Just starting out? Tips on getting rolling.

Ethan,

Congratulations on doing so well in this business. It gives me hope that I can make this business work for me and my family. I appreciate the information that you are so willing to share with others. I have recently left the construction industry as a cabinet shop owner and got into the insurance business. If you could take the time to answer a question or two for me I would be very grateful.

I have tried to take advantage of a good portion of the tools available including Norvax quote engine and IDA etc… I am religious on trying to stay on top of all of the training available. I want to dot every I and cross every t. However I find myself being apprehensive about jumping in and committing to purchasing leads to get rolling. There is so much for me to learn and I find myself maybe trying to be so prepared that I'm not making the calls that I need to. However I feel that knowledge is power and I want to make sure I do the best that I can with each lead. Is this business more of a numbers game vs. knowing everything there is to know about health insurance? I know it is very important to be knowledgeable about your business but maybe I'm spending way too much time trying to prepare? My income is drying up and either I make it or break it. Could you give me some advice of what I need to focus on and how much time I need to commit to daily to make this business work. Also maybe some advice on lead sources and returning leads.

I really appreciate any help you could give me. I will be in attendance to the team speak training you will be doing on Thursday.

Thank you,

Shane


Dear Shane,

There are a lot of people that start buying leads on a credit card or savings when they start the business. I don't believe that you should bite off more than you chew with leads. On this blog there is a post on when you should stop buying leads which I recommend reading. I don't believe that anyone should go into debt to start a business. There are many ways you can start your business without buying leads. Here are some examples.

1. Contact everyone you know and let them know that you just received information that rates are changing on a lot of plans due to health care reform. You would be happy to give them a free quote which takes about 5 minutes. Rates are already going up and prospects need to lock in a plan now.

2. Get involved in Facebook, Linked in, and other social media networking tools. I would start making a ton of friends and have them recommend you as someone to do business with. You should always start selling in the area that you know the most people.

3. Become a member of your chamber of commerce. Spend $20 and get some business cards. Start swapping business cards and make it a goal to get more business cards every time you attend one of their events. Do your best to really start networking.

4. Contact some health insurance agents that have been around for a while and ask them to allow you to help upgrade their current policies. They are probably receiving about 5% on renewals and if you did a 50/50 split on a 20% commission they would be making 10%. You do all of the work and they get a raise!

Once you have turned a profit start purchasing leads. I would also contact the Department of Insurance in your state to see what is the allowable referral bonus. By getting referrals you should have a pretty good idea on how much time it takes to get one sale; if you are tracking this. At this point you can decide when to start putting a ton of money into leads or maybe you won't have to buy leads at all!

If you are selling online you shouldn't have to know everything to sell a policy. All you need to do is open up the brochure and read off the highlights to them. You do need to allocate so many hours a week to selling health insurance. I wouldn't spend more than 2 hours a week learning the different plans. Most of your time spent should be drumming up new business. There are so many plans and they change all of the time. Accessing the information quickly is more important than memorizing the plans. I hope this helps!

Ethan