Insurance Agents – Who Transitions Well Into Insurance
Should You Transition into Insurance Sales?
So, you’ve decided to become an insurance agent. Now what? Insurance sales is a challenging profession, even if you have prior sales experience. While the most successful insurance agents in the nation make more than $1 million annually, many insurance agents exit the industry within the first year. Learn more about transitioning into insurance sales, and what it takes to make it as an insurance agent.
Life Insurance
Life insurance sales has a reputation for being an easy field to enter, but that’s not always the case. “A lot of companies try to convince job candidates that their company is great and everyone is going to make $100,000,” New York Life Managing Partner Greg Jensen says. “We ask: Is this a suitable career for the candidate? We do an extensive job of interviewing to help the candidates know if this is the right career choice for them.”
Insurance Lead Generation
One of the most challenging aspects of starting out as an insurance agent is generating insurance leads. Insurance lead generation is difficult thanks to stiff competition. Insurance keywords tend to have some of the highest cost per clicks and lowest ROI of any industry. It’s challenging to get consumers to engage with your content when there’s so much content flooding the space. Seasoned insurance agents have a built-in cushion of referral leads, upsells and word-of-mouth that new agents can’t rely upon. Instead, the first months of becoming an agent are often spent cold calling and prospecting for insurance leads.
The Right Fit
How do you determine if insurance sales is right for you? If you have had a career as a real estate agent, mortgage loan officer, teacher or an auto sales specialist you’re probably a good fit according to Jensen. “The ones who have the ability to position themselves and network, the good ones who are finding they need a recession-proof career and those with deep-rooted relationships within their communities have the best chances for success,” he says. A career in insurance offers more flexibility, and fewer weekend and evening hours, making it a good career for those with families, Jensen said.
You don’t have to have had a career in sales to succeed as an insurance agent according to Dan Strubberg, Director of Agency Recruiting and Development for State Farm Insurance in Bloomington, Illinois. “They’re people who strive for recognition, who are competitive, who like the risk of a business venture where they are thriving on the connection of success and hard work and wanting to help people solve the risks of everyday life.”