Ninety-Two Percent of All Agents Fail - Why?

Hellokitty · 05-06-2009, 08:19 AM

I agree. Being a insurance sales person is like being a sole proprietor. You have to know your product as well as your customers needs. Maybe he needs a confidence boost.

healthagent · 05-06-2009, 08:27 AM

The only way the failure rate will even be slightly improved is if obtaining a license was a 3 month course. I think the bare minimum would be a six week course costing at least $1,000...to start the bidding.

That would kill a lot of the riff raff from coming in - absolutely would prevent broke agents from coming in looking for a commission check next week.

Just the fact that you can "study online" for the insurance exam equates this industry to getting degree from the "University of the Bahamas."

insuranceexec · 05-06-2009, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by healthagent

The only way the failure rate will even be slightly improved is if obtaining a license was a 3 month course. I think the bare minimum would be a six week course costing at least $1,000...to start the bidding.

That would kill a lot of the riff raff from coming in - absolutely would prevent broke agents from coming in looking for a commission check next week.

I could not agree more!

healthagent · 05-06-2009, 08:36 AM

It would also put companies like Mega out of business. First of all, it would kill their recruting - no way can they wait 6 weeks to 3 months for an agent to get licensed.

On top of that, after that much training, agents would come out of training with so much information they'd never end up selling products like that.

I have no idea who it was that decided selling insurance was such a complete joke, you could just buy a book and sit for the exam.

In MD a whopping 2 whole days is required for pre-licensing. Wow...2 days. Those two days consist of an instructor basically telling people what's on the exam.

I have no idea how some of these agents even passed the exam; they cannot read, write or speak properly - hard to believe they graduated high school none less got through the insurance exam.

I think if the exam had a grammar section we'd see an 85% exam failure rate.

I guess we need to change this industry as the default for "well, I suck at everything else, am dead broke so I guess I'll slum it and sell insurance."

moonlightandmargaritas · 05-06-2009, 08:43 AM

A friend from the board recently sent me the following, authored by Robert Krumroy in the GAMA Journal. Truly the definitive piece on the state of agent failure and retention. An excerpt:

"Tragically, most new agents to the financial service business are still being trained like Navy Seals: “Be proud to be in the organization. You will be trained to attack. Some of you will survive. Some will not. But the cause is noble. Always fight on. Never give up.We have a noble calling.”

This may work with young recruits for the armed forces, but as an adult, you will eventually quit or become so miserable that you wish you had another alternative. Why do you think that this business has an 11% retention ratio? It’s because of our lack of marketing systems (attracting customers) – not selling skills or activity supervision. We seem to eventually kill our own enlistees! We certainly don’t teach marketing correctly as an industry, nor do most companies know how to assist the local agent effectively. The result is: We have created agents who are moderately successful but still have no distinctive personal business image – no market separation – just another “me-too” professional. And that makes it hard to attract adequate business in today’s market."

healthagent · 05-06-2009, 09:03 AM

Sales sucks when you're trying to pawn off any product that people are not naturally searching for. This would include:

1) Freezer plans
2) Cutco knives
3) Time shares
4) Patio enclosures
5) Most insurance products

People are more educated than we give them credit for. Things of value get "known" and become a "standard" and are sought out.

Things of little value to consumers (DESPITE what the sales rep believes) are not sought out and we have the standard "2 hours at the table with note pad presentation."

JacquesWerth · 05-07-2009, 12:12 PM

We have been training insurance agents to sell since August of 1989. Most of them are still in the business and some of them are among the most successful in the country. Here are some of the reasons they do so well.

They selected one target market and have become experts in that market. They know what the people in their target market buy and why. As the agents grow (and age) they upgrade to wealthier niches within their market.

They know how to find and make appointments with prospects when they are ready, willing and able to buy. They only meet with the prospects who have made a "conditional commitment" to do business with them.

They call a large list of prospects and clients every three to four weeks and speak to each of them for an average of 35 seconds. That creates "favorable front of the mind awareness" for them, which eventually results in the agent getting almost all of their business.

They mail inexpensive direct marketing cards to their entire list every two months to keep their name in front of their niche market.

They develop deep relationships of mutual trust and respect with almost all of their prospects and customers at the begining of the first meetings. Note: This is very different from what most agents know of as “building rapport.”

They immediately determine the exact buying intentions of the prospects they meet. If they can not satisfy the prospect’s requirements they say so immediately. If they can, they briefly explain their solution and ask for a conditional commitment before they go on.

With the commitment, they go through a 20 step combination of presentation and close, which gets commitments at every step. Then they have the prospect create and close the sale. There is no discomfort or pressure for either the prospects or the agent.

They seldom need to make more than two appointments to close the sale.

How many of those things do you do consistently and well?

moonlightandmargaritas · 05-07-2009, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

Most of them are still in the business and some of them are among the most successful in the country.

I have no basis to dispute your claim.

However in the eighteen years I've been in the business, I've never met one, bumped into one, talked to one, or heard one extolling the virtues of your system.

Good news - especially these days - spreads like wildfire. Is it some sort of secret society or something?

souldeux · 05-07-2009, 11:29 PM

John, Paul, dangit, stay on topic! What type of underwear do you prefer?

arnguy · 05-08-2009, 07:26 PM

I heard a rumor that Al's jock strap is homemade. It consists of half a peanut shell and a rubber band. Al, tell me it isn't so!

rbrewer · 05-08-2009, 07:52 PM

Look if agents just did 1/3 of Marks ideas they would not be on this post whining how broke they are. It's really not that hard if you just apply some of what you learn on here. I think people want to be lead, there are very few leaders. Just get up and do something today that makes you some money and protects a family. $$$$
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Originally Posted by healthagent

The only way the failure rate will even be slightly improved is if obtaining a license was a 3 month course. I think the bare minimum would be a six week course costing at least $1,000...to start the bidding.

That would kill a lot of the riff raff from coming in - absolutely would prevent broke agents from coming in looking for a commission check next week.

Just the fact that you can "study online" for the insurance exam equates this industry to getting degree from the "University of the Bahamas."

Did you here they are trying to make nurses get phd now when you used to be able to get it with cert. All because they can $$$$

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
If you want to be so critical of new agents as they are just trying to find their way and find success not failure, open a school for training and be the Insurance forum hero.

al3 · 05-08-2009, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by arnguy

I heard a rumor that Al's jock strap is homemade. It consists of half a peanut shell and a rubber band. Al, tell me it isn't so!

You are not strong enough to carry my jock strap, much less well endowed enough to wear it.

However, you will easily be able to carry what Winter and the other right-wing conservatives wear (and I have it on good authority that it is Winter who is modeling this.)

http://tinyurl.com/qhrae2

Al

brkrsrevolution · 05-09-2009, 12:01 AM

Agencies will hire anyone who has a license.

Agencies tend to put their best producers into a training or manager role, when most of the time the best producers should do just that, produce business. They usually don't make good trainers or good managers, as their skill is selling.

Well those are two of the things I have seen which cause high failure rates.

What do we see that causes success.......

Agents who have a genuine concern about helping people and feeding their brains with knowledge about the field they have chosen to be in. You must love what you do and loving it is not all, you have to be able to show you love it.

************************************************** *****

50% of the agencies that agents go to work for are below average.
50% of the agents themselves are below average.

************************************************** *****

Matt McCray

arnguy · 05-09-2009, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by al3

You are not strong enough to carry my jock strap, much less well endowed enough to wear it.

http://tinyurl.com/qhrae2

Al

BRAGGART!!!

al3 · 05-09-2009, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by arnguy

BRAGGART!!!

Dizzy Dean: "It's not bragging if you can do it."

Winter · 05-09-2009, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by al3

You are not strong enough to carry my jock strap, much less well endowed enough to wear it.

However, you will easily be able to carry what Winter and the other right-wing conservatives wear (and I have it on good authority that it is Winter who is modeling this.)

http://tinyurl.com/qhrae2

Al

I guess that came out of the collection of pictures stored in your computer. Don't let your wife find your folder with all the Barney Frank pics. I am sure she has enough suspicions already.

arnguy · 05-09-2009, 01:03 PM

[quote=al3;157156]
http://tinyurl.com/qhrae2 Al[/quote]

Who took that picture of you, Al?

al3 · 05-09-2009, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by Winter

I guess that came out of the collection of pictures stored in your computer. Don't let your wife find your folder with all the Barney Frank pics. I am sure she has enough suspicions already.

I'm more worried she will find the pictures of you and I taken at Fire Island last summer. I can't remember if that is you on the far left or far right. My guess is the far right... to match your politics!

Amber Scherloz · 09-30-2009, 02:14 AM

Originally Posted by stuy119

Two reasons in my mind:

1. Being an insurance agent isn't being a salesperson, it's being a business owner. Salespeople realize that accounts come and go, but business owners have a vested interest in seeing accounts grow and thrive, so that they are in business for the long haul and have a solid partnership.

2. No cojones/stones/balls/testicles/etc. Your financial future rests in how well you perform on a daily basis. You will piss some people off, and it may not just be the competition. But if you don't do what is right, either ethically or for your customer (hopefully both at one time), you are doomed to fail. It doesn't matter if you take a 30% hit in your residual commission, you MUST do what is right.

Exactly! We are the ones to blame for the success that we may have or failed to have. I believe that having the hold of the things that will make us succeed will give us a good direction towards achieving it.

CHUMPS FROM OXFORD · 09-30-2009, 01:17 PM

Sometimes, inspirational quotes help you become successful. Here are a few:

"It's not a lie if you believe it."

"My father was a quitter, my grandfather was a quitter, I was raised to give up. It's one of the few things I do well."

"I can't carry a pen, I'm afraid it'll puncture my scrotum."

If you take everything I've accomplished in my life and condense it down to one day, it looks decent!"

"I'm disturbed, I'm depressed, I'm inadequate, I've got it all!"

Thanks George.