Becoming a State Farm Agent

re: apps/items per month

Thanks!! thinking on the allstate opportunity and there is some great enhanced bonuses for the first two years.
 
Hi All -

This is my first post here. Used the SEARCH fuction like crazy but want to ask about three companies I'm in contact with in particular.

My experience is 4-5 years in Major League Baseball as an account executive. In so many words, the wins and losses, players coming and going, and having to move to a new team every year or two isn't exactly what I'm up for. I want to settle down into a legit "career" and really finally apply myself and learn a new trade and work toward being my own boss someday.

Tomorrow I have a call with Liberty Mutual and Friday I'm meeting on site with New York Life in the morning and have a call with State Farm in the afternoon. I have "applied" with all the big dogs (I think) and avoided some others and away we go.

Assuming I am most concerned with learning as much as I can and beginning to work toward being indy one day, but want to be sure I have some income coming in during that process to play it safe.... what is my best option? I feel like LM is more thorough in it's hiring process and adding a base salary to the mix says a lot. I don't like what I've read about the list of 200 with NYL and am not sure I can afford to be in debt with the State Farms of the world while I attempt to grow my business.

PLEASE share all of your thoughts on these three side-by-side and whether I should target one in particular or "hold out" and wait for something else. I know some say to go with my gut and feel it out, but not knowing virtually anything about the industry and frankly being somewhat intimidated by it make that thought hard to execute.

Thanks much!!
MB
 
A my name is Paulie. Some people call me Don Paulie. Anyway, I'm thinking about becoming a State Farm agent. Can anyone tell me if there is a health insurance program for athe agents? I have a pre-exsisting condition and can't do private insurance! A Paulie.
 
My father was the first State Farm agent back in 1970, at that time someone knocked on his door and said, "would you like to be a State Farm agent?" A few years later he got his brother in, now my family currently owns and operates 6 State Farm offices in the chicago land area (my father passed in 05' which would have made it 7). I will be opening my own office in the next year or so. The bottom line is, I am very familiar with the process, opportunity, and products...and oh yeah, how much money you can make as an agent. I have famliy members who make anywhere from $150K (new agents) a year to $950k a year (seasoned agents), so anything is possible, but you will have to work hard to do it! It's not easy or cheap to start an office! Please feel free to message me if you have any specific questions, but your on the right track, State Farm is a great opportunity!

You are obviously a sham. The first agent started back in 1922. You also don't "own and operate" a State Farm Office. You "own" nothing. State Farm owns the policyholders and make all decisions about what happens with them.
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Here's a link at WikiAnswers with replies that different people posted in reply to that question. Interesting posts that they made. I wasn't expecting to see the kind of replies I saw there.

WikiAnswers - How much does an state farm agent

The disgruntled people are busy posting their thoughts all over the web while the good ones are out making an decent honest living. :D:D
 
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Fastrack, I think he meant his father was the first State Farm agent in his family, not the company. Still not sure if what the agent "makes" is net or gross, though.
 
oil can63 you can use your past connections to specialize in sports insurance....you should do well.....i don't know what teams you worked for, but the commission on the ball player policies will be high.. you should go independent. you have a good niche.
 
If you are captive with anyone you won't own the business. You may own a little piece of it, but even then they control what you can do with it. Go independent from day 1, otherwise you will be a puppet on a string who has to suck up to everyone forever. I can speak because I've been sucking up 16+ years so I know. They all over recruit, put demands upon demands, tell you when to get up and when to go to bed and then look you in the eye and tell you you're an independent business owner. What a load of crap. Once in you can't change without having to start from scratch so think wisely before you sell that little piece of your soul. Yes you can make a good living but you will work you rear off and there's no coasting after many, many years of doing the same thing. With some companies a family member can take over your book with the company's approval and at a cost. I'm not knocking what the business has done for me and my family, I'm just pointing out that I would definitely recommend going independent when you first start in the business so you truly own what you create and can do whatever it is you want to with it when you get darn ready to do it - unlike 99% of the captives. Live and learn....and learn from others.
 
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If you are captive with anyone you won't own the business. You may own a little piece of it, but even then they control what you can do with it. Go independent from day 1, otherwise you will be a puppet on a string who has to suck up to everyone forever. I can speak because I've been sucking up 16+ years so I know. They all over recruit, put demands upon demands, tell you when to get up and when to go to bed and then look you in the eye and tell you you're an independent business owner. What a load of crap. Once in you can't change without having to start from scratch so think wisely before you sell that little piece of your soul. Yes you can make a good living but you will work you rear off and there's no coasting after many, many years of doing the same thing. With some companies a family member can take over your book with the company's approval and at a cost. I'm not knocking what the business has done for me and my family, I'm just pointing out that I would definitely recommend going independent when you first start in the business so you truly own what you create and can do whatever it is you want to with it when you get darn ready to do it - unlike 99% of the captives. Live and learn....and learn from others.

Does anyone know the success rate for new independents? It seems to me that many people chase the captive opportunity because the company fronts alot of the upfront costs, etc and the captive groups have larger ad bugets, support staff, etc.

If the success rate is really low, then maybe that isn't the answer either? I think what txagent says is true for the new guys starting out now with captive agencies but I'd be curious who he has been sucking up to for the past 16+ years? I've been captive for 10 and I don't suck up to anyone and don't have any requirements upon me. I'm at the point where I can coast or rely upon others to grow my business (I have a GOOD team). I haven't been to the office for the past three weeks and nobody misses me.

For the new guys - sure - you better explore all the options but I'm not sure going independent is a slam dunk proposition. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Does anyone know the success rate for new independents? It seems to me that many people chase the captive opportunity because the company fronts alot of the upfront costs, etc and the captive groups have larger ad bugets, support staff, etc.

If the success rate is really low, then maybe that isn't the answer either? I think what txagent says is true for the new guys starting out now with captive agencies but I'd be curious who he has been sucking up to for the past 16+ years? I've been captive for 10 and I don't suck up to anyone and don't have any requirements upon me. I'm at the point where I can coast or rely upon others to grow my business (I have a GOOD team). I haven't been to the office for the past three weeks and nobody misses me.

For the new guys - sure - you better explore all the options but I'm not sure going independent is a slam dunk proposition. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Perhaps you misunderstood my post, NOTHING is a slam dunk especially these days. I am sure that every captive carrier operates a little differently, many however, do require different things. They tell you where you can office, your hours, your products, your expected production, who you can hire, who you can sub-lease office space to, what you can and cannot place outside if that's even an option, how to configure your voicemail message, and what you can do with your book of business if/when you are ready to retire. I know different companies operate totally differently from one another, do you have a regional sales manager, district manager, none of the above? If you do, that's who's breathing down your neck and who you have to "suck up to" for anything, those that do - get, those that don't - don't. Of course sucking up or not is always optional, but if you don't play the game you get left in the dirt. Kudos for having your office setup where it can run without you for 3 weeks, I can only aspire for such. My office would probably do better with me out than in but can't let go - the inner micro manager within says no no no...and then there's that nagging work ethic thing, I feel I've got to be in there doing the same level of work I expect from my employees, old habits are hard to break. The younger generation doesn't have such a problem with this and to some degree I applaud them and envy the ability to walk away and have faith it will keep on running smoothly. I'm trying but some days I feel that I might have a little more in common with the Jet Blue flight attendant than I would like to admit.
 
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