Worst Advice you ever got in Insurance Industry?

[PrivClientSG]

Very interesting question. I guess for me, it's more been the case of advice I got very early on being decent or good advice for then and that point in time in my career, whereas today the advice would be very inapplicable today. However, I get that is common.

I never liked the "salesy" advice I got. I was never kitchen-table-top marketplace, and I found those appointments extremely frustrating early in my career. However, they were supposed to be extremely frustrating!!! That's making your bones! LOL. I still do a few of those a year now -- client's children or grandchildren -- to keep those market skills sharp. I also enjoy meeting with those younger people, just starting out, etc.

I guess the worst advice I ever got was "use this" shop/agency/MO "because they pay the highest commission" -- and for me, the type of practice, business model I have -- that advice was never, ever good! LOL.

 

[jdeasy]

Very interesting question. I guess for me, it's more been the case of advice I got very early on being decent or good advice for then and that point in time in my career, whereas today the advice would be very inapplicable today. However, I get that is common.

I never liked the "salesy" advice I got. I was never kitchen-table-top marketplace, and I found those appointments extremely frustrating early in my career. However, they were supposed to be extremely frustrating!!! That's making your bones! LOL. I still do a few of those a year now -- client's children or grandchildren -- to keep those market skills sharp. I also enjoy meeting with those younger people, just starting out, etc.

I guess the worst advice I ever got was "use this" shop/agency/MO "because they pay the highest commission" -- and for me, the type of practice, business model I have -- that advice was never, ever good! LOL.

Along those lines I did get bad advice about asking for referrals.

Especially from those FOS desk jockeys that say they got 4-5 referrals in every home just by asking.

Lying mf’ers!! Maybe not about asking? Although I doubt that too. But about the getting.

As a new agent you don’t know they are lying.

I saw an ad from an FE IMO a year or two ago touting their “referral system” they will teach you. I know every agent trainer they have and none of them were producers and none of them got referrals to amount to anything when they were in the field. How the hell will they teach you their “system”?

Be a damn short course.

But not knowing any better I asked for referrals. Got a few numbers and called them. That doesn’t go well. And can cost you the first business after they rake them over the coals for giving you their number.

Today I get a lot of referrals. I wrote 9 applications this week. Only one was from my leads. The other 8 were referred to me.

They all called me. I do not ask for referrals and I do not call referrals.

Referrals are earned. One couple that was referred to me was by a lady I wrote over a year ago. She was also a referral.

When people do try to give me a referral to call I tell them to give my number to the person and they can call me.

So, for me, the worst advice I ever got was to ask for referrals in every home.

 

[Deborah Armstrong]

you will make $100k your first year.......

Amen and I am a recruiter. I hate it when the industry does this because it simply isn't true. When I interview and someone brings up the promises, they were made by another company I tell them if they do not believe me go to the bureau of labor statistics and look up salaries for insurance agents. Succeeding in this industry takes hard work and diligence.

 

[Deborah Armstrong]

To cold call people for health/life insurance.

Yes, cold call and buy leads. As if that is the end all be all. Nobody seems to be told you need to be out there at Chamber meetings other networking events, social media activity, forums, conventions...

 

[Deborah Armstrong]

To write small policies.

Frankly most any advice from anyone that hasn't succeeded in insurance sales should be ignored no matter how smart they are, or how successful they have been in a similar or related field. I received some terrible, terrible advice from some very successful people - in other fields.

I find it amusing when people are telling me how something works in my field or giving advice. I am like what? I think they are trying to prove to me how much they know or think they know more than me.

 

[Deborah Armstrong]

Oooh. I forgot about that one. That was probably the first piece of horrible, horrible advice I got. The State Farm agent I worked for in the beginning of my career was pushing me hard to buy a life policy I neither wanted nor had a need for.

Haven't heard that one. May I haven't been around long enough (ten years).

 

[walthamny]

I was told to be like the Agent of the month at the NY Life office when I started. 17 years in, none of agents of the month from my first year at NY Life are in the business. I guess they run out of uncles to sell. Captives also claim that after all the benefits, you make more with them

 

[jdeasy]

To write small policies.

Frankly most any advice from anyone that hasn't succeeded in insurance sales should be ignored no matter how smart they are, or how successful they have been in a similar or related field. I received some terrible, terrible advice from some very successful people - in other fields.

That’s the key. Any advice from someone that hasn’t, can’t or won’t do what they are advising is bad advice.

New agents don’t know to question it though.

I asked a recruiter a couple years ago if anyone ever questioned his made up production numbers. His reply was a simple “never”!

 

[adjusterjack]

I know every agent trainer they have and none of them were producers and none of them got referrals to amount to anything when they were in the field. How the hell will they teach you their “system”?

Old saying:

People who can, do.
People who can't, teach. (Or manage, or supervise).

 

[ATM]

you will make $100k your first year.......

That's not advice. It was a prediction! Best prediction I got was from an old mentor type. He told me after being in the business for a couple of years, "look at how much you make this year. In 10 years you will make 10x that much."

He was correct.

Best advice I ever got was to always hunt elephants, but everything else too.