i was an agent for 1 year and returned to my previous career. State Farm over promised and under delivered on every aspect of agency. This is not the opportunity that it was 8-10 years ago. When i started they showed you an income hypothetical based on the average agent in my area. This hypothetical was a fairytail. I don't think they show you the hypothetical anymore because they realized thay had a major problem with the contract.
You should be prepared to not take a pay check for several years and put put $60-80K of your own $$ into the agency. My agency was loosing $4000/mo and I wasn't taking a pay check! and i was averaging 45 new policies a month.
The AA05 contract is terrible. State Farm has decided thay are going to be all things to all people and in the process the don't do any of it very well. 10 years ago SF sold P&C / Life and Health. Now they want agent to sell P&C, L&H, mutual funds, car lons, CD's, bank products...etc
I would talk to an agent who is on the AA05 contract and ask if they are making any money. odds are they aren't.
The biggest problem is that they have lost the trust and support of what used to be their biggest ally. Their agency force.
The company is now driven more and more by those who have either never sold a thing or were not very good at it.
What were the factors that caused your agency to run a 4k negative? Employee salaries and rent? How large was the assignment? I'm seriously contemplating State Farm and really want to make the best decision I can.
Nepotism is gone. SF is so desperate for agents they are taking people that they never would have looked at in the past.
There largest source of new agents has dried up. The current agency force has stopped referring family and friends to the company. You will not get assigned a book of business large enough to make ends meet. All they care about is slapping up more storefronts.
Keep in mind you do not own a thing. SF owns the policys, and controls the data. I would not "invest" 100k in an SF agency. Put the money into an agency you actually own.
One guy just north of me is the largest auto producer in the zone. He started scratch 4 years ago and still is not making enough money to get his contract. SF is still paying his bills.
Two, new contract agents in my town are top AFO producers. They are in their 3rd year. Both are having severe financial problems.
With the new contract, you are an employee that ends up chasing your tail playing catch up for the rest of your career. Every one of them feels that they were mislead to put it lightly.
Why do I even take the time post this? I am shocked, that SF continually misleads these young kids, with no regard for them.
Direct you questions to me. I will give the no BS answer.
My question is: How much of what you just stated is actually factual? These forums are great, but when opinions are stated without facts it really taints the forums. I do hope than an aspiring agent who reads these forums, hopefully has the presence of mind to research State Farm, Met Life, AllState, Farmers, etc and compare the actual companies.
Who gives full paid training, pays for licenses, signing bonuses, provides leads, etc? Regardless of company, the no BS answer is actually to do your homework and visit with agents from various companies.
Yes, SF is looking for Agents in SELECT markets, but they are not desperate. A Fortune 31 company doesnt' spend the money it does preparing someone for agency without being sure there is room for growth. You wouldn't remain in the Fortune 50 that way.
Yes, SF has many old books of business with agents whom may have grown complacent with their incomes and are no longer growing their books. To remain #1 in P&C and Automobiles, SF has created growth initiatives across the board, including placing new agents.
All in all, success nor failures can be blamed on a company itself, regardless of company. In sales, a very large portion of the blame certainly goes to the sales person....we all know that to be true in the back our our minds.
I'm not here to defend SF, don't regard my post as being so. I'm merely here to help people and share actual facts and not my opinions.
And could you (Salier) please send me a private message about that agent who is #1 in Autos in his zone and not able to pay his own bills. I can certainly check to see if your statement is true. Wow, SF pays for his bills, that's pretty sweet. That's like a free ride.
My question is: How much of what you just stated is actually factual? These forums are great, but when opinions are stated without facts it really taints the forums. I do hope than an aspiring agent who reads these forums, hopefully has the presence of mind to research State Farm, Met Life, Allstate, Farmers, etc and compare the actual companies.
Who gives full paid training, pays for licenses, signing bonuses, provides leads, etc? Regardless of company, the no BS answer is actually to do your homework and visit with agents from various companies.
Yes, SF is looking for Agents in SELECT markets, but they are not desperate. A Fortune 31 company doesnt' spend the money it does preparing someone for agency without being sure there is room for growth. You wouldn't remain in the Fortune 50 that way.
Yes, SF has many old books of business with agents whom may have grown complacent with their incomes and are no longer growing their books. To remain #1 in P&C and Automobiles, SF has created growth initiatives across the board, including placing new agents.
All in all, success nor failures can be blamed on a company itself, regardless of company. In sales, a very large portion of the blame certainly goes to the sales person....we all know that to be true in the back our our minds.
I'm not here to defend SF, don't regard my post as being so. I'm merely here to help people and share actual facts and not my opinions.
And could you (Salier) please send me a private message about that agent who is #1 in Autos in his zone and not able to pay his own bills. I can certainly check to see if your statement is true. Wow, SF pays for his bills, that's pretty sweet. That's like a free ride.
I don't care if you believe me or not. I dont have to prove anything to you. People who read this forum can decide who to believe themselves. A current SF agent who grew up with a family of SF agents or a current company recruiter.
How do you respond to Series7?
Don't assume I have become complacent and have stopped growing.
Are you denying that SF has lost the trust and support of its agency force?
True the agent is ultimately responsible for production, however the company has a huge effect. With CRI rating they can choose to increase or decrease production with out filing rate changes.
All the agents in my state must suck, because only 6 agents in my state made in any of the top 100 for April in all 7 categories. 6 out of a possible 700.
Looks like the agents in Florida and Texas are just better.
Anyone who does their homework with agree with me.
I am glad I read this post. I met with the SF recruiter in my area NW Ohio. very nice person and very up front about all the different SF requirements. mulitple interviews, multiple personality tests etc. I made it through that and was contacted by the regional person for additional meetings. they were very clear on all of this, and he required me to visit with some recent SF appointees. In addition, a business plan, financing and other related plans were to be developed by me prior to moving forward.
I thought and thought about the opportunity. the thing that got me is that he stated that there were no local office openings. once you are in their pool of prospective agents, you get the chance to apply for a position at an agency, hopefully that is nearby, most likely wouldnt be for me in a while due to the geographic restrictions. some agents have been in this pool for quite sometime. a real downer if you are waiting to get going in an industry.
SF when I looked at the company didnt really focus on the financial side like a MM, or NWMN and that is where my interest really is/was.
I also didnt like that I basically couldnt market into michigan where alot of my friends and relatives live. On top of the fact that it seemed like a lot of personnel investment as compared to some of the other firms I was speaking with, I decided no go. So for me, I turned down the opportunity to move forward with SF.
I can see that they are very conservative and cautious on who they select, but in my opinion it came off as very one sided as to the risk.
I guess you need to be clear on what you want out of your insurance career.
DO you want to be a 'company man' and be under the thumb of a large corp for the rest of your life?
The biggest drawback to the Farm is that your not really building any equity, and you are still under their jurisdiction if they decide they don't like you, etc. They CAN fire you, you don't own your agency.
On the flip side owning an independent agency can be great, for all the reasons mentioned above, but there is more risk, more stress, and it's tough to get markets.
So, I think an important question to ask is "where do I want to be in 10 years?" believe me, starting out and then deciding to change course after 5 or 10 is a major, major pain in the neck.
I took the test to become a State Farm agent, got accepted, was going to start their training program...
But then I spoke to a good friend of mine and he encouraged me NOT to do it.
Sure if you work their system and play with their balls and bats, then yes, I imagine you can make money.
However I wouldn't want to deal with all the red tape.
Matter of fact I just called my friends office and I spoke to his secretary and she told me that she feels that at times he thinks he made a mistake.
I am sure it can go both ways. Do you want to work for a large company that has a little more red tape or do you want to work as an independent? I would look at my skill set and my risk tolerance level and go from there.
My husband is a TICA scratch agent for over two years. We never were offered a loan at the start, and there was no salary paid for my husband for a year, he had only a few months of training. SF didn't license our employees. When did that start? I guess our timing was really off.
As a scratch agent it difficult to staff -- no advice on how to find people...just spend more money on Monster. The financial promises made by SF fall very short. Their business model in recruiting agents is off the mark considerably. We are very much in debt and the afo does nothing to offer support but threaten to let us go. Its a big secret on the forumula to get your permanent contract. It seems to be at the whim of the AFE.
Never a word of encouragement or advice...just sell more life and bank products!!! You could add a 1000 car to your book in a month, but you will still be hassled to sell the products older agents refuse to sell -- loans and bank products. No tools or resources to make it happen, just continued threats.
Other TICAS are in the same boat. A friend is a TICA in another state and its the same story. Business is good, its the pay that stinks! The debt comes from marketing and paying salaries, we don't pay ourselves --still! We are not giving up, we hope state farm makes good on their promise and we start reaping the rewards on our hardwork.
Wow, what different views on SF. I am considering it, but based on what has been said here I am not so sure? I am going to go through the interview process, just to learn more, but will have serious questions before I would jump in.
Wow, Sailor have you had any good experince with SF? I know 4 STA's and a few that went to management one happens to be my best friend and they have nothing but good things to say. Sure they worked hard in the begining but it is all paying off now. I am also going through the process and my eyes are wide open. I'm in an area of sales that is not very stable right now (Real Estate) and I know there are risk but when you do any type of sales it's always about the numbers.
My negativity is directed at the recruiting process, and the relationship between management and the agents.
SF has been fantastic to my family. I am very fortunate. I have no debts, and have the freedom to spend time with my young children. The agents, claims and underwriting partners are fantastic.
My beef is with the treatment of the new tica agents. It is not ethical in my opinion.
Good luck to you. Use your real estate contacts to write HO's. We have had good luck, getting referrals from mort brokers/realtors by getting dec pages to them asap, and giving $10 gas cards for their referral. Also the Phoenix first to die policy is very competitive (at least in my area) to cover the mortgage.
I ran into all of the above and more as a Captive Farmers Agent. I looked at the Allstate process and it is the same. It is really difficult to make a living with any of these programs for the first 5 years. At that point your renewals are paying your expenses, but you still have to hustle the financial and life to make a good living.
I hit all my numbers, won the plaques and awards and even then decided it was too long a road to travel. I was never told the whole truth and a lot of things were brushed over or not mentioned at all. They have tightened the programs so much it is nearly impossible to make it.
The most useless person in the Farmers organization? The District Manager.
They say you should hear it from someone that has actually been there. Then that is me . I was a TICA & I did earn my contract. What has been said is true. This AA05 contract has ruined lives, it has caused divorce and bankruptcies. I know an agent that started around the time I did and he is leaving agency after 3 years of trying to break even. You WILL go $100,000+ in debt with an average book much less one of less than 1000 cars. They will show you template of what you are supposed to make, but you won't come close to that. I know of TICA that were in the top 20 in the nation that didn't make that so what about the other 800-900? I easily got my contract, it was never in question.
Most of the money is spent on payroll and marketing. In the past with these books of business they would have let you have 2 staff. Now they "suggest" you have 3 full time and a one or two part time "team members". My payroll was over 65% of my gross my 1st year. Show me a business model that shows that will work. If you don't sell enough the first year be prepared to hear you won't get your contract. I personally know of an agent that was almost on time to travel & they told him in month 11 that he was NOT getting his contract. He had borrowed over $50,000 and had a multi year lease.
The contract is very ambiguous & the CO. can basically change it at anytime. They are not sending prospective agents to agents that have been around over 3 years that started as TICA's. Go see like was said 5 of them before you make this mistake. If you are willing to go for it then have NO debt going in a spouse that makes more than what you need to live on. Think twice and think again.
Now then you may ask about me? Finally after all this time I have started to make progress on my debt so for me its worth it to stay. There are some benefits but you ask me if I would do it all again with my knowledge and I would say "absolutely NOT"
Originally Posted by Sailor
My negativity is directed at the recruiting process, and the relationship between management and the agents.
SF has been fantastic to my family. I am very fortunate. I have no debts, and have the freedom to spend time with my young children. The agents, claims and underwriting partners are fantastic.
My beef is with the treatment of the new tica agents. It is not ethical in my opinion.
Good luck to you. Use your real estate contacts to write HO's. We have had good luck, getting referrals from mort brokers/realtors by getting dec pages to them asap, and giving $10 gas cards for their referral. Also the Phoenix first to die policy is very competitive (at least in my area) to cover the mortgage.
Maybe things are different in CA. FYI I traveled my first two years and the regular way not the alternative way. I know several agents besides me that are close to or over $100,000 in debt. You haven't gone through it. Sure you can always say "sell more" that's the DAFO's answer to everything. I have been in the top 10% of my regular AFO every month and I am just now working to pay off the debt. You know how ? By cutting expenses to the bare bones, still working 12 hour days cutting staff in half. Working every referral and X-date and not spending a dime to do much of anything else. My spouse and I have not exchanged any gifts since I started here, now that may seem insignificant but on Christmas day to not give anything is painful. We were promised so much and very little was delivered.
Sales are good but pay is not. You go be a TICA and put your money where your mouth is or get some better info so you will be really informed as to the truth of it all. Many of the TICA bought the furniture package they "suggested" it cost from $15,000-$23,000. Yea they supply the computers but not the ink, toner or paper. They don't even pay postage on the many things you still have to mail in. Most of the telephone numbers to the regional or corporate are not toll free.
As for the business plans you give them an honest good plan and the tell you to try again. They want numbers that have never even been closely accomplished by any previous agent. They want you to continue to grow your P&C by 5 times the state average to maximize your compensation. Bottom line here is you can tell us all you want about what it "should or could" be like , but you are just talking the talk, go start walking and the come back and tell us !
Originally Posted by Recruiter1
It would be safe to say that most debt in the first year comes from primarily marketing expenses. Office expenses aren't usually at the top of expenses since you get assistance on all office materials, desks, computers, etc, from SF. Some individuals do incur debts on office furniture because they would rather get their own rather than the furniture available through SF. At that point, it becomes a matter of wants verses needs. Again, a solid business proposal can essentially help you budget your first year.
Depending on where you are, the debt incurred will obviously be different. SF realizes that, so signing bonus are different according to the market you are entering. The current minimum is 18k. I am recruiting to an area that right now where I can offer a minimum of 24k for example.
It is also possible to quality for additional marketing bonuses on top of the signing bonus, but that is at the discretion of the Field Executive you are aligned with and how much budget he has been allocated.
The bottom line is that you are opening a business. As with any other business, you should be prepared to incur some debt. But a well planned business will obviously do better.
I personally haven't seen someone with that much debt, and I'm in California.
Do the math...if you are using 18k cash from State Farm, 25k line of Credit from SF Bank (which every agent receives), and 50k of your own funds (required), then that is nearly 100k of investment in your business already. If your going into further debt then the obvious answer is that the agent is not producing at a sufficient rate.
They say you should hear it from someone that has actually been there. Then that is me . I was a TICA & I did earn my contract. What has been said is true. This AA05 contract has ruined lives, it has caused divorce and bankruptcies. I know an agent that started around the time I did and he is leaving agency after 3 years of trying to break even. You WILL go $100,000+ in debt with an average book much less one of less than 1000 cars. They will show you template of what you are supposed to make, but you won't come close to that. I know of TICA that were in the top 20 in the nation that didn't make that so what about the other 800-900? I easily got my contract, it was never in question.
Most of the money is spent on payroll and marketing. In the past with these books of business they would have let you have 2 staff. Now they "suggest" you have 3 full time and a one or two part time "team members". My payroll was over 65% of my gross my 1st year. Show me a business model that shows that will work. If you don't sell enough the first year be prepared to hear you won't get your contract. I personally know of an agent that was almost on time to travel & they told him in month 11 that he was NOT getting his contract. He had borrowed over $50,000 and had a multi year lease.
The contract is very ambiguous & the CO. can basically change it at anytime. They are not sending prospective agents to agents that have been around over 3 years that started as TICA's. Go see like was said 5 of them before you make this mistake. If you are willing to go for it then have NO debt going in a spouse that makes more than what you need to live on. Think twice and think again.
Now then you may ask about me? Finally after all this time I have started to make progress on my debt so for me its worth it to stay. There are some benefits but you ask me if I would do it all again with my knowledge and I would say "absolutely NOT"
Wow! What and eye opener! This post is a must read for anyone considering going with SF. Thanks!
Jesus Christ Superstar, this is some crazy sh*t. We don't want anyone buying the farm trying to sell the farm now do we? Like a good neighbor, give me a beer. SF just presented a 47% rate increase on homeowners in FL. Palm Beach is taking it without the KY. Granted, we do live in hurricaneland but can we just dump some big ice blocks in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa?
------------------------------------
Michael R. Hrad
Principal Managing Partner
Insurance Benefits Group
Health Insurance Professionals LLC
Re: Becoming a State Farm Agent
Linear Mode
