There are 26 insurance companies in the Fortune 500; people need these products and they have made a huge difference in a lot of people's lives. It took a couple of years but I eventually discovered that there are many-great companies in the insurance industry to protect your future prospects. If you are a captive agent, you are probably working for ONE of the great choices out there.
The next question to ask if you are working as a captive agent: is your company a GREAT CHOICE for all of your prospects? If your managers are anything like mine were then they will do their best to make you believe that this is the case. The agency that I worked at predicated that we sold the BEST insurance out there and that everyone should have it. They even made me sign a non-compete clause. And again these are very-sophisticated corporations with well-compensated attorneys and expensive-legal contracts.
I signed a lot of different contracts in the beginning of my tenure without really understanding them. I went in there looking at everyone wearing a suit, taken aback by the panoramic view from the 46th floor of the downtown office, and amazed at the income projections that they showed me. I would have signed a contract that allowed them to cut off my pinky for the opportunity to work there. Those contracts create well-thought-out leverage for the Home Office and Insurance Agency especially because the captive agent doesn't usually understand the implications.
Instead the normal thought process for new representatives in my situation was letting as many people know as quickly as possible what I was doing. "I work for ABC life-insurance company now and I help people with their financial security; oh by the way did I mention that I work downtown and I run my own-financial practice!" The home office can be great marketers when it comes to new representatives; they sold me from day one on the fact that I was working for the best company around and that it was a privilege to be working for and selling their products. A privilege that they would take away if I didn't sell enough of their insurance to hit the FYC quotas, which sounded heart breaking to me after I had landed such a great opportunity.
The problem was that if someone didn't qualify for the insurance, want to pay higher premiums for its benefits, or simply want to do business with someone who is affiliated to a particular company then it became nearly impossible to develop a consultative relationship. You see I was too concerned with selling a particular company that I missed out on a lot of clients and more importantly future income, because one size doesn't fit all. The reason that there are 26 life-insurance companies in the Fortune 500 is they all provide value to their clients. They all have their own benefits and claim to represent the best insurance in the world. The point is that without pushing one company over another, the hardest and only part of the sales process for someone with a need is eliminated from the equation. The problem with being privileged enough to push ABC's insurance was that my ABC managers didn't get compensated on other insurance products and they would terminate my contract unless I sold a certain amount of ABC insurance. Guess what product I sold every meeting I had unless their were health issues; that's right ABC insurance. In fact, I would spent 15 minutes talking about the company and comparing it to other ones during the CLOSE.
This is not the way to develop consultative relationship and it really hurts your image with your clients. Why not take the simpler approach; help them shop the market so that they can find the best insurance out there and build trust with them for a long-term relationship.
I have invested thousands of dollars into discovering how to be successful without having to kill yourself to sell insurance products.
... and I'm creating this resource to help YOU. The Home-Office Tactics never worked for me, so I went out and put together the marketing materials, resources, and expertise that will give you control over your time, finances, and practice!
Since automating my Financial Practice, I have come to realize how much easier it is to make money in the Insurance Industry as an independent agent/broker than as a captive agent. The reason is simple; if you know how to market yourself, especially online, then you will be able to take advantage of a huge opportunity that is largely being ignored. If you would like to take advantage of this education for FREE please visit http://www.agentfromhome.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment