Starting Out

[VGS]

That is a good starting point. But being your father's daughter is not as strong as an endorsement would be from your father.if he were still living. Does the income you have now cover your expense and if so why are you changing?

You are right about that....


My income now does cover my expenses, however, I am driving 30 miles to and from work (60 miles a day), the company I am currently working for paid us a week late on our last paycheck, and I am barely making enough.

I want more success, not to be living paycheck to paycheck. Either way I'm going to have to make a change, why not try something that will allow me to earn more depending on how hard I work?

 

[xrac]

I do not fault you there. Maybe you can do some belt tightening. I don't question what you are wanting to do but just go in with your eyes open and ready for worse case. What kind of payout will you have on commissions and will you have renewals?

 

[smokin goose]

I wish you the absolute best of luck.

 

[Josh]

I have been considering insurance sales for several months. At first, I was looking into starting my own agency, but reality hit me... I need some training, having not worked in insurance sales before and my financial situation isn't secure enough to be starting my own business.

I have talked to a few captive agents, they keep telling me I could do really well. I have a client list from my father's business and it appears to be a good starting point. I have connections in the real estate community. My concern is, I am a single mother, working paycheck to paycheck pretty much. The base pay for a producer is not enough to cover my bills. I am confident that I can make sales, I have no problem getting out in front of the customer, I get that it's a numbers game.

My question is, I'll get between $10- $12/ per hour for a base pay, how long does it take the average producer to get to and average pay of $17 per hour? I plan on being above average, but that's what I need so I can support my household.

A few points in no particular order:

1. Anytime you're getting a base plus commission in this business you're getting more security than most folks, so that's certainly a good step consideirng your situation.

2. Unrelated, but if you're concern is living paycheck to paycheck, start looking at your spending habits. Ben Franklin said a penny saved is a penny earned; you might be able to start "earning" extra money right now.

3. Your connections might not end up being worth the paper they're printed on. Hopefully they are, most people aren't too attached one way or the other to their P&C business so giving just about anyone a shot to save them money isn't going to be a bad thing in their eyes. It's possible they already went somewhere that locked them down with solid service and great rates, so even if they like you, giving a rookie agent your business is something that is going to take some convincing.

4. If you want a running start, put together your marketing plan. Sit down right now (or when you have some time) and write out exactly how you'll find new customers. I very much doubt you'll have much to put on your list, but either way take some time and really plan it out. P&C commissions tend to be the lowest out of most insurance products because they're relatively easy to sell. Even if it's not required by law, anyone with a lick of reasoning skills will have that type of coverage. How you can explain the value of having higher limits, more coverage, etc is going to be the difference between getting the lay downs and really getting a client base going. If you and I sat down and looked over your own policy then looked at the policies a dozen other people had my guess is we'd find at least half of them didn't understand what they had and would need something that would result in an increased premium. UI/UM along with med pay are two of the most common undervalued coverages. Explaining to people why they need to insure themselves (UI/UM) as much as they insure other people (liability) is a very powerful thing.

Best of luck with everything. With a reasonable amount of planning I'm sure you'll be able to improve your current situation.

 

[Pacman2012]

Well, I work for a State Farm agent and have a base salary of $12/hour and counting my commisions I'm earning more like $21/hour and I've made that for 2 years. So basically if you're already making $10 and you need $17 assuming you're working 40 hours a week you'll need $1,120 in commision to make that $17 mark. If you're above average it shouldn't take you too long.

Good luck!