Are you in Insurance Sales???!?!?!?!?!?

Question

I am in Real Estate but I found it a little harder to get my buyers qulified and I little harder to sell their homes. I am thinking of moving over to INSURANCE SALES. I need advise from people in Insurance how much did you make your first year? compared to Real Estate how do you prospect clients.

Thanks!

Answer 1

No.

Answer 2

Every industry goes through peaks and valleys, just like any market.  Right now the Financial industry is over filled with advisors.  Once the babyboomers start retiring (including the advisors that are babyboomers) the workforce will thin out a little and it will be more prosperous for a lot of advisors.

Regardless of when you get in, don't expect to make a lot in the first year, but it depends on how big of a network you have.  First 5 years, you get severely underpaid, next 5 years you get paid roughly what you should, after 10 years in the biz, you get over paid for what you do if you do it right.

Insurance sales is really no different than Real Estate sales I'm sure.  Straight commission, you build you're own clientele.  I don't know how Real Estate agents prospect, but every advisor has their own way of doing it.  I personally do it strictly through referrals, personal recommendations and affinity marketing.  I don't do cold calls, direct mail, scrounging for clients at trade shows or hounding friends and family members, but some advisors like that route too.

Answer 3

Hey John.

As an Insurance Broker, I would recommend insurance to anyone who likes sales, loves helping people, and enjoys working outside of an office. I don't know where you live, but in the area I live in, insurance has been the BEST career decision I have made. I got in at a time when the economy was bad and heard every excuse why it wouldn't work. I didn't spend much money to start, maybe $200. I began working from home and now I have a nice office, an agent that works with me, and it's pretty good. One thing I know, if you have a good plan and work it every day, you will have good success.

As in Real Estate, the planning and prospecting is the same game, but with the right product in the right market, you will have to try to fail. I am not an overly aggressive person, but I'm not lazy either. This is my first year in this area and I should make $60,000. In February, I have a large group I will be enrolling and that group will put me in the six figures by itself.  

Without sounding like a commercial, contact me through my website and I will be happy to help with any questions you might have. There isn't enough space here to give you a clear idea of what's actually out there. Insurance is a great career. There is competition, but that's every where you go.  

Answer 4

I know the real estate market is kind of in the tubes right now, but so is insurance.  When people are worried about the economy and money is tight, one of the last things they think about is buying insurance.  The real money is in life insurance sales, which is the most difficult product to sell in a down market because people aren't required by law/mortgagee companies to purchase it and view it as a less tangible benefit than other types of insurance (plus it's a depressing/scary product to talk about).

You income will also depend on whether you plan to start your own agency or work for somebody else.  In the short term, you'd make more working for somebody else because so much start-up capital is required to start your own agency that it's usually not profitable for 3-5 years.

Being new to insurance, you could probably make $30-50k off the bat (much more if you're a selling machine).

You may want to consider retail banking, it's more along the lines of your previous experience and many personal bankers are required to get life/health insurance licenses so it will give you a window to the insurance market too.

Answer 5

Its sales.  Like any other sales job the harder and more you work the more you make.  Less you work, less you make.

I'll tell ya one thing.. if I was starting now, I wouldn't do it.  Market is saturated with agents/brokers and competition gets tougher every year.  I'm speaking about CA.