- Thread starter
- #11
Seeking Recommendations/guidance
- Thread starter Khouse
- Start date
- 384
+1 - agreed
Would you rather make 80-90% to net spendable income or start with 100%+ contracts that net a bunch of debt after learning EVERYTHING the hard way.
There's a lot to this business that you won't learn from reading a chat forum or even several ride alongs with FE vets. Even the most successful agents on here disagree with fundamentals that may all need to be aligned just right for YOUR TERRITORY. For every guy on here who launched his income like a rocket in FE, there are probably 99 others who disappeared without a trace, went broke inside of 6 months or scraped by on their wife's income until piecing something together.
Even seasoned sales pros who have made big money will need to learn the subtle nuances of FE buyers that will make or break you during the first 9 months when you start getting crunched somewhere between dead beats causing charge backs and thousands of dollars out in lead costs.
One example is what happens if you buy fixed price DM leads in areas already saturated with FE agents? You won't find out until after spending thousands of dollars mailing to meet prospects who are already hardened by sales people regularly knocking on their door every day while the phone rings constantly. By then it's too late the learning curve might break your bank.
If I had it all to do again, I would take Agent5guy's advice and look far and wide to locate an experienced field agent who is familiar with your area and is willing to trade his time to take your calls every day for a 10-30% haircut. Sometimes your concerns will be stumbling blocks or they could be a fatal wrong turn. An experienced agent taking a small haircut will be able to keep your head straight and will allow you raises and releases when your production is high enough to stand on your own.
While this may be true.. The majority that failed did not fail because of the complexity of the product or the market segment. They didn't even fail due to lack of knowledge or understanding. The majority failed because they could not make that first sale every day to the guy in the mirror. They failed because they would not make the calls they needed to succeed. They sat at their desk or in the coffee shop doing busy work.. doing anything to keep from having to knock on the prospects door.
CJR
Expert
- 97
Huh, for some reason my first reply didn't go so I'll try it again.
The problem is for newbies like me especially in my area (western PA) is that the only brick and mortar hands on option is LH, and they only offer a 60% contract.
I understand EFES does 80% but from the way everyone is talking their online training wouldn't be sufficient.
The problem is for newbies like me especially in my area (western PA) is that the only brick and mortar hands on option is LH, and they only offer a 60% contract.
I understand EFES does 80% but from the way everyone is talking their online training wouldn't be sufficient.
- 19,052
Selling FE successfully is really determined by how well one can deal with the FE market.
It's different than any other market that one might have sold to. Especially if one was selling tangible products before.
But, it's also a job that one can either do or can't do and the results are in pretty quickly. It's a "fail fast" kinda opportunity. Every long term successful FE agent I know got rolling very quickly and had quite a bit of early success.
Not to say that early success doesn't come with some lows shortly after that. That's the time to really dig in and learn the business. That's the time to go on some ride alongs to see the small things you're missing. Those things won't be evident to a newbie.
Learning the product is fairly easy because it's a simple product. The face amount is guaranteed, the premiums are guaranteed. The cash value is guaranteed. I like to add "forever" after guaranteed when talking to prospects and clients.
So, learn about the product than contract with a company or two. learn about those companies, get some leads and go run them. Will you screw up some sales that you would probably make later? Yes, but so what? If you make some sales then you will know that you can do this.
Once armed with that knowledge then you can seek out an IMO that best suits you.
In no case will it be LH.
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I started at EFES with 95% and many of the EFES managers offer hands on training. Might have to start at less than 95% for that though?
But I fail to see why one would need a brick and mortar option.
- 6,142
I train a lot of guys from scratch. Not sure what you mean.
Pedo bear, why you wanna go and scare the young chap so bad lol. I think it boils down to just how much work ethic you have and how bad you really want to succeed. Success is different for everyone. But to say because someone is all over the place they can't train you is bullocks. The reason some are all over the place is because they ARE training.
*looks over at Bowman and points to this post*
- 5,264
The most important thing you can do is to align yourself with someone who will show you a track to run on, and to not deviate from that path early on.
The WORST thing you can do is try to reinvent the wheel as a neophyte final expense agent.
The keys to early success are:
1) Strong Work Ethic -- expect to work six days a week if you want to maximize your chances at succeeding.
2) Consistent Lead Program -- set yourself up right from the beginning and get on a recurring order of leads, preferably direct mail leads that say "life insurance" on them. Understand and trust that "you get what you pay for" - most of the time - when it comes to leads.
3) Start Work Immediately -- this is where non-DM leads come in handy. Buy aged leads, Voicemail leads through John Galt, or Steve leads through Thad.Sipple, and you can get to work in a matter of days. Nothing teaches better and more thoroughly than field experience, and really only a couple of focused days learning several carriers is all you need prior to getting out into the field.
4) Align Yourself with a Trainer -- whether it's through Ben, Travis, or any of the other guys that have offered to help, most certainly work with someone sells this stuff weekly. Working with a "suit" who hasn't sold in a long time hazardous to your FE health.
That's my belief. No disrespect to bowman but when you're in Macon,ga one day and Louisiana 3 days later it's hard to give a new guy the hands on he needs.Riding with someone a few days won't cut it. No doubt some can take the ball and run with it but most can't. I've been doing this to long and seen too many fail. But to each his own.
- 16,926
There are MANY exceptions to your rules. In fact I doubt that any of the FE big hitters had months of hands on field training. Did you? Do you even sell FE successfully?
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