Newly Licensed P+C Agent Here - Can you help me? - INTJ

[Guitarist]

Hi y'all,

I am excited to announce that I earned my South Carolina P+C license earlier this month! I am teaming up with an agency and the owner is very passionate about training agents and building them up to where they can make 6-figure income in 3 years and potentially own their own agency in 5 years. I jumped into this opportunity based on the fact that I know several agents who have done very well and it is definitely a great way to earn a living.

Like I said, I am excited, BUT, also uncertain about this career. I am a PGA Member and owned my own golf instruction business which I built to 200+ clients. I worked my butt off but it didn't pay me as well as I would have liked. The nice thing about insurance is that the business models appear to be very similar to golf instruction.....

Here's the problem.... I feel like I know next to NOTHING (aside from what the textbook taught me) about insurance and the products I am selling but I am confident enough to make calls just to be able to review their current home/auto policies. Anybody else feel this way starting out?

Also, I have a hard time knowing how you make decent money in this business - can someone here explain to me how to breakdown the numbers? What is a realistic expectation for a first year independent agent salary?

The reason I am posting this is that I don't want to waste my time and effort in another venture if it's not going to reward me. I've expended tons of effort into golf instruction for little pay and it's been a lot of learning but also frustrating.

I am very ambitious but also not the type of person to spend 8 hours a day on the phone. I've got a list of 300+ people that I am comfortable calling, I just wonder if I am making the right choice getting into this business. It seems that making a six-figure salary in this business will be very exhausting for a person like me who is analytical, somewhat reserved, and a person who doesn't like to "push" a sale onto people. I'd much rather help people than force a sale.

Thank you for your help with this new agent!

PS: I am an INTJ personality type. Not sure if that helps.

Tom

 

[fed up]

You have already wasted your time if you did not have the answers to today's questions before you started studying for the license. Let your boss guide you, learn from him, ask lots of questions so you know what you are selling. Just because a bank or a state says that people have to carry insurance does not mean that they are beating a path to your door. Have your boss place you on the phone after he has made a sale so you know the follow-up that goes with issuing a policy. Figure an average of 10% of the premium of each policy you sell will be your commission income. 6 figures means you have to produce $1,000,000 in premium dollars, that works out to 1,000 policies at an average of $1000 per policy

 

[GolfAgent]

Hi y'all,

I am excited to announce that I earned my South Carolina P+C license earlier this month! I am teaming up with an agency and the owner is very passionate about training agents and building them up to where they can make 6-figure income in 3 years and potentially own their own agency in 5 years. I jumped into this opportunity based on the fact that I know several agents who have done very well and it is definitely a great way to earn a living.

Like I said, I am excited, BUT, also uncertain about this career. I am a PGA Member and owned my own golf instruction business which I built to 200+ clients. I worked my butt off but it didn't pay me as well as I would have liked. The nice thing about insurance is that the business models appear to be very similar to golf instruction.....

Here's the problem.... I feel like I know next to NOTHING (aside from what the textbook taught me) about insurance and the products I am selling but I am confident enough to make calls just to be able to review their current home/auto policies. Anybody else feel this way starting out?

Also, I have a hard time knowing how you make decent money in this business - can someone here explain to me how to breakdown the numbers? What is a realistic expectation for a first year independent agent salary?

The reason I am posting this is that I don't want to waste my time and effort in another venture if it's not going to reward me. I've expended tons of effort into golf instruction for little pay and it's been a lot of learning but also frustrating.

I am very ambitious but also not the type of person to spend 8 hours a day on the phone. I've got a list of 300+ people that I am comfortable calling, I just wonder if I am making the right choice getting into this business. It seems that making a six-figure salary in this business will be very exhausting for a person like me who is analytical, somewhat reserved, and a person who doesn't like to "push" a sale onto people. I'd much rather help people than force a sale.

Thank you for your help with this new agent!

PS: I am an INTJ personality type. Not sure if that helps.

Tom

A lot to go through here but I will start with the heavy hitters-

-I was a lot like you and had zero experience in insurance before jumping right into it...you will learn quickly! You have to or you will get run over, if you don't know the answer clients don't care. As long as you get back to them quickly with the right answer that is fine....don't just spitball guesses to sound knowledgeable.
-That six figure income in 3 years is attainable, but it all depends on commission structure and what you are selling. If you are looking to go mostly personal lines than I would say that is not going to happen. If you are doing commercial then it is much more doable. Fed up earlier stated $1M of premium at 10% is six figures, that is assuming you are getting 100% commission split, which is not how you will be set up. Assuming you get 50% commission split between you and the agency owner on renewals and new business you would need $2M in written premium by year 3 at 10% commission to make 6 figures, no easy task but its possible. Insurance is about the long game, you aren't going to go make $300k your first year, but after awhile it turns into a nice residual book that is fairly low maintenance if you do it properly.

-Realistic first year salary is probably $30-40k if the agency owner helps you out, if you are going on straight commissions it will be less than that. Its going to take you some time to get your feet wet and be comfortable making sales.

-You don't need to be pushy, I have found most of my clients appreciate me being personable and honest....they don't like the high pressure sales tactic. I lay everything out on the table for them and I might do some tactful things to push them to do the sale, but never pushy.

I come from the golf business as well, it will treat you well in this industry, particularly on the commercial side. A lot of business gets done on the golf course! PM me if you have any other questions, Id be happy to help lay out a road map of how to be successful in this industry as I just went down the road you are embarking on and I know its intimidating.

Cheers