what I do— I hate the way this company does it. I don't want to take advantage of seniors, manipulate them or twist things to get them into a policy. Call centers like this will get their agents to do that! I hate it.

I understand I will have to generate my own leads. I also have numerous sources for that, and people who offer to build websites help with SEO and organic marketing. Literally the 2 biggest companies I worked for all use Facebook ads, I learned from them. I'm perceptive and I was watching and paying attention where my other coworkers weren't. Misleading Facebook ads that they get foreigners to set up for them and that's why people call in.

I want to be independent. I've interviewed with DIG Dufords agency, DigitalBGA, Health Markets, a couple other smaller agency's, and honestly I'm open to any suggestions if you guys have any.

I plan on treating my independence like a full time job. I'm absolutely willing to grind for 40 hours a week minimum— this is no issue for me.

My questions are.

1. What should I really have saved up for leads if I did not do Duford free leads program? Realistically I imagined bared minimum 5k for leads.
2. Is there a specific niche to focus on? What earns the most and pays the soonest? I know Medicare has a delay. I'm most experienced with Medicare advantage and supplements. But I'm eager to learn life and add that to my list of things I can sell.
3. Any FMO suggestions beyond what I have already interviewed with? (I'd appreciate a good training for life since I never worked captive with that. I learn quickly and I'm very self sufficient.)
4. This is for anyone with experience in general. Just beyond my questions, I'm coachable and open to any knowledge or tips someone may feel the need to share with me. Thank you in advance for any time you took out of your day to speak with me and read this.

 

[rmhaire]

Hey everyone

So I've been doing a lot of research, for a long time, and I'm wanting to make the jump to independent.
I currently have a health and life license.

I started in Medicare supplements, cold calling out of convoso— commission only. It taught me real sales, grit, and persuading people who are quite frankly tired of you. Year after that I did ACA for a large company called enhance health. They got sued massively and let a lot of agents go. Year after that, now doing Medicare advantage for an agency where I'm LOA. Never signed any contracts but they own my BOB. It's a call center. "Inbound" convoso leads all day. Really it's majority of confused seniors thinking there's food cards and money, it's the money mind numbing clients and conversations ever. I can also tell my current company recycles leads… they don't pay us on rewrites, we get petty retention bonuses (I always hit 60% retention), and it's tolerable at best. But I'm too experienced of an agent to keep being captive with an agency like this.

I want to make more. I can handle a dialer, in fact I'd work myself like a work horse for my own independent sales. Most I ever wrote was 50 deals in a week during AEP our company made us work 9am-9:30pm and even Sunday. I made 4,000 that week after taxes, imagine if I was independent. And my clients stuck. I'm thorough and I love what I do— I hate the way this company does it. I don't want to take advantage of seniors, manipulate them or twist things to get them into a policy. Call centers like this will get their agents to do that! I hate it.

I understand I will have to generate my own leads. I also have numerous sources for that, and people who offer to build websites help with SEO and organic marketing. Literally the 2 biggest companies I worked for all use Facebook ads, I learned from them. I'm perceptive and I was watching and paying attention where my other coworkers weren't. Misleading Facebook ads that they get foreigners to set up for them and that's why people call in.

I want to be independent. I've interviewed with DIG Dufords agency, DigitalBGA, Health Markets, a couple other smaller agency's, and honestly I'm open to any suggestions if you guys have any.

I plan on treating my independence like a full time job. I'm absolutely willing to grind for 40 hours a week minimum— this is no issue for me.

My questions are.

1. What should I really have saved up for leads if I did not do Duford free leads program? Realistically I imagined bared minimum 5k for leads.
2. Is there a specific niche to focus on? What earns the most and pays the soonest? I know Medicare has a delay. I'm most experienced with Medicare advantage and supplements. But I'm eager to learn life and add that to my list of things I can sell.
3. Any FMO suggestions beyond what I have already interviewed with? (I'd appreciate a good training for life since I never worked captive with that. I learn quickly and I'm very self sufficient.)
4. This is for anyone with experience in general. Just beyond my questions, I'm coachable and open to any knowledge or tips someone may feel the need to share with me. Thank you in advance for any time you took out of your day to speak with me and read this.

As far as your questions go:

1) 5K is more than enough to start. Especially when you can generate your own at almost no cost. And stay away from free leads. They are not free.

2) A lot of the guys on here started with FE and Medicare. FE pays more up front and pays quicker.

3) Reach out to Todd King at TR King Marketing. He's on here as @Todd King. You'll need more than one FMO. There are plenty of good ones on here but there's a few crooks also. Do your homework.

4) Send me a message and I'll give you plenty of tips. And no I don't recruit.

 

[Todd King]

Thanks Robert!!

@medimandy1221... Just reach out to me at the number below or go to our website and set up a 30 minute Fast Track Strategy Session with us.

 

[medimandy1221]

As far as your questions go:

1) 5K is more than enough to start. Especially when you can generate your own at almost no cost. And stay away from free leads. They are not free.

2) A lot of the guys on here started with FE and Medicare. FE pays more up front and pays quicker.

3) Reach out to Todd King at TR King Marketing. He's on here as @Todd King. You'll need more than one FMO. There are plenty of good ones on here but there's a few crooks also. Do your homework.

4) Send me a message and I'll give you plenty of tips. And no I don't recruit.

Thanks for the response. I've been a long time lurker of this forum for a few years now but I'm just now creating an account, I've seen him on a lot of the posts I've read over the years. I'll definitely be reaching out. Thank you!

 

[medimandy1221]

Thanks Robert!!

@medimandy1221... Just reach out to me at the number below or go to our website and set up a 30 minute Fast Track Strategy Session with us.

Hey Todd I don't see any number below but I'll definitely set up a Fast Track strategy session. I'd like to speak with you!

 

[rmhaire]

As far as your questions go:

1) 5K is more than enough to start. Especially when you can generate your own at almost no cost. And stay away from free leads. They are not free.

2) A lot of the guys on here started with FE and Medicare. FE pays more up front and pays quicker.

3) Reach out to Todd King at TR King Marketing. He's on here as @Todd King. You'll need more than one FMO. There are plenty of good ones on here but there's a few crooks also. Do your homework.

4) Send me a message and I'll give you plenty of tips. And no I don't recruit.

One other tip:

Get a copy of the book from Lead Heroes about Medicare & Final Expense. It's called How To Qualify, Present and Sell. Plenty of advice and tips in there. You can get it on Amazon or their website for around eight bucks.

Note: I'm only recommending the book. Not the leads.

 

[Jim Wright]

Hey everyone

So I've been doing a lot of research, for a long time, and I'm wanting to make the jump to independent.
I currently have a health and life license.

I started in Medicare supplements, cold calling out of convoso— commission only. It taught me real sales, grit, and persuading people who are quite frankly tired of you. Year after that I did ACA for a large company called enhance health. They got sued massively and let a lot of agents go. Year after that, now doing Medicare advantage for an agency where I'm LOA. Never signed any contracts but they own my BOB. It's a call center. "Inbound" convoso leads all day. Really it's majority of confused seniors thinking there's food cards and money, it's the money mind numbing clients and conversations ever. I can also tell my current company recycles leads… they don't pay us on rewrites, we get petty retention bonuses (I always hit 60% retention), and it's tolerable at best. But I'm too experienced of an agent to keep being captive with an agency like this.

I want to make more. I can handle a dialer, in fact I'd work myself like a work horse for my own independent sales. Most I ever wrote was 50 deals in a week during AEP our company made us work 9am-9:30pm and even Sunday. I made 4,000 that week after taxes, imagine if I was independent. And my clients stuck. I'm thorough and I love what I do— I hate the way this company does it. I don't want to take advantage of seniors, manipulate them or twist things to get them into a policy. Call centers like this will get their agents to do that! I hate it.

I understand I will have to generate my own leads. I also have numerous sources for that, and people who offer to build websites help with SEO and organic marketing. Literally the 2 biggest companies I worked for all use Facebook ads, I learned from them. I'm perceptive and I was watching and paying attention where my other coworkers weren't. Misleading Facebook ads that they get foreigners to set up for them and that's why people call in.

I want to be independent. I've interviewed with DIG Dufords agency, DigitalBGA, Health Markets, a couple other smaller agency's, and honestly I'm open to any suggestions if you guys have any.

I plan on treating my independence like a full time job. I'm absolutely willing to grind for 40 hours a week minimum— this is no issue for me.

My questions are.

1. What should I really have saved up for leads if I did not do Duford free leads program? Realistically I imagined bared minimum 5k for leads.
2. Is there a specific niche to focus on? What earns the most and pays the soonest? I know Medicare has a delay. I'm most experienced with Medicare advantage and supplements. But I'm eager to learn life and add that to my list of things I can sell.
3. Any FMO suggestions beyond what I have already interviewed with? (I'd appreciate a good training for life since I never worked captive with that. I learn quickly and I'm very self sufficient.)
4. This is for anyone with experience in general. Just beyond my questions, I'm coachable and open to any knowledge or tips someone may feel the need to share with me. Thank you in advance for any time you took out of your day to speak with me and read this.

For Q2, ask yourself what kind of people are you comfortable talking to and can get to trust you. If you have a way of speaking to seniors and can make them feel comfortable going through the difficult process of Medicare, you'll do great there. If you aren't super comfortable in front of seniors (it's ok, not everyone is) then you might want to look at something else that fits your Niche.

For Q3, see if there are any local FMO's to your state that know your market and interview them. You'll start to find out if they're the right fit for you and you might be able to gain some local market knowledge from the rep.

Lastly, ask about release policies, commissions, etc from anyone you interview. They should have an open release policy in writing if you ever want to leave and when they tell you "street commission" make sure you get a number so you can validate they are being honest. If you post it in this thread, someone will be able to verify for you

 

[DonP]

Hey everyone

So I've been doing a lot of research, for a long time, and I'm wanting to make the jump to independent.
I currently have a health and life license.

I started in Medicare supplements, cold calling out of convoso— commission only. It taught me real sales, grit, and persuading people who are quite frankly tired of you. Year after that I did ACA for a large company called enhance health. They got sued massively and let a lot of agents go. Year after that, now doing Medicare advantage for an agency where I'm LOA. Never signed any contracts but they own my BOB. It's a call center. "Inbound" convoso leads all day. Really it's majority of confused seniors thinking there's food cards and money, it's the money mind numbing clients and conversations ever. I can also tell my current company recycles leads… they don't pay us on rewrites, we get petty retention bonuses (I always hit 60% retention), and it's tolerable at best. But I'm too experienced of an agent to keep being captive with an agency like this.

I want to make more. I can handle a dialer, in fact I'd work myself like a work horse for my own independent sales. Most I ever wrote was 50 deals in a week during AEP our company made us work 9am-9:30pm and even Sunday. I made 4,000 that week after taxes, imagine if I was independent. And my clients stuck. I'm thorough and I love what I do— I hate the way this company does it. I don't want to take advantage of seniors, manipulate them or twist things to get them into a policy. Call centers like this will get their agents to do that! I hate it.

I understand I will have to generate my own leads. I also have numerous sources for that, and people who offer to build websites help with SEO and organic marketing. Literally the 2 biggest companies I worked for all use Facebook ads, I learned from them. I'm perceptive and I was watching and paying attention where my other coworkers weren't. Misleading Facebook ads that they get foreigners to set up for them and that's why people call in.

I want to be independent. I've interviewed with DIG Dufords agency, DigitalBGA, Health Markets, a couple other smaller agency's, and honestly I'm open to any suggestions if you guys have any.

I plan on treating my independence like a full time job. I'm absolutely willing to grind for 40 hours a week minimum— this is no issue for me.

My questions are.

1. What should I really have saved up for leads if I did not do Duford free leads program? Realistically I imagined bared minimum 5k for leads.
2. Is there a specific niche to focus on? What earns the most and pays the soonest? I know Medicare has a delay. I'm most experienced with Medicare advantage and supplements. But I'm eager to learn life and add that to my list of things I can sell.
3. Any FMO suggestions beyond what I have already interviewed with? (I'd appreciate a good training for life since I never worked captive with that. I learn quickly and I'm very self sufficient.)
4. This is for anyone with experience in general. Just beyond my questions, I'm coachable and open to any knowledge or tips someone may feel the need to share with me. Thank you in advance for any time you took out of your day to speak with me and read this.

The imo's you were talking to root and duford are fe ,life . You're making the same mistake 100's of other call center reps make . You were taking inbound leads on food cards and free stuff . Those are all dual,lis and flip for a cookie especially when sold on the phone . To build connections with those type clients it must be face to face . Also you were fed leads like shooting fish in a barrel . With the main sep's gone April 1st dst and quarterly dual lis switching who will you target till aep? Those sep's were 75% of volume from April till oct .Also inbound leads are expensive . You're going to need $1200-$1500 a week to keep your pipeline full. The way to build a sustainable business over the phone from April-Oct is T-65 but that takes long time to cultivate and prosper . Go look at the firm you were with targeting mostly low income flippers. I bet you the whole fmo's 12 month persistency wasn't over 50% .

 

[MKAGENT]

One other tip:

Get a copy of the book from Lead Heroes about Medicare & Final Expense. It's called How To Qualify, Present and Sell. Plenty of advice and tips in there. You can get it on Amazon or their website for around eight bucks.

Note: I'm only recommending the book. Not the leads.

Found the book online with video lessons! Free! Thanks!

How to Qualify, Present & Sell Final Expense and Medicare Supplements to Seniors eCourse

Whether you are a brand new agent or a seasoned sales veteran - there is actionable sales training in this eCourse for every agent wanting to learn more about the senior insurance market.

leadheroes.com