So, You’re Thinking About Selling Life Insurance
If you’re young and seeking to start a career, selling life insurance may have come across your radar. Chances are, you know a few people who have done it very successfully and then quite a few more who tried it and couldn’t make it work.
It’s true—according to a recent article from Investopedia by Greg McFarlane, four out of five people who set out to sell life insurance quit after just two years.
But we are also living in a time when more people than ever want to work for themselves and are doing whatever it takes to make that happen. If you feel like you are one of those people who want to work hard, work for themselves, and are okay with putting in the time before you see the big rewards, selling life insurance could be a very satisfying career choice for you.
In this article, we will look at why millennials do so well working for themselves, why selling life insurance can be such a rewarding career, as well as what some of the challenges are to selling life insurance.
At the end of the day, we want to see you in a fulfilling career where you feel you are making a difference. And, not only are you providing for yourself and family but hitting and even exceeding your income goals.
*Shocker* Millennials Make Great Bosses & Entrepreneurs
When common characteristics began to emerge about millennials, many negative connotations stuck to the term. Millennials had—and often continue to have—the reputation of being entitled, lazy, and a generation who expect handouts from the world while rejecting societal norms like working a 9-to-5 job to pay the bills.
But while we all know millennials like that, let’s just clear the air and think of some millennials who are blazing trails and changing the world in their various industries (if you want a more extensive list, check out this article of the Top 20 Most Influential Millennial Entrepreneurs from Inc.).
- Mark Zuckerberg—founder of Facebook
- Jessica Alba—actress-turned-entrepreneur and founder of The Honest Company
- Peter Cashmore—founder of Mashable
- John Zimmer—founder of Lyft
- Danny Ek—one of the founders of Spotify
We could continue to list high-profile millennials and their businesses. But the truth is, there are millions of millennials all over the globe who are making an impact in their own spheres of influence by bringing their own ideas to life. They say no to the traditional way of merely working a desk job to pay the bills.
Let’s Do It Ourselves
A recent article from Forbes by Sarah Landrum focuses on why millennials are so good at being self-employed and having careers where they are their own boss. One factor Landrum sees that leads to this phenomenon is the market crash of 2008. As Landrum puts it,
“They [millennials] saw the adults they trusted to lead suddenly not know what to do or understand what was happening. They watched people struggle to save money and bounce back from a fall that took four years to recover from. Because of that period of financial turmoil, millennials began to save money and learn how to handle it.”
Millennials don’t trust the financial system their parents relied so heavily upon. That makes them less afraid to take risks and step out with their own endeavors. They don’t put a lot of stock in the traditional way of doing things to begin with.
Not only are millennials driven to take hold of their own financial futures, but they want to make a difference as well. Landrum discusses another reason why millennials are making the best bosses is that they believe the work place they create and the products they produce are going to make people’s lives better. These motivators are actually a far cry from the entitled, free-spirits that millennials are often expected to be.
What About Selling Life Insurance?
If you are a millennial looking at a career selling life insurance, all this information is good news for you. It is beneficial for you in your career path as well as considering your potential clients. A life insurance business takes arduous work and dedication to build, and a lot of rejection along the way. But it also means you are selling a product that people actually need. If you believe in making people’s lives better, selling life insurance is a product you can honestly get behind.
Life insurance is an unusual product—right up there with selling coffins and headstones—it can be a little macabre to talk about. But the fact of the matter is, having life insurance will absolutely change a person’s life in the wake of losing a loved one.
The Product You Hope You Never Need
Did you know only 60% of Americans have any kind of life insurance plan? This is good for someone who sells insurance because the available market share is expansive. But on the other hand, it is incredibly unfortunate if one of those individuals without coverage dies leaving financial burdens behind for their family.
According to financial guru Dave Ramsey, almost everyone should have a life insurance policy. At the very least, the insurance would cover student loan debt, other debts, and funeral expenses. For those with spouses and children, the policy should be able to support that family without disrupting their way of life and cover college costs for all children in the home.
We don’t need to go into any horror stories. But, surely you can imagine how devastating it is for a young family if one parent passes away. Alongside the loss, the rest of the family has to deal with potentially large medical bills and somehow replacing that parent’s income in the midst of their grief.
Trust us! Life insurance is a product people want and need. That is why we titled this article highlighting the idea that selling life insurance is a win-win situation. It’s a win for you as you build your business, have a successful sale, and gain a client. It’s also a win for customers purchasing the policy because they are protected if the unthinkable were to happen with the loss of a loved one.
The Dirt on Selling Life Insurance
We told you at the beginning of this article we wanted to be transparent about the challenges of selling life insurance. We want you to have all the facts before you decide selling life insurance is something you want to commit to. We already mentioned four out of five people that begin selling life insurance quit after just two years. Part of this is because the income starts off small. According to Investopedia, the median income is still just under $30,000 a year after the first two years.
What does that mean for you? It could look like living pretty lean and not going out or taking vacations as your friends do. It could mean moving into the parents’ basement for a few years or having a few roommates to help cover the rent. These are sacrifices you have to decide if you want to make.
You also have to be someone with thick skin. Life insurance agents do a lot of cold calling, door knocking, and hearing “no” way more often than they hear “yes”. But when you do get those “yes’s” and make 70% commission on your first sale, it may all start to feel worth it. Keep in mind however, you won’t earn 70% commissions on those premiums for the remainder of each person’s policy. Typically agents only make 3-5% commission after the first year of the policy.
As your referrals continue to build, commissions from past clients add up, and your reputation as a honorable businessperson spreads, you can make a very successful living selling life insurance. But it will be hard in the beginning, and it’s important to know it could take several years before your determination starts to pay off.
That Boss Life
As with any career path, there is a lot to consider when thinking about becoming a life insurance agent. If you’re a hardworking millennial but don’t have the idea for the next big app like Facebook or Spotify, maybe selling life insurance is for you. It will take sacrifice and dedication. But you will also be able to work for yourself which you may be specially positioned to as a millennial.
