Insphere Insurance Solutions. Any Info About Career ?

[Crabcake Johnny]

Do you have any type of sales experience?

 

[MarcoAnastasio]

It's 100% commission and it's less commission than what you'd make as an independent agent. So you need to work almost twice as hard.

I was putting in about 60 hours a week to gross $1,000 a week (about $800 after taxes) but that's before expenses. When the dust settled I was netting about $550 a week. That didn't cover my bills.

When I went independent I was grossing about $140,000 a year. My net was about $85,000 and that covered everything.

I appreciate you talking turkey like this with me. It really is helping me see a little better into how this business works.

What kind of expenses are there? Do you mean gas, and printing services, and does that pay for any help? And your net value was that before or after taxes? I also got an offer to come and check out Bankers Life. Is their reputation better than Insphere?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Main expenses will be marketing/leads - but I'd heavily recommend not buying any leads as a new agent and starting out cold calling - either business to business or telemaketing.

Without some kind of successful background in sales, you have a steep uphill climb.

At your InSphere meeting - they're gonna tell you exactly what you want to hear.

 

[MarcoAnastasio]

Do you have any type of sales experience?

I do, sort of...

In my late 20's - early 30's, I worked for a private engineering consulting firm that bid out on projects publicly and privately. The public deals were all sealed bids due to State and Federal regulation, but the private deals were all selling our services to various developers and equity holders. Beyond this, I haven't. Do you think that this would provide anything remotely close to an understanding of what selling insurance is like?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

This is face to face sales - you'll be sitting down with clients in their homes. Under no circumstances should you attempt online sales right off the bat.

 

[VolAgent]

I do, sort of...

In my late 20's - early 30's, I worked for a private engineering consulting firm that bid out on projects publicly and privately. The public deals were all sealed bids due to State and Federal regulation, but the private deals were all selling our services to various developers and equity holders. Beyond this, I haven't. Do you think that this would provide anything remotely close to an understanding of what selling insurance is like?

Not even close.

By and large, those developers were going to buy, it was just a question of who from. With insurance, unless their is someone forcing the purchase, they don't have to buy. Also, you need a much shorter sales cycle in insurance. Unless you are selling policies that will bring in excess of 5 figures, which won't happen in health insurance, you need to get ink on paper in a very short time frame.

 

[MarcoAnastasio]

This is face to face sales - you'll be sitting down with clients in their homes. Under no circumstances should you attempt online sales right off the bat.

Thanks for this. They wouldn't push online sales on me would they?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Whatever you want to hear, they'll likely say. They have one job - recruit you.

 

[MarcoAnastasio]

Not even close.

By and large, those developers were going to buy, it was just a question of who from. With insurance, unless their is someone forcing the purchase, they don't have to buy. Also, you need a much shorter sales cycle in insurance. Unless you are selling policies that will bring in excess of 5 figures, which won't happen in health insurance, you need to get ink on paper in a very short time frame.

That is totally true, it was a matter of getting those developers to go with you since they were going to go with someone anyway. Can you explain to me how you go about getting compensated for selling health typically. I know I read that Insphere pays about 1/2 so one needs to work twice as hard.

But could you give a quick rundown on how the comp for selling health goes:

for ex: Policy A cost $X, so how much will the agent get, and is it at once, over time as the policy holder pays, etc...?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Whatever you want to hear, they'll likely say. They have one job - recruit you.

Would it be out of line to ask if they get paid for recruiting me or get paid a recruitment fee for signing me up?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

For health, you're paid based on the annual premium. So if you're on 10% commission and you sell a policy for $300 per month, that's $3,600 a year. You'd get 10% of that or $360 as your commission.

You have as-earned of advanced commissions. With as-earned you'd get 1/12th each month, or $30 per month.

With advanced commissions - if they advance you 6 months then you'd get $180 upfront, then the rest as-earned.

Now let me do a bit more brutal math for health insurance. Due to health care reform commissions got chopped in half. The industry average used to be 20%, now it's 10%.

If you're selling 3 policies per week at an average annual premium of $3,000 you're doing good. That means at 10% commissions you're making $900 before taxes and expenses.

I believe InSphere pays less than 10%.