Hi! I'm very happy to have found this forum. This is my first post and and I thank you for taking the time to read my post. I know it can be frustrating and repetitive to answer "newbie" questions, so I surely appreciate it!
To be honest and make a long story short, I'm looking for a career rather than my normal run of the mill jobs I've held throughout the years. I've spent my working years on the phone in call centers, doing mostly customer service. It's time to take life by the horns and move forward to something more sustainable, such as life insurance, because as one friend put it: "Who doesn't need insurance?" (yes, I know some don't) Now, I don't expect to make $100k in my first year, I expect to put my all into my new business and see what it gets me, then improve and refine from there.
I'm interested in being an independent life agent and to sell only online and via the phone. I hear mixed feelings on the topic of internet leads and cold calling, but I get the feeling if they're worked right it's all a numbers game. Where are the best leads from? Do you bother with shared leads? Are exclusives a must? I don't mean to sound like a total newbie, but when you call a lead, what do you say? You introduce yourself, let them know a little about you and insurance and move on to getting a quote for them? Is a quote/app in the same call the norm? Should you give them time to decide if they want to apply or do you try to get an answer on the first call?
So, we get them the quote and they are totally excited and want to move forward, we get an app filled out for them? Then do you have to schedule the paramed exam? Is everyone that applies for life insurance required to get this paramed completed? Then the app goes to underwriting, how long does a response take? Next you'd let the client know the app was approved and at what rate? (Are the quotes and the actual premiums usually close/accurate? Or do they sometimes differ greatly?) They either accept or decline the rate right then, and if they accept what are the next steps? If you're selling online would you just mail them the policy? I know there's a lot of forms and paperwork and record keeping that's needed I'm just not clear on the details yet.
One person told me we're not in the life insurance business, we're in the marketing business. I have some reserves on the back burner for this journey, to fund bills, expenses and operating costs (leads, cold calling outsourcing, etc.) so I'm not worried about that.
With the current job I'm holding, which is an overnight shift, do you think it'd be feasible to work at night and work leads during my off time, and slowing ease into full-time selling once I have a good grasp on things?
Any recommendations for getting me from a no-clue newbie to a life agent that knows what they're talking about? Anyone I could go to for training and get solid before trying to write business?
Training: I'm using prelicensetraining.com Any comments?
San Diegans: Any agents in San Diego on this board? I would love to have someone local to shoot some questions to and learn a thing or two from. Someone to take me under their wing would be a nice thing too
Again, thanks for taking the time.
To be honest and make a long story short, I'm looking for a career rather than my normal run of the mill jobs I've held throughout the years. I've spent my working years on the phone in call centers, doing mostly customer service. It's time to take life by the horns and move forward to something more sustainable, such as life insurance, because as one friend put it: "Who doesn't need insurance?" (yes, I know some don't) Now, I don't expect to make $100k in my first year, I expect to put my all into my new business and see what it gets me, then improve and refine from there.
I'm interested in being an independent life agent and to sell only online and via the phone. I hear mixed feelings on the topic of internet leads and cold calling, but I get the feeling if they're worked right it's all a numbers game. Where are the best leads from? Do you bother with shared leads? Are exclusives a must? I don't mean to sound like a total newbie, but when you call a lead, what do you say? You introduce yourself, let them know a little about you and insurance and move on to getting a quote for them? Is a quote/app in the same call the norm? Should you give them time to decide if they want to apply or do you try to get an answer on the first call?
So, we get them the quote and they are totally excited and want to move forward, we get an app filled out for them? Then do you have to schedule the paramed exam? Is everyone that applies for life insurance required to get this paramed completed? Then the app goes to underwriting, how long does a response take? Next you'd let the client know the app was approved and at what rate? (Are the quotes and the actual premiums usually close/accurate? Or do they sometimes differ greatly?) They either accept or decline the rate right then, and if they accept what are the next steps? If you're selling online would you just mail them the policy? I know there's a lot of forms and paperwork and record keeping that's needed I'm just not clear on the details yet.
One person told me we're not in the life insurance business, we're in the marketing business. I have some reserves on the back burner for this journey, to fund bills, expenses and operating costs (leads, cold calling outsourcing, etc.) so I'm not worried about that.
With the current job I'm holding, which is an overnight shift, do you think it'd be feasible to work at night and work leads during my off time, and slowing ease into full-time selling once I have a good grasp on things?
Any recommendations for getting me from a no-clue newbie to a life agent that knows what they're talking about? Anyone I could go to for training and get solid before trying to write business?
Training: I'm using prelicensetraining.com Any comments?
San Diegans: Any agents in San Diego on this board? I would love to have someone local to shoot some questions to and learn a thing or two from. Someone to take me under their wing would be a nice thing too
Again, thanks for taking the time.
