I Passed My Exam, Now What?

[Candymouth]

Hi everyone. I had discovered this forum when I was deciding on what license to go for, and loved it. I loved the real and no bs advice! I just passed my CA Fire and Casualty Broker-Agent exam today. I had a few questions and any help/advice would be great.

I have no insurance experience. I am currently a SAHM, five years ago I was a kitchen designer at an orange home store for five years and am ultimately looking to work out of my home office selling insurance.

I immediately hope to work for a certain lizard until the market gets better (we own a construction company) and I get a better hold of the insurance world.

My questions are these, and of course being completely ignorant are ignorant =)

1-How can you get appointments? How in the world can you learn what to do as an agent/broker without actually working under one?

2-Do you get paid once an application is approved and monthly or ...?

3-What is the best insurance to sell, I live in a small town, that has several large allstate, state farm type offices and a few brokers for a town of about 50,000.

4-Is buying leads and cold calling the only way to start?

5-Please someone give me a clue so I can stop being so annoying! I am a workaholic and am used to being self employed, so working endlessly to make a living is not a problem for me and is to be expected.

Thanks so much, sorry to ramble!

 

[Mac1958]

I would strongly recommend the following:

Don't try to start on your own. I did that and I wish I hadn't, and I had written a book and several magazine articles on marketing. Plus, not knowing all the ins-and-outs of the business mechanics is just begging for a lawsuit or compliance problems.

Work for a company that can provide REAL training and REAL support. They'll all interview you, and you should be picky and interview them, too.

Plan on staying there a while. Planning to leave from Day One will do nothing but distract you, and this business is difficult enough as it is.

Read "Guerilla Marketing" by J Conrad Levinson. Twice. Then read it again. This book will show you how to create relationships that bring business, and how to get your name in local circulation. Crucial. You're definitely going to want to leverage any existing business and/or personal relationships from your prior work.

Bill Good writes great books on cold calling. Go to Amazon. And look for books on networking as well, such as "Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty" by Harvey MacKay.

Don't forget that this is a sales job. If you don't have a specific Marketing Plan in place, and if you don't absolutely commit to marketing every single day, you may as well not get started. I can guarantee you two things: No one will be begging you to sell them insurance, and the competition will always be tough and aggressive. And grow a thick skin while you're at it.

The pay is going to depend on the kind of insurance you're selling. In general, you get paid after the policy is issued. Usually monthly.

The type of insurance you sell depends on you and what interests you. There is no one-size-fits-all "best". But if it doesn't interest you, you'll get bored and miserable. Me, I prefer life and investment-related products (I also have a Series 65). P & C would drive me nuts, too much admin. But that's just me.

Good luck, and don't forget: Regret sucks. You don't want to look back in five years and wish you had done this right.

 

[Carlos Gil]

We can have you running your own agency in less than a month with all the carriers, E&O ($199 per Year), Rater, and an Agency Management System.

Plus the ability to do taxes.

Please visit FiestaFranchise(dot)com for additional information.

Should you have any questions please contact us.

Carlos Gil
Sales & Marketing Manager
16162 Beach Blvd Suite 100
Huntington Beach, Ca 92647
(714) 842-5420 Ext 237
(714) 842-5401 Fax
(714) 916-1758 Cell
E-mail: E-mail: [email protected]

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Carlos, you should get a lot of response, cuz I'm gonna take these two pieces of info:

(714) 916-1758 Cell
E-mail: E-mail: [email protected]

and put them into every single "send/call me with more info" website I bump into.

 

[AtlantaLife&Health]

Maybe someone should send Carlos a SPAM sandwich.

 

[uhcougars]

i want to start my own insurance company.