Question- New Agent

[Hanger]

Ok, so I may do 1 or 2 Marketplace transactions a year- but I was recently approached by a friend who owns a small business, that asked for some help as he will be losing his group insurance Jan 1. His accountant told him it would be in his best interest to just give a lump sum to the 7 employees of his that actually take insurance and have them purchase on the marketplace.

I obviously do not want to pay for an FMO or anything as an aggressive campaign as this would be such a small portion- for

2021 Individuals- it looks like Caresource is statewide and Anthem is in 5 counties on Marketplace- of course the ones I service.
For SHOP it shows Human, Anthem, UHC, etc-

While this is not a primary business, if someone asks, I would like to be in position to help if I can- Doing the MLMS training it mentions to ensure you are contracted with the carriers or for them to put your NPN on their application.

For maybe doing this small amount of business, whats the best way to proceed? Thanks.

 

[Markthebroker]

I can't speak to your specific questions, but I can share my experience which may be helpful to you.

When I first started out, I needed to bring money in any way I could. I was selling life, personal p&c, commercial p&c, I was selling stuff on Ebay, and selling legal insurance. My focus was always on commercial p&c, and now that's all I do as far as selling. Sometimes I get a call here and there for life insurance or something else, but I am so focused and efficient on commercial p&c now, that anything that turns me away usually costs me more as a distraction than it could make me in the end. Generally agents that develop a niche and focus on it make more than "jack of all trades" agents. Just some food for thought.

 

[Hanger]

I can't speak to your specific questions, but I can share my experience which may be helpful to you.

When I first started out, I needed to bring money in any way I could. I was selling life, personal p&c, commercial p&c, I was selling stuff on Ebay, and selling legal insurance. My focus was always on commercial p&c, and now that's all I do as far as selling. Sometimes I get a call here and there for life insurance or something else, but I am so focused and efficient on commercial p&c now, that anything that turns me away usually costs me more as a distraction than it could make me in the end. Generally agents that develop a niche and focus on it make more than "jack of all trades" agents. Just some food for thought.

That makes a lot of sense- I guess it made sense to me with Medicare being a primary objective for 2021, that perhaps it would be beneficial to understand and be able to write some business for the marketplace if it came up.

Niches make sense- and I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel, I’ve spent a lot of time reading. Maybe too much and that’s why related fields seem complimentary to be able to sell.

 

[Markthebroker]

Yeah, well, I'm all about focusing on one thing, and doing it well. That's worked for me, and frankly since the policies I write are fairly sizeable, as well as some other factors, it's been pretty profitable.

There are other people with other ways to do it that have a different approach, and they have been successful too, so there you go.

 

[Hanger]

Figure I should say publicly what I told Mark privately- it makes a lot of sense focusing on one niche-

to a layman like me however it feels like it would be a complementary offering, thats what led me to research it.

Hopefully a guru here can explain where I am being stubborn and thick-headed.

 

[rousemark]

Figure I should say publicly what I told Mark privately- it makes a lot of sense focusing on one niche-

to a layman like me however it feels like it would be a complementary offering, thats what led me to research it.

Hopefully a guru here can explain where I am being stubborn and thick-headed.

You would be better off passing those clients on to an argent that specializes in that type of business, perhaps with a commission split of some kind. . You will end up spending 10%+ of your time and resources on something that will probably produce less than 1% of your income if you only work those that "ask".. JMHO

 

[Markthebroker]

You would be better off passing those clients on to an argent that specializes in that type of business, perhaps with a commission split of some kind. . You will end up spending 10%+ of your time and resources on something that will probably produce less than 1% of your income if you only work those that "ask".. JMHO

Well put.

 

[Hanger]

Thank you fellas! Appreciate the input no doubt. I’m about done with the MLMS training- it’s somewhat interesting so I will chalk it up to learning and it was free so.....no harm no foul just my down time.

it’s easy to see what would complementary business and get that tunnel vision to offer multiple things.


Note to self. Don’t reinvent the wheel stupid. Follow the paved path!

 

[Markthebroker]

A fool will make the same mistake over and over. Most people will learn from their own mistakes. A brilliant person will learn from others before they even make the mistake themselves.

We've already made this mistake for you.

 

[Hanger]

Thanks for paving the road!!