What do our forum members like best about selling insurance?
Selling insurance isn’t for everyone. Sometimes you get rejected, sometimes a lead you thought was brilliant gets shot down, and sometimes clients don’t follow through. You might have some long and fruitless days, and you might have trouble staying motivated. Though all jobs can be rife with frustration, the insurance industry comes with its own unique set of challenges and pitfalls.
On the upside, the rewards can be plentiful. We asked, and you answered – here are the top five things our forum readers and posters love about selling insurance.
1. Being Your Own Boss
There’s nothing quite like working for one of your favorite people in the world – yourself. When you work for yourself, you’re always on the same page as your boss. If you have to dash off to a doctor’s appointment or want to start work late, no one is going to stop you.
A sense of autonomy can be a wonderful motivator for those of us who tend to prefer marching to their own drum.
2. Meeting People – and Helping Them
If you’re working at a charity organization or as a teacher in a school, your profession is widely-known as an altruistic one. But if you’re selling insurance, you can make just as much of a positive impact as any profession. Whether it’s helping someone with a renewal or assisting them with the best way to invest money that has been left to them, being a part of the insurance industry can allow you to directly make positive changes in people’s lives. If only agents could register as 501cs…..!
One poster told us a story about a grandmother he met with who lives on a very limited income. After a bad storm, her roof was leaking, her hot water heater had gone out, and she was keeping her grandchildren for the summer. After our poster realized she was over-insured with four different policies, he helped her to simplify her options, eventually garnering her a $2,100 check. He said, “Her appreciation embarrassed me. I just used my knowledge to genuinely help!”
Helping people is one perk, with the added benefit of getting to meet people from all walks of life. One poster told us, “I really love to hear people’s stories. Most of my clients are older, and they love to tell stories. I have so many really cool, unique clients that it’s fun to go to work every day. The money is fabulous, but the people are the best!”
3. The Money
This is a rather obvious one – but selling insurance is a profession in which, if done right, can bring an agent unlimited income. One poster phrased it as “the most amount of money you can make in the least amount of time.”
Another poster said, “Life happens and having the ability to make money almost on demand is a very good thing. I love the feeling of walking out of the house with a 1000 dollar bill.” Along with the flexibility of setting your own working hours, you can decide how much money you want to make, and then work towards getting there. Without a steady paycheck, the sky can be the limit. Renewals were also frequently mentioned as a positive financial aspect of selling insurance. One poster told us, “I’m making $50/hour on renewals so if I don’t sell something I still made decent money that day.” The residual income from renewals can be substantial.
4. A Sense of Accomplishment
With no boss taking credit for your work, any agent closing a deal can feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment and self-worth. When you close a deal, there’s no one to take credit for it but you. When you help someone find and purchase the right option for their set of circumstances – that’s also all on you.
Several forum posters noted that no two days are the same – and as a result, each day brings a unique set of challenges and obstacles. One reader told us, “I have never stopped learning in this business.” From learning about crop insurance to learning how to establish trust with clients, selling insurance comes with its own constant real-life classroom.
5. A Flexible Schedule
Whether you’re working a 35-hour week or an 80-hour week, your schedule is up to you, and you control your own destiny – and not from a cubicle farm. No corporate politics, no pointless rules, and no face time!
One reader told us, “I love that I can get into my truck and prospect whenever I want. I can tell you that it is a LOT better than working out of a cubical farm like I used to when I worked for the corporate insurance world.”
