Very Archaic Hiring Practices
Insurance is a very profitable business and sales agents can
make a ton of money. People need insurance so the market is not shrinking but
growing as the population enlarges.
What amazes me is the hiring practices for most Insurance
companies has not changed even though we are in a new century. Let me explain
the typical way an Insurance company hires, trains and loses 80% of their first
year agents.
1) A cattle call goes out to anyone with an insurance
license or the willingness to obtain one - Insurance companies hit all the
hiring venues to find people who have sales experience or wish to get into a
sales position.
2) A presentation is given where the top earners and income
potential are portrayed - it is very hard to listen to a presentation and hear
about people earning hundreds of thousands of dollars when the average wage for
a family of 4 is not $50,000. Add to that all the toys you can purchase when
you earn a lot of income and the lifestyle is hard to not envy. Insurance
companies use wealth to lure people into a sales position.
3) New agents are subjected to a lot of training - this is
both a good and bad thing. Most companies have a canned presentation which they
say results in the majority of their sales. Yet a lot of the veteran agents
don't use the presentation because they focus more on a warm market. These
people don't need the presentation new agents are taught.
4) Once trained, new agents are expected to go out and
produce - With the heavy emphasis on training, many companies believe that once
an agent finishes training he has all he needs to be successful. But the truth
is, working for anyone seldom comes with no expenses. Yes new agents are
trained. But they have two expenses to contend with everyday; their normal
living expenses and the business expenses they incur from working this job. If
agents don't generate income in a relatively short period of time they run the
risk of being in a financial hole trying to work in Insurance.
5) Most agents only write business on themselves and their
friends, then their business dries up - I consider this to be a bad decision.
Yes, if you need insurance and you sell it, you should buy it from yourself.
But if you only buy because of the new job then you are not truly a salesman.
Like any business you will only survive in sales if you can generate enough
activity from the public to support yourself.
It's time to invest in new agents with much more than
training. Cover the cost of doing business so agents have a fair chance of
succeeding.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeffery_Davis
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