Newly Licensed Producer at a Fork In the Road...

[TheGarciaReport]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum. I passed my state's life insurance producer's exam earlier this year and obtained my license. I didn't put it to use until about two months ago. I'm at a fork in the road as to how I should proceed in this industry. I found this forum a little late in the game and am now discovering the inside baseball of a lot of the different "opportunities" that are out there. For example, I got contracted with a Final Expense carrier (who adopted the name of a former U.S. President) without really doing my due diligence. After that didn't work out (thankfully after only a $300 lead balance), I became contracted with an IMO that sells simplified-underwriting term and final expense policies marketed as 'mortgage protection'. I've done just over $4,000 in AP in the last couple of weeks in the field with that company. So not so bad, considering I have no experience in face-to-face sales or the insurance industry.

Yet, the more I learn while pouring over the various posts on this forum, I still feel the thorn in my side that compels me to keep searching for something more "legitimate". Here's my dilemma: After doing my diligence on the said FE carrier, I've found that financing leads, especially at a low commission level, is a recipe for disaster. The manager of the agency at this company really is a great guy. I have never detected even the smallest bit of sleaze or dishonesty. But it is what it is: Financed leads + 80% commission = No Bueno. At the mortgage protection IMO, the starting commission is 60%. After just two weeks of being in the business, I've learned that dialing on Friday evenings and all day Saturday (and possibly into Sunday), and running evening appointments during the mid-week is not a sustainable work/lifestyle. "Oh, but that's why you recruit other agents to duplicate your efforts so that later on down the line, you don't have to be out in the field as much", they say. But isn't that just MLM nonsense?

I'm just now learning about street-level contracts, etc in this business after reading through so many posts on here, so I'm starting to think that I'm not maximizing my potential where I'm at. Here's the thing: The idea of FE appeals to me because 1) it is a simple concept with simple underwriting, 2) the work is conducted mainly during the day and during the week (obviously the real hustlers work outside of those hours, so don't that think I'm fooling myself), and 3) the opportunity really is endless in this market, when you think about how many baby boomers are getting older.

But there's so little information out there about really becoming your own man in this business. I've found FEAgentMentor to be a helpful source of no-BS information from a birdseye view of the business but no real practical, actionable advice. I've also stumbled across FEXContracting to be a great place to be my own real independent agent but then again, is it a scam or is it legit?..

Just many of the things on my mind, lately. Thanks for reading through this far and if you have any practical suggestions for which direction I should go, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[bboman23]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum. I passed my state's life insurance producer's exam earlier this year and obtained my license. I didn't put it to use until about two months ago. I'm at a fork in the road as to how I should proceed in this industry. I found this forum a little late in the game and am now discovering the inside baseball of a lot of the different "opportunities" that are out there. For example, I got contracted with a Final Expense carrier (who adopted the name of a former U.S. President) without really doing my due diligence. After that didn't work out (thankfully after only a $300 lead balance), I became contracted with an IMO that sells simplified-underwriting term and final expense policies marketed as 'mortgage protection'. I've done just over $4,000 in AP in the last couple of weeks in the field with that company. So not so bad, considering I have no experience in face-to-face sales or the insurance industry.

Yet, the more I learn while pouring over the various posts on this forum, I still feel the thorn in my side that compels me to keep searching for something more "legitimate". Here's my dilemma: After doing my diligence on the said FE carrier, I've found that financing leads, especially at a low commission level, is a recipe for disaster. The manager of the agency at this company really is a great guy. I have never detected even the smallest bit of sleaze or dishonesty. But it is what it is: Financed leads + 80% commission = No Bueno. At the mortgage protection IMO, the starting commission is 60%. After just two weeks of being in the business, I've learned that dialing on Friday evenings and all day Saturday (and possibly into Sunday), and running evening appointments during the mid-week is not a sustainable work/lifestyle. "Oh, but that's why you recruit other agents to duplicate your efforts so that later on down the line, you don't have to be out in the field as much", they say. But isn't that just MLM nonsense?

I'm just now learning about street-level contracts, etc in this business after reading through so many posts on here, so I'm starting to think that I'm not maximizing my potential where I'm at. Here's the thing: The idea of FE appeals to me because 1) it is a simple concept with simple underwriting, 2) the work is conducted mainly during the day and during the week (obviously the real hustlers work outside of those hours, so don't that think I'm fooling myself), and 3) the opportunity really is endless in this market, when you think about how many baby boomers are getting older.

But there's so little information out there about really becoming your own man in this business. I've found FEAgentMentor to be a helpful source of no-BS information from a birdseye view of the business but no real practical, actionable advice. I've also stumbled across FEXContracting to be a great place to be my own real independent agent but then again, is it a scam or is it legit?..

Just many of the things on my mind, lately. Thanks for reading through this far and if you have any practical suggestions for which direction I should go, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

Fexcontracting.com is not a bad choice. Travis is a good dude. I'd only sign up with them if you get direct access to Travis. Scott will lie to you and give you dumb advice.

Not sure who the mentor person you mentioned is, so I can't give advice on them.

One thing to consider, are leads tough to get in your area? Where are you from?

Do you have money to invest?

Find somewhere that will give you personal 1 on 1 training. Very few places will give you that. Fex has Friday calls but it would take 100 weeks of those calls to be trained. Getting training on one topic Friday then having to wait until the next Friday for another call won't work.

Fexuniversity.com has some training you can look at I think.

I have a program also you can look into. Finalexpenseservices.com

Good luck in your search

 

[xrac]

There is a lot of great information and training here. I live the interviews he posts. Agent Audio Interviews | Final Expense Leads | Final Expense Avatar Leads | Final Expense Training | Final Expense Sales

 

[Newby]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum. I passed my state's life insurance producer's exam earlier this year and obtained my license. I didn't put it to use until about two months ago. I'm at a fork in the road as to how I should proceed in this industry. I found this forum a little late in the game and am now discovering the inside baseball of a lot of the different "opportunities" that are out there. For example, I got contracted with a Final Expense carrier (who adopted the name of a former U.S. President) without really doing my due diligence. After that didn't work out (thankfully after only a $300 lead balance), I became contracted with an IMO that sells simplified-underwriting term and final expense policies marketed as 'mortgage protection'. I've done just over $4,000 in AP in the last couple of weeks in the field with that company. So not so bad, considering I have no experience in face-to-face sales or the insurance industry. Yet, the more I learn while pouring over the various posts on this forum, I still feel the thorn in my side that compels me to keep searching for something more "legitimate". Here's my dilemma: After doing my diligence on the said FE carrier, I've found that financing leads, especially at a low commission level, is a recipe for disaster. The manager of the agency at this company really is a great guy. I have never detected even the smallest bit of sleaze or dishonesty. But it is what it is: Financed leads + 80% commission = No Bueno. At the mortgage protection IMO, the starting commission is 60%. After just two weeks of being in the business, I've learned that dialing on Friday evenings and all day Saturday (and possibly into Sunday), and running evening appointments during the mid-week is not a sustainable work/lifestyle. "Oh, but that's why you recruit other agents to duplicate your efforts so that later on down the line, you don't have to be out in the field as much", they say. But isn't that just MLM nonsense? I'm just now learning about street-level contracts, etc in this business after reading through so many posts on here, so I'm starting to think that I'm not maximizing my potential where I'm at. Here's the thing: The idea of FE appeals to me because 1) it is a simple concept with simple underwriting, 2) the work is conducted mainly during the day and during the week (obviously the real hustlers work outside of those hours, so don't that think I'm fooling myself), and 3) the opportunity really is endless in this market, when you think about how many baby boomers are getting older. But there's so little information out there about really becoming your own man in this business. I've found FEAgentMentor to be a helpful source of no-BS information from a birdseye view of the business but no real practical, actionable advice. I've also stumbled across FEXContracting to be a great place to be my own real independent agent but then again, is it a scam or is it legit?.. Just many of the things on my mind, lately. Thanks for reading through this far and if you have any practical suggestions for which direction I should go, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

It's very simple:

1.Get agreed release up front.

2. Get printed commission grids (1st year and renewals) up front.

3. Get exact cost for new, exclusive direct mail leads up front.

4. Make sure there are no requirements to recruit.

5. Sit in on a training call to "test drive" the feel of the people you will be working with (management as well as fellow agents).

It's a bit flattering that you find something in your research of FexContracting to be "possibly too good to be legit".

I can assure you we are as legit as they come.

And all our agents work closely with Travis and me (Scott) so negative rants from the downline recruiters of a competitor are just a desperate attempt to also look at his upline 360.

Agent Mentor (Dave Duford) is a 360 agency that is good and offers enough value that he doesn't need to try to bash his competition.

 

[jdeasy]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this forum. I passed my state's life insurance producer's exam earlier this year and obtained my license. I didn't put it to use until about two months ago. I'm at a fork in the road as to how I should proceed in this industry. I found this forum a little late in the game and am now discovering the inside baseball of a lot of the different "opportunities" that are out there. For example, I got contracted with a Final Expense carrier (who adopted the name of a former U.S. President) without really doing my due diligence. After that didn't work out (thankfully after only a $300 lead balance), I became contracted with an IMO that sells simplified-underwriting term and final expense policies marketed as 'mortgage protection'. I've done just over $4,000 in AP in the last couple of weeks in the field with that company. So not so bad, considering I have no experience in face-to-face sales or the insurance industry.

Yet, the more I learn while pouring over the various posts on this forum, I still feel the thorn in my side that compels me to keep searching for something more "legitimate". Here's my dilemma: After doing my diligence on the said FE carrier, I've found that financing leads, especially at a low commission level, is a recipe for disaster. The manager of the agency at this company really is a great guy. I have never detected even the smallest bit of sleaze or dishonesty. But it is what it is: Financed leads + 80% commission = No Bueno. At the mortgage protection IMO, the starting commission is 60%. After just two weeks of being in the business, I've learned that dialing on Friday evenings and all day Saturday (and possibly into Sunday), and running evening appointments during the mid-week is not a sustainable work/lifestyle. "Oh, but that's why you recruit other agents to duplicate your efforts so that later on down the line, you don't have to be out in the field as much", they say. But isn't that just MLM nonsense?

I'm just now learning about street-level contracts, etc in this business after reading through so many posts on here, so I'm starting to think that I'm not maximizing my potential where I'm at. Here's the thing: The idea of FE appeals to me because 1) it is a simple concept with simple underwriting, 2) the work is conducted mainly during the day and during the week (obviously the real hustlers work outside of those hours, so don't that think I'm fooling myself), and 3) the opportunity really is endless in this market, when you think about how many baby boomers are getting older.

But there's so little information out there about really becoming your own man in this business. I've found FEAgentMentor to be a helpful source of no-BS information from a birdseye view of the business but no real practical, actionable advice. I've also stumbled across FEXContracting to be a great place to be my own real independent agent but then again, is it a scam or is it legit?..

Just many of the things on my mind, lately. Thanks for reading through this far and if you have any practical suggestions for which direction I should go, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

It doesn't get more legitimate for FE than FEX. If you also wish to continue with MP then FEX would not be the IMO for you. FEX is about sole proprietor selling FE fulltime.

They are not about team building either. If that's your focus then I wouldn't recommend FEX for that either.

 

[Rearden]

Good advice all around.

Any IMO involved on the Insurance Forum has a heads and shoulders advantage over other IMOs and agencies who are not exposed to the natural vetting process the Forum offers.

Your best bet is to contact:

-FEX
-Doug Massi
-Matt Squared
-Boman

All have solid training and lead programs and are a good bet. Just take the time to pick which one works best for your goals and personality type.

Either way, you are in good hands.

 

[bboman23]

Good advice all around.

Any IMO involved on the Insurance Forum has a heads and shoulders advantage over other IMOs and agencies who are not exposed to the natural vetting process the Forum offers.

Your best bet is to contact:

-FEX
-Doug Massi
-Matt Squared
-Boman

All have solid training and lead programs and are a good bet. Just take the time to pick which one works best for your goals and personality type.

Either way, you are in good hands.

And again his area is a major factor. If he lives next to you, that puts you way ahead. If he is in Florida, Doug all day long, up there in the KY area, FEX, etc.......

 

[Rearden]

And again his area is a major factor. If he lives next to you, that puts you way ahead. If he is in Florida, Doug all day long, up there in the KY area, FEX, etc.......

I've never been so sure that location makes much of a difference, but I can confirm that my most productive agents live within a 6 hour driving radius around me.

 

[Gulfman]

I would say (from what i've learned and those "PROS" i've spoken with),....it largely depends on what area you are located. In my area, FE is saturated
(apparently) and i would have to travel extensively to make FE work as a main product.

One thing that you mentioned is "legitimate". Sounded like you were not interested in FE biz, because of the "huckster" mentality Associated with this type of biz. (basically, 90% of FE biz, is pitched to the poor)....which i would have to agree with.

AND THEN you have to spend a lot of your time (pressing people to pay their monthly premium) (my 2 cents).

 

[hockeyday]

I would say (from what i've learned and those "PROS" i've spoken with),....it largely depends on what area you are located. In my area, FE is saturated
(apparently) and i would have to travel extensively to make FE work as a main product.

One thing that you mentioned is "legitimate". Sounded like you were not interested in FE biz, because of the "huckster" mentality Associated with this type of biz. (basically, 90% of FE biz, is pitched to the poor)....which i would have to agree with.

AND THEN you have to spend a lot of your time (pressing people to pay their monthly premium) (my 2 cents).

where is that you live ?????