Re: Ninety-Two Percent of All Agents Fail - Why?
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Here's the story of my recent failure in the industry. I doubt I'm the only one who has had this experience:
I decided to give insurance sales a try after I got a masters degree in an unemployable field (music theory) and wanted a career that would actually support myself. I was used to working 8am-1am days, I love the idea of becoming an active member of the community, and it seemed like a respectable and stable industry. Everyone needs insurance. I'm a smart guy, so I figured I could learn the products, and the flexible hours would make community involvement possible. Besides, I figured the industry isn't sales - it's education. I taught music theory to non-music majors for two years and I liked seeing the lightbulbs above their heads when they finally understand what's going on behind the music they listen to every day. Sure, I can do that with insurance and I'd feel good about it. The opportunity seemed ideal, and I took it.
Let me make it clear that I was the WORST candidate for this position in many respects, but I did not do my research and the enthusiasm of my recruiter led me to believe that I was perfect. You'll recognize these characteristics as giant red flags mentioned earlier in this thread:
1. I recently moved to not only the area, but the state. I had NO natural market.
2. I had savings but not a full year. To my credit, I did ask whether or not my savings would be sufficient and I was told that I would be solvent in a month or two.
3. I was greatly mislead about the lead generation process and assistance within the company. Again, I didn't do my homework. I had no idea how to market myself, but I was assured that I would be told how. I would be given "pre-screened leads" to help jump-start my career.
Here's the series of events that led me to quit my current company:
I specifically asked and was told "there will be no cold calling." A "pre-screened lead" was the phone number of someone who got a postcard 1-4 months ago. I only got these leads after a month of salesgenie cold calling and this was the beginning of my loss of trust.
I needed marketing help - I'm a musician and I don't know how to market insurance. Knowing there would be costs, I set aside $3,000 to get started (thank you nice grad school fellowship), but I kept getting put off by my superior. I had no idea how to spend it and didn't want to go in blind. My only method of marketing for 2 months was telemarketing 5:30-8pm Mon.-Thurs.
All of my training was how to sell. I learned how to close before I learned all the aspects of our policies. I'm the kind of person who has to know _everything_ before I'm comfortable talking to someone about it. That being said, I still managed to sell my first three appointments because they didn't ask the tough questions.
I lost faith in my superiors. My direct superior admitted he'd passed his licensing exams a whopping 4 months before I did and before that he worked in car rentals. I was constantly frustrated with his lack of product knowledge. That being said, he was a VERY good salesman.
This was the kicker: after my first X policies, I'd receive a subsidy which was almost the equivalent of a salary, but I'd have to pay 50% (1st year) or 100% (2nd year) of it back if I didn't meet quotas. After losing faith in the people I was working for, realizing how slow the take off was going to be, and how little guidance I was getting - I decided that I had to quit before I got in too deep.
Yes, I could've been successful if I'd stuck with it, but given these circumstances it didn't take long for me to discover I was with the wrong company. I needed guidance and training. Because of my lack of training and my manager's lack of training, I lost confidence in my ability to service my customers.
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Take from this what you want.
I was unprepared for the industry.
I didn't do my homework
A recruiter glossed over my horrid qualifications.
My training was awful.
Straight out of college, it's very strange to go from constant specific demands to "so... do something." I have to make the demands of myself, but to do that, I have to know what to ... do. and I didn't.
BUT - I still could have made it work if I'd put in the hours and trained myself in marketing/sales outside of the company.
Currently, I'm figuring out a marketing plan involving my music, networking like mad, and taking a second interview with New York Life. I've heard their training superb, and I have the finances to survive for about half a year without any commissions, and my lifestyle is quite meager in a studio apartment and lots of canned tuna so the commissions I do earn will go a long way. I love the person I interviewed with the first time, and I know the right questions to ask about the office from other threads on this forum. If it sounds good, I'm going to make it work. For now, I'm part of the 91.74%
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