What Do You Think of this GA Pitch?

SuperWoman

Super Genius
100+ Post Club
128
Atlanta
Hello all:

I'm posting in this forum since it gets the most activity and would love all the genius and guru's insight.

I'm a sales professional with 12 yrs real estate sales and 6 years post-secondary education sales/marketing experience, switching to Life/health. A good friend has introduced me to the managing partner for his GA, had a phone interview with this company:

National Planning Corporation - A GA (or MGA) for Guardian life, in Miami, FL. Can't post their site as I'm a newbie and it won't let me,

(They rep Guardian Life, but say they also have "400" others, so not beholden to GL).

Managing Partner spun it well and I'd like to hear your feedback on whether this is real or fluff:

1. 70 year old firm (3 generations). 3 locations in South Florida. Only 58 "advisers" in total. "We like to grow slow, add a few advisers a year. We're selective on who we choose, only accept referrals from existing advisers".

2. Offer full training, marketing support (Didn't discuss leads, comm split yet), designation classes (CLU etc) and proctoring.

3. Their goal is for their agents (advisers) to make $2-$3k per week,
"6 figures a year is realistic, we set you up to succeed, not fail".

I deliberately haven't asked my friend about this as I wanted to get your feedback first. I also expect my friend will get some kind of override on my sales too for bringing me in? That's why when it comes to business sometimes a friend isn't always a friend.

I want to know if smoke it being blown up my skirt. Oh yeah, they are in a posh downtown location, not next to the local Wal-Mart. If that matters.;)

SuperWoman thanks all who respond with a big hug!!

SW
 
Who am I to turn down a hug from Super Woman.

The Guardian is a very highly rated mutual company.

This looks to be a solid opportunity with good training. You'll be groomed to be a financial rep and expected to get a few different licenses. NPC looks to be very well established and reputation means a lot in this higher net worth space. It helps to be located where there is no shortage of money moving in.

Good luck!
 
((((Pcb))))

SuperWoman always delivers on her hug promises.

Thank you for your feedback. I have to say that the friend who has referred me is a man of great respect and integrity so it's nice to hear this place may be a gold standard agency. I do believe they will want me to accumulate more designations. I'm meeting face to face with the MP next week. Wondering if they offer a base or advance?

SuperWoman ain't super wealthy....yet:biggrin:
 
Guardian is a great company. Usually, if an office is a good spot for you or not all depends on the management of that office. Do you interact well with them and do they provide quality training/support. There are marginal Guardian offices, then there are great Guardian offices. The same goes for their competitors (New York Life, Mass Mutual, North Western Mutual, Met, Pru).

From what you have described they seem like the real deal. Their main focus with new agents should be on product and sales training. Since you have sales training already you will be one step ahead... but you are going from selling a tangible product to an intangible product, so do expect a bit of a learning curve.

Being part of Guardian gives them the platform to offer certain Designation classes "in-house". So it looks like they take advantage of that platform. They will most likely pay for it too if they are offering it in house (which is around a $4k-$5k savings for you).

As far as I know Guardian does not offer a base or a draw. However, since you are a new agent they will most likely offer some type of "training bonus" on the sales you make for the first couple of years.

$2k-$3k per week is certainly achievable with Guardian. They have a great Whole Life product, Term is competitive, Disability is one of the best on the market if not the best. They are also making waves in the Defined Benefit/Retirement Plan market here recently.


Questions for you to ask:
1. What are my production minimums
2. Can I sit in on a training session to see what it is like
3. Could I speak with one of the agents that came on board 2 or 3 years ago to get their perspective on the experience
4. What are my restrictions on selling non-Guardian business
5. Am I expected to get my Securities License? If so, what time frame am I expected to do this in?
6. What is the vesting schedule on Renewals

Ask lots of questions when you meet with the MP. Especially when it comes to the training and any compensation structure.

It sounds like a good GA. Guardian is one of the top 5 life companies to be a career agent at in my opinion (NYL, MM, GL, NWM, Met). But your experience will ultimately come down to the management of that office and your drive to succeed.
 
What awesome feedback, Scagnt83! Many thanks!

Yes, the MP did tell me that Guardian pays for that designation training and I can see the definite savings. I appreciate the questions you've posted and will ask them. (And report back here to help others).

I also have another upcoming meeting with a NYL agent. I know her professionally for a few years and she knows me work ethic and positive attitude. She has a handful of young producers (Last I was in her office) that seem fresh out of school. Her office manager saw my resume on a job board and send me one of those recruiting emails not knowing I knew the agent/owner. I reached out to her and we meet next week as well.

Will be interesting to see the comparison between these two firms.
 
What awesome feedback, Scagnt83! Many thanks!

Yes, the MP did tell me that Guardian pays for that designation training and I can see the definite savings. I appreciate the questions you've posted and will ask them. (And report back here to help others).

I also have another upcoming meeting with a NYL agent. I know her professionally for a few years and she knows me work ethic and positive attitude. She has a handful of young producers (Last I was in her office) that seem fresh out of school. Her office manager saw my resume on a job board and send me one of those recruiting emails not knowing I knew the agent/owner. I reached out to her and we meet next week as well.

Will be interesting to see the comparison between these two firms.


I got my true start at NYL after working Aflac for almost a year. Great company.

What you need to focus on is the training. Ask to sit in on one if not two training classes. The training and mentorship will be the biggest difference between the two for a new agent. And there is no general rule of one company being better than the other for training. I had one of NYLs best trainers in the country when I worked there. But now they have someone different in that office that is just god awful. So the most important difference is the individuals within the office, not the company itself.

NYL will pay for your designations and securities licenses just like Guardian will. They will not require you to become Securities Licensed, but some offices push agents to do it more than others. They will have a production minimum of around $40k in premiums a year to start. NYL also pays what they called "TAS" (training agent subsidy) for the first 3 years; basically its a bonus on sales while you are in "training".

As far as the products go they are very similar with Life Insurance. They both have stellar WL products. Guardian will be more competitive on Term. NYL only offers Life and Annuities. They do have a selling agreement with Unum for DI, but Unum DI sucks compared to Guardian DI. They both offer annuities, NYL probably has a slight edge on Guardian with annuities.
NYL has a selling agreement with Crump for non NYL life sales... but as a new agent you will be restricted from selling "competing products" for the first 3 years. That means that if you want to sell a 20 year Term, you must try to go through NYL first, if they decline the case, then you can use an outside Carrier via Crump. This is why I told you to ask Guardian about restrictions on non-Guardian business.

In general the Guardian office will be more independent vs. NYL. They probably will not be as strict on outside sales too. Honestly from what you have posted so far I would recommend Guardian over NYL. For one Guardian offers DI so you will have a more complete product offering along with more selling flexibility. And since Guardian does not offer LTCI like NYL does, you can shop the market for LTCI with no problem at Guardian (which is needed in the LTCI world).
Guardian GAs are much more picky about who they take on as agents, and they trim dead weight pretty quickly. So it will most likely be a more professional atmosphere will higher quality and more experienced agents to interact with. I guarantee you the Guardian office is not hiring a bunch of fresh faced kids right out of school like NYL is... that reeks of desperation and doing "whatever" to make their recruiting requirements... At my old NYL office they did have some young faces such as myself, but they had many more older experienced sales people, including experienced insurance agents.
But obviously you need to feel both out and find what suits you best.
 
Thank you again for such helpful information. :)

I definitely get the same impression you've expressed about the GA in their selectiveness of who they bring on board. Their long time background in the industry (70 years, 3 generation family owned) makes me feel their stability.
I am now going to call my friend who referred me to get his insight.

I did a brief Google search on vesting schedules for renewals and just found a company called Legacy Services. They post all the benefits they offer their agents with specific information. This is what they list for renewals:

What is the vesting schedule for renewals?
Members of the Legacy team are 50% vested in renewals after only 2 years, and are 100% vested after only 5 years. After 5 years with our company, if you retire, or change careers, you will continue to earn the renewal income on all the sales you made while working with us. This is a fantastic retirement program.

What do you think?
 
Thank you again for such helpful information. :)
No problem :)
__________

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I did a brief Google search on vesting schedules for renewals and just found a company called Legacy Services. They post all the benefits they offer their agents with specific information. This is what they list for renewals:

What is the vesting schedule for renewals?
Members of the Legacy team are 50% vested in renewals after only 2 years, and are 100% vested after only 5 years. After 5 years with our company, if you retire, or change careers, you will continue to earn the renewal income on all the sales you made while working with us. This is a fantastic retirement program.

What do you think?

Legacy is their own group. They partner with insurance companies to market limited distribution products.

Yes, lifetime renewals are great for retirement as long as the business does not fall off the books when you retire. Renewals are even better during slow months when a pending sale is held up in UW for some reason!

I forget what the vesting schedule was at NYL for Renewals, for some reason I want to say it was 4 years 100% vested. But Guardian will have their own vesting schedule, there is no real standard among the industry for this except for indy agents who are 100% vested immediately (some carriers do require you to keep your contract with them active to still receive renewals)
 
So, the vesting schedule is set by Guardian and not NPC (the GA)?

And if so, does that mean the contract I'd sign with with Guardian and not NPC?

I'm so new I still have the price tag on my forehead!
 
So, the vesting schedule is set by Guardian and not NPC (the GA)?

And if so, does that mean the contract I'd sign with with Guardian and not NPC?

I'm so new I still have the price tag on my forehead!

Well, I am not a complete expert on Guardian agencies. I do have a relationship with the local Guardian GA, but only as an Indy, not as a Career agent.

Your Career Agent Contract is with Guardian. However, your local GA could possibly want you to sign a separate agreement with them. It just depends so be sure to ask about those specifics.
The GA is operating as a representative of Guardian. And to stay on the Career Agency side they are beholden to the terms of your Guardian contract for the most part. However, they might require you to "assign commissions" to them. That would mean Guardian pays them, then they pay you; vs. Guardian directly pays you via direct deposit. If they assign commissions then they will most always have a separate contract with the agent and it could have a totally different vesting schedule or even comp schedule. But then again I have no clue if Guardian would even allow that comp structure.. I doubt it.

Your new but you are asking good questions.
 

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