I have been reading a lot on these forums and honestly it is pretty discouraging. So I am reaching out to try to sift through what is and is not realistic by clarifying my concerns. I am 23 years old due to graduate next semester. I have a job offer with a subsidiary of MassMutual Life and it seems like a great opportunity (from the numbers they have given me). A bit about me: I have been in sales since I was a freshman in college and have proven to be quite good at it. I have been the top sales person for every job I have had at one time or another. That being said, I am considering accepting this position, all commission (which I am used to, but am not completely sure if it is a raw deal considering the industry) and moving forward. My concerns are these: Are the figures these guys are throwing at me realistic? Here are the figures:
10 years from now (assuming you follow their model) should be making upwards of 300K.
15 Years should have 250K residual and at least 200K in additional earnings annually.
These figures I'm sure are exaggerated to some extent and obviously based on best case scenario, top performance statistics, but if I cut those figures in half, that still seems like a pretty sweet gig. My skepticism is further fueled though by reading through this forum. People are responding to topics titled "How many reps make at least 40K a year?" with responses like "I have been in the business for 24 years and never seen anybody double that figure" or "I have been in the business 21 years and never made that much." Even the more promising of the responses still makes the 'opportunity' appear much more grim like "if you have been in the business for 2 years 40K should not be a problem. By my 5th year making 60K was not unattainable."
So here is my question. What can I ACTUALLY expect to make 5 years down the line working for MASSMUTUAL right out of college with a good work ethic, sales knowledge and experience and a drive to succeed? Obviously the figures will vary as circumstances can not be controlled or predicted, but just some sort of figure that gives a realistic account of what I am getting into from a non-biased party would be EXTREMELY helpful to the decision I make about my future. I don't want to get into something that I believe will be extremely lucrative, work my ass of knowing I will make chicken scratch for 3 years, then 5 to 6 years down the line realize I am stuck (bound by reality) in a range of 60-100K a year. I think I could make that figure 2 years out of college putting in half the duress it seems I will need to in this industry, but those options seem more limited to stay in that range.
My ideal situation: I would like to be making 400K a year in 10 years minimum. Can I expect that to happen in this industry? And my last question, and forgive me for rambling, if you had the choice (in my situation, being that of a recent college grad) to take a position with Eli Lilly 50K base plus uncapped commission or Life Insurance residual commission being young and driven, what do YOU think is a better option for the LONG TERM?
Sorry for so many words...thank you in advance for your time.
10 years from now (assuming you follow their model) should be making upwards of 300K.
15 Years should have 250K residual and at least 200K in additional earnings annually.
These figures I'm sure are exaggerated to some extent and obviously based on best case scenario, top performance statistics, but if I cut those figures in half, that still seems like a pretty sweet gig. My skepticism is further fueled though by reading through this forum. People are responding to topics titled "How many reps make at least 40K a year?" with responses like "I have been in the business for 24 years and never seen anybody double that figure" or "I have been in the business 21 years and never made that much." Even the more promising of the responses still makes the 'opportunity' appear much more grim like "if you have been in the business for 2 years 40K should not be a problem. By my 5th year making 60K was not unattainable."
So here is my question. What can I ACTUALLY expect to make 5 years down the line working for MASSMUTUAL right out of college with a good work ethic, sales knowledge and experience and a drive to succeed? Obviously the figures will vary as circumstances can not be controlled or predicted, but just some sort of figure that gives a realistic account of what I am getting into from a non-biased party would be EXTREMELY helpful to the decision I make about my future. I don't want to get into something that I believe will be extremely lucrative, work my ass of knowing I will make chicken scratch for 3 years, then 5 to 6 years down the line realize I am stuck (bound by reality) in a range of 60-100K a year. I think I could make that figure 2 years out of college putting in half the duress it seems I will need to in this industry, but those options seem more limited to stay in that range.
My ideal situation: I would like to be making 400K a year in 10 years minimum. Can I expect that to happen in this industry? And my last question, and forgive me for rambling, if you had the choice (in my situation, being that of a recent college grad) to take a position with Eli Lilly 50K base plus uncapped commission or Life Insurance residual commission being young and driven, what do YOU think is a better option for the LONG TERM?
Sorry for so many words...thank you in advance for your time.