To me this is the biggest thing we have lost in the last 10 yrs. Local management and agents truly were family.
Those days are long gone. Today local management is really not relevent at all in the agents life, unless you choose to play with them and there small promotions.
Sailor,
How much of the culture change is due to the changing nature of the business? Specifically, does pressure come from the managers to sell newer products like mutual funds and banking services because that is the way the industry is going and SF wants to leverage its industry-leading P&C customer base to obtain a comparable (or at least respectable) share of L&H along with mutual funds, variable annuities and other financial planning products?
Second, what is the default P&C commision rate? What level does it drop to after 2 years? What about commisions on other products? Is the TICA contract just a temporary/probationary contract? Is there a long term contract for agents who qualify? How does its terms compare to the TICA and how do you qualify for it?
Third, you say business is good, but the pay isn't. What kind of numbers for P&C, L&H, etc. equals "good" on a monthly basis?
Fourth, what kind of marketing/advertising does SF expect new agents to do and at what monthly cost? Some large numbers for debt have been thrown around, and I'm curious as to what goes into it.
Finally, SF touts its 5-year 80% retention/success rate. That is a really good number in this industry. Does it accurately reflect the turnover on the TICA 04 agents?