Why did I quit being an insurance agent? There are several reasons, such as unrealistic expectations, don’t have the right leads, fail to make use of new technology, too easily give in to discouragement, and…
In fact, a lot of new insurance agents are scared because they know they run a high risk of failing.
How many agents stopped selling insurance?
There isn’t a precise figure. However, we estimate that between 90% and 95% of agents resign within the first year of receiving their license.
In any case, my aim in writing this article today is to present the findings of a survey that looked at the reasons insurance agents leave their jobs. Please read on.
Table of Contents
Unrealistic Expectations
When insurance agents obtain their license, they frequently believe they will easily start earning over $100,000 per year right away. The truth, however, is a little different. The insurance industry is competitive, and having high expectations will only lead to disappointment and failure. The median pay for an insurance agent in 2020 was $52,180 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Agents in the bottom 10% made under $29,000 annually, while those in the top 10% earned over $127,840. Being realistic about your goals for the first year and beyond is crucial when entering the insurance industry.
View It as a Job, Not a Career
Do you consider insurance to be a career or a job?
Your attitude is where there is a real difference. If you want a career, you will have long-term objectives and a strategy for achieving them. In order to make some money, you must want a job. If it’s a career, you are using it as a tool to give your family a dream home, travel the world, build a classic car collection, or whatever your “why” is. If it’s a job, you are just using it to “pay those lousy bills”.
Nobody gets up in the morning excited and passionate about “paying those lousy bills”. A job simply lacks inspiration, fire, and spark. If there is, it’s uncommon. Without this motivation, you will struggle to overcome the setbacks and challenges that come with starting a business.
I want to tell you about a concept that has genuinely altered my life. The notion that starting a business is similar to moving a stopped train is what it is. The train must expend a tremendous amount of energy to begin moving, but once it does, it accelerates fairly easily. Are you really prepared to devote the time and effort necessary to start the train moving?
Don’t Have the Right Leads
A lot of times, having the right leads is the first step to success as an insurance agent. You could easily spend your entire time cold-calling and being turned down if you join an insurance agency without access to strong, high-quality leads. In order to start building your book of business right away, you need high-performing leads instead.
In this manner, rather than wasting time chasing dead-end leads as a new agent, you can devote your time to honing your sales technique. This could mean the difference between starting out strong and failing quickly.
Have Thin Skin
As an insurance agent, you must make contact with a potential customer no matter how strong your leads are. This will frequently entail making a cold call, especially if your agency isn’t providing you with leads. Many new insurance agents don’t realize just how many times they will hear the word “no.” Anyone with sales experience, including the best salespeople, can explain that rejection occurs much more frequently than acceptance. You won’t work as an insurance agent for very long if you have thin skin.
Fail to Make Use of New Technology
Insurance agents must be able to use modern technology. When attempting to purchase insurance, what was effective a few years ago might no longer be accepted. Particularly the internet has altered how insurance agents conduct business. Simple blogging, social media networking, search engine optimization, and other activities are made possible by current technologies. Because of all this technology, insurance agents can communicate with one another, and if you can’t keep up with it, you’ll be losing out on business.
Don’t Understand Customer Needs
You need to create enduring relationships with clients if you want to succeed as an insurance agent. You want to be the person a client calls to get a new car set up with an auto insurance policy if they decide to go out and buy one. Without a prior connection, that call would not have been made.
Understanding client needs is necessary to develop the relationship. You risk missing out on a lot of opportunities if your only concern is making the sale, rather than the needs of the client. Knowing your customer’s needs and going above and beyond their expectations is what you should strive for. Long-lasting relationships are the foundation of amazing customer service. Your career as an agent might not last very long without them.
Don’t Keep Up With Industry Trends
The insurance sector is undergoing rapid change. You’ll quickly get left behind if you don’t follow industry trends. Agents who are committed to learning the business will succeed in the insurance business. It must go beyond just being a “job” and instead needs to be in some sense what you are. When you are knowledgeable about insurance, you can constantly learn new things, keep up with changes, and modify your sales approach as necessary. To succeed as an agent, you must stay current with market trends.
Too Easily Give in to Discouragement
As a novice insurance agent, it is simple to feel dejected. Let’s say that within the first week or even the first month, you are unable to close a deal with a client. What does that imply for you going forward? You might begin to wonder whether choosing this career was the right choice for you, whether you would make a good insurance agent, and other similar issues. It’s far too simple to give in to these feelings, but those who do might give up too quickly.
You’re Intimidated by Being Undercut
You won’t be around for very long if you are afraid to sell even though your price is being undercut. I guarantee that you will lose some of the price wars you have with competing businesses. Price reductions that never end only serve to diminish the value of the agents, the agencies, and the sector as a whole. It’s nothing more than a downward spiral.
You must understand that a relationship is more important than a price. Make sure that your clients value the insurance’s benefits over its cost. Your customers should always receive more value from you than the total amount of the premium.
Don’t Have a Solid Support System
Even though it may be depressing, the fact that it is true remains. Because they lack a strong support network at home, some people will struggle in the insurance industry (or really any business).
Lack of spousal support is the most frequent one I’ve observed. Receiving financial compensation for your efforts is frequently delayed in a commission-based position. Money disputes can happen when times are tough, which has an effect on everything else.
Sometimes the absence of spousal support hides more serious problems. Examine yourself carefully to determine if you have different values, expectations, or objectives. While your spouse may have completely different expectations, you might assume that something is fine. In any case, it’s essential to communicate, and you should look for ways to assist one another in achieving all of your objectives.
Not Driven Enough
Your chances of succeeding are at best slim without a strong internal drive.
What you put into life will reflect in everything you receive from it. You should focus on improving yourself as much as possible. This entails allocating the funds that will accelerate your growth. People who see insurance as just another job won’t invest the time necessary to read the books and acquire the necessary knowledge.
How motivated an insurance agent is has a big impact on their success rate. Are insurance sales difficult? Yes, it certainly is possible, but a strong desire to succeed is essential.
Never Learned Sales and Marketing
The failure of insurance agents is largely due to this. Anyone can go outside the workplace and hand out some business cards, but only the truly prosperous cultivate a workable marketing strategy and sales system.
For instance, did you know that mobile devices account for more than half of all Internet searches? However, not many insurance websites are responsive on mobile devices. How about the fact that 65% of people look for the most pertinent information, irrespective of the business that answers the question? However, most companies that offer financial services don’t put enough money into digital marketing.
The unfortunate reality of being an insurance agent is that the majority of insurance agents leave their profession when they can no longer produce enough business to support themselves. You need to become skilled at sales and marketing in order to accomplish that.
Summary
I hope you liked this look at insurance sales and the reasons agents leave the industry. Even for me, it was very illuminating.
I also picked up a few things, most notably the fact that agents tend to last longer than we anticipate and the necessity of having collateral in order to invest in a good lead generation system.
If you’re thinking about joining an agency, take your time, do your research, and choose one that will be a good fit for you.
Check out how my agency functions here and take a look at my FAQ page if you’re looking for a backup option and an agency that’s honest, transparent, and straightforward.
I seek out and develop top-producing insurance agents in annuities, Medicare Advantage, and final expense. The foundation of my work consists of providing training, assistance, coaching, and mentoring in conjunction with top-notch marketing and sales systems.
Please feel free to comment below. Share your experience quitting insurance sales if you like.
Thanks for reading!
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