NEW AGENT Start Up List

[rousemark]

Welcome to the forum Craptrap. This is what you can expect for the first 200 posts. After that it dies down.

I would say the response would be the same no matter how many posts a person has. I can't imagine advising anyone to take a month off before getting positioned to go to work after getting their license.

 

[crabtrap]

Welcome to the forum Craptrap. This is what you can expect for the first 200 posts. After that it dies down.

Thanks Shawn.

I'm not worried. LOL. There are a bunch of characters in any message board. Just figure I would post my experience to some of the new people and if it helped anyone, great.

As for the rest of you clowns,

I've never lived paycheck to paycheck in my life, so you guys have to excuse me for taking time off for vacations and learning the business a bit before jumping into some contract with someone with a GED.

----------

Agreed... but you've got to start somewhere, or YOU will be eaten alive!



You eat what you kill. If you killed it, it should be good enough to eat. If you don't develop your skills, you'll be eating rats instead of prime rib.



Sometimes mentors ARE the "sharks".



Licensing: Typically around $500 including pre-licensing courses.
Test help: ????
Application fees: My state charges a $22 appointment fee per carrier. Some agents pay this, and some carriers pay this. I always paid when I was a captive agent, but I've NEVER paid this as an independent.
E&O: Can be set up for a monthly draft, but it's not recommended. You won't pay more than $800/year for decent E&O.
Leads: Learn to hunt for yourself, if at all possible. Of course learning has its own costs, because there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.



You should probably figure that part out first before going into this business. In addition, you need to know your ideal target market. The entire world is not your ideal client.



That's kind of the idea.

How is that great job you loved so much going? OH wait you lasted less than 3 months then on to the next labor pool.

This guys must Warren Buffet's twin brother.

----------

I would say the response would be the same no matter how many posts a person has. I can't imagine advising anyone to take a month off before getting positioned to go to work after getting their license.

Despite popular belief, not everyone lives from "welfare" paycheck to paycheck like Floridians do.

----------

And he keeps asking me questions....

Have you picked out where you are going to work next yet? I will lay 3-1 you don't last 6 months at the place you are working.

 

[DHK]

Thanks Shawn.

As for the rest of you clowns,

I've never lived paycheck to paycheck in my life, so you guys have to excuse me for taking time off for vacations and learning the business a bit before jumping into some contract with someone with a GED.

----------



How is that great job you loved so much going? OH wait you lasted less than 3 months then on to the next labor pool.

This guys must Warren Buffet's twin brother.

I have a "high school equivalent" diploma... and I have a ChFC designation and a few years experience. A college degree might actually HINDER your success in this business.

BTW, if you haven't figured it out... insurance sales isn't a job. It's an obsession. True, I chose to move on from Mutual of Omaha after a few months... but, like others, I too was wooed by a recruiter's siren song. Never again.

That's why I wrote this "sticky" in this forum: http://www.insurance-forums.net/for...nsurance/guidance-new-life-agents-t29999.html

I've been around the block... and I know a thing or two.

Good luck.

 

[briko3]

before jumping into some contract with someone with a GED.

This mentality is what's going to hurt you most in this business. I'm not sure if it's because you have a thin skin when people say something negative to you, or if you really feel this way. Either scenario is something you're going to have to work through NOW. Some of the best agents that EVER were, had no degree, and some of the worst were heavily educated and too analytical to do well at all.

I will also say that your post about waiting a month is waaay off base. People that want to be Peyton Manning before stepping on the field the first time are going to fail out of this business 99.9% of time.

Good luck to you. I hope you do well in this business.

 

[rousemark]

Thanks Shawn.

I'm not worried. LOL. There are a bunch of characters in any message board. Just figure I would post my experience to some of the new people and if it helped anyone, great.

As for the rest of you clowns,

I've never lived paycheck to paycheck in my life, so you guys have to excuse me for taking time off for vacations and learning the business a bit before jumping into some contract with someone with a GED.

----------



How is that great job you loved so much going? OH wait you lasted less than 3 months then on to the next labor pool.

This guys must Warren Buffet's twin brother.

----------



Despite popular belief, not everyone lives from "welfare" paycheck to paycheck like Floridians do.

Well, you got me pegged.. Received my GED while in the service of our uncle. If you count the insurance business as a job (I don't. I consider it a business) then I would say I have lasted more than 3 months.. closer to 44 years. Made some money, spent some money, blew some money but have never drawn a welfare check. Did draw one week of unemployment compensation in 1965. And, have a SS check coming in now if you count that as welfare.

I have recruited and trained agents and I can tell you that most, even those that went on to be very successful, did not have more than a couple of hundred dollars in the bank when they started.

As far as your learning about things before you jump into them, your education process must be lacking. You are the one that is whining and crying about being taken by the sharks in the business.

 

[TwiLight]

Craptrap? Can he change his name after 200 post? ;D

Yeah, tell the truth.... you want to steal the name for yourself...

 

[WinoBlues]

Yeah, tell the truth.... you want to steal the name for yourself...

Shawn said it. But yeah, I could rock that. If he out grows it.

 

[Gooner]

Thanks Shawn. I'm not worried. LOL. There are a bunch of characters in any message board. Just figure I would post my experience to some of the new people and if it helped anyone, great. As for the rest of you clowns, I've never lived paycheck to paycheck in my life, so you guys have to excuse me for taking time off for vacations and learning the business a bit before jumping into some contract with someone with a GED. ---------- How is that great job you loved so much going? OH wait you lasted less than 3 months then on to the next labor pool. This guys must Warren Buffet's twin brother. ---------- Despite popular belief, not everyone lives from "welfare" paycheck to paycheck like Floridians do. ---------- Have you picked out where you are going to work next yet? I will lay 3-1 you don't last 6 months at the place you are working.

I'm going to quote from one of my most epic battles on this forum,"DHK has forgotten more about insurance than you will ever know". I actually think that's what he said to me...and while it's not necessarily true in my case your instant obsession with giving advice is a bit ridiculous.

Why would anyone PM you? You have nothing to offer but regurgitated info you've gained from reading this site.

You've been wrong so many times in yor first few post it's comical, but hey man...you got this!

 

[DHK]

You'll never let me forget that! lol. At least that thread was deleted... I think.

 

[Gooner]

You'll never let me forget that! lol. At least that thread was deleted... I think.

Funny.
Nope, I got your back on this one. You're probably one of the most informative people on this entire board for life insurance.