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I have been wanting to leave my current job in education for a long time. I did sign my contract for this coming year, but the closer it gets to starting school, the more my stomach hurts.
I went to set up my classroom yesterday and the roof leaked and their is visible mold in their now. Mold is probably of the reasons I stayed so sick last year.
I applied for a job at a local insurance agency. I have an interview on Monday. I know nothing about insurance, but I'm ready to try something new and learn something new. Can anyone give me advice on how to resign before the start of school and be an enticing candidate for this job? I would like to hear the pros and cons of insurance sales also. Thanks!
Cons: You are walking into one of the toughest industry to survive. 9 out of 10 fails, especially after their warm market dries up. Most won't survive the first 3 months. After a year, only 1 out of 10 will make it.
Pros: You can make a lot of money. A lot. I met very successful agents who earns 7 figures a year in this industry.
Life and Annuities have huge upfront payments. Auto, Home, and Commercial have huge Residual Income due to renewals.
Selling car and home insurance is a little bit more easier but not by much. Life, health and retirement are more difficult and a lot more complex. Especially when many products have been evolved over the years. Like everything else, insurance and retirement products evolve too.
Things I need to know from you:
Is that agency a captive agency/company? Represent only one company for example State Farm, Farmers, NY Life.
Is it non captive? Freedom to contract with many insurance companies and can pick and chose what is best for client. Not restricted to one company.
Are you contracting as an Agent or Producer?
What are you going to offer to clients? Auto? Home? Commercial? Life? Health? Retirement? All?
What is your contract/payment agreement?
All Commission? Salaried and Bonuses?
Do you have savings to last you?
I hope you have mastered the art of MARKETING. Yes, marketing. Not sales. Marketing. 80% of your time will be spent on marketing, prospecting, and networking.
You can be the world's greatest "Pitch Man" but it won't mean poop because if you don't have your marketing down, you will have ZERO people to pitch to.
Do you have a system to generate clients? What's your ability to network with people? Can you walk up to a random stranger and approach them about you and your business? Do you have a large network of circle of influence?
If you are a great listener and educator, it helps. You best serve your clients by doing that. Listen and educate your clients. Help bring a solution to their problem or concerns.
Biggest reason why only 1 out of 10 people make it is due to their inability to market them self. They simply run out of clients. No clients equals no money. No money equals I quit.
Maybe consider becoming a Real Estate agent instead. Short period of schooling, get on with a local agency. Teachers make great agents. We already know how to educate and inform and encourage. Plus getting ''out and about'' beats sitting in an office all day.
I just recently left the insurance agent field. I also knew nothing about insurance and felt nervous about going into it. The company paid for the coursework and I had to pass the state exam to get the license before I could start any training. I studied a lot and it was a thick long boring book to read and study. Exam was nerve wrecking. Again, they covered all costs. I passed first try, thankfully. I was hired by a lady who started a franchise of a well known insurance company. A big factor is who your boss will be. So, the pros and cons.
Pros
- clean comfortable work environment
- can be decent pay with commission however my base pay was low and no benefits
- unlimited pay potential at least for me at this place, there was no cap
- relatively easy work once you pass exam
- could eventually open your own office
- set hours, 9-5 off weekends (actually, this was a con for me)
Cons
- for me, very boring repetitive work. 8 hours staring at the screen, felt mundane
- slow pace, though for some this could be a pro
- dealing with customers, like many jobs this could be difficult though I had mostly positive experiences
- it was lower pay to start and no medical, this depends on who you work for
- sales work. I feel I am not very good with sales. I don't like to be pushy and that is what I was expected to do. I did cold calling to, which I hated. You get yelled at and hung up on a lot. Again, this wasn't something that was right for me. Some people would say sales is a pro so depends on what you like
- stuck in a office for 40 hours a week (for me, with no window)
Again this depends on the location your applying to and how things will be set up and what all is offered. It varies so much. This is just my personal opinions. I wouldn't get back into insurance sales, it's just not right for me.
Maybe consider becoming a Real Estate agent instead. Short period of schooling, get on with a local agency. Teachers make great agents. We already know how to educate and inform and encourage. Plus getting ''out and about'' beats sitting in an office all day.
RE failure rate is just as high. The only difference is the product. They still run into all the same issues as insurance agents have.
I have been wanting to leave my current job in education for a long time. I did sign my contract for this coming year, but the closer it gets to starting school, the more my stomach hurts.
I went to set up my classroom yesterday and the roof leaked and their is visible mold in their now. Mold is probably of the reasons I stayed so sick last year.
I applied for a job at a local insurance agency. I have an interview on Monday. I know nothing about insurance, but I'm ready to try something new and learn something new. Can anyone give me advice on how to resign before the start of school and be an enticing candidate for this job? I would like to hear the pros and cons of insurance sales also. Thanks!
Hard core sales. Sink or swim. You aren't going to get much help. Churn and burn industry.
But, if you are good at it, you can make a ton of money.
Personally, I would rather be a RE agent than insurance.
[quote=calnbs;44945979]Cons: You are walking into one of the toughest industry to survive. 9 out of 10 fails, especially after their warm market dries up. Most won't survive the first 3 months. After a year, only 1 out of 10 will make it.
Pros: You can make a lot of money. A lot. I met very successful agents who earns 7 figures a year in this industry.
Life and Annuities have huge upfront payments. Auto, Home, and Commercial have huge Residual Income due to renewals.
Selling car and home insurance is a little bit more easier but not by much. Life, health and retirement are more difficult and a lot more complex. Especially when many products have been evolved over the years. Like everything else, insurance and retirement products evolve too.
Things I need to know from you:
Is that agency a captive agency/company? Represent only one company for example State Farm, Farmers, NY Life.
Is it non captive? Freedom to contract with many insurance companies and can pick and chose what is best for client. Not restricted to one company.
Are you contracting as an Agent or Producer?
Agent
What are you going to offer to clients? Auto? Home? Commercial? Life? Health? Retirement? All?
Auto/Home/Life
What is your contract/payment agreement?
Haven't gotten that far yet. I have an interview on Monday.
All Commission? Salaried and Bonuses? Base is 34,000 plus commission. My salary as a teacher now is 35,000.
Do you have savings to last you? No savings, but I have a husband that is willing to accommodate the job change.
Do you have a system to generate clients? What's your ability to network with people? Can you walk up to a random stranger and approach them about you and your business? Do you have a large network of circle of influence?
No system, do you have any ideas? I have no problem speaking to people I don't know.
If you are a great listener and educator, it helps. You best serve your clients by doing that. Listen and educate your clients. Help bring a solution to their problem or concerns.
I just recently left the insurance agent field. I also knew nothing about insurance and felt nervous about going into it. The company paid for the coursework and I had to pass the state exam to get the license before I could start any training. I studied a lot and it was a thick long boring book to read and study. Exam was nerve wrecking. Again, they covered all costs. I passed first try, thankfully. I was hired by a lady who started a franchise of a well known insurance company. A big factor is who your boss will be. So, the pros and cons.
Pros
- clean comfortable work environment
- can be decent pay with commission however my base pay was low and no benefits
- unlimited pay potential at least for me at this place, there was no cap
- relatively easy work once you pass exam
- could eventually open your own office
- set hours, 9-5 off weekends (actually, this was a con for me)
Cons
- for me, very boring repetitive work. 8 hours staring at the screen, felt mundane
- slow pace, though for some this could be a pro
- dealing with customers, like many jobs this could be difficult though I had mostly positive experiences
- it was lower pay to start and no medical, this depends on who you work for
- sales work. I feel I am not very good with sales. I don't like to be pushy and that is what I was expected to do. I did cold calling to, which I hated. You get yelled at and hung up on a lot. Again, this wasn't something that was right for me. Some people would say sales is a pro so depends on what you like
- stuck in a office for 40 hours a week (for me, with no window)
Again this depends on the location your applying to and how things will be set up and what all is offered. It varies so much. This is just my personal opinions. I wouldn't get back into insurance sales, it's just not right for me.
i'm sorry but if the exam was nerve-wracking you're certainly not in the right field - the insurance exams are the easiest to pass! Most don't even study (and yes i have mine) - FINRA exams are much more difficult
It is an incredibly boring field. I currently am a non licensed rep and I just need a paycheck. I am contracted until December. If they offer me a permanent job I hope to turn them down and party for the winter.
Don't be fool with the $34,000 Based Pay. In sales, base pay is a MIRAGE. Agency owners and managers like to throw those based pay out to people to make them feel a little bit more at ease but there's no free lunch in sales.
In other jobs, they'll give you a chance to grow into the job if you put effort. In sales, you are not being paid on effort, you are being paid on RESULTS.
If you are doing bad in sales, they will know. Your numbers will show it. There is no way around it. That based salary won't mean a dang thing in 3 months if you do not bring results. Sales is were you really have to earn your keep. They aren't going to give you enough time to figure things out if you are not bringing in sales. In 3 months, you are out the door if you are not meeting sales quotas. It doesn't matter if you worked 70 hours a week. It won't mean a dang thing if that 70 hours of week resulted in 0 sales.
Clients won't be coming to you. You will have to hunt for clients, Especially the early years. Networking and marketing will be crucial. I hope you do have that ability to walk up to a stranger and talk to that stranger about insurance. You'll need that skill. That will be difference between food on the table and starving. I met a guy who did exactly that. Talked to every single stranger that came his way. He made a lot of money as a part time agent.
Read as much book as you can about insurance, sales, and marketing. You'll need it.
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