According to Statista, there are over 1.1 million insurance agents in the U.S. That’s a lot of people in one industry. With insurance careers gaining so much popularity since the 1960s, you may be wondering what sets the great agents apart from those who struggle to survive.
No one aspires to “barely get by.” And yet, we see it time and time again…agents who give up too quickly, fail to commit to a consistent schedule, or don’t have enough self-will to motivate themselves on a daily basis. Sure, there are instances when a lack of training is part of the problem, or the agent failed to have the right mentor group in place to provide encouragement and proven strategies for success.
Regardless, we aren’t trying to place blame. Instead, we want to assure you that you can be among the success statistics…if you follow these ten habits of successful agents.
- Surround Yourself with the Best in the Biz
Motivational speaker and author, Jim Rohn said,
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
This is our #1 recommendation at FPG. You need to follow the other steps as well to make sure you are successful, but we’ve found that without this support system in place from those who have already become successful in insurance, you don’t stand a real chance. That’s because we are meant to be a community, to share our struggles and experiences and successes with others. Want to succeed in final expense insurance sales? Surround yourself with those who already have. But don’t just expect them to hand you the keys; give them a reason to want to invest their time and energy in you.
- Develop a Regimen
We’re all familiar with John Maxwell, and we love this quote from him: “The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
We couldn’t agree more. Those of us who have accrued substantial wealth and success at Financial Providence Group have all had a daily routine or regimen.
In fact, we believe it is #2 on the list. You’ve got to have a regimen that you adhere to every day. For some, it might be exercise, journaling, shutting yourself in a room and addressing your weekly successes and failures, using a productivity planner each morning, or all of the above combined. Most of us have several key activities that we do each day—whether we feel like it or not—that have consistently helped us improve physically, mentally, and professionally. Remember that old saying, “take control of your time, and you’ll take control of your life?”
The reality is, if you want to be successful as an insurance agent, you need to have a plan. And you need to follow that plan every single day.
In this business, you won’t get ahead without an established regimen, and we’d even go so far as to argue that is true for any industry.
- Develop a Fearless Confidence
Paul Rand is famous for saying,
“I will solve your problem. And you will pay me.”
How would it change your life if every day you approached work with that mindset? So many people lack confidence—but not the great agents. Not the successful agents. They get it.
They know that in order to sell anything, they have to have confidence, even if they have to fake it. The greatest motivational coaches will tell you that confidence is the key. Even if you “fake” confidence, you’ll still be more likely to achieve success than if you are full of self-doubt. Research shows that as you “fake” courage, you actually begin to exhibit courage. Same goes for confidence.
So, want to be successful in insurance? Have confidence. And if it doesn’t come naturally, just keep working at it. Constantly listen to motivational speakers to instill the confidence you need.
Truly believe that you are going to solve someone’s problem, and they’re going to pay you for it. End of story.
- No Matter How Much You Make: Stay Consistent
Insurance is a tricky business. Especially at FPG. That’s because even if you have a huge income earning opportunity like we provide, it often comes with a unique pay structure.
Unless you are already naturally gifted at money management, it can be challenging to navigate through the sometimes-unusual compensation plans.
For example, our final expense agents get paid within 24-48 hours for every policy written. When you sell great coverage like we do at an affordable rate, there’s no reason you can’t walk away from a great day’s work with $1,000 in your pocket within 24 hours. But because the average person isn’t accustomed to making that sort of pay in such a short amount of time, it can be difficult to manage. Many agents might feel the temptation to take a few days off work.
This is a huge mistake.
The key for those who succeed in this business vs. those who constantly struggle comes down to consistency. Go to work every day. Don’t take off every time you make a buck.
Hard work and consistency always pays off!
- Learn to Genuinely Like People
This is such an important step that many agents ignore or think they can bypass it. The truth, however, is that the more genuinely you like people, the more successful you will be. This job certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s tough, and it takes a lot of hard work. But those of us driving Bentleys at FPG didn’t get here by sitting around wishing for success to shine down on us. We went out there and “grabbed the bull by the horns.” We looked for opportunity, and we found it within Financial Providence Group.
We followed the steps mentioned above and learned that our greatest success always happened when we were sharing it with others. That means when we really cared about the people we were writing policies for, our closing rate grew exponentially. When we celebrated wins with our teammates, we were that much more likely to experience our own wins.
Learn to really like people. Care about them. Desire success for others. And recognize that at FPG, you truly possess an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.
Now, go out there and make sure you make today a good one.
