Why do new state farm agents fail.?

Question

SF says that they have a 85% success rate for new agents vs 25% for independant agents. Sounds too good to be true. Is it? And why do the 15% fail?

Answer 1

Actually - if you take over an existing agency, there isn't any cold-calling - unless you want to do it.  Also, State Farm is very selective in their interview process and that weeds out a lot of people.  Some of the ones who fail found that they didn't like the industry or they just weren't good at it.  

SF also has great training so you have all the tools and knowledge to be successful when you start - and if not, there are always people you can call to get the answers.

If you are looking to get into the industry - SF is a great company with a great reputation.

Answer 2

I think that stat is an exaggeration.  However, they are a bit more selective in who they take and State Farm does have a good training program.

You can count on tons of fruitless and frustrating cold calling, telemarketing and networking before you make ANY money. Also, State Farm is "captive" meaning that you are really more of an employee and you can only sell SF products, even when they are not the most competitve.

When you are are allowed to sell non-SF products, you must sell them through an outside entity, which gives you very little control over pricing or service, putting you at a huge competitive disadvantage over independent brokers.  

In someways, being a captive is the worst of both worlds. You must meet your own expenses as a commission only, self-employed person, and you must put-up with lots of pressure and nastiness from bosses, like an employee.  Any business you sell, they keep if you later quit or are fired.  They figure they make up all or part of their costs of training you on what you leave behind.

Personnally, I hated being a captive. However, I did appreciate the training, especially in how to cold call effectively.

Answer 3

Why does a McDonalds fail? A Taco Bell, Foot Locker, CinnaBon, 7-11, a hospital, a church, or any thing else that doesnt work out? It could be quite a number of reasons why they fail. Not enough capital investment. They did not allow enough time for the business to grow to meet costs. Poor location, poor planning, rent too high, not enough advertising, too much advertising, lack of research... the failure reasons could go on & on.

But 85% does seem pretty good. I am sure that is due to SF making sure all of those above variables are met so those wont be a factor, or at least lessen it.