| Topic Name: |
agency |
| Message Name: |
Thanks for the help |
| Date Posted: |
03/05/2006 |
| Message: |
Hello,
Thanks for the solid information about the agency opportunities. I'd like to continue keeping in touch with GONY and Snaggletooth. I'm not sure how to exchange email or phone information here without making it public. Any ideas?
I met last week with a SF agent who has been an agent for the past 4 years. He got screwed when he started because SF decided not to write more Fire policies and he was a scratch agent. In spite of this he still made decent money his first year post 911 and now has a very solid agency. He owned his own business before so he had experience with this type of pressure and had the critical entrepreneural mindset needed to be a success. That's not a corporate line but the truth about living day to day with total responsbility for your own income and future. I've lived this way for 15 years so its natural for me as well.
I think to be successful in this process it's important that relationships are developed with successful agents and AFEs. It's my understanding that getting the "right" agency is very important. State Farm isn't going to care about where they send me but rather we as potential agents need to figure out how the game is played and where the best opportunities are found.
I agree that not everybody is right for this job. I own a small business and through the pain of trial and error have developed the necessary sales, sales management, and entrepreneural skills needed to be successful. The first couple of years owning this business I make tons of stupid mistakes. I don't think an AFE will allow that learning curve but may decide to get rid of a struggling training agent. They are also under pressure to perform. Bye the way $25,000 is a very small investment for a business opporutunity that can yield a 6 figure income in a few years.
My current industry is wholesale sales to retail accounts and we are going through many of the issues faced by the insurance industry. The difference is that in insurance the more assets customers need to protect the less likely they will buy direct from a call center. I'm like that myself although if I was 24 years old I would probably buy auto from Geico. I'm not imune to good advertising. Now that I own a business, house, car, have dependents I need more help. Why not put my car in the same portfolio as the rest of it? In my current business the more important the customer the more likely they are to want to buy direct and not need a sales rep.
I've thought about this a lot and that's my conclusion about why good agents will survive. Having said this not everybody has the skills and personality to build that trust with customers. If you don't have that as an agent you will not be successful in my opinion.
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