I have been offered a job if I get licensed. I have MANY QUESTIONS, Please Help!

[JSD8675]

Hey Guys

Before I start, I thank you all for any help or opinions you give me. This is long, and complicated, hopefully you can help me.

Let me start with who I am:
I'm 24. I live in Wilmington, DE.

I sold electronics, and electronics warranties since the age of 16, I was always the top in my store for warranties.
I also sold cell phones (plans, contracts, insurance,) and was one of the top in my region.

It's obvious I am pretty confident with my sales. I can't walk, and chew gum, can't dance, but I can sell.

I tried a switch of career into ad sales before I was laid off earlier this year. I was pretty successful with making appointments and cold calling, but ad budgets were tight, and I was squeezed out.

After considering other career options, I decided SELLING INSURANCE would be appropriate after a deal was made for me:

My cousin, who was an executive/ senior accountant at an insurance company for 40+years told me that, if I acquired my Life and Health licenses in the state of Delaware, that he would call his friend, who is some sort of VP for American Prudential (?), and ascertained me 100% he would place me in a secure, nurturing, and lucrative agency environment as a captive agent.

I have made concerns to him as to whether there was issue with me being accepted by the company. He assure me his connection is 100%. He is extremely reputable in the industry, and I have no reason to distrust him.

I am going to get the exact info for the company his friend manages.

About the Job:

1. What kind of information should I research about the company?

2. How should I find out about the pay system of the company?

3. Should I have a part time night job for the first few months?

4. What kind of income can I expect in the first 2 years with poor-mediocre performance (conservatively.)

Regarding Licensing:

1. I have the Bisys Exam Cram, which offers the state supplement on a cd-rom. How effective is this? It is around 500 pages and seems to cover all the bases when comparing it to my friend's state department-offered material.

2. Is the exam pass/fail? Is it graded?

3. Is the exam just pretty hard, or ridiculously difficult?

4. I have a couple dismissed misdemeanors, but no felonies or money crimes. I also have points on my license. Although the book says I should be cool, should I worry about licensure?

29,498. Is there anything else I should prepare for or be concerned about when embarking onto this endeavor?



I know this is long, I'm sorry, but you guys are my best hope!

 

[GreenSky]

you guys are my best hope!

No, there is another. (someone get the star wars reference)

Rick

 

[JSD8675]

No, there is another. (someone get the star wars reference)

Rick

Anybody got Luke's cell?

 

[Reuben]

You have a lot of sales experience and come accross as some one who has a lot of confidence. This is good, but please don't be under the impression that this will be smooth sailing for you just because your sales skills are up there.

Selling insurances for products in the retail sector is not like selling insurances to indivduals, it's a lot harder on so many levels that it would take more time than I've got life to explain.

1. What kind of information should I research about the company?

Is the company national, e.g., State Farm, Allstate, New York Life etc. You could always do a Goolgle search and see what comes up, Lord knows there's a lot of web space devoted to the pros/cons of any particular company. Due Dilligence is not a word, but a career help!

2. How should I find out about the pay system of the company?

Simple, ask. You'll find that your job is commission based, they may front you some money for the first few months or so, but this will tend to be mearly an advance against commission and is usually repayable if you were to leave the company.

3. Should I have a part time night job for the first few months?

Well, given the fact that, unless you're working in the senior/retired market, most of your appointments will be in the evening on the average, I'm not sure that this is a good idea.

2. Is the exam pass/fail? Is it graded?

In California it's a 70% pass-fail exam. You don't know how much over the 70% mark you make, but if you were to fail the exam, you'd know by how many questions.

3. Is the exam just pretty hard, or ridiculously difficult?

This is no exam that you can just sit down and cram for the night before. I had the benefit of attending an excellent exam course run by AD Banker. That course, along with their manual and other goodies, gave me the help I needed to pass the test the first time. The exam is not an easy one to pass, and WILL take a fair amount of "brain sweat" for you to prepare for. There's a lot more to it than you might realise.

4. I have a couple dismissed misdemeanors, but no felonies or money crimes. I also have points on my license. Although the book says I should be cool, should I worry about licensure?

This would depend upon which State you live in, have you looked at your States' Insurance web site for answers? Usually the questions that captive companies will ask concerning legal bits has to do with criminal activity relating with the financial sector.

 

[AgentZ]

Sorry to be direct but what makes you think you would or should last two years with poor-mediocre performance? This is a sales job and you have been in sales, but maybe not where your employment depended on you hitting minimum sales goals. Many places pay a salary + commission so you need to be sure that you will be kept around if you do not sell much. Nobody can say what you will make you need to discuss that with your prospective employer and if you say "I need to make X amount to pay my bills" Then make sure you know how much you will have to sell to make at least that much or stick with an hourly job. My point being is if you present yourself in this way you probably won't even get the job. Talk about your accomplishments and take words out of your vocabulary like poor and medicore. Good luck and if you want it go for it. It may take a few months to get up to speed so save some extra for your bills and you will make it.

About the Job:



4. What kind of income can I expect in the first 2 years with poor-mediocre performance (conservatively.)

 

[myinsurebiz]

Captive? Yuck . . .

Dude - stay independent and work when you want and still make big bucks . . .

Why get a J.O.B. - when you can jump into the vast industry of Insurance sales and make a $100k a year with little time and great effort?

Good Luck!

Tom

 

[rapidrobert]

Play by the rules- work their system; make it your own. If you need to you can tweak it later after you become more confident and understand the issues surrounding selling insurance, making appointments and doing what's best for the customer!

You should have a product that is an advance product to give you some OOOMPH in your monthly check and to pay for leads et al. You should take EVERYTHING ELSE IMO on an "as earned basis." If you can market 1 app a month even that has an advance you have from $500-$1000 right there. All the stuff "as earned" adds up over a few months to be several hundred dollars in your mailbox (or EFT) that shows up before you get up out of bed in the morning.

Read this forum and search the archives religiously. Pick your niche and stay with it awhile; learn it completely.

Other than that "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

 

[STIBROKER]

Dude - stay independent and work when you want and still make big bucks . .

How can one stay independent when they do not even have a license yet......

 

[myinsurebiz]

" How can one stay independent when they do not even have a license yet...... "

Getting one of those is the easy part.

Study, Pass Test, Pay Money . . .

Tom

 

[STIBROKER]

" How can one stay independent when they do not even have a license yet...... "

Getting one of those is the easy part.

Study, Pass Test, Pay Money . . .

Tom

WOW REALLY.....its that easy......and after that.....what happens.....