Becoming a State Farm Agent

[gwar28]

AJF,

Everybody know's that many of these decisions are made for these new guys starting. The fact is you drink the koolaid of number of staff, pave leads, location/lease etc or you dont get a contract.

Sure the company states your an ind. contractor but we know the reality. Hell, even using the companies own test on commercial insurance we come up more like employees than ind. contractors.

I was never "told" where to go, or how many employees to hire. I am not saying that they didn't "direct" me a little bit, but every market/zone is different. Also, I was "told" how many paves to buy, I didn't buy that many and no one even noticed. I am happy for my opportunity.

 

[J Albertson]

WOW!

This is all very eye opening. I have recently been contacted by a SF recruiter and they do paint a very rosy picture, although he did cover the commission structure very briefly, he definately did not go into near as much detail as you folks do here!

My question is this ... as far as considering a career change, being new to insurance, is SF ( and their plan/agenda ) a good way to learn and get started?

I have experience in banking, lending, and financials as well as many years of sales and sales training in the auto industry.

I am just looking for something that will give back as much as I put into it!

Any suggestions or ideas are appreciated.

 

[Guest]

The economy isn't helping the situation.

 

[markschneider86]

Go independent. Its the way to go, that what I am.

 

[newagent2010]

Ok so I got more information on TICA and how to put together a first year business plan.

I have been in the industry a couple years now just now a p&C agent.

State farm numbers looked way off so check my math.

They want:
50 autos a month
30 fire
36,000 annual premium in life
15,000 annual premium in health
plus other stuff.

Now if you do all of that the first year compisation would be the same as a competitor that I know.

However the competitor who is very well known only requires a third of those numbers.

Am I missing something?

 

[VolAgent]

State farm numbers looked way off so check my math.

They want:
50 autos a month
30 fire
36,000 annual premium in life
15,000 annual premium in health
plus other stuff.


Am I missing something?

In a word, yes. If you can produce 36,000 annual premium in life and 15,000 annual premium in health a month, why are you wasting your time with State Farm? Even those are yearly numbers, you are performing better than most new agents.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

They want:
50 autos a month

This is gonna take some HUGE marketing dollars to accomplish...hope you've got some deep pockets!

 

[newagent2010]

Volagent,


That my point guys....I am asking AGAIN...afterm meeting with them...I think the upfront investment of 50 to 100k does not make sense for the return on that investment which was about 27k a year in income if you hit the above numbers...I shared.

The above numbers to me seemed crazy / rediculous..I know agents with 3 to 4 support staff not hitting half that.

So again am I the crazy one or is SF the crazy one for thinking I would buy into this?

 

[VolAgent]

Volagent,


That my point guys....I am asking AGAIN...afterm meeting with them...I think the upfront investment of 50 to 100k does not make sense for the return on that investment which was about 27k a year in income if you hit the above numbers...I shared.

The above numbers to me seemed crazy / rediculous..I know agents with 3 to 4 support staff not hitting half that.

So again am I the crazy one or is SF the crazy one for thinking I would buy into this?

Is that a rhetorical question? Even on a captive contract, that much life and health monthly production will produce the same income in a month as you hope to make in a year with State Farm, for a fraction of the stress. It really makes me wonder what the life payout is from State Farm, or are the expenses just that high.

But seriously, as long as State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, etc. have people standing in line for the agency opportunity, they will continue to have insane expectations.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

So again am I the crazy one or is SF the crazy one for thinking I would buy into this?

But seriously, as long as State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, etc. have people standing in line for the agency opportunity, they will continue have insane expectations.

Something else to take into account is that many, including me, feel that this model is dying. The direct-writers have been hurting them, big time, and more and more of it goes online everyday.

You may be jumping on at the tail end - where the smart money seldom lives...