I recently started working for Lincoln Heritage. It's been a month and I've only made one sale and all I have are B leads until I receive my temp license. I feel that I'm working hard and persevering, but another trainee voiced a concern. With us only receiving B leads for the time being, it's a bit harder to make anything. Is it really worth not being paid for 1+ month? Are there other companies with better opportunities? I really want this to work out but I've already been rejected by unemployment and I have to depend on the kindness of others to make ends meet.
Is this viable?
- Thread starter karlos
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@karlos IMHO I think it’s better to become an independent agent, and work with an agency that can train, motivate, and pay you in the same process. Each agency is different in terms of culture, but the goals are the same, so choose whatever floats your boat. It’s gonna be a tough career ahead of you, but if you persevere, it’ll definitely be one of the most rewarding careers, and if it doesn’t work out for you then you’ll still learn some valuable skills along the way!
resjudicata
New member
@resjudicata So what's happening is that trainees are issued a temporary license until we can pass the exam for an official license. B leads are basically leads that are years old.
resjudicata
New member
@karlos Why haven't you passed the exam yet?
Requirements vary a bit by state but generally it should take about a week of studying. As I said above, leads tend to be universally shit. If you're working off very old leads then they're probably real shit. I see little real value in delaying your licensing to work years old leads.
I don't know if your specific situation is viable. I see that /@daveblast7 called Lincoln Heritage a "close to bottom of the barrel in their niche market". I'll have to take his word for it because I've never heard of them. I tend to find companies like that are more about hiring advisors to sell to their immediate friends and family, letting that advisor flounder until they quit, then hiring the next advisor to do the same. There's generally very little training, few products, and almost no cross selling opportunities. But, as I said, I don't know anything about Lincoln Heritage specifically.
/@daveblast7 recommends going independent which I think is perfectly fine but I've built a successful career as a captive agent. In that regard, I would recommend finding a national or larger regional insurer with a good reputation that people are familiar with. I now have a private office as a DBA but I found having that name invaluable early on in my career.
Commission sales isn't for everyone though. This is an industry with a ton of turnover. IMO, the hardest part is that there isn't anyone really making sure you're putting in a legitimate 40 hours of work. A lot of guys show up to an office, gossip, look at Reddit, and think they're doing work. Those guys inevitably start going weeks without a paycheck and find themselves out of the industry. I'm a very big advocate of statistical analysis. I've tracked just about everything I've done workwise in Excel since about 2002. I keep track of how many phone calls I make, appointments I book, sales I make, money from the sale, etc. then track how much money I make per phone call, per email, per mailer, etc. Knowing that every phone call I make is worth $X of money helps motivate me to keep making those calls.
I'm rambling. I realize that.
Lunch is over so I need to get back on the phones but feel free to ask more questions in this sub. It's a friendly, helpful place. Also, check out /r/InsurancePros.
Requirements vary a bit by state but generally it should take about a week of studying. As I said above, leads tend to be universally shit. If you're working off very old leads then they're probably real shit. I see little real value in delaying your licensing to work years old leads.
I don't know if your specific situation is viable. I see that /@daveblast7 called Lincoln Heritage a "close to bottom of the barrel in their niche market". I'll have to take his word for it because I've never heard of them. I tend to find companies like that are more about hiring advisors to sell to their immediate friends and family, letting that advisor flounder until they quit, then hiring the next advisor to do the same. There's generally very little training, few products, and almost no cross selling opportunities. But, as I said, I don't know anything about Lincoln Heritage specifically.
/@daveblast7 recommends going independent which I think is perfectly fine but I've built a successful career as a captive agent. In that regard, I would recommend finding a national or larger regional insurer with a good reputation that people are familiar with. I now have a private office as a DBA but I found having that name invaluable early on in my career.
Commission sales isn't for everyone though. This is an industry with a ton of turnover. IMO, the hardest part is that there isn't anyone really making sure you're putting in a legitimate 40 hours of work. A lot of guys show up to an office, gossip, look at Reddit, and think they're doing work. Those guys inevitably start going weeks without a paycheck and find themselves out of the industry. I'm a very big advocate of statistical analysis. I've tracked just about everything I've done workwise in Excel since about 2002. I keep track of how many phone calls I make, appointments I book, sales I make, money from the sale, etc. then track how much money I make per phone call, per email, per mailer, etc. Knowing that every phone call I make is worth $X of money helps motivate me to keep making those calls.
I'm rambling. I realize that.
Lunch is over so I need to get back on the phones but feel free to ask more questions in this sub. It's a friendly, helpful place. Also, check out /r/InsurancePros.