A question for the BuckeyePlanet financial juggernauts

[The KSB]

In a few of my classes the general aging of the population has been discussed. While the reasons for this are wide and varied, predictions are that this trend will continue throughout our lifetimes. In my neck of the woods this phenomenon will be particularly intense. Columbiana County is already one of the oldest areas of the country, and I believe that I read once that Pittsburgh is the oldest city in the country.

This got me to thinking so I did a little research. The baby boom started in 1946 and lasted until approximately 1964. This means that they should begin retiring around 2009-20011. Now it seems to me that the perfect time to place yourself into a market is right before it exists. What I mean to say is that now would be the time to begin preparing to take advantage of that market. The only question is how?

My wife put me through school in part by working as an office manager for a prominent area physician. One of the things that took up most of her time was billing insurance companies. Without going into great detail she has more than once ranted about what a headache insurance companies were to deal with. However, there were two companies she dealt that never gave her any trouble. I don’t want to violate the anti-advertising rule here so I won’t give out their names, but I will say that they were companies that specialized in selling supplemental Medicare insurance, they basically covered the deductible for people on Medicare. My wife assures me that both of these companies gave excellent service to their customers and were very reputable and ethical in how they managed their business, at least from her vantage point.

Going off of her recommendation I contacted both of these companies. They both agreed to see me and both extended offers for a sales position. I am giving one of these companies some serious thought. There seems to be a great opportunity for promotion, there isn’t a great deal of cold calling, the commission rate seems fair, etc…. I don’t want to brag, but I feel I’m ahead of the curve. I tend to work harder, and smarter than those around me. Plus I’m rather aggressive about pursuing my goals. I’m pretty sure I could be a branch manager by the time the baby boomers start retiring and would be in the position to make buku dinero.

My question is this; does my train of thought seem logical? I mean does this make any sense the vast paint chip enhanced think tank that is Buckeye Planet? Also, do any of you have experience selling insurance? If so, what was/is your opinion of it?

 

[FKAGobucks877]

Um.....yes?

Go with your instincts, young butterfly. There are a shitload of sales jobs out there, and insurance sales are as good as any of them. The thing you need to watch out for, though, is how current laws (and new laws to come) will effect this company. In the last 5-10 years, new laws have come out that have greatly effected a lot of insurance and investment companies, most notably because with these new laws, insurance and investments are allowed to be sold by the same company. This means that State Farm can sell mutual funds and other investments; they no longer have to stick solely to insurance.

I worked for a bank a long time ago, and they required me to obtain my "Life and Health" insurance license. This license allowed me to sell anything from health insurance to life insurance to annuities. I was offered all kinds of positions with a variety of companies, simply because I possessed this license. When I looked into it, however, all of these positions did require cold calling. The companies always said cold calling was not necessary at their company, and that leads were provided, but on further investigation every single one of those companies (probably about 6 or so) did actually require cold calling. The company provided you with a list to call (in other words, they provided you with the leads, as promised), but the list was nothing more than a telemarketing list the company had purchased, so in essence, I would still have had to cold call. In my life, I have met two successful sales people. You may be the third....but I would suggest further research before committing.

 

[gbearbuck]

If you go into sales you will need to drum up your own business (if you want to be paid well)... if they are spoon feeding you sales, they prob. will not pay you too well... That's my understanding of most sales positions (basically inside sales vrs. outside sales.... inside you sit there and take calls but get paid substantially less than the guys knocking down the doors druming their own business... however the guys drumming up their own business have more volital and less secure pay structures)... basically a risk reward ratio...

You can make good money in that business, good luck if you take the chance and go for it...

 

[BuckBackHome]

I have no advice for you, but thought I would wish you a happy birthday, you old Golden Flash.