luv2sell
New Member
Hello all,
This is my first post, so I will do my best to avoid getting flamed by introducing myself and sharing my situation in detail. Then I will ask for advice. Before I start, I want you to know that I have been lurking and reading as many posts as possible on this site. I think it's amazing and I love the information here. I appreciate everything you have to offer and I have done my best to gather some information before my first post so that I don't sound like a total fool.
About me: I began my career as a CPA and later transitioned into the world of Executive Recruiting. I have been in this business for over 10 years and have been very successful. I have long lasting relationships with a multitude of clients and candidates. These relationships took years to develop through disciplined marketing plans, cold calling, perseverance, relationship building skills, and the ability to close a deal. This is an extremely competitive and challenging industry where nothing is handed to you. I know that nothing happens overnight, but I have proven to myself in three different environments that I consistently outpace the growth and success of my peers in a much shorter amount of time than the average performer. If you think it's tough to get someone to buy insurance, try stealing them away from their employer when they are not even "looking". I have managed multiple offices, recruited my teams, and have always maintained my own book of business with the responsibility of producing. Every year (after my first), I have always been a top biller in my environments in an industry that has a drop out rate above 90% within the first twelve months.
I am 38 years old, so I feel I have enough experience that people take me seriously during business and life decisions/discussions, but I am young enough that I still have a ton of energy and many working years ahead of me (God willing). I actually love to work, and I love to sell. At the same time, I have to sell something I believe in. I have turned away clients if I think they offer a bad working environment or if they have an unscrupulous reputation. At the same time, being able to tie my compensation to my ability to produce is much more rewarding than my years in corporate America on a fixed salary. This all said, we are growing our family and have been blessed with some young, beautiful children. My wife and I are thinking of a way to get closer to family, which gives us the options of Michigan or Arizona.
I have been researching the insurance business for over a month. I am drawn to it because I like the idea of selling a product that people need (or should have). Even during a recession, it seems that responsible people will spend money on insurance and cut back in other areas first. Also, assuming we do move, I do not have a desire to conduct my current business from afar, especially if we wind up in Michigan (which would be the ideal location). The time difference would mean working evenings every night to service a west coast audience. I already work regularly from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM, which would mean working until 10:00 PM in Michigan (many of my candidates cannot speak until after work). I would miss every upcoming sporting event and school recital. I wish to remain a good dad as well as a successful individual, so those hours won't work long term. Insurance is also appealing because I think I could learn the products quickly because of my financial background. I would rather invest my energy in this field than starting another search firm, especially when job growth is questionable over the next few years. Plus, I administer the benefits for my business currently (I own it) and I have explored and exercised options tied to health, life, disability, E&O, general liability, P&C, and more (I spend too much money on insurance!). I don't know much, but I think I have a better foundation that a complete newbie.
OK, the business part: I am not rushing into this. I am going to get licensed soon in life and health with the assumption that I will execute a plan that will take some time (at least a year due to current commitments), so I am beginning heavy research. If I opt for P&C, I will change my licensing plans.
I have at least $200,000 in liquid funds that I can allocate to my transition plan. I can either use this as cushion during a transition, or I could use it to towards buying a book of business to get started. I plan on being independent with the longer term plan of building an agency.
OK, this is the part where some of the tougher members of the crowd tell me to work for a captive agency, learn the ropes, and then go independent. I understand why some might say that, but personally, I would rather hook up with an eFinancial or IHIAA and invest my own time into training on the products and then selling. I know I won't be perfect in the beginning, but I also don't think I'll make any catastrophic mistakes that can't be corrected quickly.
Here are some of my thoughts and questions, so I would appreciate your honest opinions and replies:
1) Life and Health are more appealing to me than P&C unless I can buy into an existing P&C brokerage and work with an owner on their way out. P&C seems like a tough way to make money unless you are established and have some residuals coming in.
2) If you were in my shoes, would you use the money to buy into an agency and grow it from there, or would you start from ground zero. Please realize that I am a disciplined worker, whether I am home or in my office. I make 50 to 100 cold calls daily (and would make more if I did not have business ownership admin issues to deal with). I also embrace technology. I use software designed for my business to track all client information and sales activity. I have also seen gains in business using regular emails through StreamSend (it's a competitor to Constant Contact). If I have to start from home, I already know I won't be flipping through TV channels or checking the fridge every hour). I would also carve out a space away from the family and my kids already have been trained to leave me alone if my office door is closed.
3) I am a little confused on the ease (or appeal) of sale debate tied to Health vs. Life. A lot of guys have said they lead with the health and cross sell the Life. This is where I may show my newbie stripes, but it seems like Life would be a quicker sale, especially if you push term (med or non-med). Am I wrong here? Or is it just that the payouts and residuals are so much stronger with Health that it makes it a more lucrative path than Life?
4) There seems to be a number of options with eFinancial, IHIAA, and others that could allow me to setup from home (or perhaps I would lease a space at a local office suite), keeping the admin work to a minimum, while lowering the chance of making admin errors. Are these the best places to start?
5) For the firms that are the agency of record (sorry if that's the wrong term), I assume they keep a percentage of the commissions. Do you have to break free from them to start your own independent agency (my hiring agents to work for me) or can you build an agency without ending that relationship? Also, if you have an option, is it better to maintain the affiliation or better to end it?
If you read this far, I thank you for taking the time to put up wth this long post. You might as well reply with something at this point...
I am sure I will have more questions as I go along, but I'll do my best to be more succinct next time. Hopefully I will one day look back on my neophyte status with a smile on my face and even more money in my pockets, and then I'll be willing to help some other new guy/gal looking to get into the business by sharing the wealth of knowledge that I too will gain.
Be well and I wish all of you continued success.
This is my first post, so I will do my best to avoid getting flamed by introducing myself and sharing my situation in detail. Then I will ask for advice. Before I start, I want you to know that I have been lurking and reading as many posts as possible on this site. I think it's amazing and I love the information here. I appreciate everything you have to offer and I have done my best to gather some information before my first post so that I don't sound like a total fool.
About me: I began my career as a CPA and later transitioned into the world of Executive Recruiting. I have been in this business for over 10 years and have been very successful. I have long lasting relationships with a multitude of clients and candidates. These relationships took years to develop through disciplined marketing plans, cold calling, perseverance, relationship building skills, and the ability to close a deal. This is an extremely competitive and challenging industry where nothing is handed to you. I know that nothing happens overnight, but I have proven to myself in three different environments that I consistently outpace the growth and success of my peers in a much shorter amount of time than the average performer. If you think it's tough to get someone to buy insurance, try stealing them away from their employer when they are not even "looking". I have managed multiple offices, recruited my teams, and have always maintained my own book of business with the responsibility of producing. Every year (after my first), I have always been a top biller in my environments in an industry that has a drop out rate above 90% within the first twelve months.
I am 38 years old, so I feel I have enough experience that people take me seriously during business and life decisions/discussions, but I am young enough that I still have a ton of energy and many working years ahead of me (God willing). I actually love to work, and I love to sell. At the same time, I have to sell something I believe in. I have turned away clients if I think they offer a bad working environment or if they have an unscrupulous reputation. At the same time, being able to tie my compensation to my ability to produce is much more rewarding than my years in corporate America on a fixed salary. This all said, we are growing our family and have been blessed with some young, beautiful children. My wife and I are thinking of a way to get closer to family, which gives us the options of Michigan or Arizona.
I have been researching the insurance business for over a month. I am drawn to it because I like the idea of selling a product that people need (or should have). Even during a recession, it seems that responsible people will spend money on insurance and cut back in other areas first. Also, assuming we do move, I do not have a desire to conduct my current business from afar, especially if we wind up in Michigan (which would be the ideal location). The time difference would mean working evenings every night to service a west coast audience. I already work regularly from 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM, which would mean working until 10:00 PM in Michigan (many of my candidates cannot speak until after work). I would miss every upcoming sporting event and school recital. I wish to remain a good dad as well as a successful individual, so those hours won't work long term. Insurance is also appealing because I think I could learn the products quickly because of my financial background. I would rather invest my energy in this field than starting another search firm, especially when job growth is questionable over the next few years. Plus, I administer the benefits for my business currently (I own it) and I have explored and exercised options tied to health, life, disability, E&O, general liability, P&C, and more (I spend too much money on insurance!). I don't know much, but I think I have a better foundation that a complete newbie.
OK, the business part: I am not rushing into this. I am going to get licensed soon in life and health with the assumption that I will execute a plan that will take some time (at least a year due to current commitments), so I am beginning heavy research. If I opt for P&C, I will change my licensing plans.
I have at least $200,000 in liquid funds that I can allocate to my transition plan. I can either use this as cushion during a transition, or I could use it to towards buying a book of business to get started. I plan on being independent with the longer term plan of building an agency.
OK, this is the part where some of the tougher members of the crowd tell me to work for a captive agency, learn the ropes, and then go independent. I understand why some might say that, but personally, I would rather hook up with an eFinancial or IHIAA and invest my own time into training on the products and then selling. I know I won't be perfect in the beginning, but I also don't think I'll make any catastrophic mistakes that can't be corrected quickly.
Here are some of my thoughts and questions, so I would appreciate your honest opinions and replies:
1) Life and Health are more appealing to me than P&C unless I can buy into an existing P&C brokerage and work with an owner on their way out. P&C seems like a tough way to make money unless you are established and have some residuals coming in.
2) If you were in my shoes, would you use the money to buy into an agency and grow it from there, or would you start from ground zero. Please realize that I am a disciplined worker, whether I am home or in my office. I make 50 to 100 cold calls daily (and would make more if I did not have business ownership admin issues to deal with). I also embrace technology. I use software designed for my business to track all client information and sales activity. I have also seen gains in business using regular emails through StreamSend (it's a competitor to Constant Contact). If I have to start from home, I already know I won't be flipping through TV channels or checking the fridge every hour). I would also carve out a space away from the family and my kids already have been trained to leave me alone if my office door is closed.
3) I am a little confused on the ease (or appeal) of sale debate tied to Health vs. Life. A lot of guys have said they lead with the health and cross sell the Life. This is where I may show my newbie stripes, but it seems like Life would be a quicker sale, especially if you push term (med or non-med). Am I wrong here? Or is it just that the payouts and residuals are so much stronger with Health that it makes it a more lucrative path than Life?
4) There seems to be a number of options with eFinancial, IHIAA, and others that could allow me to setup from home (or perhaps I would lease a space at a local office suite), keeping the admin work to a minimum, while lowering the chance of making admin errors. Are these the best places to start?
5) For the firms that are the agency of record (sorry if that's the wrong term), I assume they keep a percentage of the commissions. Do you have to break free from them to start your own independent agency (my hiring agents to work for me) or can you build an agency without ending that relationship? Also, if you have an option, is it better to maintain the affiliation or better to end it?
If you read this far, I thank you for taking the time to put up wth this long post. You might as well reply with something at this point...
I am sure I will have more questions as I go along, but I'll do my best to be more succinct next time. Hopefully I will one day look back on my neophyte status with a smile on my face and even more money in my pockets, and then I'll be willing to help some other new guy/gal looking to get into the business by sharing the wealth of knowledge that I too will gain.
Be well and I wish all of you continued success.
