Our company has begun recruiting agents for IMO's or Insurance Marketing Organizations.
An IMO is similar to a middleman between national life insurance carriers and independent agents looking to sell mostly A-rated insurance products for unbranded carriers. Most insurance purchasers are familiar with companies they see on television and hear on radio.
The majority of agents working with IMO's are part-time with a small percentage who have time to work in the financial industry on a full-time basis. Part-timers may have full-time jobs or may sell insurance to supplement retirement income.
Most consumers are familiar with agents working in offices as full-time employed agents. Many agents working for name-brand insurance companies start on a monthly salary and convert to a salary-commission configuration after 6-12 months.
Many agents believe there are many options and choices in finding the right IMO.
In my opinion coming from corporate sales and previously working with several IMO's, there are really two outcomes for agents selecting an IMO.
The agent will make money. Or,
The agent will not make money.
According to an April 2020, insurance trade journal, up to 80% of insurance agents fail. The rest of article dives into agent behavior and motivation topics. Although some of the article's content is factual, the article leaves out one important contributor why agents fail.
The number one reason why agents fail in the insurance industry is IMO's do not provide sales system training to new agents...or even veteran agents. Veteran agents stay in the insurance business until they figure out how to make some money through trial-and-error. The income veterans' earn is enough to pay their bills but these agents would perform even better using a sales system.
IMO's do not offer sales system training because it could cost as much as $25,000 per agent. There's no way IMO's could afford to dump $25,000 on new agents. I used the word "dump" on purpose because IMO's only qualification to hire agents is passing state licensing. Branded insurance companies, since they offer a 6-12 month salary, conduct interviews and possibly use screening tests to determine if agents are psychologically qualified to work in sales.
The other reason why agents fail is IMO agent training focuses 95% of training on insurance products and hardly no time of sales training and personal development.
The reason why product training is initially not important is 80% of success in the financial services industry comes from initiating and managing relationships with contacts and prospects. Only 20% of success is product-based. Once an insurance agent secures the prospect's trust, selecting the appropriate product is a piece of cake.
Independent agents looking for financial services careers with IMO's should ask if the IMO offers sales onboarding training. This training should be a minimum of 16 hours.
The training should guide the agent through the following five sales system activities: contacting, prospecting, appointment setting, closing and getting referrals.
One extra training item should include indoctrinating agents into the mentality and reality of being self-employed.
Agents looking for an IMO offering sales system training should contact Clarence Nappier CEO at (786) 697-3401 or Yeilyn Rodriguez VP, at (786) 697-3400 so we can learn more about your insurance career goals and expectations.
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