Surviving Your First Month as an Insurance Agent

You just landed a job as an insurance agent. You heard that the first month can be tough. All you want to do is meet your commission and income goals. And you want to rely on more than just luck to succeed. Where to start? Here’s what the experienced agents at InsureMe suggest:

Build a Solid Clientele

Getting new clients can be a huge challenge for new agents. All the more reason to pull out all stops in attracting clients. That means using everything from flyers to cold calls to get them. While the grunt work of cold calls can be off-putting, avoiding this tactic can mean missed opportunities. InsureMe suggests you develop a cold call system and follow through—force yourself to call 15 to 20 potential customers every day.

Exploit “Referral Expansion”

If you’re lucky enough to nab a solid client or two, regard each one as a gateway to 10 or 15 more clients. As a new agent, ask every new client about any friends, relatives or neighbors who may be interested in your services. You should also never miss an opportunity to cross sell a new client into other insurance products.

Be Web Savvy

Learn to fully exploit the Internet to nab any potential customers who browse for insurance on the web. As a new agent, you’ll want to waste no time establishing a presence on the Internet through a blog or company Web site. You should be constantly adding new, informative articles into your Web site. These will enhance your visibility and credibility.

Walk the Client Through the Application

Whether you do this in person or over the phone, you should guide your client through the insurance application after you’ve e-mailed it to them. Using your agent portal Web site, enter the client’s application information using an online form. This process varies by insurance company, but the client usually logs into the insurance Web site to make sure all the information about them and the policy they’re buying is accurate. It’s important for you to answer any questions at this point.

Don’t Get Beat Up by Rejections

When you first start, you’ll encounter one rejection after another. It can be demoralizing. But as one seasoned insurance agent advised, know you are doing good, and when someone rejects you, they are making the mistake, not you.

Prepare for the Financial Hill

Expect to struggle for the first month or so until your first sale and the commissions start rolling in. Some companies offer a salary to keep new hires from starving, but according to Investopedia, more new agents are fortunate if they’re even paid for training before working on a "commission-only" basis.

Your first month as an insurance agent will be tough. Meeting your commission and income goals will take every ounce of talent and training you’ve amassed so far. But if you follow the advice suggested by the pros, you will succeed.

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