So you’ve decided to get your license and now it’s time to begin your life insurance career. For most new life insurance agents who’ve decided to go through the licensing process on their own this is the stage you’ll find yourself. Those new agents who went through the process as part of an “agency” that process is answered by your recruiter.
For our purposes we’re going to talk about focusing your career in the senior market and Final Expense (FE). The reason for this is that this area of life insurance has the simplest products to understand with the quickest presentation and the best arena to begin. Traditional life insurance is something you eventually will want to be a part of; however, the products involved and the skill level needed to sell policies are much more intricate.
With so many Agency’s and Insurance Marketing Organizations (IMO’s) available where do you find out which offers the best opportunity for you? Have you been asking yourself: Who is going to provide the training and support I need? Who helps me find the people to see that want to buy Life Insurance? Do I need to work full time or can I work part-time? Will they help me grow in knowledge and offer me more than one area of life insurance selling?
If you’re like most brand new agents these are just a few of the questions you have asked. When you search the internet for resolutions you come back with more questions instead of answers. The industry jargon can be very confusing, but the one to remember is MGA or Managing General Agent/Agency. This is where you need to focus your search for answers and the beginning of your life insurance career.
There are thousands of MGA’s scattered across the country; however, not all are created equal. What a newly licensed agent is going to need is comprehensive training on product, presentation, and phone skills. Agents need to understand the different products available with the carriers offered by the MGA; good phone skills to schedule appointments with prospective clients; good presentation skills so people will buy a policy.
As you begin to sort through the MGA’s narrowing your search to agency’s that will provide the training and support you need the next most important step is leads. Leads are what will make or break your life insurance career. Once you’ve learned everything you can on presentation & phone skills having interested people to call and see is where your knowledge meets the road.
Like your search for the right managing agency, searching for quality leads can be an exercise in frustration leading to more questions than answers. First, forget the hype! Everyone will say their leads are the best and agents close (sell) 70% to 75% of the leads they receive. That may be true for the very seasoned and most successful agents but, as a brand new agent expect about half that. As you gain experience you can reach those numbers rather quickly – in just 3 or 4 months with the right support.
At the end of the day, choose the MGA that can provide you with a clear focused career path to success. Ensure the MGA can provide quality sustainable lead programs to see as many people as your schedule allows (not theirs) with real proven success. Finally, has the technology to improve your client relations, keep you organized, and teach & support you with additional products to grow your life insurance career beyond expectations.