Job Responsibilities
My main responsibility is cold calling. Coming in there was
little mention of cold calling but in reality, someone starting
out in this business has two options: One being to tap friends
and family for business and the other is cold calling. Not
wanting to push my friends and family into things they didnt
want or need, cold calling became the main source of business
prospects. I spend maybe 2 to 3 hours a day calling and the
rest of the time is spent either on meetings, or reading up
about the business ans trying to learn as much as i can. A
typical day could consists of 100 phone calls in which i maybe
reach 10 people and hopefully set 3 appointments, but it is hard
to maintain for extended pweriods of time.
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Job Requirements
There was an excellent training program at my firm that lasted
about a two months. We would have daily classes and sit with
different managers getting us aquainted with a sales position
and how to act and perform in front of prospective clients. The
training programs vary greatly at different companies so it is
very important to be specific and ask questions about the type
of traiing before jumping right in. Some of the people i work
with came over from other companies where the training was not
as extensive and didnt consist of as much information about the
business. They had basic sales training which only takes you as
far as making appointments but when it comes to closing deals
and meeting people you are left out in the dark.
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Uppers
The best part about the job is that you set your own hours and work as hard as
you want to. Sales positions are typically the best ways to make a lot of money
however, there is a high failure rate. Of course this can vary from firm to
firm
as some firms might require you to work a certain amount of hours. The key is
to
be focused and have good time management. Other than that if you want to take
that hour and a half lunch break, go ahead, just be prepared to hit the phones
hard when you get back or have a lot of appointments lined up.
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Downers
The worst parts of the job would be the monotinous calling and
lack of activity. For a young person right out of college this
is a tough job because we dont have the book of business as they
call it, or the client list to get a fast start. Instead we are
forced to cold call every day for appointments and meetings
which usually go bad because we have no way to qualify the
people we are meeting. It is hard to stay focused and when you
get down about the job, it is easy to slack off and not call
because people arent watching you all the time.
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Lifestyle
The best advice i could give young people out of college looking
to get into this feild is go do something else for a while and
see what else is out there. If you are dead set on becoming an
insurance salesman, or you have somebody in the family that
sells insurance and can get you going, it is extremely hard for
young kids to get a start in this business. The first couple of
years, while you are trying to build your business are hard and
long, and there isnt a lot of money to be made, unless you are
the absolute exception and you were born to sell insurance, in
which case you would be making over 100K your first year and
never look back. But for the majority of people out their, i
have noticed that it is easier, and more commonplace, for people
to come over from other carreers, a little older, wiser, and
with more friends and contacts in a position to buy insurance or
need your services. Insurance companies get new kids off the
street in here all the time. These jobs are sales jobs and they
will pretty much give this job to anybody with a pulse. If you
have other options, explore them and worse comes to worse you
can fall back into a career in insurance. But dont pas up a
better opportunity to work off commission, being a 22 year old
kid, because its a long hard road for the majority of people
that start out right out of college, and most of them dont see
the light on the other end of the tunnel. With over an 87%
failure rate for newcomers, this would not be my best
recomendation for job seekers.
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Compensation
The compensation mainly comes in the form of comission. Average
commissions are around 1000, but from what i have noticed entry
level people are looking at lower commissions than that. Their
is also a taining allowance that is around 15K but the goal is
to be as productive as possible and make as much in commissions
as you can.
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Advice to Jobseekers
The best advice i could give young people out of college looking
to get into this feild is go do something else for a while and
see what else is out there. If you are dead set on becoming an
insurance salesman, or you have somebody in the family that
sells insurance and can get you going, it is extremely hard for
young kids to get a start in this business. The first couple of
years, while you are trying to build your business are hard and
long, and there isnt a lot of money to be made, unless you are
the absolute exception and you were born to sell insurance, in
which case you would be making over 100K your first year and
never look back. But for the majority of people out their, i
have noticed that it is easier, and more commonplace, for people
to come over from other carreers, a little older, wiser, and
with more friends and contacts in a position to buy insurance or
need your services. Insurance companies get new kids off the
street in here all the time. These jobs are sales jobs and they
will pretty much give this job to anybody with a pulse. If you
have other options, explore them and worse comes to worse you
can fall back into a career in insurance. But dont pas up a
better opportunity to work off commission, being a 22 year old
kid, because its a long hard road for the majority of people
that start out right out of college, and most of them dont see
the light on the other end of the tunnel. With over an 87%
failure rate for newcomers, this would not be my best
recomendation for job seekers.
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