State Farm Interview!

[Norwayguy]

You said:

There are a number of ways an agent can fail out of the business after spending thousands and being in debt in the P&C world (or any other for that matter). That's hardly unique to SF or an automatic flag to say no dice on a P&C contract. The fact that they already have a bunch of the market and are a captive shop that expects you to continue to produce even if their rates aren't competitive is much more alarming to me.

So answer your question directly, if you don't have P&C experience and aren't aware of what's out there, it may not give you enough of a picture to be able to fairly say whether or not a contract is attractive relative to the industry. I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but I think perspective is important.

More scary to me is the term contract that allows all control of if you get a permanent contract in state farms hand without a set you do x and you will make your contract.

 

[The Colonel]

ASG,

Good advice below about talking to a few current TICA's in your area. Understanding the contract-how you get paid-is key. State Farm agency can still be a successful career today, but it's not as easy as it used to be. You'll need to produce bank, mutual funds, life, health + tons of p&c. From my 20 years experience it's not the lack of production that trips up new hires these days-it's the inability to manage their team. Hiring/firing/developing the right folks is still the key to running an Agency-no matter what contract you're on. Good luck.

 

[PhilL]

As part of your due-diligence efforts, make sure you ask as many hard questions as possible, particularly as to scenarios involving ownership of the developed business. You need to be totally clear as to these aspects of the realtionship. Have them point-out the respective clarification within the contract. Such relationships can seem wonderful at the onset but can grow negative. Hopefully not for you, but best to be fully prepared. All the best to you.
Just make sure you do not sign anything of this nature unless you are fully understanding it. Initially, I suggest that you pose all of your questions in an email and ask for their clarification, with specific references to the sections within the contract that apply to the situations of which you are inquiring.
Take your time.