What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you want to be a football player, doctor, lawyer? I’m sure no one ever thought they wanted to be an insurance agent unless they had a large family business they were going to grow into. No one dreams of being an insurance agent because most people put it a step above car salesperson (not that that is a bad profession). But frankly, it is a good business to be in. There are a number of reasons.
Take a moment to think about why you want to get into this industry. Use the workbook to write down your answers. Go back to these each year to remind yourself why you want to do this. When you are feeling disheartened because of a slump in production, remind yourself why you are in the business. Each person has their own reason for doing this. I didn’t do this when I got into the business. I started in this business because I lost by job in the computer industry. I was out of work and a friend who was selling long term care insurance told me of a company that would train me, give me leads and support. Needing to pay the bills, that sounded like a good plan.
If I were to tell you the 3 reasons I stay in this industry, they would be:
- Helping People – I enjoy doing this. Taking something that they don’t understand but yet is very important to them and helping them understand it gives me great self-satisfaction.
- Teaching Others – I will help anyone in the industry who wants to learn. I’m never threatened by teaching someone how to be successful in this industry. There are enough clients out there, that if they become as good as I am (no I’m not being a braggart), there is enough business for all of us. I want my industry to have the best agents out there, doing the right thing for their clients.
- Money – I’ll be honest, the money is good. It takes time to build up your client base to have a solid income. It takes a lot of hard work to get in front of the people you need to make the income you desire, but you can do it. Afterall, we all have bills to pay.
MONEY
We all have bills to pay. You might as well do something you love and get paid for it. It takes time in this industry to begin making money. There are barriers to enter the market. You have to get licensed, contracted and certified. This takes time. Then the real work starts. You have to get in front of people. That’s the hardest part, finding clients. Refer to our lesson on Growing your business for how to do that.
You won’t make much your first year. In fact, you might not make much at all. The money is in the renewals. This is commissions that are paid to you for the life of the policy. With some policies, they are paid for life, some policies only pay for a limited time. Refer to our Lesson on What does it take to make money. If you maintain your pace of production each year, you will begin to see your commission increase more and more each year while still doing the same amount of business. Eventually you will be able to have a comfortable salary and not even have to get out of bed! You won’t get rich over night, but over time you will, if you keep at it.
FLEXIBILITY
Being an independent agent, you are free to spend your time as you wish. You don’t have to work from 8 to 5. If you want to go to your kid’s soccer game in the middle of the afternoon, you can. This flexibility can be a blessing or a curse.
You must have good time management skills. If you don’t, you’ll fail. You are your own boss. You have to be accountable to yourself. If your activities are not what you want them to be, step back and give yourself an honest evaluation as if you were the employee. If you are not getting in front of enough people each day or each week, you will fail. You need to sell a certain number of policies just to pay the bills. Refer to our lesson on what does it take to make money to determine what you need to do to just pay your overhead. Overhead when you start out might be your mortgage, food, utilities, gas, internet and insurance. As you grow your agency, it might be payroll, equipment and advertising. The temptation to slack off and sleep till noon will always be there. You need to be the boss of your business and treat your business like a business.
Look at the flexibility as freedom, not a lack of responsibility.
HELPING OTHERS
If you are just in this for the money, that’s fine, but a good insurance agent is all about helping others. Insurance, particularly health insurance, is one of the most important things a person will have. Not having insurance can be financially devastating if something happens. Having the correct coverage gives people peace of mind. That is your job. Give your clients peace of mind. Make them feel that they understand the coverage and that the coverage meets their needs.
This peace of mind may be helping them with their health insurance or Medicare insurance to help them pay their medical bills. It may be life insurance to help protect their families by providing an income when they are gone or by paying their final expenses.
Medicare is not rocket science, but it is very confusing for the average person. We think it is easy because we live and breathe it every day. Most people will be looking for honest guidance in helping the choose a plan. There are many options available to them and particularly if they are on Medicare, their choice could have significant consequences. Your job is to educate them as to their options so that they can make informed, wise decisions. You will meet hundreds or even thousands of people while doing that. You’ll make lifelong friends all while earning a good living.
The self-satisfaction that comes with this profession can be one of the most important things in your life.
EASY TO ENTER
The Medicare insurance industry is easy to enter. It doesn’t take much money or education to get started. You don’t need a college degree. You don’t need thousands of dollars. You can earn a six-figure income within a few years. What it does take is some training, hard work and perseverance.
There is not much overhead required to get started. You do need an insurance license, computer, internet, phone and a car. You don’t need an office. I worked out of my home for over 12 years before I purchased an office. The reason is that once you get employees, you will need more space. Refer to our lesson on Growing your agency for more information on when that will be needed.
According to most surveys, the average age of an insurance agent is between 55 and 60 years old. That means there are a number of people who will probably be retiring soon. That means there is a large opportunity for younger agents to enter the senior market and be successful. This guide is designed to take a person of any age, with no senior market insurance and help them be successful. How would you like to be 30 and making six-figures? It’s possible and happens all the time.
IS IT REALLY RIGHT FOR YOU?
You may be swayed already with the thoughts of making lots of money, but the truth is, this is a hard business. It is not rocket science. You can learn the business and products easily. The hard part is consistently staying with it and working hard; making the calls, getting the sales, following up with clients, fixing client issues.
If you want to survive, then you must look at being an agent as running a business and being accountable to yourself. If you owned a restaurant, you would have to be there early to prep, open up, serve, clean up and shut it down at night. That’s a lot of work. Just because you don’t have a brick-and-mortar location doesn’t mean you don’t have to work hard. If you can’t manage your time well and be self-disciplined in your schedule, then this isn’t the business for you. If you can’t be self-directed, then this isn’t the business for you.
Are you a social person? This is a very social business. You will be meeting with, talking to and interacting with all sorts of people from all sorts of economic levels. You will be speaking with people constantly. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, then this isn’t the business for you. You could be in the business in a more back-office type of role, but being the principle may not be your thing. You need to understand you will be working with seniors. They are not always hip to technology. They have certain core values you need to understand how to work with.
If you are a younger agent, you will want to look at learning more about your demographic. Look at becoming a Certified Senior Advisor. This is a certification that is not easy to accomplish, but will give you the knowledge you need to understand seniors and what they face as they age. Look in our lesson on other resources to find out more information.
Lastly, this will take a lot of time in the beginning to get your business off the ground. It doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take hard work and time. If you need a consistent income right from the get go, this might not be the industry for you. This is a 100% commission-based industry. That means if you don’t sell, you don’t earn. If you really want to get into this business and need an income right away, you can start by doing this part-time. I don’t believe you can work an 8 to 5 job and do this in your spare time. You will need to be meeting and prospecting during the day. You can however do this a few days a week and on the weekend to get started. You just won’t get there as quickly as you would like. If you are doing this part time, make sure you dedicate yourself and schedule things to ensure this is a priority.
If I haven’t scared you off and you want to learn more, then continue on. We’d love to have you in our industry.