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damnit pbr. i was going to sit at home tonight because you forgot to tell me that i would be working my ass off on saturdays with this insurance gig, but if this is the best you can come up with to keep us entertained, i must go get some beers and look for easy whores for a while. i hope you feel good about yourself
lol...sorry dog. But hey, you did go the insurance route, huh? Good deal. Did I tell you about Saturdays? Seriously it's been so long since I've worked a Saturday I kinda forgot. Besides, Timetopay was supposed to cover that part. Anyway, what did you think about the liscense training? What kind of insurance are you selling, and how do you like it so far?
life/health/acc. tests and shit were easy. product training was harder though.
just to sm. bus. owners/individuals. slap em in large group kinda like aarp but with better shit when they get really fukt up and they cant be singled out for rate increase and we cant drop them.
deciding factor to do it was when one of my close golf buddies who has 35 employees told me he would switch from his group ins. and let me try to qualify all his people indiviually if it would be cheaper. . all but a few made it but i was able to get them something through united am. those fuckers will insure anything. so before i even had any fuckin clue really about our policies and how to fill out forms, i had sold policies to 35 emps. and one to him. got my face all over our company mags and shit like i was someone to be fuckin dealt with. haaha
after that i got licensed in a few other states but still working the digiquote and shit like that gets a little confusing bro. the hard part for me right now is that we let people design plans that they need and i havent really been in front of enough folks to help them with that yet.
lots of potential around here right now so its exciting. fuks up my friday nights right now though. godam that was some typing
just to sm. bus. owners/individuals. slap em in large group kinda like aarp but with better shit when they get really fukt up and they cant be singled out for rate increase and we cant drop them.
deciding factor to do it was when one of my close golf buddies who has 35 employees told me he would switch from his group ins. and let me try to qualify all his people indiviually if it would be cheaper. . all but a few made it but i was able to get them something through united am. those fuckers will insure anything. so before i even had any fuckin clue really about our policies and how to fill out forms, i had sold policies to 35 emps. and one to him. got my face all over our company mags and shit like i was someone to be fuckin dealt with. haaha
after that i got licensed in a few other states but still working the digiquote and shit like that gets a little confusing bro. the hard part for me right now is that we let people design plans that they need and i havent really been in front of enough folks to help them with that yet.
lots of potential around here right now so its exciting. fuks up my friday nights right now though. godam that was some typing
PBR....it sounds like you in the insurance industry, or know a lot about it....
I was offered a sales job at Metlife about a week ago. So far I've taken their online questionaires and tests, filled out an application and spoken with their recruiting manager. I would be able to sell any of their many insurance products as well as their financial services.
They make it seem like 6-figures a year isn't too tough to achieve in this business. But what exactly am I in for if I accept this job?
Because they always ask "how many people do you know" and "could you sell to those people" I worry about the whole networking aspect of this. I told the recruiting manager that if this was a "cold call" type job or if my success would be based on "how many people I know" that I was NOT interested in the position. (I currently have a pretty easy sales job that does not require any cold calls. My phone rings off the hook with incoming calls.)
Anyway the recruiter tried to make it seem like I could sell new products to existing customers (i.e., not technically a cold call) and that they get enough leads that I would not have to cold call.
Then I asked about the hours (I currently only work about 35 hours a week and make a nice income) and asked if a person could be successful only working a typical 40-hour work week. The recruiter said yes. Of course, added to that was that most people see how much more money could be made and choose to work more hours. But I wanted to try and gauge if they expected longer work weeks and if longer hours were needed to make a great income.
And lastly, because one of the financial advisors for Metlife (someone I met on a sales call for my current job) recommended me, they made it seem like I was special....but then after talking to a friend of mine, my friend warned me that Metlife probably burns through 20 or 30 guys just like me before they find the right person for the job. He also warned me that it might be slow going (money wise) at first.
I have no idea what to believe. Any input would be most appreciated!
I was offered a sales job at Metlife about a week ago. So far I've taken their online questionaires and tests, filled out an application and spoken with their recruiting manager. I would be able to sell any of their many insurance products as well as their financial services.
They make it seem like 6-figures a year isn't too tough to achieve in this business. But what exactly am I in for if I accept this job?
Because they always ask "how many people do you know" and "could you sell to those people" I worry about the whole networking aspect of this. I told the recruiting manager that if this was a "cold call" type job or if my success would be based on "how many people I know" that I was NOT interested in the position. (I currently have a pretty easy sales job that does not require any cold calls. My phone rings off the hook with incoming calls.)
Anyway the recruiter tried to make it seem like I could sell new products to existing customers (i.e., not technically a cold call) and that they get enough leads that I would not have to cold call.
Then I asked about the hours (I currently only work about 35 hours a week and make a nice income) and asked if a person could be successful only working a typical 40-hour work week. The recruiter said yes. Of course, added to that was that most people see how much more money could be made and choose to work more hours. But I wanted to try and gauge if they expected longer work weeks and if longer hours were needed to make a great income.
And lastly, because one of the financial advisors for Metlife (someone I met on a sales call for my current job) recommended me, they made it seem like I was special....but then after talking to a friend of mine, my friend warned me that Metlife probably burns through 20 or 30 guys just like me before they find the right person for the job. He also warned me that it might be slow going (money wise) at first.
I have no idea what to believe. Any input would be most appreciated!
sds, i will tell you that i have found in the first month of working this business that you must be able to accept rejection. your company may supply you with 1000 leads a week but that doesnt mean that those leads are people who need your service. fuck man i have called 100 people that have no chance of being insured with us and havent for years. im sitting here scratching my head wondering why im doing follow up calls on folks who were called years ago and couldnt get ins. then. leads get circulated and circulated.
pbr will tell you, you gotta be able to handle the phone and you gotta get your face in front of people. its not easy and i can see why there is a shitload of turnover in the industry. expect to make calls most evenings and most of the day saturday. ive already figured out that the best leads are referrels and business you get through some walk and talk. dont count on your co. business leads for all your business cus you wont make it. jump in with both feet if you choose this business. gl
oh, i would imagine the 6 figure mark is reachable after a few years. 1st year i doubt unless your doing more fin. advising
pbr will tell you, you gotta be able to handle the phone and you gotta get your face in front of people. its not easy and i can see why there is a shitload of turnover in the industry. expect to make calls most evenings and most of the day saturday. ive already figured out that the best leads are referrels and business you get through some walk and talk. dont count on your co. business leads for all your business cus you wont make it. jump in with both feet if you choose this business. gl
oh, i would imagine the 6 figure mark is reachable after a few years. 1st year i doubt unless your doing more fin. advising
I really appreciate the breakdown and words of advice Ray. Evenings and weekends are not too appealing to me at this stage of my life. I have a young family to spend time with.
My father knows someone else in the business and said he'd get us connected so I can ask him about the industry. But from the sounds of it, he will probably tell the same thing as you did.
Thanks again Ray. And BOL with your new job.
My father knows someone else in the business and said he'd get us connected so I can ask him about the industry. But from the sounds of it, he will probably tell the same thing as you did.
Thanks again Ray. And BOL with your new job.
sds, raydog makes some great points...and he's also a good point of reference since he's just getting started. I have never worked in the 23 years I've been doing this for a company like Metlife...or New York Life, Prudential, John Hancock etc. where the story pretty much seems to be the same as what you're assuming you're getting into. In other words, give us a list of 100 people you're going to contact and try to sell (family, friends, neighbors, business contacts) After a new guy is done with them, they ask who can they go sell to now? And the company gives you leads on existing customers and has you try to go sell them more policies or upgrade their current ones. They do blow through agents like crazy, but the company doesn't care, because while the agent was there he sold at least a few of his 100 names...so the company aquires some new customers. I started in 1985 pretty much going door to door selling little supplemental policies. It was tough as hell, but I stuck it out and it really forced me to learn how to sell. Now I can make a couple of thousand dollars a week with relative ease, but I paid the price over the years to get there. And renewals are huge. If I took the rest of this year off I'd make over 100k just on what I'd sold in the past. But the things that raydog said that hold true in any kind of insurance sales are being able to handle rejection...referrals are your best source of qualified people to sell to...the first year is a building thing (with rare exception)...and if you decide to do it don't tiptoe into it but commit yourself.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Great stuff PBR. Thanks for all the input. It's great to get both the perspective of someone starting and someone who's been doing it for quite awhile. I get the sense that I would get back whatever I put into it, but the lack of initial stability and work schedule have me tapering my interest level. This Metlife offer just fell into my lap and sounded too good to be true (or too easy to be true). So I am glad I stumbled across the conversation you and Ray were having. Thanks again to both of you.
What about working for, or as a broker? I know that my broker always gives me 3-4 plans for my business to choose from.
Insurance, although a necessary evil, basically comes down to price for me. Although commisions may be lower, would it not be better to give a potential package from several different companies?
Many things to consider. Company rating, coverage, limits, and of course cost.
Just my 2 cents.
Insurance, although a necessary evil, basically comes down to price for me. Although commisions may be lower, would it not be better to give a potential package from several different companies?
Many things to consider. Company rating, coverage, limits, and of course cost.
Just my 2 cents.
Well put, kid. I've always been an independent contractor with one or two companies, now I'm a broker for several. That's why what sds23 was considering with Metropolitan was something I couldn't comment on with certainty... though I have a fairly good idea what's it's like to be captive with one company. If a person truly can sell and enjoys doing it, I think the independent route is the way to go.There's less training and structure of course, so you must be disciplined to be successful, but the rewards are greater.
PBR, off topic, but you do you actually drink that stuff? I live in Milwaukee and saw many a hard worker get stiffed by Pabst for their pensions and jobs. I do have a few friends that still drink it occasionally. I think Miller is making it now. With Miller and Coors merging it looks like they will be gone also.
I drink all beers kid, but I buy pbr more than any other kind. It was my first love, so to speak, back in the early to mid 70's...and my garage walls are virtually covered with Pabst mirrors, lights, signs, clocks etc. As far as the workers I feel bad about that, but I guess I figure you could protest or boycott almost any product that's made for some reason or another.
haha...you're old like me, huh? No, you can't find it in any "decent" establishments here either, only in smaller places you might call dives, or whatever you want to call them. But hey, I'm an old married guy so I drink mostly at home or friends' houses ...and if I do stop by a bar for a couple of beers I'm not out looking for women anyway so I like the the less fancy places. I'm just an old simple country boy.
