Anyone ever work for SCI

al3 · 01-05-2008, 12:20 PM

I got a call from a recruiter from Service Corp. International. They are looking for people to sell final-need whole-life plans... mostly on site from one of the funeral homes near me. It's W2, salary + commission deal.

I told him I'd take the interview next week.

Why not? I'm sure I'll learn something from it.

Anyone ever work for this HUGE corporation? They are selling Assurant Life from what he told me.

Al

LGilmore · 01-05-2008, 12:39 PM

Who knows it might be great for you. It's really going to depend on your work style. Me? I learned I hated working for sales managers, whom I felt were just parasites sucking off my work. I have one family to support..mine.

I know with a certain mindset a person can be captive and do great. Me? I see "captive" and think "prisoner", so I guess I'm not cut out for it.

Newby · 01-05-2008, 03:04 PM

Originally Posted by al3

I got a call from a recruiter from Service Corp. International. They are looking for people to sell final-need whole-life plans... mostly on site from one of the funeral homes near me. It's W2, salary + commission deal.

I told him I'd take the interview next week.

Why not? I'm sure I'll learn something from it.

Anyone ever work for this HUGE corporation? They are selling Assurant Life from what he told me.

Al

Yes. I was with a funeral home they purchased in 1998. They are horrible to work for but at that time they had great commissions and I liked the funeral home so I stuck it out for 18-months.

SCI is the bottom-feeders of the funeral business. Yes, Assurant owns the insurance product they sell but it is their own design and it is not competative with the other products in the industry. SCI used to own American Memorial Life then sold it to Fortis/Assurant at a bargin when their stock price plunged from around $50 to less than $5 in 2000. SCI, Fortis close on sale of American Memorial Life Insurance - Houston Business Journal:

The management of SCI is like a bunch of Keystone cops.

They have tried to make a national brand "Dignity Memorial" where people who move around would see consistancy (like McDonalds) but it has bit them in the ass because all the publicity for them is often negative.

If you really want to get into funeral preplanning sales (which I recommend) I would go to work for a well run locally-owned competator to SCI. The funeral home clients will be happier and better served, the prices will usually be lower, and the commissions will always be higher because you don't have 10-layers of managers trying to make a percent off your sales.

arnguy · 01-05-2008, 03:34 PM

I had a friend (now deceased) who had worked for SCI. He was very unhappy with them and switched to Forethought where he set up a General Agency.

Newby · 01-05-2008, 04:11 PM

Hey Al,

Here's something that will be fun to discuss during the interview. Print out a few quotes from their direct to the public website American Memorial Plan

Then ask to run those same quotes on their payment calculator. They not only have the worst insurance product in the funeral business, they sell it for about 30% less to people who go direct to ther web site and bypass you! Actually they just jack yours up 30% but who's splitting hairs.

SCI is full of fun little tricks and problems for their own employees success.

The media loves them too. Gruesome Photos, Video Show Bodies Discarded in Woods Behind Cemetery

I could tell you LOTS of things but you get the idea.

Go to the interview...yank their chain...then go work for their competitor.

al3 · 01-05-2008, 07:00 PM

Thanks for all the good info. I'll take the interview as a learning experience. I really had not given much thought about the pre-need or final-need business so it will be interesting to see how they structure the interview and what their 'pitch' is. I'll ask the interviewer about the 'direct' plan vs. using the agent.

I get the feeling that these folks are the NAA of the final-need sector? They may not be 'good' but they didn't get as large as they have by being flat-ass terrible so I suspect there are other sides to the data presented here. Still, I appreciate those who posted.

I kind of doubt that they would hire someone in their 60s. Most of the career houses that I've spoken with (Met, NYL, Phy. Mu., Woodmen, etc.) all seem to want younger people looking to START a career, not older guys looking to END one! And when you look at it in the cold light of day, it does make some sense.... but I think a lot of houses want young guys because they will do as they are told without a lot of questions being asked.

Al

Al

Zydo · 01-05-2008, 07:52 PM

Quite the contrary. Due to the nature of the business, your age will be an asset.

HomeService · 01-06-2008, 01:52 AM

I got "told" in an interview at one of those large, large captives that you mentioned up there.... that they would indeed rather take a young mind and form it.... rather than mess with an "experienced" guy such as myself. I think with experience comes the "knowing of" all of the ways management and the ins. co. can be full of crap. Or, most of the ways. Or, some of the ways.

Newby · 01-20-2008, 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by al3

I got a call from a recruiter from Service Corp. International. They are looking for people to sell final-need whole-life plans... mostly on site from one of the funeral homes near me. It's W2, salary + commission deal.

I told him I'd take the interview next week.

Why not? I'm sure I'll learn something from it.

Anyone ever work for this HUGE corporation? They are selling Assurant Life from what he told me.

Al

Hey Al! How did this go?

al3 · 01-20-2008, 05:29 PM

Originally Posted by Newby

Hey Al! How did this go?

It was a pleasant interview... they asked the usual questions about being self-directed and selling in the client's home. One interesting question they asked was "How would you feel talking about death and dying all day long?" I told them that I believed in the Bhakti Krishna tradition of reincarnation so death does not bother me since you get born-again almost instantly. The interviewer seemed to like that answer... I guess they get tired about hearing about heaven and angels and "a better place" all the time. (No, I'm not preaching. Yes, I AM a student and follower of the Hindu tradition via Bhakti Yoga and I blend it with my Jewish humanist and cultural tradition(s)... and it all works quite well for me... YMMV.)

Interview was about an hour and money was never discussed. It was held in the funeral home located on the grounds of the memorial park. It was very 'corporate' as the guy worked off of a work-sheet of questions and took copious notes. The interviewer was from Assurant. The sales manager of the area was also there but didn't say more than three words... letting the Assurant guy do all the work.

They are looking for someone to sell both pre-need and final-expense. They defined pre-need as a pre-paid funeral (casket, plot, etc.) and final-expense as the financing vehicle... insurance.) They were NOT looking for someone to handle current need but to sell p-n/f-e to relatives of the deceased (after a suitable waiting period, I hope!)

They told me that I'd be emailed a link to take an online personality profile... which I took a week ago. It was one of those self-assessment deals with questions of the 0=don't agree to 10=agree strongly deals:

When at a party I hang back and let others do the talking.
I consider myself energetic.
I like to talk to strangers in waiting in line for the next urinal.

There were also a ton of true-false questions:

I get irritated when people are late.
I hold others to a lower standard than myself.
I prefer to roll my own joints.

Since then I've not heard anything, but I believe that they are doing the standard background check. Last time I had that done, the company (Woodmen) took about 5 weeks before they got back to me so perhaps I'm still in the hunt. They have not called me, nor have I called them.

To be honest, I might consider the job... after I learn a lot more. It would BE an experience, that's for sure! They have 100% commission deals as well as a salary deal. That's all I know at this point. If I make the cut I'll let you know, but I think they might be seeking younger people. I didn't see anyone who looked over 50 when I was there.... except the recruiter.

Al

Newby · 01-20-2008, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by al3

It was a pleasant interview... they asked the usual questions about being self-directed and selling in the client's home. One interesting question they asked was "How would you feel talking about death and dying all day long?" I told them that I believed in the Bhakti Krishna tradition of reincarnation so death does not bother me since you get born-again almost instantly. The interviewer seemed to like that answer... I guess they get tired about hearing about heaven and angels and "a better place" all the time. (No, I'm not preaching. Yes, I AM a student and follower of the Hindu tradition via Bhakti Yoga and I blend it with my Jewish humanist and cultural tradition(s)... and it all works quite well for me... YMMV.)

Interview was about an hour and money was never discussed. It was held in the funeral home located on the grounds of the memorial park. It was very 'corporate' as the guy worked off of a work-sheet of questions and took copious notes. The interviewer was from Assurant. The sales manager of the area was also there but didn't say more than three words... letting the Assurant guy do all the work.

They are looking for someone to sell both pre-need and final-expense. They defined pre-need as a pre-paid funeral (casket, plot, etc.) and final-expense as the financing vehicle... insurance.) They were NOT looking for someone to handle current need but to sell p-n/f-e to relatives of the deceased (after a suitable waiting period, I hope!)

They told me that I'd be emailed a link to take an online personality profile... which I took a week ago. It was one of those self-assessment deals with questions of the 0=don't agree to 10=agree strongly deals:

When at a party I hang back and let others do the talking.
I consider myself energetic.
I like to talk to strangers in waiting in line for the next urinal.

There were also a ton of true-false questions:

I get irritated when people are late.
I hold others to a lower standard than myself.
I prefer to roll my own joints.

Since then I've not heard anything, but I believe that they are doing the standard background check. Last time I had that done, the company (Woodmen) took about 5 weeks before they got back to me so perhaps I'm still in the hunt. They have not called me, nor have I called them.

To be honest, I might consider the job... after I learn a lot more. It would BE an experience, that's for sure! They have 100% commission deals as well as a salary deal. That's all I know at this point. If I make the cut I'll let you know, but I think they might be seeking younger people. I didn't see anyone who looked over 50 when I was there.... except the recruiter.

Al

Al I don't believe that SCI will hold your age against you at all. The only thing they will likely hold against you is deciding that you will be smart enough to go to work for their competition as soon as they train you in.

I can promise you, smart people do not work for SCI for very long. It is a good way to get knowlege of what you need to do though.

Good luck with it! I do recommend the job. But with a GOOD independent funeral home.

P.S. One thing that any insurance agent will love when he gets into Pre-need Funeral sales is the endless supply of leads.

al3 · 01-20-2008, 11:01 PM

Originally Posted by Newby

I can promise you, smart people do not work for SCI for very long. It is a good way to get knowlege of what you need to do though.

Well, I don't know about where you live, but out here the IQ of most of the agents I've met is not out there in the ionosphere. Being the smartest person in a group of not-so-smart people is not the worst thing in the world.

When I was in college the guy who taught economics told us that we should all go to work for the railroads as he said that no industry in America (at the time) had a management team that was dumber.

"In the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king." (Is that Shakespeare?)

Al

Newby · 01-21-2008, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by al3

Well, I don't know about where you live, but out here the IQ of most of the agents I've met is not out there in the ionosphere. Being the smartest person in a group of not-so-smart people is not the worst thing in the world.

When I was in college the guy who taught economics told us that we should all go to work for the railroads as he said that no industry in America (at the time) had a management team that was dumber.

"In the land of the blind, a one-eyed man is king." (Is that Shakespeare?)

Al

I don't actually mean smart. I mean the people who understand the product and can present it and will actually do the work and make sales. The producers.

SCI is a starting ground for many of us who have been very successful in the business. Fortunately for me I worked for the funeral home before and after SCI owned it so I saw what they were doing wrong and knew there was another way.

arnguy · 01-21-2008, 02:55 PM

Al, are you saying that we have to go through all this crap living life over and over again? Do we come back in different forms,e.g., a dog or better yet a pampered Jewish housewife?

al3 · 01-21-2008, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by arnguy

Al, are you saying that we have to go through all this crap living life over and over again? Do we come back in different forms,e.g., a dog or better yet a pampered Jewish housewife?

Yep, millions and millions of births.... until you get it right. You need to also learn the Hindu concept of karma. It might explain why we are all insurance agents

Al