Insights From My Personal 28-Year Journey:
In retrospect, I didn’t think I would one day be making the kind of money that I have today from the insurance industry. I want to see other agents succeed in the insurance business as we have been. These are some basics for those starting in the insurance industry or considering a career as an insurance agent. These are the most important facts that licensed insurance agents don’t know when they begin their career in insurance sales.
- Our industry averages around $34,000 annually in terms of insurance agent income.
- The majority of insurance agents won’t have enough income to retire.
- A career as an insurance agent is not likely to lead to a successful insurance career.
- To be successful in long-term insurance sales, you must master prospecting and marketing.
- It takes years for most Career or Captive contracts to become 100% vested in your sales. Many agents sign up for contracts that do not offer vesting rights.
- Independent insurance agent contracts may provide instant 100% vesting rights and often pay higher commissions.
- The ability to choose which companies you wish to sell products to allows you to be more flexible in your offering of solutions to potential clients.
It would have made a huge difference in the amount of time it took me to be able to sell insurance. It would have been easy to avoid ten years of frustration and slow growth if I had known in 1981 what I now know.
Insurance sales can be a rewarding, fulfilling, exciting, challenging, and fulfilling career for anyone who is goal-oriented, self-motivated, and has good work habits. They also have the ability to love challenges and want to control their destiny. My most valuable lesson is that there is no secret formula for success. Despite the many technological advances, there are still exciting ways to market your products and find potential customers. You must still have certain characteristics and habits to be successful in the insurance industry. While some of the tools that we use to reach our goals have changed, the essential ingredients have not.
Insurance agents often earn more than the average income in their industry. The chances of you falling into the failing statistics of your industry are higher if you don’t have the right knowledge or resources. Learn from someone who has been there. Learn the differences between a Career or Captive contract and an Independent Insurance Agent contract. As you move forward, you’ll get a sense of the support and resources that you will need. You have many options for quality Agency support. It is important to find an agency that offers a large product portfolio, lead and prospecting support, as well as growth opportunities to allow you to achieve General Agent commission levels.
If you are a person who is willing to learn, and if you love helping people, an insurance sales career could be everything you have ever imagined. My reality is much bigger than my dreams when I began my career in insurance sales. You can also dream big and make your dreams a reality by taking action to make them come true.
