So I'm starting a new job pretty soon. I was just wondering what all you clucthfanners thought about this industry... I'll be selling commercial Insurance. Doing a lot of Churches, Restaurants, and anything else "commercial". Also gonna be selling some home and auto. After six months gonna be completely commission based with 50% new and 40% for renewals. That kinda scares me, but the potential for income is gonna be really good I think. I guess im basically contracted out by an independent agent. What do you guys think? Good opportunity? or will I be looking for a new job in 6 months??
I guess it all depends on how good of a salesman you are. Salespeople can really rake in the dough if they find the right job and are good. But you have to have the temperment for it.
The good news, for you, is that pretty much everyone has insurance, at some level or another. Sure, some real small businesses may self insure (or not insure), but you should have a wide audience of potential customers. What's more, assuming you have as decent a relationship with the underwriters as everyone else, you should be able to compete just fine on price. So that means, if you can differentiate yourself as a salesman, you should be able to make decent money. To me, that means it would be smart of you to actually understand your industry. I find few managers actually fully understand all the different lines of coverage, what they're being insured for, what they're paying for, what is not covered, why certain instances fall under coverage and other similar instances don't, etc., etc. I've even found a lot of insurance agents who reall don't understand it. It's like a car salesman who knows less about the car then the customer. Know your product, and you should do okay.
