Feature Article:

Starving Hordes of New Insurance Agent Trainees Left Abandoned

The only way to keep up realistic information about a new insurance agent in today's world is to get it from a reliable source. The following article presents the very latest information on new insurance agents. If you have a particular interest in becoming a new insurance agent, then this informative article is required reading.

Do not dismiss many of the misconceptions of a recently hired new insurance agent. There is not a shortage of agents. Quite the contrary, With over 1,500,000 insurance agents currently licensed by state insurance departments within the United States. Of the 400,000 departing from their career this year, Thousands and thousands of agents fail not only because of the lack of good agent insurance leads. The number one reason is due to the improper decision to hire or pass up an applicant.

A fast food restaurant has more effective hiring skill levels on choosing applicants. Yet most people picture fast food work as a temporary job and insurance selling as a full time job. The restaurant is full of people willing to buy; the insurance agency has agent trainees spending 80% of their time just trying to acquire agent insurance leads. It the applicant was a sales order taker they should have gone to the restaurant to be hired. On the other hand, the person that has the skills to become an experienced insurance selling professional is going to need insurance leads to make enough sales to pay the bills.

New insurance agents wipe out in masses 6 to 18 months after hiring. When a prospective new insurance agent sees the big professionally written column advertisement, it really stands out among the crowd. The ad definitely sounds like a good licensed career versus a short-term job. New insurance agent about to become a financial planning professional sounds great. The ad mentions plentiful agent insurance leads, a fast rising income, career advancement, and a lifetime career.

This is an unemployed or low wage earners dream machine! The insurance leads, income opportunity, advancement, and career, just for making some easy life insurance selling sounds to good to be true, and it is. .

The agent's life insurance selling manager is  compensated from the career life insurance selling office. He promises plentiful agent insurance leads and a good income.  The life insurance selling agency keeps the floating dream going. They pretend they are giving the new insurance agent true insurance leads. Instead, they have the agent develop a long list of suspects. Family members, relatives, members from their church or club, associates from college or former employment etc.

The agency also provides names of policy owners (orphans) of low premiums policies through the selling efforts of a long gone agent. Oh yes, I almost forget to include the residential phone directories. None of these types are true agent sales leads.

Quality insurance agent leads have to come from prospect with an interest in an insurance product that the new insurance agent is comfortable in selling. Many life companies have over 15 main products with 4 main options. A new insurance agent can’t jump around 60 choices; they need training on a handful of products to become knowledgeable about.

Working insurance leads into presentations would means more sale. Insurance knowledge plus selling skills, plus presentations equals sales. The more quality insurance leads the more successful the new insurance agent becomes. But he never gets the chance!

WITH INSURANCE LEADS SO IMPORTANT, WHY CAN’T THE AGENCY MANAGER DO SOMETHING?  First, the agency training managers are too busy hiring upcoming candidates; they spend far too little time training their present life insurance selling agents. Secondly, the insurance leads that come in by phone or mail to the career agency are sure to end up in the hands of agency training managers to personally sell. Lastly, when another new insurance agent departs, his disappearance is hardly noticed. Now the insurance company and agency will collect ALL the premiums and renewals off someone they hardly got to know.

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